Gaming Most hyped but ultimately disappointing game you’ve played

KirkDuyt

Full Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Messages
24,621
Location
Dutchland
Supports
Feyenoord
It can be tempting to think of certain things as overrated, but most of the time it just boils down to not liking something that a lot of other people adore. Does that make it overrated? No, it just means it isn't for you.

Nintendo can sometimes (ok, often) get a free pass from the professional games media, but if there's one thing you can pretty much bet your house on, it's that every single one of their main IP games is of an incredibly high standard. That still doesn't mean everyone is going to love it though.

Edit: I realize I said almost the exact same thing about Cyberpunk just a few posts ago, without actually using the word overrated. :lol: Sometimes you just don't get certain games I guess.
Yeah, I was not entirely serious, hence the principal Skinner quote :wenger: All these Nintendo IP's are very wel crafted and original games. I just usually don't really enjoy playing them. It's a me thing.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,755
Location
india
Yeah, I was not entirely serious, hence the principal Skinner quote :wenger: All these Nintendo IP's are very wel crafted and original games. I just usually don't really enjoy playing them. It's a me thing.
It’s not just a me thing. A game being well made (in some not all ways) doesn’t mean it’s a masterpiece and developer bias is a real thing. Botw is well made - it’s also extremely bland and lacking in genuine excitement. I’m pushing myself through but it’s not a 10/10 from any angle whatsoever. 8.5/10 so far (but let’s see how well it concludes).

Similarly I loved GTA games growing up but in hindsight every darn edition getting a 10/10 for essentially being a “Rockstar” game beyond reproach is silly.
 

Mr Anderson

Eats, shoots, leaves
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Messages
24,299
Location
Ireland
CrossfireX - looked cool in the build up, played horrific and think it’s servers got binned and all

Halo Infinite - started promising but then failed to deliver updates to keep me interested

For Honor - loved the beta but never got into the game

that’s all that sticks in my head as a casual gamer in terms of one’s that has at least some internal hype about them.
 

GueRed

Full Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Messages
2,890
Location
London
Super Kick-Off (Megadrive) - It got great reviews in all the computer magazines. 9/10 or whatever in Mean Machines but I thought it was rubbish. £34:99 down the drain

PES 2008 (PS3) - So put off by this disaster of a game I stopped playing PES for a couple of years. I know others went to FIFA and never came back.

EFootball 2022 (PS5)
- I enjoyed PES 20 & 21 then this mobile shite came out on the PS5. Disappointed to say the least.
 

BluesJr

Owns the moral low ground
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
9,052
Some of the best games ever dominating this thread.
 

Realist81

Full Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
1,160
Location
Lancashire
Oh wow! Don’t think I’ve spoke to you before on here, but you’re now my favorite poster of all time!:drool: :lol: I absolutely love the music in this game, I actually just did a Jebus Cross with three friends yesterday, and we all agreed the music and mood for the new faction is beyond perfect! It was about time too, since we’ve played A LOT since the HotA mod. No new artifacts so far this time around, but the Factory faction will bring this game back for me in 2024!

It’s the game I’ve played the most in total for sure. Played it when I was 11 yo first time, didn’t really get it but loved it! Then we brought it back first year at Uni and realized it’s a helluva lot of substance underneath the beautiful and brilliant surface.
RedCafe HOMM3 HOTA session when?

I played the hell out of HOMM3, mainly with friends in hotseat or LAN sessions but I seem to be int he minority that enjoyed HOMM4, yeah it wasn't as good as 3 but I liked the multiple heroes per army.
 

KirkDuyt

Full Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Messages
24,621
Location
Dutchland
Supports
Feyenoord
Cities: skylines 2 is cack as well so far. It'll eventually be good Im sure after 700 euro's worth of DLC and a trillion mods though.
 

Handré1990

Full Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
4,819
Location
In hibernation
RedCafe HOMM3 HOTA session when?

I played the hell out of HOMM3, mainly with friends in hotseat or LAN sessions but I seem to be int he minority that enjoyed HOMM4, yeah it wasn't as good as 3 but I liked the multiple heroes per army.
Hot seat and lan is so 1999:p, we do sim-turn until we meet on the map, but yeah, I’m down for a HotA session, as long as you guys get the new update with the Factory faction:D
 

Gringo

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2019
Messages
3,402
Supports
Portugal
As many have said already. PES 2008. It was actually the first time I bought the PC version of PES, it was slightly cheaper at HMV and in my eyes it would be easier to patch and mod. I got home and saw the mess it was, thought it was a bad port over or a specialised PC build. So went back to HMV the next day to exchange it for the PS3 copy, when I got home and saw it was the same, probably the biggest disappointment I've ever had.

I'll also give a shout to Destiny. Me and a buddy had cleared our diaries for release day. I ordered the collectors edition. Expecting a phenomenal story orientated co-op shooter experience. Instead we got a rinse and repeat XP grinding mechanic.
 

P-Ro

"Full Member"
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
Messages
11,353
Location
Salford
Supports
Chelsea and AFC Wimbledon
Fallout 4 - what a piece of shit game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - looks nice and all that but the missions are all either a) find this guy and kill them or b) find this guy and talk to them with the occasional c) do a heist. I know it's the same formula as GTA but the world is far more empty.

All Assassin's Creed games that aren't Black Flag.
 

Herman Toothrot

Full Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2021
Messages
1,756
Fallout 4 - what a piece of shit game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - looks nice and all that but the missions are all either a) find this guy and kill them or b) find this guy and talk to them with the occasional c) do a heist. I know it's the same formula as GTA but the world is far more empty.

All Assassin's Creed games that aren't Black Flag.
You're a monster.
 

Withnail

Full Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Messages
30,126
Location
The Arena of the Unwell
Fallout 4 - what a piece of shit game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - looks nice and all that but the missions are all either a) find this guy and kill them or b) find this guy and talk to them with the occasional c) do a heist. I know it's the same formula as GTA but the world is far more empty.

All Assassin's Creed games that aren't Black Flag.
Black Flag was the first AC I played. I loved it but it's the only one I've bothered finishing. They're all too similar and grindy. I gave Valhalla a good go but it got boring too.
 

SilentWitness

ShoelessWitness
Staff
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
30,531
Supports
Everton
Red Dead Redemption 2 - looks nice and all that but the missions are all either a) find this guy and kill them or b) find this guy and talk to them with the occasional c) do a heist. I know it's the same formula as GTA but the world is far more empty.

All Assassin's Creed games that aren't Black Flag.
RDR2 is a magnificent game. :nono:

Agree regarding AC though. Valhalla was stupidly big and there was absolutely no need for it to be that size. Even worse is that they keep bringing out new content for it.
 

KirkDuyt

Full Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Messages
24,621
Location
Dutchland
Supports
Feyenoord
Fallout 4 - what a piece of shit game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - looks nice and all that but the missions are all either a) find this guy and kill them or b) find this guy and talk to them with the occasional c) do a heist. I know it's the same formula as GTA but the world is far more empty.

All Assassin's Creed games that aren't Black Flag.
Assassin's Creed 2 was fecking brilliant.
 

Pirlo'sBeard

Full Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2013
Messages
1,147
Red Dead Redemption 2 - looks nice and all that but the missions are all either a) find this guy and kill them or b) find this guy and talk to them with the occasional c) do a heist. I know it's the same formula as GTA but the world is far more empty.
The greatest game of all time.
 

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe

Full Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2018
Messages
2,386
All Assassin's Creed games that aren't Black Flag.
Couldn't agree more. Black Flag is the only AC game I managed to complete and even then, the story was a bit of a chore to get through and the dialogue was as dull as ever. The sheer fun of being a pirate and plundering ships was the only thing that kept me interested.

Afrer staying away from the games for years, I thought I'd give Valhalla a go recently and gave up after a few hours of boredom.

Horizon games. I think they’re rubbish, generic and contain way too much dialogue.
The characters in it are rather wooden, however I was a massive fan of the combat. What's not to like about hunting giant robot dinosaurs?!
 

Bebe

Full Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
5,580
Location
The true north.
I actually liked watchdogs when it first came out, think I seen the potential tbh.

Also forbidden west wasn't really hyped much that I remember, just "here's your sequel". Think the graphics were the thing they hyped.
I put it on my list but after reading your comment I sort of agree. I think I personally was just so hyped for it.

Ironically the graphics were the worst thing about it at launch. After about ten minutes of ogling I realized every bit of foliage was shimmering like crazy, and an effect that was supposed to be red dust drifting off plants looked more like digital noise than anything else. I genuinely thought it was supposed to be Aloy's focus thing malfunctioning or something. (they've patched this all now and it's the graphically jaw dropping, bland as feck open world the developers intended)
 

Bebe

Full Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
5,580
Location
The true north.
I usually stick with a game that Ive put 20 odd hours into but I had to quit Starfield. I really did not like it at all

RDR 2 was an amazing looking game and brilliant story and I did finish it but I just didn’t find gameplay to be too enjoyable
You don't enjoy the cutting edge gameplay loop of "ride here, press A to rob bank, ride away quick and hope the physics don't knock down you or your horse for no reason"?

RDR2 is one of my favourite games ever for its story, music, graphics and atmosphere....but it's terrible to actually play.
 

Vidyoyo

The bad "V"
Joined
Jun 12, 2014
Messages
21,350
Location
Not into locations = will not dwell
Don't think it's been mentioned yet but I found Smash Bros. Brawl so much worse than Melee - which I absolutely loved.

The gameplay was slow. Online lag was awful. Fans even went as far to make an unofficial fix for it called Project M.

Edit: They also removed Roy and he was my boy :(
 

Chairman Steve

Full Member
Joined
May 9, 2018
Messages
7,112
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun

I loved the original C&C and loved Red Alert even more, so I was hyped for what was essentially C&C 2. I remember it being announced at the end of the main C&C campaign in a post credit cutscene and it was also in the back of the game manual. I remember buying PC gaming magazines to see the exclusives and screenshots of the game. I remember going on the old Westwood Studios website and navigating to back then a really cool Tiberian Sun themed website, which gave background and lore on GDI and Nod stuff. It showed in game cutscenes screenshots of James Earl Jones and Michael Biehn.

I remember it getting delayed and I think EA had just bought Westwood too. The game came out and while I still liked it enough, I still found it disappointing. Some of the features didn’t make it in and some of the mechanics straight up didn’t work. It took me a while to get used to the post apocalyptic feel of the game (something that when I look at now, looks pretty awesome) and the biggest letdown for me was the skirmish mode. In Red Alert, the AI was able to fight itself as well as you which made it more intresting and fun. In Tiberian Sun, the AI will always target you and I hated it. Games not fun when you’ve set what you think is an 8 player free for all between yourself and 7 AI, and it’s actually a 1v7 handicap where everyone is launching their super weapons at you and throwing infantry every 30 seconds.

I will give it credit for that the post apocalyptic ambience and atmosphere was amazing, and the art and design of the units, structures and world were amazing too. I didn’t appreciate it as a 12 year old kid when I first got it though.
 
Last edited:

YouOnlyLiveTwice

Full Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
5,468
Diablo 3. I played a feck ton of D2, but with d3 i just had no interest in it after finishing the story.
 

amolbhatia50k

Sneaky bum time - Vaccination status: dozed off
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
95,755
Location
india
You don't enjoy the cutting edge gameplay loop of "ride here, press A to rob bank, ride away quick and hope the physics don't knock down you or your horse for no reason"?

RDR2 is one of my favourite games ever for its story, music, graphics and atmosphere....but it's terrible to actually play.
Absolutely. I like RDR2 for those reasons as well but it’s gameplay is poor and stuck in a bygone era.
 

One Night Only

Prison Bitch #24604
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
30,815
Location
Westworld
I put it on my list but after reading your comment I sort of agree. I think I personally was just so hyped for it.

Ironically the graphics were the worst thing about it at launch. After about ten minutes of ogling I realized every bit of foliage was shimmering like crazy, and an effect that was supposed to be red dust drifting off plants looked more like digital noise than anything else. I genuinely thought it was supposed to be Aloy's focus thing malfunctioning or something. (they've patched this all now and it's the graphically jaw dropping, bland as feck open world the developers intended)
Yeah that shimmer was crazy :lol: I tried all sorts to get rid of it, managed it with settings through the TV and the ps combined, about 2 days later they patched it anyway :lol:

I really hope they nail the world a bit more in the 3rd, and stop the characters looking like waxworks ffs. I'll buy the 3rd just because I like taking down robot dinosaurs.
 

Bebe

Full Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
5,580
Location
The true north.
Yeah that shimmer was crazy :lol: I tried all sorts to get rid of it, managed it with settings through the TV and the ps combined, about 2 days later they patched it anyway :lol:

I really hope they nail the world a bit more in the 3rd, and stop the characters looking like waxworks ffs. I'll buy the 3rd just because I like taking down robot dinosaurs.
I couldn't believe they launched it in that state :lol: seems like it was worse on OLEDs than LEDs but still, did nobody boot the game up on a OLED even once before releasing?

As hard as I am on the game, I'll likely do a second playthrough some time this year and see if my opinion changes at all. Unfortunately the worst part of the game for me (after the shimmer) was the story which can't really be patched away.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,315
Location
Dublin
I'll put down Horizon FW too. The world was bland, the characters were weak, the story was nonsense but i expected all that after the first game. Fighting robot dinosaurs felt worse than the first game by orders of magnitude which was my disappointment. Just excessive use of stuns and the elemental system being too wide forcing you back into a pretty thin selection of weapons (which you have to go into a menu to swap around every fight). It was just very annoying to play.
 

Bebe

Full Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2010
Messages
5,580
Location
The true north.
I'll put down Horizon FW too. The world was bland, the characters were weak, the story was nonsense but i expected all that after the first game. Fighting robot dinosaurs felt worse than the first game by orders of magnitude which was my disappointment. Just excessive use of stuns and the elemental system being too wide forcing you back into a pretty thin selection of weapons (which you have to go into a menu to swap around every fight). It was just very annoying to play.
I had a lot of fun using the tripcaster and ropecaster in the first game - I thought that game did a good job of giving me multiple combat strategies that were actually viable.

In HFW I went back to my trusty ropecaster at first and thought I'd focus on some melee to compliment, given how much they'd promoted the improved melee combat before release. It was a complete disaster and I quickly realized the only real combat strategy is to pump the enemy full of whatever elemental attack they were weak to. Just such disappointing design. And yeah, swapping between everything got tedious very quickly.
 

pacifictheme

Full Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2013
Messages
7,739
What’s wrong with dragon quest? I’m thinking of getting it.
I had never played one before but seen a lot of people online say how great the series was. I admittedly played the original PS4 release, but I found the combat very boring for turn based, the enemy models were crap, the music was genuinely shite and the game was very, very long. I stuck with it for a good 40 or 50 hours but I was really slogging it out and I got nowhere near finishing it.

If you want a good jrpg I would recommend octopath traveller 2 or chained echoes that both came out relatively recently and are much better games.
 

rotherham_red

Full Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2005
Messages
7,408
Why is Horizon Forbidden West such a divisive game on here, even from people who enjoyed the first one? I'm about a quarter of the way in and it's been great thus far. Very slow to pick up, just as the first one was but once the story reaches a certain point it sucked me in just as ZD did.
 

quadrant

Full Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2023
Messages
414
Tears of the Kingdom was probably the biggest disappointment in many years. Love the series, loved the first game, both for myself and because it was the first game me and my lad enjoyed together. We were properly hyped for the sequel. I took the day off work, got a new pro-controller in readiness and - meh - it was just like playing the first game with a bunch of mods installed. Same combat, same world, same graphics, just a lot of the stuff had been mixed up and moved around. Doubt I managed more than 50 hours and my boy probably played less than 10.
 

Superunknown

Full Member
Joined
Aug 4, 2019
Messages
8,361
Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun

I loved the original C&C and loved Red Alert even more, so I was hyped for what was essentially C&C 2. I remember it being announced at the end of the main C&C campaign in a post credit cutscene and it was also in the back of the game manual. I remember buying PC gaming magazines to see the exclusives and screenshots of the game. I remember going on the old Westwood Studios website and navigating to back then a really cool Tiberian Sun themed website, which gave background and lore on GDI and Nod stuff. It showed in game cutscenes screenshots of James Earl Jones and Michael Biehn.

I remember it getting delayed and I think EA had just bought Westwood too. The game came out and while I still liked it enough, I still found it disappointing. Some of the features didn’t make it in and some of the mechanics straight up didn’t work. It took me a while to get used to the post apocalyptic feel of the game (something that when I look at now, looks pretty awesome) and the biggest letdown for me was the skirmish mode. In Red Alert, the AI was able to fight itself as well as you which made it more intresting and fun. In Tiberian Sun, the AI will always target you and I hated it. Games not fun when you’ve set what you think is an 8 player free for all between yourself and 7 AI, and it’s actually a 1v7 handicap where everyone is launching their super weapons at you and throwing infantry every 30 seconds.

I will give it credit for that the post apocalyptic ambience and atmosphere was amazing, and the art and design of the units, structures and world were amazing too. I didn’t appreciate it as a 12 year old kid when I first got it though.
Oh man, your post hurts me deep. This is legit one of my favourite games of all time. Played the absolute shit out of this. Dying to play something similar to this now.
 

Redplane

( . Y . ) planned for Christmas
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
10,375
Location
The Royal Kingdom of Trumpistan
Why is Horizon Forbidden West such a divisive game on here, even from people who enjoyed the first one? I'm about a quarter of the way in and it's been great thus far. Very slow to pick up, just as the first one was but once the story reaches a certain point it sucked me in just as ZD did.
I think it's one of two things: it shares a lot of components of a Ubisoft game mixed with Tomb Raider (in other words, the formula doesn't feel as fresh) and the other part of it is probably people who think the game is too "woke".

I enjoyed it a lot personally...once you get past the way too long prologue.
 

Ainu

Full Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
10,140
Location
Antwerp, Belgium
Why is Horizon Forbidden West such a divisive game on here, even from people who enjoyed the first one? I'm about a quarter of the way in and it's been great thus far. Very slow to pick up, just as the first one was but once the story reaches a certain point it sucked me in just as ZD did.
Speaking as someone who enjoyed the first game, the reason I didn't like the second one was because it felt like they overcomplicated everything. Too many types of bows, ammo, skills, components, etc. It felt exhausting.

On top of that - and I admit this might be a skill issue - I found that the increased speed, complexity and aggression of many of the new enemy types went beyond what the combat controls supported. Targetting obscure, tiny weak points on extremely mobile monstrosities stopped being fun quickly for me.

I think I would've enjoyed the game a lot more if they had shown some more restraint across the board. I still don't hate it or anything though, it's without a doubt an incredibly well made and beautiful game, it just has too many design decisions I personally disagree with.
 

One Night Only

Prison Bitch #24604
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
30,815
Location
Westworld
Speaking as someone who enjoyed the first game, the reason I didn't like the second one was because it felt like they overcomplicated everything. Too many types of bows, ammo, skills, components, etc. It felt exhausting.

On top of that - and I admit this might be a skill issue - I found that the increased speed, complexity and aggression of many of the new enemy types went beyond what the combat controls supported. Targetting obscure, tiny weak points on extremely mobile monstrosities stopped being fun quickly for me.

I think I would've enjoyed the game a lot more if they had shown some more restraint across the board. I still don't hate it or anything though, it's without a doubt an incredibly well made and beautiful game, it just has too many design decisions I personally disagree with.
Yeah I've mentioned the stupidly fast aggressive machines before, they're impossible to dodge. Its a massive flaw in the game for me. Plus the absolute horrendous Vs humans combat. They take more feckin damage than the machines FFS.

Game for sure has it's flaws, but it's still great overall, the story is weaker than the first.

The series has huge potential if they fix a few things.

I still play it now and again, haven't done the DLC yet which I will at some point, keep finding new things and new places :lol: it is absolutely stunning.

Great game, got a bashing because it came out the same time as other AAA games which people thought you could only have one great game out at a time and sided with something else.
 

One Night Only

Prison Bitch #24604
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
30,815
Location
Westworld
Decided to jump on FW just now, forgot how long it takes Aloy to get back up after she's been hit by one of those stupid attacks which are near impossible to dodge.