Have you ever been so excited for a game to be released, only to be disappointed? In some cases, over-hyping a game can be a big disadvantage when expectations are not met, and the final product falls short of expectations. You may also receive review attacks because you fail to respond.
These games don't have to be full of glitches or poor gameplay, but they can also be different than what gamers were expecting.
Alien: Colonial Marines
The only downer in the entire Alien series that was marketed as a sequel to a well-made movie. The game felt unfinished and uninspired, especially when compared to previous games in the Alien series.
One glaring problem was the enemy AI, which either didn't recognize the protagonist at all or remained stationary. AI marines will also do stupid things that will annoy you and cause you to die. All of this was due to a typo in the game's coding, and the game will now go down in history as the most embarrassing game in the Alien series.
Gearbox basically spent millions of dollars on a game just to make fun of it. It was going to be a combination of RPG and tactical FPS, and the demo that was released pretty much met everyone's standards. However, when the release date came, the released game was significantly different from the demo, and a lawsuit was filed against the company for misleading advertising.
national anthem
The game was overhyped as a “Destiny killer” and “a game comparable to Mass Effect.” It was a failure from day one, which is sad to see after so much excitement. Anthem was supposed to be the next addicting loot shooter, a unique one with an interesting storyline.
Sadly, what was delivered was a repetitive, dull, and boring game. This game doesn't live up to expectations and is far inferior to other loot shooters like Destiny. Anthem offered lackluster endgame content, with repetitive looting and gameplay with little reward.
At launch, online sales were better than physical sales, but eventually the player base dwindled and everyone left. For fans of router shooters, this game doesn't offer anything new. Also, for newcomers to the genre, this game doesn't offer anything great.
duke nukem forever
After years of being stuck in a loop of development hell, Duke Nukem Forever was ultimately released as a resounding failure. Fans were filled with disappointment upon release, as everyone expected more after years of delays and hype.
The graphics were dated, the gameplay was mediocre, and the attempts at humor were borderline offensive rather than funny. This is exactly what the fans expected the game to be like, but it turned out to be the exact opposite.It wasn't badbut it wasn't wonderful which one. It seemed like a waste of time and effort.
It's one thing to be a terrible game, it's another to be completely average when expectations were sky-high. Developers and publishers should really stop overhyping their games and making promises they can't keep, but that culture doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
Following the success of Pokémon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite aims to recreate the entire AR adventure into a magical adventure. What was supposed to be a spell-casting experience that made me feel like a wizard working at the Ministry of Magic instead ended up feeling frustrating and boring.
Due to its fairly high requirements for a mobile app, the game itself was glitchy and crashed frequently. After a certain point, the whole game started to get boring and repetitive. Cast the same spell over and over again to catch the same creature over and over again. There wasn't as much excitement or fun as promised, and the game simply didn't live up to expectations and never fixed the issues that were keeping fans away from the game.
The game's developers have announced that they plan to officially end the game at the end of January 2022.
lawbreaker
LawBreakers had a great marketing team driving them forward, that's for sure. The game was marketed as a team-based shooter that set itself apart from other games by allowing players to defy gravity. They had an ongoing deal with Twitch streamers to promote the game, but despite that, it fell through.
What was the reason for the incredibly poor performance on the first day? The game itself didn't garner much attention in the vast world of first-person shooters. There are already plenty of games that can replace them, and they have a lot to offer other than low-gravity to zero-gravity arenas. It wasn't getting enough players to keep it going, and it was starting to cost developers a lot of money to maintain.
So it stopped receiving updates and ended up where all forgotten video games end up: a random shelf in a video game storage person's house. Even that game studio didn't get a great response with its other games and was eventually forced to shut down. Now, let's have a moment of silence for what could have been.
cyberpunk 2077
One of the more recent failed release dates, Cyberpunk 2077 was a huge disappointment when it was released. It caused such an uproar that people demanded refunds and refused to play on the broken mess.
Expectations were high, and for good reason. The video game promised a neo-noir cyberpunk open world with crisp graphics, new features, and all kinds of action and crime. Moreover, this game was created by his CD PROJEKT Red, one of the best developers who brought us The Witcher.
Several months after its release, the game is now growing and gaining attention once again, as updates and patches were provided to further fix all the glitches and other critical issues. This is literally one of his best-selling games on Steam at the time of writing. It goes to show that if they had given Cyberpunk more time and not rushed the process, it would have quickly become a beloved game. The refund debacle and bad reviews could have been avoided.
marvel's avengers
You might think that an Avengers video game would do well, considering the Marvel series is a booming series that continues to expand its horizons. But no. Marvel's Avengers was a huge failure because the gameplay was stale and underwhelming, the mechanics were repetitive, and there were only six playable superheroes.
For a game that cost a lot of money to develop and produce, it's surprising that not much came of it. You can't help but want more than what you're given. This release had all sorts of technical issues, and the lack of content was driving people away from the game.
Even the most recent addition of Spider-Man as part of the DLC was severely underwhelming. Spidey is introduced without any story missions, and his character is exclusive to PlayStation users only. This is one game of his and a series of developers that somehow continues to disappoint.
fallout 76
Another case of overhyped false advertising and crazy fan expectations. At the time of its release, Fallout 76 was bare-bones, far from the expectations garnered by the pre-release hype. The amount of ads this game received was insane, with ads everywhere.
All the interesting NPCs, creative quests, and large open worlds to explore are gone. What was supposed to be a fun online experience where you could explore a post-apocalyptic world with your friends, now you can't help but feel like the entire experience has been taken away from you.
As the game itself deteriorated, so did controversy, and almost everyone decided it was better to stay away from it.
We've seen a lot of video game crossovers that seem to have done pretty well, but lately there's been a huge influx of crossovers that involve brawling. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite had the potential to succeed by combining his two biggest existing game series.
Infinite is the sixth game in the series, so while they've had success in the past, unfortunately that wasn't the case this time around. Any plans Capcom had for future releases of this game or his DLC quickly went to waste.
Their downfall lies in the game's characters, which is an important aspect of such brawlers. The character roster lacked playable characters, the character designs were off, and the game quickly died out. The X-Men characters weren't popular enough to sustain the game, so players moved on to other similar, better-planned games instead.
overkills the walking dead
This is going to be a blockbuster, and when it first premiered it looked as promising as Left 4 Dead and Payday combined. Naturally, everyone was excited. However, once the gamer started playing, he realized that he would actually be better off playing Left 4 Dead or Payday games.
The gameplay was repetitive and didn't feel like anything new. That didn't do the Walking Dead franchise justice. To be honest, it's a pretty boring game with tons of technical issues. It stalled soon after its release and was quickly shut down.
Perhaps there was a chance to salvage the game somewhat, but it would have required a lot of overhauls and updates, and clearly wasn't worth it to the game's developers. Naturally, not every game is destined for greatness, even if it's tied to a popular series.
final thoughts
It would be in the collective interest of video game developers and publishers to stop falsely advertising and overhyping their games. It's fine to set expectations if they can be met, but it's one thing to know the final product, it's another to continue to lie to the fanbase until release date.
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