Summary
Given how breakneck the gaming industry has become, it’s easy to see why the pressure of deadlines and shareholder expectations can get to certain developers. In a bid to make a title that makes everyone happy, these titles end up appeasing no one when they are launched.
However, some games got the short end of the stick and had to win back fan approval by making the strengths of their game more apparent than ever. Eventually, the bad PR surrounding these games dissipated as fans realized thatthese video games deserved more of their love and attentionthan they initially gave.
During a time when players were getting somewhat tired of zombie games,Days Gonefailed to make a huge splash. The story took way too long to get going, and the game’s technical issues were on full display at launch.
However, over time, fans grew to appreciate the Freaker Horde mechanic and the title’s interesting gameplay loops, with some being more engaging than others. As a result, people finally started praisingDays Gone, and the fact that this game is getting a remaster hopefully means that players will give it a fair chance this time around.
Even beforeHogwarts Legacyreleased, the game was bombarded with negative statements because of J.K. Rowling. Her controversial stances led many people to say that they would boycott this game and prevent it from being a success.
This could’ve been the case ifHogwarts Legacywas disappointing, but fans were more than pleased by what was comfortably the bestHarry Pottergame in a long time.The combat system was a crowning jeweland let players use spell combos to great effect, while Hogwarts itself was as magical to explore as most fans expected.
After stewing in developmental hell for an unreasonably long time, fans couldn’t help but have mixed opinions aboutFinal Fantasy 15when it finally released. As charming as the game’s setting and its characters were, the weird combat system and a borderline unfinished story didn’t sit right with many fans.
Thankfully, Square Enix proceeded to work on an updated version of this title with better gameplay loops, expanded areas, and inclusions to help the story stand out. It may be far from a perfect experience, but the fact that players have warmed toFinal Fantasy 15shows that this game has done a decent job of salvaging its reputation.
The torrid launch ofFallout 76is something that many fans are aware of. The lack of NPCs made the world feel lifeless, with the core combat and story being far from engaging enough to make up for this deficit.
However, like most multiplayer games, Bethesda supported this title with numerous updates and expansions that added most of the things that fans wanted. The addition of NPCs meant that players didn’t have to read terminals to understand the story, and the expanded content allowed players to explore some fascinating locations inFalloutlore.
Death Strandingseemed destined for greatness, only for fans to find out that this title is essentially a glorified walking simulator. This definition, as reductive as it may be, led many players to either ignore or derideDeath Strandingat launch.
Kojima’s brilliance was so ahead of its time that it took years before fans finally grew to appreciate the different things that this title was trying. It may not seem all that great for players to operate as Couriers, but people who buy into this gameplay loop will lovehow bizarre yet interesting the world and its story areas they slowly but surely make progress.
Obsidian Entertainment had a bad habit of releasing games with so many bugs that it became impossible to appreciate the final product. Such was the case withFallout: New Vegas, which was littered with so many issues that players were too frustrated to appreciate its brilliance.
Contemporary reviews for this game speak for themselves, with many fans agreeing thatFallout: New Vegasis one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Both official and unofficial patches will eliminate most of the game’s biggest bugs and let fans enjoy the quality of both the base game and its lauded expansions.
No Man’s Skyis the poster child of how a hyped video game can turn its reputation around even after a horrid launch. It was rightly criticized for the many lies told in the marketing, but Sean Murray and his team should be praised for not letting the negative reception overwhelm them.
Instead, they put their heads down and slowly but surely turnedNo Man’s Skyinto the greatest exploration-focused open-world game forplayers who want to traverse space. The sheer amount of content in this relaxing title is so immense that players can lose themselves in the title for hundreds of hours as they strive to reach the center of the galaxy.
Thehype forCyberpunk 2077was through the roof, which is why the title’s broken launch aggravated many fans. It was a catastrophically bad launch, the likes of which had never been seen in the gaming industry, but CD Projekt Red refused to let the legacy of this game fade because of a rushed launch.
Instead, they did a valiant job of ironing out all the bugs and adding content to make up for their false promises. The cherry on top of this redemption arc wasPhantom Liberty, which came with Update 2.0 to cementCyberpunk 2077’s turnaround as one of the greatest RPGs ever made.
