To be fair that one tiny sentence is sandwiched between some giant pictures/gifs
Can you think back to a time where an upcoming game was a guaranteed slam dunk in your mind only to see your reality shattered right before your eyes?
- Thread starter Doctrine Dark
- Start date
I was convinced as a kid that Super Smash Bros. Brawl would be the greatest game ever made. Oh my god, a story mode where all my favourite Nintendo characters will meet and team up?! --> The story mode ended up being not that amazing. Stage builder? Infinite replayability! --> The stage builder was pretty limited and not as ground-breaking as I hoped. I mean not to mention that the gameplay was slower and didn't feel as good as Melee. Probably not as bad as the X-Men game in the OP though lol.
The original trailer when it was Paper Mario 3DS made it look like the sequel to 64/TTYD we had all been waiting for. I remember GameXplain had a hands on preview where they really hyped up the card system. Then I actually got the game. It's pretty, at least.
MOO3 was my first bone chilling glimpse into the foul dark eldricth reality that underlies our apparent reality.
Dragon Age 2, it was the last time I ever pre-ordered a Bioware game if not the last game I pre-ordered.
SMTV - gorgeous, fast, 3D, with the same battle system we've come to love. It seemed it was going to be an even more interesting Nocturne!
And the actual game just drained the joy out of everything. Exploring sucked and puzzles were non-existent, the story was empty... just horrifically underwritten, and worst of all, the gameplay felt absolutely atrocious. I didn't know I could dislike press turn but here we are. Husband keeps insisting I go back to it so he can see the rest, but just nah.
And the actual game just drained the joy out of everything. Exploring sucked and puzzles were non-existent, the story was empty... just horrifically underwritten, and worst of all, the gameplay felt absolutely atrocious. I didn't know I could dislike press turn but here we are. Husband keeps insisting I go back to it so he can see the rest, but just nah.
I'm currently beyond hooked on this game. LTTP, I know. I was actually the opposite, barely saw pre-release marketing, but eventually played the Director's Cut when it was included with PS+ and loving it
This one for me.
I sensed trouble in screen caps and early footage but had hopes the final product would bring the same magic.
This is a good one too. People were begging for an open world Mirror's Edge for years. Literal years. What they put out was just so.... Mediocre. Not even bad necessarily. Just..... nothing.
Final Fantasy XV.
I waited for so long…
I read so many interviews…
I watched the trailers so many times…
I listened to the concert…
I watched the anime…
I watched the film…
I ordered the special edition…
…then I finally played the game.
I was so disappointed I think I actually started to like the entire medium less afterwards.
I waited for so long…
I read so many interviews…
I watched the trailers so many times…
I listened to the concert…
I watched the anime…
I watched the film…
I ordered the special edition…
…then I finally played the game.
I was so disappointed I think I actually started to like the entire medium less afterwards.
Although it turned sour just before release, I was pretty much all-In on SimCity (Online)
I believed the "by doing this on servers we can do better simulations" thing.
When in fact that games basically uses a very simple fluid sim to do traffic, and people don't even live in houses. They sleep in houses, go to work, and drive home to the nearest available house. Also it just lies about numbers. Once you get past a certain point it just makes up population numbers.
Add to the fact that it was a top 5 worst online launch, servers constantly down.
I believed the "by doing this on servers we can do better simulations" thing.
When in fact that games basically uses a very simple fluid sim to do traffic, and people don't even live in houses. They sleep in houses, go to work, and drive home to the nearest available house. Also it just lies about numbers. Once you get past a certain point it just makes up population numbers.
Add to the fact that it was a top 5 worst online launch, servers constantly down.
Quake 2 is a huge one for me. It was fine, don't get me wrong, but was also a notorious step-back from what the first game (and particularly its Quakeworld version) accomplished. Fortunately it came out in between Quake 1 and 3 within only a 3-year time span between all of them, so there was always good Quake to be played.
But we all expected a real leap and it just didn't happen. They emphasized the single-player with Q2 which was a bonkers and somewhat confusing notion given that Quake's hallmark at the time was its top-of-the-class multiplayer. And Q2 was a much slower game beyond its focus on SP, which again was odd when Quake was known for its gameplay speed.
Quake 2's reputation has improved over time largely because people enjoy the single-player and it's had interesting updates like ray-tracing, but if you were enamored with Quake 1 at the time, it was a staggering disappointment. It's no coincidence they ditched SP entirely with Quake 3, focusing entirely on the franchise's bread and butter.
But we all expected a real leap and it just didn't happen. They emphasized the single-player with Q2 which was a bonkers and somewhat confusing notion given that Quake's hallmark at the time was its top-of-the-class multiplayer. And Q2 was a much slower game beyond its focus on SP, which again was odd when Quake was known for its gameplay speed.
Quake 2's reputation has improved over time largely because people enjoy the single-player and it's had interesting updates like ray-tracing, but if you were enamored with Quake 1 at the time, it was a staggering disappointment. It's no coincidence they ditched SP entirely with Quake 3, focusing entirely on the franchise's bread and butter.
Saints Row Reboot. To be fair, I haven't played it myself yet, but everything I've seen and heard about it since it's release has looked/sounded awful.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla. I really enjoyed Odyssey, and was super excited to play Valhalla. Only to hate almost everything about it.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla. I really enjoyed Odyssey, and was super excited to play Valhalla. Only to hate almost everything about it.
brah, I loved Brink. I played it for awhile after it was a critical failure
I guess what I'm trying to say is you have great taste and all the critics are dumb
I'm going to be controversial and say Elden Ring. I really enjoyed the first few hours but then some really dumb design decisions I didn't enjoy reared their head and completely changed my enjoyment of the game. (Mainly personal preferences about needlessly-labyrinthian level design, I don't feel like arguing about it anymore, I'm aware a lot of people really liked that about the game)
But I guess if you mean something that was clearly bad right off the bat, I idiotically had high hopes for Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier lmao
But I guess if you mean something that was clearly bad right off the bat, I idiotically had high hopes for Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier lmao
It shouldn't have been possible for Cyberpunk 2077 to be underwhelming and/or terrible, but somewhere between Witcher 3 and CP2077 CD Projekt Red lost sight of who they were.
Also sorry to always talk about CP2077, I'm evidently having a hard time getting through the grieving process. We badly need an open-world SF FPS game with heart.
Also sorry to always talk about CP2077, I'm evidently having a hard time getting through the grieving process. We badly need an open-world SF FPS game with heart.
I had very little experience with the proper SMT franchise and I personally bounced off of SMTV after working up a lot of excitement for the game.
I expected the story to be way more involved and interesting, and that ended up being the major disappointment for me.
Probably my most recent "this looks like it'll appeal to me a lot" to "nah this isn't for me at all actually."
That said, my feelings aren't as harsh as the OP on SMTV nor do I think the game deserves really hard feelings. The game itself is actually fine but it had very little of the qualities that I had hoped to get out of it.
I expected the story to be way more involved and interesting, and that ended up being the major disappointment for me.
Probably my most recent "this looks like it'll appeal to me a lot" to "nah this isn't for me at all actually."
That said, my feelings aren't as harsh as the OP on SMTV nor do I think the game deserves really hard feelings. The game itself is actually fine but it had very little of the qualities that I had hoped to get out of it.
Super Mario Sunshine
I loved Mario 64 as a kid, so I was hyped af for the follow up...
... only for it to be my most hated 3D Mario
I loved Mario 64 as a kid, so I was hyped af for the follow up...
... only for it to be my most hated 3D Mario
Endwalker if expansions count. The thought that it could be bad was incomprehensible to me and I thought it'd be the easiest slam dunk and an amazing ending to FFXIV. Biggest gaming disappointment I've ever felt. Everything about the final area was just so dull and went hard into bad anime writing, culminating in a crappy Naruto vs Sasuke esque fight hilariously shoved into your face at the end.
I have way too many issues, namely with the characters, but it's still hard to believe how bad I was let down.
I have way too many issues, namely with the characters, but it's still hard to believe how bad I was let down.
Assassin's Creed III for me. After the original disappointment of 1, then how engrossed I was with the Ezio games, I couldn't believe how much I didn't enjoy III.
Cyberpunk. Remember how hype people were when they did behind the scene presentation and we only got second hand impressions from the press?
I loved Resident Evil. I fucking love dinosaurs. This was made specifically for me and it did not disappoint. I know this thread is for personal disappointments but nothing fits "slam dunk" for me better than this game.
Dark Souls 2 . I thought, hey I really liked Demon's Souls and absolutely loved Dark Souls so this one should be orgasmic! Boy was i fucking wrong
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Metroid Other M was the most recent game to blindside me in the expectations vs reality matchup, and thankfully that was 12 years ago. I rarely buy games new anymore.
Phantasy Star Universe hurt me the most though, PSO is is my favorite game ever and the semi-sequel (this was years before PSO2 existed) did just about everything wrong.
Phantasy Star Universe hurt me the most though, PSO is is my favorite game ever and the semi-sequel (this was years before PSO2 existed) did just about everything wrong.
Edit: didn't read the OP
Then Castlevania Lord of Shadows 2
The trailer had my hype through the roof and then we got what we got…Never have I been so burnt by a game!!!😩
Edit 2: Yes I have!! Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a new World was fucking horrible!!!! I came to play a tales game not Pokemon….and none of the returning cast was fully playable!?!?!? How do you fuck this up so bad!?!?!? No wonder it's not getting a remaster like the first; no one wants that game to exist!!!
Then Castlevania Lord of Shadows 2
The trailer had my hype through the roof and then we got what we got…Never have I been so burnt by a game!!!😩
Edit 2: Yes I have!! Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a new World was fucking horrible!!!! I came to play a tales game not Pokemon….and none of the returning cast was fully playable!?!?!? How do you fuck this up so bad!?!?!? No wonder it's not getting a remaster like the first; no one wants that game to exist!!!
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