Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Top Video Game Disappointments of 2018

Top Video Game Disappointments of 2018

Marketing can really elevate the levels of hype ahead of a game’s release. A sequel comes with built in expectations. A novel game can get people very excited for something new. Unfortunately, we usually know about a game’s release long before launch and, worse, we are doomed to be disappointed from time to time. It can feel a bit like wasted energy.

Here’s a list of five 2018 games that had potential, but ultimately failed to be huge successes.

Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves

Rare is a developer that rarely disappoints, and Sea of Thieves was supposed to be a big deal for Microsoft and the Xbox One. The original promise was that of freedom for players to navigate the seas with their friends, commanding a ship through micromanagement.

The mechanics are enjoyable. Communicating with others to handle the different tasks of navigating a ship or utilizing it in combat is fun, but the world itself feels devoid of things to do. Sure, what is present certainly has character, but it would take a while for the developers to create content that actually made the game feel worthwhile.

Secret of Mana

Secret of Mana

When I first played the remake of the classic Super Nintendo game, Secret of Mana , I had to wonder if part of my disappointment could be attributed to rose tinted glasses. But no, nostalgia isn’t the culprit. The original game is still good and the new game doesn’t live up to its legacy.

For people who have seen their share of Square Enix remakes, maybe they weren’t all that surprised. Graphically, the game looks bad, and this is something Final Fantasy fans have been dealing with for a while. Worse, combat suffers from the switch to 360 degrees of control, and the user interface is a hot mess. It may end up being a convenient way to play in 2018 if you don’t have access to the original, but play the original if you can. If you can’t, I suppose this one isn’t as bad as it could be; it’s just frustratingly average.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT

Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT

The Dissidia games are an excuse to put Final Fantasy characters together so players can witness the dream matchups between their favorite franchise characters. The two games that were on the PSP were fun enough and came with a surprisingly fleshed out story that incorporated the various personalities in a way that fits. I was excited when a current generation console version was announced.

Make no mistake, Dissidia: Final Fantasy NT is a terrible game. The one versus one system of the originals have been replaced with a three versus three system where you have to trust either human or NPC allies to not mess up. There’s no main campaign mode and the game focuses heavily on online multiplayer, which is made worse by the fact that it is hard to find a match with the game’s relatively low player base. There’s a story of sorts included, but to unlock it you have to accrue currency from the other modes and then spend it to unlock cutscenes; it doesn’t actually feel like playing a story mode, so much as watching a gallery. The currency takes a while to unlock too, and the videos are short.

Fallout 76

Fallout 76

Full disclosure, I also consider Fallout 4 a disappointment. Maybe that’s why I was so excited for Fallout 76 , though; I wanted a game that returned to the series’ glory. Then it was announced that the game would have online multiplayer, and I decided maybe it wasn’t a good idea to hold my breath.

Still, a lot of gamers decided to hold their judgment until the game’s release. Now that the game is out, what we’ve seen is a bare and desolate wasteland that, while fitting for the post-apocalyptic setting, gives players very little to do. The game also consists of heavy grinding that is just the opposite of the kind of play the franchise is known for. Hopefully, the developers figure out a way to sort all of this out going forward.

Darksiders III

Darksiders III

For a while, it looked like gamers were only going to ever have access to Darksiders and Darksiders II when the franchise’s original publisher, THQ, collapsed. For fans of the series, this was heartbreaking. The game’s story felt like playing through a myth, and the mechanics were unapologetically but perfectly stolen from other titles. Many referred to the first game as ‘ Zelda but with God of War combat.” It also had an item that shot orange and blue portals.

When it was revealed that a third game would see the light of day, gamers were excited to see the tale for Fury, a sister and fellow horseman to War, from the first game, and Death, from the second. Turns out the game is just underwhelming when compared to its predecessors. It is worth playing if you’re invested in the story, but it feels like there’s far less love or innovation put into the title. You’ll encounter dull enemies, a couple terrible boss fights, uninspired level design, and predictable plot beats that tarnish the series’ reputation.

To top