I’m not sure if this is controversial or not - but I (mostly) don’t like games that are primarily set underground.
There are a few exceptions to this, Dungeon Keeper and The Binding of Isaac spring to mind, but mostly I find it actively discouraging. Perhaps it’s a desire to explore under the sky, perhaps it’s that it feels claustrophobic, or perhaps it’s the gloom.
I don’t have a problem with the dark or claustrophobia in the real world, so it’s not that. Anything that involves dungeon crawling immediately puts me off. I don’t want to go down into the dark! I want to be outside!
I wasn’t a fan of the Metro series until Exodus, I bounced off Recettear as soon as the dungeon element was introduced. Anything that wants me to spend an extended period underground with monsters is just a massive turn-off for me. Sewer levels and the like also have this, to a lesser extent.
Anyone else have this specific dislike?
I don’t have an aversion to underground games, but I think on some level I don’t love games/movies set out in deserts, whether they’re sandy or rocky. I think in the back of my mind, I’m thinking “man, that looks uncomfortable and dry. I wouldn’t like being there.”
I don’t avoid things set in deserts, and I’m sure I’ve seen/played many good things in that setting, so it may not be as strong as your underground thing, but yeah, I think I have something similar.
Okay, that’s all, now we can proceed to call me Anakin Skywalker.