• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

What is the most memorable game that did not live up to your hype?

I actually have two - and it's funny because I know both were very polarizing games. Mine are Bioshock Infinite and Fallout 4. Briefly, here's why:

BSI: This game just felt so much more sterile compared to Bioshock and even Bioshock 2. The gameplay and powers in the first lead to some very dynamic experimental gameplay. I didn't feel that in Bioshock infinite.
Fallout 4: I don't like the take on the post apocalyptic environments.. the world was not gripping.. and I hate the pipe guns (with a passion)...

Share yours 😁

Edit: Honorable mention for GTA V ugh
 
Last edited:

Hugare

Gold Member
MGS V is an easy pick

There's a GOAT game burried in there, and you can easily see it. So frustrating.

A more recent one: FF XVI

Still not finished, I've been very busy lately, but I can already say that it could have been an amazing 20-30h game, but they decided to make a 50-60h game with terrible pacing instead.
 

hououinkyouma00

Gold Member
MGS V is an easy pick

There's a GOAT game burried in there, and you can easily see it. So frustrating.

A more recent one: FF XVI

Still not finished, I've been very busy lately, but I can already say that it could have been an amazing 20-30h game, but they decided to make a 50-60h game with terrible pacing instead.
Are you doing side quests? I skipped all but the mount one and I finished in just under 30 hours.
 
MGS V is an easy pick

There's a GOAT game burried in there, and you can easily see it. So frustrating.

A more recent one: FF XVI

Still not finished, I've been very busy lately, but I can already say that it could have been an amazing 20-30h game, but they decided to make a 50-60h game with terrible pacing instead.
I never played MGSV bc I worried it would sully the series for me. MGS4 was a fine ending for me.

And I wouldn't know about FFXVI bc it wouldn't work on my PS5 🥴
 

Hugare

Gold Member
Are you doing side quests? I skipped all but the mount one and I finished in just under 30 hours.
Not anymore

Reached a point in the game where the main quests already feel like side content, so f*ck sidequests

That "get the stolen pass back from a kid" and "go rescue your friends from infected enemies" 1-2 combo of bad quests ruined me

Now I'm even skipping dialogue to reach the next story beat where they've actually put some budget/effort

I never played MGSV bc I worried it would sully the series for me. MGS4 was a fine ending for me.

And I wouldn't know about FFXVI bc it wouldn't work on my PS5 🥴
Eh, MGS V was a prequel. So I say go for it.

It isnt bad, its quite enjoyable. But it hurts when you think about what it could've been.
 

ssringo

Member
It's funny you mention Bioshock Infinite. I was excited for the game and quite enjoyed it until some point towards the end where I realized I just wasn't enjoying it anymore. I finished the game and never touched it again; even when the story DLC released. So, it lived up to to my hype until it didn't.

The most recent one was Bayonetta 3. I love Bayonetta 1 and 2 and have bought each release on the various platforms. I went into Bayo 3 knowing the performance wouldn't be great but it wound up feeling worse than I thought. I also didn't vibe to Bayonetta herself like in past games and Viola's combat was just not fun. Jeanne's segment was neat the first time and a massive drag after that. And it turns out
watching variations of Bayonetta, a character you like (and some of which looked awesome), getting unceremoniously killed repeatedly
just feels bad. Dropped it well before the end (thank goodness for that, the ending sounded awful as well) and almost certainly won't bother giving it another chance with the inevitable "next gen" port as it kinda killed my interest in the franchise. *thumbs up*
 
Final Fantasy 6.
Heard from everybody that it's one of the best games ever made, and so on... I tried it.

And I acknowledge its legacy and importance in the series and gaming in general, but... Man.

I really didn't like ANY of the characters in that game, besides Gau and Edgar.

Celes I almost did, but after she kinds of falls in love with Locke, a character that treated her like a child the whole game, she just fell off for me.

Characters are a make it or break it deal for me in RPGs. And in the case of FF6, it broke it.

The music is fantastic, the gameplay is some of the best in the series, the art direction is great as always.
But the characters are just SO bland to me. Specially after FF5, where the main characters were PERFECT.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Uncharted 2.

I took my blinders off that day. I understood the ignorance of everyone around me thanks to that god awful train level. In a sense, I owe Naughty Dog for turning me into the gamer I am today.
 
Uncharted 2.

I took my blinders off that day. I understood the ignorance of everyone around me thanks to that god awful train level. In a sense, I owe Naughty Dog for turning me into the gamer I am today.
No way, that was actually one of the better parts of Uncharted 2. If anything, it was the Shangri-La area that felt more tedious and that bullet sponge natives there. Not to mention how restrictive it is considering how grand outside your level scope.
 

marjo

Member
Trespasser. I remember reading a preview for it in and thought that it sounded incredible. When I finally got to play it, I felt completely deflated.
 

stickkidsam

Member
Final Fantasy XV

I enjoyed a lot of what it had going on. Little bits of story here and there were pretty badass or hit ya in the feels. It was cool seeing the gang hangout. There was a really well done dynamic there. The combat was also really fun! Jumping between enemies or juggling the different legendary weapons ya collected across the map felt stylish and smooth (those animations god DAMN). I even enjoyed some of the open world. Particularly riding around on Chocobos and just taking in the scenery.

The game as a whole just felt like a letdown compared to what we knew (or at least had an idea of) it could've been. Even taken by itself, the story feels like it starts to rush things halfway through. By the last quarter of the game you're just being shoved through a pipe to the ending and many things feel underdeveloped or just come out of nowhere. Boss battles while awesome in scale, felt mechanically shallow, and the exploration of the world feels less and less worth it. Might be part of why it railroads you with the Regalia.

I never went back to play the game after my first try so maybe the Royal Edition can make the game feel more whole. I doubt it'll stop me wishing we could've seen that epic trilogy.
 
  • Empathy
Reactions: Gp1

Pimpbaa

Member
MGS2. The insufferable dialog between jack and rose. I just want to save the game bitch! Plus Raiden is so goddamn lame (who later became cool in Metal Gear Revengeance). I wish the whole game was like the prologue with Snake. A lot of people are saying MGSV, but that game is one of the most polished unfinished game ever. It just plays so goddamn well. If only they could have finished the story properly.
 

ZehDon

Gold Member
The Last of Us, easily. "The greatest story ever written", "The best game ever made". Or so I was told. Goes to show how poorly read video game reviewers and gamers are. What I found was a cliche story whose best ideas were stolen from Robert Kirkman and Cormac McCarthy, incessantly padded with lackluster and tired gameplay lifted from better games.
 
Last edited:

SpiceRacz

Member
3976003-enter-the-matrix-playstation-2-front-cover.jpg
 
I can't say many games are genuinely a let down, or failed to live up to the hype, as I'm usually quite studious as regards checking out reviews, videos, gameplay etc... before I make a purchase.

Ironically, the most recent game that I felt that way about, which was over hyped, ended up being one of my favourite games of recent years.

It was Resident Evil 4 Remake.

I bought it at release, got to the multi platform area with the villagers after you first meet the Merchant, and kept getting overwhelmed.
I just couldn't click with the way Leon felt to handle, the enemies seemed too strong, and I turned it off.
I decided to get a refund and buy something else...which ended up being the Dead Space Remake.

A few days later I watched a gameplay video, saw some walkthrough footage, and thought I'd been a bit hasty, and that maybe I should give it one more try, so I layed out another £60 and repurchased Resi 4 Remake.

Best decision, as it turned into a fantastic experience and a genuine classic.

It's the only game I've ever played through and then immediately began another playthrough.
 
Last edited:
MGS2. The insufferable dialog between jack and rose. I just want to save the game bitch! Plus Raiden is so goddamn lame (who later became cool in Metal Gear Revengeance). I wish the whole game was like the prologue with Snake. A lot of people are saying MGSV, but that game is one of the most polished unfinished game ever. It just plays so goddamn well. If only they could have finished the story properly.
MGS was such an unbelievable leap in voice acting, narrative, and clever stealth/action game mechanics that it became one of my all-time favorite games back in 1998. MGS2, however...god, it reminds me of what happens to auteur projects when no one is empowered to tell the creator "no" anymore.
 
Has to be CP2077, As the others above me have stated. lost interest due to how much of a mess things got with it's launch kinda just put me off.

Good luck to them selling the DLC. I guess if one Major hollywood actor isn't enough throw another one at it :|
 
Last edited:

Dr.Morris79

Gold Member
1sJgisX.jpg


Utter tripe. After playing and loving the rest of the series only to be served up this plate of cold dog turd I was bewildered at how the devs could miss the very mark of what made ALL their other games classics..

I took it back to the shop the next day, disgusted.
 

Matt_Fox

Member
The last two God of War games.

It used to be one of the most exciting, ballsy and fresh-feeling series in gaming, but the blood-pumping arcade hack n' slash has been replaced by endless low key downbeat cut scenes and conversations in empty environments.

Everyone else seems to love them though, so maybe that's what people want these days.
 
Bioshock. Not a bad game, but an absolute failure as a spiritual successor to System Shock.

Also all Blizzard games after WOTLK. Overwatch is kind of an exception, since it was legitimately amazing for about a year, but it was all downhill from there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fuz
It's funny you mention Bioshock Infinite. I was excited for the game and quite enjoyed it until some point towards the end where I realized I just wasn't enjoying it anymore. I finished the game and never touched it again; even when the story DLC released. So, it lived up to to my hype until it didn't.

The most recent one was Bayonetta 3. I love Bayonetta 1 and 2 and have bought each release on the various platforms. I went into Bayo 3 knowing the performance wouldn't be great but it wound up feeling worse than I thought. I also didn't vibe to Bayonetta herself like in past games and Viola's combat was just not fun. Jeanne's segment was neat the first time and a massive drag after that. And it turns out
watching variations of Bayonetta, a character you like (and some of which looked awesome), getting unceremoniously killed repeatedly
just feels bad. Dropped it well before the end (thank goodness for that, the ending sounded awful as well) and almost certainly won't bother giving it another chance with the inevitable "next gen" port as it kinda killed my interest in the franchise. *thumbs up*
That disappoints me. I played Bayo 1 for the first time this year and loved it so much. I wanted to play 2 and 3 but I really can't stand the switch controller and joysticks. Oh well. Shame that it didn't live up to hype. That change in voice actor is probably weird too.
 
I can't say many games are genuinely a let down, or failed to live up to the hype, as I'm usually quite studious as regards checking out reviews, videos, gameplay etc... before I make a purchase.

Ironically, the most recent game that I felt that way about, which was over hyped, ended up being one of my favourite games of recent years.

It was Resident Evil 4 Remake.

I bought it at release, got to the multi platform area with the villagers after you first meet the Merchant, and kept getting overwhelmed.
I just couldn't click with the way Leon felt to handle, the enemies seemed too strong, and I turned it off.
I decided to get a refund and buy something else...which ended up being the Dead Space Remake.

A few days later I watched a gameplay video, saw some walkthrough footage, and thought I'd been a bit hasty, and that maybe I should give it one more try, so I layed out another £60 and repurchased Resi 4 Remake.

Best decision, as it turned into a fantastic experience and a genuine classic.

It's the only game I've ever played through and then immediately began another playthrough.
Remakes get a bad wrap, but RE4 and Dead Space are the best re.akes I've ever played
 

SenkiDala

Member
BOTW was just ok for me, I love the Zelda series so I was disappointed.
TOTK... I wanted to believe again but no it's also boring.
FFXVI, cannot believe how the game is average / mediocre in every field, FF is my favorite series and they never disappointed me (yes even XIII and XV) but XVI just the definition of "a shallow game".

And honestly that's about it, I play since early 1990s and the 3 games that disappointed me cam out quite recently... I know what I like, what I'll love so it is hard for me to be disappointed but yes it happened with those games.
 
Most memorable....nothing really sticks out.
But a very recent example would be FFXVI. A visually shizophrenic game going from next gen visuals all the way down to PS3 era graphics in the span of 5 minutes and with a quest and level design directly out of the MMORPG garbage can.
 
Last edited:

Hudo

Member
Destiny 1 and 2. Probably my biggest gaming disappointments. And I fucking gave Destiny 1 many chances. I wanted to like the game but every time I played it, I was like "..is that it?". They promised the fucking world when they promoted and presented that game. And didn't deliver. And I really like the art design and the gunplay, so it's really just a fucking shame. And Destiny 2 was me thinking "alright, they've learnt from their mistakes. Now they're gonna deliver what they've promised Destiny to be.". Nope. They just went full-on looter shooter and made clear that none of the initial ambitions mattered anymore. Makes sense for them... but so much wasted potential.

Other than that... I was pretty hyped about Witcher 3 and that turned out to be a disappointment for me. The UI navigation and general user experience was horrible. And the combat was mediocre at best. I just didn't have any fun playing the game.

The most disappointing thing where I had no hype beforehand (because you could see that this was gonna be a train wreck from a mile away) was Command & Conquer 4. Fuck you, EA.

Edit: Actually, WarCrat 3: Reforged. I was hyped as fuck for this as well. And it turned out to be the worst remake ever made.
 
Last edited:
Destiny 1 and 2. Probably my biggest gaming disappointments. And I fucking gave Destiny 1 many chances. I wanted to like the game but every time I played it, I was like "..is that it?". They promised the fucking world when they promoted and presented that game. And didn't deliver. And I really like the art design and the gunplay, so it's really just a fucking shame. And Destiny 2 was me thinking "alright, they've learnt from their mistakes. Now they're gonna deliver what they've promised Destiny to be.". Nope. They just went full-on looter shooter and made clear that none of the initial ambitions mattered anymore. Makes sense for them... but so much wasted potential.

Other than that... I was pretty hyped about Witcher 3 and that turned out to be a disappointment for me. The UI navigation and general user experience was horrible. And the combat was mediocre at best. I just didn't have any fun playing the game.

The most disappointing thing where I had no hype beforehand (because you could see that this was gonna be a train wreck from a mile away) was Command & Conquer 4. Fuck you, EA.

Edit: Actually, WarCrat 3: Reforged. I was hyped as fuck for this as well. And it turned out to be the worst remake ever made.
I definitely get you on destiny and Witcher 3.. I know people love them but they didn't do it for me
 

GZ!

Member
OoT...

Was so disappointed in the hyrule field, felt very empty when compared with my fave, ALttP, in comparison.

Dungeons, music, everything else was fine.
 
Top Bottom