Diseased Yak
Gold Member
Yeah, this for me as well. Really, really disappointed.
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Your most disappointing game of 2023
- Thread starter jshackles
- Start date
Yeah, this for me as well. Really, really disappointed.
Zuzu
Member
Final Fantasy 16 for me. But my disappointment is more a function of my expectations rather than it being a poor game. It's by no means a bad game and it's better than other big games released this year that I've played (e.g. it's better than Jedi Survivor and a lot better than Starfield) but its story, side questing and RPG mechanics were very disappointing and downright bad in places (especially the side quests). It's such a shallow RPG.
Jedi Survivor was also pretty disappointing. They did little to improve the combat system from the first game. It's still janky and uncoordinated with poor movement and cheating/cheap enemy attacks. The skill tree was boring and lots of skills aren't interesting. I didn't like some of the twists of the story and it left me feeling empty. Exploration is still largely boring (I don't care about collecting cosmetics!)
I wasn't very impressed by the Starfield Direct so Starfield's lacklustre outcome wasn't overly surprising to me. But the level of dullness and lifelessness in that game is a bit surprising. To me it's really quite a nothing experience. There's no life in the characters, the quests or the world. Colourless experience.
One last one. This wasn't released this year, but I just finished Bayonetta 3 the other day. Wow, that's another disappointment. While the combat system is very good, nearly everything else is mediocre. Terribly delivered story, dull main villain, generic and unattractive enemy design, mostly boring Viola & Jeanne missions, Viola isn't an interesting character, far too much visual and audio clutter on screen making fights very hard to follow often, some cheap off-screen enemy attacks, a camera that can't adapt to the size of many of the enemies. And jumping puzzles. What the heck!? This is meant to be a high-octane action game, not a platformer (and you can tell because those puzzles feel janky and unrefined). Not great Platinum.
My ratings for this disappointing bunch:
Final Fantasy 16 - 7/10
Jedi Survivor - 6.5/10
Starfield - 5/10
Bayonetta 3 - 6/10
Jedi Survivor was also pretty disappointing. They did little to improve the combat system from the first game. It's still janky and uncoordinated with poor movement and cheating/cheap enemy attacks. The skill tree was boring and lots of skills aren't interesting. I didn't like some of the twists of the story and it left me feeling empty. Exploration is still largely boring (I don't care about collecting cosmetics!)
I wasn't very impressed by the Starfield Direct so Starfield's lacklustre outcome wasn't overly surprising to me. But the level of dullness and lifelessness in that game is a bit surprising. To me it's really quite a nothing experience. There's no life in the characters, the quests or the world. Colourless experience.
One last one. This wasn't released this year, but I just finished Bayonetta 3 the other day. Wow, that's another disappointment. While the combat system is very good, nearly everything else is mediocre. Terribly delivered story, dull main villain, generic and unattractive enemy design, mostly boring Viola & Jeanne missions, Viola isn't an interesting character, far too much visual and audio clutter on screen making fights very hard to follow often, some cheap off-screen enemy attacks, a camera that can't adapt to the size of many of the enemies. And jumping puzzles. What the heck!? This is meant to be a high-octane action game, not a platformer (and you can tell because those puzzles feel janky and unrefined). Not great Platinum.
My ratings for this disappointing bunch:
Final Fantasy 16 - 7/10
Jedi Survivor - 6.5/10
Starfield - 5/10
Bayonetta 3 - 6/10
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Last Hearth
Member
Yeah, it's Starfield for me. I think I enjoyed it while I played it, but once I put it down and did not play it for a couple of days I had no desire to pick it up again. I did 3 of the factions and got pretty close to the end of the main quest. It's like the video game version of Doritos, all empty calories, and I barely remember any of the characters or the plot or the world because everything was so bland. The galaxy is bland, all the factions are bland, and all the companions are bland. I stopped my BG3 play through to play this game because I wanted to wait for the BG3 patch. But once the BG3 patch 3 came out and I loaded the game to check it out, I had zero desire to go back to Starfield.
FunkMiller
Gold Member
I mean… I have to ask… how much did you actually play? Because the game adds two completely fresh massive areas, and makes substantial changes to the pre-existing one. It also creates entirely new mechanics, which changes both exploration and combat. All of those things add up to more than you’d find in another full price original game. You can spend 40+ hours nowhere near anything from BotW.
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iHaunter
Member
It's a DLC for $60. I played 14 hours and got bored of it. BOTW was fun because it was different. This game still has the stupid Shrine system, but more of the same. They really needed to add more actual dungeons.
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Mossybrew
Member
But but you can put wheels on a plank of wood and make a car! GOTY!
IlGialloMondadori
Member
FFXVI is a boring pile of shit.
FunkMiller
Gold Member
14 hours barely touches any of it. Sounds like you want a more classic dungeon based Zelda, rather than the open world of both games.
iHaunter
Member
I liked BOTW, had about 80 hours in it. Was hoping for something more.
Randall365
Member
Sociable Soccer 24 - I thought it would be SWOS with better graphics and it is some horrible ultimate teams clone with terrible gameplay.
semiconscious
Member
the game's not so much bad as just serious deja vu. you either love the newly added construction mechanics (which you needn't really get into to get through the game) or you don't. otherwise? all you really get is regurgitated breath of the wild with 2 new areas: a small sky area, & a huge, massively ugly underground area, which are, again, mostly optional. & that's basically it...
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Mattdaddy
Gold Member
Has to be Starfield. That was one of my most hyped games ever. I played it for a few days and then just went on to other games and never went back for it.
I honestly don't even remember it came out unless I see a thread for it. It couldnt even stir up any hate real estate in my head. Just mentally went by like someone I passed on the street.
I honestly don't even remember it came out unless I see a thread for it. It couldnt even stir up any hate real estate in my head. Just mentally went by like someone I passed on the street.
MarkMe2525
Member
Redfall as I am a big Arcane fan.
Mozzarella
Member
Diablo 4 BY FAR
El Muerto
Member
Like a Dragon Gaiden for me. Was looking forward to it since it was announced, been a fan since the ps2 days and have all the discs. Felt completely gutted when i played it. Absolutely hate the combat, it feels much worse than the rest of the series. Also can't get into the story at all. The mainline Yakuza games are serious, with some goofy moments on the side. Y7 Like A Dragon has a more goofy tone than serious. LAD Gaiden doesnt know what it is trying to be. Turned it off when the boss showed up shooting laser discs at me. Maybe i'll come back to it and force myself to play it just like the 2nd half of Last of Us 2.
sigmaZ
Member
Hot take: Heavensward is not very good outside a few key moments. I find that FF14 fans often extrapolate a few moments to be indicative of the whole story as having a kind of stockholm syndrome/sunken cost relationship to the characters based upon their personal financial and time investment in the game. Same with stuff like Genshin. People are fine to like what they like, but for me it all feels like fan fiction to me. Amateur writers and their "AND THEN" writing style.
MagiusNecros
Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Heavensward was the xpac that took the most risks and had some degree of nuance to it's combat. It's become dumbed down and streamlined over time. Current XIV's issue with vet players is that it is boring to play. What's amusing to me is Endwalker is both it's greatest and worst expansion.
tomato shrub
Member
well they did have another halfassed port this year. ironically, this reminds me that the pixel remasters were quite disappointing. I even bought the premium physical release and they feel pathetically cheapNot exactly a 2023 game
Bartski
Gold Member
Starfield. But here it’s a me problem, after having very unrealistic expectations. I can see why people like it. I only played few hours of it.
But I did beat Jedi: Fallen Order somehow despite really struggling with it. Should have not released in a state it did, very disappointing.
But I did beat Jedi: Fallen Order somehow despite really struggling with it. Should have not released in a state it did, very disappointing.
It has to be Redfall.
Prey was best game of last gen for me, so seeing them fall so flat on their faces was really not that great...
Starfield was pleasent surprise for me. But I'm not traditional BGS fan. I didn't like Skyrim, hated Fallout 3 and barely played Fallout 4. So I was like "Yeah, I will try it" and I was really surprised how long that game hold me.
Prey was best game of last gen for me, so seeing them fall so flat on their faces was really not that great...
Starfield was pleasent surprise for me. But I'm not traditional BGS fan. I didn't like Skyrim, hated Fallout 3 and barely played Fallout 4. So I was like "Yeah, I will try it" and I was really surprised how long that game hold me.
wyvern_bloodfist
Member
Lords of the Fallen; Piece of shit scam ass live service trash
linko9
Member
I liked FF16 a lot, but I had really high hopes, so that's the winner. Did a lot really well, but some things really poorly; it should have just been an action game with no or minimal sidequests, weapon upgrades, etc., since they put no effort into those "RPG" elements. And they needed to spice up the combat; works fine for half of the first playthrough, but then you just find the "kill everything protocol" and do the same thing in every fight. Great soundtrack though, and looks very nice.
F0rneus
Tears in the rain
Mortal Kombat 1. It's even more poorly animated than MK9 which had the decency to be a great game anyway. Poor single player content, the story is fucking garbage, unfun kombat, characters look bland and ugly, a lot of hampered grinding for content and the cherry on top is 10$ DLC fatalities.
MKX and 11 piss on this trash heap from a great height.
MKX and 11 piss on this trash heap from a great height.
StereoVsn
Member
Starfield is the game that just was super unfortunate for me. Waited for proper Bethesda game to get released since Fallout 4 was somewhat of a disappointment (not going to even go into Fallout 76) and what we got was worse then the said Fallout 4. At least that game properly modded is a decent action survival game (terrible RPG still).
I was just disappointed with everything I saw on Starfield. At least BG3 surpassed my expectations this year.
I was just disappointed with everything I saw on Starfield. At least BG3 surpassed my expectations this year.
foamdino
Member
Close between Starfield and Diablo IV.
But Diablo IV has decent graphics, captures the gothic feel (way better than D3), and I actually enjoyed the story/campaign. I've also replayed it in Season 1 and in Season 2.
Starfield on the other hand, I'm pissed that they promised viability of a melee build but there's no power available to you - going fists only means no weapon scaling, perks are incredibly difficult to unlock as they require things like getting stealth/concealment high enough to gain the sneak attack bonus. Martial arts is rubbish etc etc. The graphics look terrible for a game released on next-gen only, there's no sense of exploration, everything is a loading screen away...
Starfield encouraged me to restart Cyberpunk and see what a real open-world city is like - yeah you don't need a loading screen to get in an elevator.
Starfield is the mos mid, disappointing BGS game ever.
But Diablo IV has decent graphics, captures the gothic feel (way better than D3), and I actually enjoyed the story/campaign. I've also replayed it in Season 1 and in Season 2.
Starfield on the other hand, I'm pissed that they promised viability of a melee build but there's no power available to you - going fists only means no weapon scaling, perks are incredibly difficult to unlock as they require things like getting stealth/concealment high enough to gain the sneak attack bonus. Martial arts is rubbish etc etc. The graphics look terrible for a game released on next-gen only, there's no sense of exploration, everything is a loading screen away...
Starfield encouraged me to restart Cyberpunk and see what a real open-world city is like - yeah you don't need a loading screen to get in an elevator.
Starfield is the mos mid, disappointing BGS game ever.
sigrad
Member
Forza Motorsport. Easy.
Car progression sucks, AI sucks/ is very inconsistent, car livery select menu is absolute dog shit, controller feedback is the worst since rumble triggers were a thing, stunning downgrade to graphics (GT7 looks better almost everywhere) no fucking excuse for this, short "events"
Mostly Loved Starfield. 144 hours. Only second Bethesda game I have beaten. Other is Fallout 3.
Car progression sucks, AI sucks/ is very inconsistent, car livery select menu is absolute dog shit, controller feedback is the worst since rumble triggers were a thing, stunning downgrade to graphics (GT7 looks better almost everywhere) no fucking excuse for this, short "events"
Mostly Loved Starfield. 144 hours. Only second Bethesda game I have beaten. Other is Fallout 3.
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Drizzlehell
Banned
Atomic Heart
Starfield is like a distant second. At least I had some fun with that game. But Atomic Heart was just a chore to play sometimes and there was so much about it that I didn't like that it easily takes the number one spot for me.
Starfield is like a distant second. At least I had some fun with that game. But Atomic Heart was just a chore to play sometimes and there was so much about it that I didn't like that it easily takes the number one spot for me.
Wolfpact1983
Member
Starefield for me.
tommib
Member
Spider-man 2. I was tricked by the scores thinking it would have anything remotely new or innovative. Always the same mob fights for 25 hours. It’s mind-numbing. Same stealth sections. Same everything. Bored to death.
Layers of Fear. Absolutely dreadful. Total waste of money.
But taking into account Spider-Man 2 was 79 EUR, it takes the award for bigger disappointment. I hate it and it’s the last game I’ll buy from the mainstream AAA Sony productions. It soured me on the whole Sony first party approach.
Layers of Fear. Absolutely dreadful. Total waste of money.
But taking into account Spider-Man 2 was 79 EUR, it takes the award for bigger disappointment. I hate it and it’s the last game I’ll buy from the mainstream AAA Sony productions. It soured me on the whole Sony first party approach.
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BbMajor7th
Member
Don't worry, they're working hard to learn from their failures by blaming everyone but themselves; I look forward to learning that TESVI is actually an awesome game because you can spawn 5,000 lettuces inside a log hut and know that they'll still be there hundreds of hours later.