Avid gamers definitely remember 2010 as a year that marked the beginning of some of the gaming industry’s most innovative, revolutionary and visually-stunning video games. Some of the most jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring games followed one after the other in just a little under a decade since 2010. These games paved the way for most of the successful games we see in stores today, from action adventure games to first-person shooters and everything in between. These games took gaming to the next level by introducing new innovative game mechanics, complex narrative and over-the-top visuals that set the standards for games to come in the years ahead.
There’s no question that the past seven years or so has been quite significant for the gaming industry. Sure, there had been plenty of wonderfully-crafted game titles that were released since 2010, but at the same time, it’s hard to ignore the fact that there were also some video game blunders along the way. While some games helped push the industry forward, there were still some titles that held it back. Some of these unsuccessful games were so uninspired that it seemed like they were ripping off ideas from other titles instead of contributing something entirely new.
There are games that were simply marketed poorly while other games took a direction that’s different from what the fans had expected, which ultimately led to disappointment. After all, it’s easy for a game to become a victim to its own ambition especially when it tries to aim higher than it can achieve. Here are 20 games of the 2010s that simply failed to live up to their hype along with 10 video game masterpieces that helped revolutionize modern day gaming.
30 Worst: Undesired Effect (Mass Effect: Andromeda)
It was easy for Mass Effect: Andromeda to garner a whole lot of hype considering the success of its previous games, not to mention the massive success of the Mass Effect series in general, from books to comics. With that said, it was only natural for fans to assume that the next game will be just as good, if not better, than the previous games in the series. Unfortunately, fans got a massive disappointment instead, as the game was anything but spectacular. Fans were expecting the game to be a stellar package, but got a mundane and dull experience instead. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the game received an abysmal rating from the gamers themselves who criticized the the game for not living up to their expectations.
The stars certainly failed to align in this game.
Furthermore, GameSpot.only gave the game a 6 out of 10 score citing its lack of quest variety, uninspired characters and technical issues as its main flaws. Of course, these aren’t the only issues that the game faced since it also suffered from a bug that turned the game into a laughing stock of the gaming community. Mass Effect: Andromeda was subjected to internet jokes after gamers found out that it initially had some awkward, unnatural and ridiculous-looking animations. Gamers came up with a slew of memes that poked fun of the game’s bizarre animations, talk about adding insult to injury!
29 Worst: Spider Sense Failing (Spider-Man: Edge of Time)
Every Spider-Man game faces the monumental challenge of properly portraying the iconic web-swinging superhero in a video game that should give Spidey some justice. Game developers who take on any Spider-Man game also have to take on the massive expectations of Spidey’s already large fan base. However, the 2011 action-adventure game Spider-Man: Edge Of Time failed to captivate its audience with its mediocrity. While the game did have some impressive visuals, some felt like it was a big rehash of its predecessor Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. According to IGN, the game felt like a lazy sequel which would have fared better if it was a downloadable content instead of a full-blown game.
The critic review highlighted the game’s repetitive gameplay and uninspired visuals which led to a measly 4.5 out of 10 score. Another critic review only gave the game a 6 out of 10 for basically the same issues such as dull combat gameplay coupled with its drab environments, according to GameSpot. After all, creating a gratifying Spider-Man experience through a video game isn’t easy especially when it’s trying to surpass a predecessor that has a much better premise. Unfortunately, even Spidey failed to sense that this sequel wasn’t going to top his last performance.
28 Best: It’s Legendary (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)
The year 2011 was certainly a great one for gaming and this was when one of the most popular man-cave-inducing action-roleplaying game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released. What this game brought to the table was more than just hours of gameplay. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that players could basically play the game forever given its dynamic, ever-changing quest system and its plethora of character customization options. Despite its technical flaws, it is still hard to discredit this game for its technological achievement of making a simple game seem like it’s larger than life.
Not even an arrow to the knee could hinder this game’s massive success.
Sure, the game might not be perfect, but it came with so much entertainment value that it’s easy to look past its shortcomings. From crafting the perfect hero from scratch to exploring the game’s massive region that’s teeming with life and activities, there’s always something that’s worth delving into in this game. According to Metacritic, the game garnered an impressive 94 rating from game critics as well as an equally impressive score from the gaming populace. After all, this game can turn average Joes into humanity’s last hope, the mythical hero known as the Dragonborn. What’s not to like about that?
27 Worst: Imitation Is Flattery (Dante’s Inferno)
When the 2010 action game Dante’s Inferno was first released, it had gameplay that looked quite familiar somehow. Gamers who played Dante’s Inferno’s opening segment felt like they were playing another game instead of playing something entirely new and fresh. This was because the game borrowed a lot of game mechanics from the popular God Of War franchise. Of course, this doesn’t mean that Dante’s Inferno was a terrible game since it still does have its shining moments, particularly in its stunning visuals and eye-catching aesthetic design. Dante’s Inferno treads on a fine line between being a God Of War homage and a shameless rip-off.
However, the game had so much hype behind it and gamers were expecting something more than what the game actually offered. According to GameSpot, the game ended up becoming a “repetitive and uninspired adventure” which led to them giving it an underwhelming 6.5 score. It also didn’t help that the game was over-hyped and constantly marketed prior to its release, that gamers were filled with enormous expectations which the game failed to fill in the end. The game was still a decent title that had plenty of visceral combat and gratifying visual effects, but at the same time, it had a lot of untapped potential that the game wasn’t able to utilize. What fans got was a God Of War clone that had skins and textures that were inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy instead of Greek mythology.
26 Worst: Bigger Isn’t Always Better (Agents of Mayhem)
Game developer Volition tried to improve on the formula of their hit game franchise Saints Row by introducing a game that had an even bigger playable cast. Unfortunately, the 2017 open world game Agents of Mayhem resulted in a mediocre and dull game that failed to bring life back to the Saints Row series. The game might seem like a homage to the hero shooter genre, but it basically still feels like a Saints Row game, minus the series’ charm and signature humor, that is. Sure, Agents of Mayhem could still be a fun game to play given its entertainingly explosive gameplay and massive cast of heroes to choose from.
However, it removed some elements that made the Saints Row series so memorable. According to Polygon, the game failed to showcase the fun-filled humor and colorful dialogue that the series was known for. Instead, the game’s dialogue was heavily criticized for being “bland beyond belief.” Another issue that Agents of Mayhem had was that it also came with a bevy of bugs and glitches all packaged in a game that was described as “broken and repetitive,” according to GameSpot. The Saints Row series put in a lot of effort to differentiate itself from Grand Theft Auto and it successfully did so by giving gamers a wacky premise which led to oodles of entertainment value. It’s a shame that Agents of Mayhem only held the developer back instead of driving it forward.
25 Best: Greatness Arrives (God of War)
If there’s any game franchise that could best represent the PlayStation’s “greatness awaits” slogan, it has to be the God of War series. The 2018 God of War sequel made some major changes to the series which almost made it seem like an entirely different game. Despite its departure from its fixed-camera roots and simple hack-and-slash mechanics, the game still retained the essence that is God of War, which is to make players feel like they’re going on an unforgettable journey of epic proportions.
God Of War serves as the embodiment of next-generation gaming.
Sure, the game didn’t exactly showcase mechanics that players have never seen before. However, it basically gathered all of the elements that made recent hits successful and combined them into one adventure-filled package. The sequel mixes some game mechanics akin to Darksiders II along with elements seen in The Last of Us in its gameplay, all while still feeling like a God of War game. All of this resulted in a game that’s praised by both fans and critics alike. According to a review by IGN, God of War is a masterpiece worthy of getting a perfect score. Another critic also gave the game a perfect score for being a game that’s “even better” than its predecessors, according to a review Polygon. This year’s God of War sequel showed the gaming industry that greatness has indeed arrived.
24 Worst: Disaster In The Making (Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Games that take such a long time to develop usually come out great, but that was not the case for the 2013 first-person shooter, Aliens: Colonial Marines. Fans awaited a game that rightfully bears the Aliens title, so it’s quite frustrating when it came out half baked. According to IGN, the game was so unpolished and uninspired that it deserved an equally terrible score of 4.5. Those negative remarks were also echoed by gamers themselves as they too have given the game an extremely low rating via review aggregation site Metacritic.
Aliens: Colonial Marines did have its fun moments, but at the same time, it also felt like just about any other FPS game clone in the market albeit with terrible optimization issues. How can a game that veteran developer Gearbox Software spent over 5 years to make look so unfinished at the time of its release? Well, it seems like the game’s developers outsourced most of the game’s development to another, less reputable studio, according to reports by Eurogamer and Kotaku. If that’s the case, then it’s no surprise that the game failed to impress despite being worked on by an established developer. It seems like the only thing that Gearbox Software worked on was the game’s multiplayer mode. With that said, no wonder its multiplayer mode felt more fun than the entire game!
23 Worst: The Road Is The Limit (The Crew)
The Crew tried to fulfill the dream of most racing game fans by giving them a wide range of sports cars, a team of racers and a large expansive world to freely drive around in. The initial pitch of this 2014 open-world racing game seemed a bit too good to be true but what it delivered was a rather disappointing experience instead. The game had a good idea and premise but was poorly executed in the end. Sure, The Crew had a huge world for racers to explore along with a multitude of activities to keep players occupied for hours. However, all of this doesn’t amount to much when technical aspects pretty much ruin the whole experience of this racing game. Even freedom has its limits, especially in this racing game.
Based on a review by IGN, the game suffered from frustrating AI, technical issues and outdated visuals, especially in its unremarkable car models. Another critic review gave the game an even lower score citing poor visuals, iffy physics and network problems as its negative points, according to GameSpot. In addition, the game required a constant internet connection which made it quite inaccessible to some racing game fans. This also meant that all of the enjoyment of freely driving around the open road could immediately get cut short without notice once the network servers were down. For a game that’s supposed to encourage players to drive freely across its expansive world without restraint, it sure feels quite restrictive and limited.
22 Best: Freedom At Last (Grand Theft Auto V)
Rockstar Games’ beloved Grand Theft Auto franchise went from being a silly-looking top-down shooter to being one of the most realistic and visually impressive games ever made. The series reached its graphical peak in 2013 when Grand Theft Auto V took the gaming world by storm. According to review aggregation site Metacritic, the game held a consistent near perfect rating of 97 across all major platforms. It’s hard not to rate the game that high since it takes attention to detail to another level. The in-game world of Los Santos looks just as breathtaking as the region it represents in real life albeit minus the pain and consequences of reality.
It’s quite evident that the game’s developers didn’t just wanted to make a great game, they also wanted to build something that would stand the test of time. Grand Theft Auto V is undoubtedly one of the biggest contributions to the gaming industry within the recent years. That still holds true today given how relevant the game still is, especially with the success of GTA Online. In fact, Grand Theft Auto V just sold a staggering 100 million copies making it one of the highest-selling games in the market, according to GameSpot. If that doesn’t speak volumes on the game’s success, then I don’t know what would.
21 Worst: Keep It Far Far Away (Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II)
Game sequels can be either a hit or a miss and for the case of the 2010 action-adventure title Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, it unfortunately is the latter. The original Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game impressed gamers with its captivating premise, stylish gameplay and varied environments. The sequel that followed removed a lot of the original game’s entertaining aspects with its tedious gameplay. According to IGN, the game suffered from bland setting and repetitive environments that are only made even more monotonous with its equally repetitive combat.
The force needed more fine-tuning in this game.
The game’s combat system and gameplay mechanics are overdone to a point that it becomes more of a chore than something that’s worthwhile. Furthermore, the whole experience is ruined by the game’s lackluster voice acting, according to Kotaku. The original Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game revived the series with its riveting plot and intriguing characters. Its sequel only served as a means to simply extend the series without actually improving on its predecessor, instead of providing a much broader experience. While it might still be fun to unleash all sorts of devastating powers onto the game’s hapless stormtroopers, it’s a novelty that wears off rather quickly over the course of the game.
20 Worst: Pie In The Sky (No Man’s Sky)
When a game builds so much hype, it is going to be a daunting task for the game’s developer to deliver on their promised title. Unfortunately, the 2016 space exploration survival game No Man’s Sky fell victim to the same hype that helped build its name. To say that the game is ambitious is quite the understatement since it basically gave its players, not just an open world, but an entire universe to use as their playground. However, delivering on such a promising idea isn’t that easy given the sizable scope that the game’s developers had to handle in order to bring the vastness of the universe to life.
With that said, the final product was certainly an underwhelming experience as it featured a seemingly-endless universe that’s ironically devoid of any interaction, interesting characters and plot whatsoever. It’s ironic how this basically made an entire universe feel quite lifeless. According to IGN, the game’s combat and crafting elements don’t have much depth, while the gameplay is so repetitive that it makes exploration seem meaningless. The game had so much potential to be something great and revolutionary, yet it failed to capitalize on a lot of missed opportunities. Fortunately, the game’s developers are constantly improving the game and are already working on the next big update, according to their official site. Hopefully, No Man’s Sky can one day become the game that everyone expected it to be and not just another pie in the sky idea.
19 Best: A Lasting Impression (The Last of Us)
When a game has enough narrative depth, artistic pizzazz and poetic visuals, then it becomes more like a work of art than a mere game. Developer Naughty Dog’s 2013 action-adventure game The Last of Us is an example of such. as it’s such a glorious cinematic masterpiece. This game is one of the few examples of titles that blur the distinction between video games, cinema and art. Just when the zombie genre was starting to decay, game developers Naughty Dog brought it back to life by tapping on the delicate nature of human emotion.
The game blends nail-biting moments, high-octane gunplay and tension-filled scenarios seamlessly with its emotional dialogue, captivating cinematography and dramatic moments. It’s as if The Last of Us is trying to win an Oscar award on top of creating a technological marvel of a game. With that much production value, it’s no wonder the game unanimously received near perfect scores, based on review aggregator Metacritic. More importantly, it proved that video games can be more than just mindless means to pass time. The Last of Us did more than just present an intriguing concept or provide an enjoyable experience, it showed the direction where future games should be heading towards.
18 Worst: Two Steps Back (The Sims 4)
There’s a good reason why there’s a saying that goes, if it’s not broken then there’s no reason fix it. However, it seems like the fourth installation of the popular life simulation franchise The Sims failed to heed that notion. The 2014 life simulation video game The Sims 4 made some significant changes to the series, including a more robust building system and more varied character customization options. While these changes might seem like solid improvements, they’re only marred by the removal of a handful of features that made the game’s predecessor so great.
According to GameSpot, the developers took away way too many features from the previous game which only made The Sims 4 seem more like it regressed instead of improved. According to review aggregator Metacritic, gamers also rated The Sims 4 rather poorly by giving it an overwhelming amount of negative reception. Although the game does have some redeeming features such as its graphical upgrade and significantly improved visual effects. Of course, it’s hard to appreciate the game’s sleek visuals when gamers constantly had to face one loading screen after another. It’s such a shame too, since the previous game already had one seamless world with little to no loading screens.
17 Worst: Struck By Lightning (Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII)
The Final Fantasy series is one of the most popular games in the Japanese Role Playing Game genre and it is lauded for its strong narrative, quirky yet intriguing cast of characters and jaw-dropping aesthetic appeal. Final Fantasy XIII managed to bind most of these elements in one stunning JRPG package but it was still criticized for being too restrictive and linear. The 2013 sequel dubbed Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII tried to remedy this issue by adding a little spice to the series with its new time limit system. While this certainly added something fresh to the series, it also made the game even more restrictive.
This time mechanic only hindered the game as it constantly gets in the way of certain gameplay elements making the game a frustrating mess, according to a review by GameSpot. On top of all that, Lightning’s cold and indifferent personality doesn’t really help make the game’s plot more likable either. According to player reviews on Metacritic, many users found the game’s story bland and uninteresting, which says a lot since it’s from a series that is known for its impressive narrative and brilliant storytelling. Of course, the game still has gorgeous graphics that are oozing with top-notch visual effects but even so, that alone is not enough to give the world of Nova Chrysalia a proper farewell.
16 Best: Breath Of Fresh Air (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
The Nintendo Switch is undoubtedly an innovative piece of gaming hardware, it’s basically both a console and a handheld device at the same time. While Nintendo’s unique new console isn’t exactly the most powerful console in the market, it still has great exclusive game titles which serve as a good selling point. One of the games that made the Nintendo Switch a must-have is none other than the beautifully-rendered 2017 adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Players once again take on the role of the series’ beloved hero Link as he goes on a journey that’s nothing short of a masterpiece.
Needless to say, Link’s latest adventure definitely took him to great heights, as in, all the way to the top of the ratings chart! The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched itself to the status of critically acclaimed after receiving an outstanding rating of 97, based on the total critic reviews on Metacritic. The game took risks by creating a free-roaming world and gameplay experience that feels like it took inspiration from Western RPGs. Fortunately, those design choices paid off immensely in revitalizing the fan-favorite series. In fact, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now considered as the highest-grossing The Legend of Zelda game ever after selling over eight million copies, according to Destructoid. Now, who says Link is too old to keep up with modern gaming’s biggest names?
15 Worst: Head-On Collision (Need For Speed Payback)
Need For Speed games are no stranger to exotic automobiles, high speed chases and over-the-top car crashes, all at a ridiculously fast pace. The 2017 open-world racer Need For Speed Payback is just like the previous games in the series, except it puts more emphasis on character development, camaraderie, team work and story. Of course, the series isn’t really known for producing groundbreaking narrative, so fans shouldn’t have really expected this game to be any different. After all, the main attraction of this series is the cars and this game managed to showcase some gorgeously-detailed automobiles.
Unfortunately, that’s not enough to save this game from its predictable plot, poor dialogue, technical problems and iffy performance upgrade system. The game garnered an overwhelming amount of negative reviews from gamers who bashed it for its controversial loot boxes, greedy micro-transactions and tedious gameplay, according to Metacritic. Based on a critic review by GameSpot, the game only earned a mediocre 5 out of 10 rating due to its repetitious grinding and forgettable storyline. In addition, the game’s car chase sequences are so linear that it takes away the thrill of pulling-off a seemingly-dangerous stunt. It’s safe to say that Need For Speed Payback certainly isn’t a fan-favorite in the series and to make matters worse, I even found a copy of this game at a discount store being sold for a measly $5, seriously.
14 Worst: See No Evil (Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City)
There have been a wealth of Resident Evil titles released in recent years. With that said, it’s quite tempting to assume that the more Resident Evil games get released, the better it is for fans of the series. This sadly isn’t the case for the 2012 squad-based shooter spin-off Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, since it only helped disprove that idea. This spin-off game took out the horror from the Resident Evil series and replaced it with frustration. According to a review by IGN, the game had potential but was so poorly executed that it dragged the whole experience down earning itself a terrible 4 out of 10 score.
This game proves that too much of something is never a good thing.
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City suffers from terrible plot sequencing which is only made worse by the game’s dull voice-acting and cardboard characters. While the previous iterations only had one playable character, at least that character had more personality than the entire leading cast of this spin-off. As if that wasn’t enough, the game was even described as “arguably the most disappointing” Resident Evil game ever made, based on a review by TrustedReviews. The idea of creating a Resident Evil game that has full-on action and multiple playable characters sounds good on paper, but seeing it in reality makes fans not want to see it at all. If there’s any hint of Resident Evil in this game, fans still won’t get to see it since the game’s lighting is so dark that they won’t see anything anyway.
13 Best: Match Made In Heaven (DOOM)
It’s only right for the godfather of all first-person shooter games to have a place on this list. The DOOM franchise has been in a constant battle with its greatest enemy over the years, father time. The series tried to keep up with the drastic change of modern FFPS gaming by adapting its gameplay into a more conventional-type of FPS shooter in Doom 3. However, doing so only made the game another generic shooter like almost any other FPS game in the market. Well, DOOM brought back the cool in old-school.
Gamers thought that the sequel was bound to fail, assuming that it’s going to take the same path as its predecessor, but it didn’t. The 2016 entry of DOOM managed to rise above expectations by cutting off all of its modern FPS pretenses and just sticking to its roots. DOOM was able to bring the fun back in the series by going back to the core FPS elements of the original game back in 1993. Fans can no longer mistake it from being just another Call Of Duty or Halo wannabe. What’s ironic is that the game was able to save itself from failure, not by improving on the formula of the series, but by regressing back to its original form. Now that’s an accomplishment that the game’s developers should be proud of!
12 Worst: Not Worth The Wait (Duke Nukem Forever)
It is a huge understatement to say that it took a long time to develop the 2011 first-person shooter game Duke Nukem Forever. The aptly-named game almost took forever before it actually received a release date. Once the game was finally released, it was only met with criticism along with copious amounts of bad reception from both the media and gamers alike. According to The New York Times, it took a whopping 14 years for the game to finish development and was even handled by four different studios prior to its completion. Fans of the brash 90s FPS gaming icon were expecting the game to be worth the wait but instead, most wish that it was never made.
The source heavily criticized the game for offering very little in terms of entertainment value. What’s even more shocking is that one of the studios that handled the game actually spent about $30 million for the game’s development, according to Gamespot. Despite the large budget and ridiculously long time spent in development limbo, the game still ended up becoming one ginormous mess. The game’s charm wears off so fast that it barely gives its players a reason to keep on playing. From its unimaginatively dull visuals and boring premise to its cheesy dialogue and lackluster gameplay, the game barely has any redeeming qualities. Duke Nukem Forever is definitely one of the biggest letdown in gaming history.
11 Worst: An Island Worth Escaping (Escape Dead Island)
Spin-offs can bring interest back to a game franchise if it’s done properly. On the other hand, these could also break the reputation of a series if it’s poorly executed or if it strays too far from its source material. The 2014 third-person spin-off called Escape Dead Island managed to give the Dead Island franchise a bad name by doing just that, with its terrible execution and misdirection. Escape Dead Island didn’t just turn a gorgeous-looking FPS game into a third-person game with diminished visuals, it also took away the horror by giving it a cartoonish design. The game basically removed most elements that made Dead Island so captivating and replaced it with a generic game that tries to be like the popular zombie action game Dead Rising.
According to IGN, the game did have some redeeming features, such as its good soundtrack and passable plot, but its cumbersome combat and linear narrative only makes it an okay game. Of course, other critic reviews insisted that the game is simply not worth playing due to its broken gameplay, according to a review by Polygon. For a game that is supposed to be a survival horror adventure, Escape Dead Island doesn’t even have any survival elements such as resource management, scavenging or crafting of any sort. In the end, Escape Dead Island is another addition to the Dead Island series that was just unnecessary to begin with.
