Magnitus: Aggregated user review scores tend to be pretty good at debunking such marketing ploys. You want to find out if a game cuts the mustard? Ask enough everyday people who've played it.

Beyond that, if the sale was done in good faith and the development work was done in good faith with a genuine desire and reasonable amount of confidence that a good experience would be provided to the buyer, than I've go nothing to complain about. My subjective assessment of that experience is my own.

InariFoxOrrion: No they don't, you're free to look at FIFA Ultimate Team, CoD: MW3, even old "classics" like The Order 1886, and so on for evidence that reviews - even user reviews - don't cut it. It's circular, anyway; it predecates itself on the existence of people who've bought it and made the publishers money so you don't have to.

I'm not going to try and argue with your subjective opinion here. What you think is valid, I'm just largely interested in the consumer side of things and what effects certain behaviors have. You can and should do as you please.

Breja: old

OLD

OLD

I think I need lie down.

InariFoxOrrion: you're free to look at [...] old "classics" like The Order 1886,...

Magnitus: Well, I'd sure there are notable exceptions, but for genres that I like, aggregated user scores have yet to completely lead me astray so far.

I've seen some games people raved about that I thought were just fine or games people said were fine that I disliked, but I've yet to find a game I considered a total turd that people rated really well.

And I've played over 500 games in my gog catalog so far so I think at this point, my method has been shown to work well for me.

BreOl72: "The Order 1886", released in 2015.

I'm just glad, that you put at least the word "classics" in quotation marks.
But (imho) the word "old" would have deserved that same treatment.

CarChris: On a funny note, apart from the "reason" that some state about refunding a game they didn't like (!), I've also recently read a case of someone who refunded a game that wouldn't start on Win7, while at the game's page is clearly stated that the game needs Win 10 or 11!!!

InariFoxOrrion: Something I don't think is appreciated enough is how GOG's refund policy makes you more willing to buy titles that you might otherwise ignore. Sure, you refund them as often as not, but a few - Omicron: The Nomad Soul comes to mind for me - you'll fall in love with.

For contrast, on Steam, anytime I came across a title I was interested in but not sure of, I'd take the "safe" option and watch dozens of spoiler-y Let's Plays or wouldn't even try it. Biomutant comes to mind here: no shot I'd buy it on Steam or anywhere with a stricter refund policy, which is why I didn't until I found out about GOG.

JAAHAS: Unfortunately GOG has for a some time had a bad habit of letting upcoming games state even for years in their game pages that they would work with Windows 7 only to remove any mention of it just before the release and far too often games that once did have Windows 7 compatible version on GOG end up getting replaced with a new version that no longer works with it.

Timboli: Not for me, never taken advantage of it, and likely never will.

But a big part of that, is the fact that I don't buy a game with the notion that I can always get a refund, plus I buy games and it will be way beyond the return duration before I get around to playing them, and perhaps discover something worth getting a refund for.

Mostly though, for me it is about never paying too much for a game in the first place, and just accepting the risk.
And I look to offset the outlay by giving reasonable value to any artwork and soundtrack. If all else fails, I can at least enjoy them. Then there is the notion of encouraging developers etc.

And while I resist paying too much for a single game, I do spend a lot on games overall. I will sometimes make exceptions for games that come with lots of extras, including DLCs ... but I don't go overboard. And sometimes it is just about perceived value for money.

Perhaps, if the over abundance of great games at cheap prices was a not a thing, and my finances were minimal, then I could see the merit in Refunds. Not to mention all those free Epic games, and the occasional GOG freebie, etc.

And it is likely down to desire too. Most games I am interested in or allow myself to get interested in, are available at some point for a fair price. So I rarely make purchases I regret, and those few I can live with. Many games have some redeeming factor, and if you didn't pay too much, easy to accept.

InariFoxOrrion: You strike me as somebody with a nice amount of wisdom. Idk. I just wanted to say that. You're cool.

lupineshadow: I hate the refund policy, because it allows chancers to buy games and refund them without ever intending to keep them,

Catventurer: That said, I do think that if someone abuses to return policy by habitually returning everything they purchase, GOG should have the option to just not sell anything to that person because clearly this is someone that cannot be satisfied with anything they purchase.