I know that everyone has their various preferences, but I wonder, are there folks like me who will simply avoid particular game types, regardless of how interesting it may look.
For example, I tend to just ignore RPG maker games, because their controls tend to be a bit... wonky. I know some folks have done some really amazing things with them, but overall I've found them to be low effort. Sure, there's a couple out there that aren't but I generally can't wrap my head around playing those.
So what about you? Is there any game type that you avoid? Whether it's a preference, style, game engine, or whatever?
...though I like RPG Maker, I actually kinda agree with you here.
Especially if it's RPG Maker MV/MZ with standard assets. There's exceptions to this, but like 90% of them are lazy cashgrab porngames. Bland basic bitch gameplay to pad out the bland basic bitch porn scenes.
On the flip side; you can usually see if a game is worth a try by checking if it's got custom or otherwise unusual assets. Devs who put effort in sprites and background assets are usually also devs who care more about the story and gameplay angles. Case in point: Claire's Quest.
As for my other no-nos;
Incest. I don't mind that people are into this, but I
really don't get why this tag is so popular. It's a genuine turnoff for me, even in fiction. Frex, I was actually glad when Patreon forced games like School of Lust and Zombie's Retreat to edit out all their incest content.
Scat. Thankfully not nearly as common as incest. Again, I'm not gonna knock you if you're into that shit - but I just can't handle it. At all. Piss doesn't bother me, but scat is just viscerally repulsive to me even if it's all manga-style drawn stuff.
Anything here tagged Real Porn. Something about knowing that pirated live action porn was used in a game just really shatters my willing suspension of disbelief. I'm not sure what it is. Weirdly, I don't get this with games with blatantly stolen art, like those really early Newgrounds or Mausland porn games.
Stuff with Koikatsu or Honey Select 3D models. This one's a little weird, because I
know that these are solid programs that allow for a ton of customization. Even if they're not quite on par with Daz3D. But something about them just makes it all feel fake to me. Weirdly, I can appreciate AI-generated stuff just fine.
"Fandisc" VNs, i.e. standalone addons to earlier VNs. Especially when the original VN is nowhere to be found (and may not even have been translated). I've seen this a few times, and it bothered me so much that 'fandisc' is now an automatic hard pass for me.
Kinetic novels. I like my visual novels with choices, thank you. Maybe not the Dharker Studios-style "here's a hundred choices and completely irrelevant stuff can lock you onto a bad end" glut of choices and flags. But I do like to have
some control over which direction the story is going.
Cheesecake games with the 'No Sexual Content'-tag. I don't mind good games that have no sexual content. Doki Doki Literature Club, for example. But if cheesecake and teasing are very clearly the game's only appeal, then I'm not gonna touch it. A worksafe dating sim? Miss me with that shit.
Anything with only male protagonists that's tagged 'lesbian'. If I'm looking for girl-girl content, I'm not looking for stuff that's >95% the same dude getting his dick wet. Especially not if the 'lesbian content' is just a girl-girl-guy threesome. (in theory it's entirely possible to have a good lesbian-themed game with a male protagonist, but then we're talking about a story where the protagonist isn't the one having all the sex - and the average porngame doesn't roll that way)
