I'll usually just buy a game based on the vibe I get from it! Whether I like the art style, the description, the trailer. If it turns out that it doesn't hold my interest through to the finish, then I don't consider it a loss. I still would have had fun getting to the point I did, and that was the purpose of the game (to me)!
Overall I generally avoid FPS and turned-based strategy games, just because I find the latter a bit slow.
I’d have to say one thing stands out for me with games, and it’s when things are left TOO open for the player to figure out what to do. Games like Hyper Light Drifter, Obduction and The Witness come to mind. I like a lot of variety in my life and games are included so this isn't tied to any specific genre either (but often are puzzle related, although I love puzzle games!) I just really do not like when there is almost zero direction given to the player from the start. This is different to open world games, where they do give you directions/options and you can choose what to go do (like Breath of the Wild), but when these games give zero hints or context clues, I have no interest in carrying on. I don’t often give up on games, but ones like these hold no value for me. I’ll go play a game which respects my time.
