Games that get better once you push through | Steam review analysis (updated Oct 2026)
Of the 110 Steam games analyzed by TrueGG, this page lists games whose TrueGG Rating is at least 30 points above the rating of early reviews (usually under 2 hours), by the size of that gap (21 games). The TrueGG Rating is the share of positive reviews among players who had played past each game's "played line" when they wrote their review, normally from the last 180 days. Data as of 2026-10-14. Methodology
Games rated poorly in reviews written during the first hours, but highly by players who kept going. Many people quit over early controls, difficulty or pacing, while those who get past that wall end up rating the game well.
The early rating is usually the rating of reviews written under 2 hours of play, the same line as Steam’s refund guideline. If you buy one of these, it may be worth sticking with it a little longer than usual. Open a game to see how the rating rises with playtime.
| # | Game | TrueGG Rating | Steam overall | Early rating | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragon's Dogma 2 | 76.0% | 62.6% | 25.5% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 2 | No Man's Sky | 93.1% | 85.3% | 45.7% (<2h) | |
| 3 | Battlefield 2042 | 64.5% | 47.2% | 19.8% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 4 | Cities: Skylines II | 74.3% | 56.0% | 30.1% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 5 | NieR:Automata | 95.1% | 87.4% | 51.0% (<2h) | |
| 6 | MONSTER HUNTER RISE | 91.1% | 83.6% | 48.2% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 7 | Starfield | 65.5% | 56.9% | 22.7% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 8 | Monster Hunter Wilds | 64.5% | 49.7% | 22.6% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 9 | Fallout 76 | 72.8% | 71.9% | 31.4% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 10 | Monster Hunter: World | 91.8% | 88.8% | 51.7% (<2h) | |
| 11 | ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN | 77.8% | 81.7% | 38.1% (<2h) | |
| 12 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | 96.4% | 92.5% | 57.8% (<2h) | |
| 13 | Sid Meier’s Civilization VI | 91.8% | 86.2% | 54.0% (<2h) | |
| 14 | Cyberpunk 2077 | 96.2% | 87.0% | 58.8% (<2h) | |
| 15 | ELDEN RING | 93.5% | 93.1% | 56.5% (<2h) | |
| 16 | Back 4 Blood | 77.1% | 68.8% | 40.8% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 17 | ARK: Survival Evolved | 86.0% | 83.3% | 49.8% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 18 | theHunter: Call of the Wild | 93.0% | 89.1% | 58.4% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 19 | ARK: Survival Ascended | 60.8% | 59.9% | 27.4% (<2h) | Most praised: Fun & feel |
| 20 | Kenshi | 97.7% | 95.6% | 64.8% (<2h) | |
| 21 | ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON | 96.2% | 91.7% | 65.9% (<2h) |