What is your most Disappointing and Surprising game you played this year?

[Unofficial Who]

Biggest disappointment of the year for me is Sable, because this looks like my jam. It's a laid back bare bones open world.

 

And every time I've tried playing it I've ended up with the worst motion sickness. I've only ever had this before with one other game (Call of the Sea and somehow a patch fixed it) but no matter what graphics options I've tried if I push beyond 30 minutes I end up sick for hours. If anyone has a fix let me know because I'll be attempting it again when I get my hands on it thanks to Epic tomorrow.

 

Biggest surprise? Vampire Survivors. A twin stick shooter where they've removed one of the sticks seemed like the worst idea ever. But after playing an early demo I immediately put down the few bucks it cost. I've been playing it every time there's been a patch and it's my most played game of the year by a longshot. Once I got all the achievements on Steam I used the GamePass release to play it again from scratch. @Wiper said either in this thread or elsewhere that it's a skinner box. And it is, but it's hit that sweet spot normally reserved for Robotron or whatever twin stick shooter I have on the go. You can tell this was made by someone who used to make poker machines. GOTY for me.

[fat flatulent git]

Disappointment- Mario Strikers. Barebones and not much fun.

 

Surprising - Mario Kart 8.  Who’d have thought we’d be getting an extra 48 tracks for it?

[BadgerFarmer]

Disappointment - Somerville. We didn't know much about it before it was released, but I expected a certain level of quality and storytelling craft, and it just wasn't there at all.

 

Surprise - Immortality. I played a demo a few months before it came out and didn't get the point of it. Like previous Sam Barlow games, but with the investigative technique of using key words to dive deeper into the story replaced by seemingly random jump cuts, robbing you of any sense of control. But of course it turned out to be an extraordinarily layered experience, and the links between the jump cuts were fascinating to explore.  

[ChewMagma]

1 hour ago, dumpster said:

My point is that this era is very silly. I have the most powerful console I've ever owned, the Xbox Series X and yet it's primarily used for games that were from previous generations.  And the most modern game I've become hooked on is Vampire Survivors, a £2 steam game that OK, maybe c64 is pushing it but you could surely have done it on a Dreamcast.  

 

I think this generation is the least inspiring there's been and a good chunk of that is hardware unavailability.  Who will develop games for the Series X and PS4 specifically when the user base isn't there after two years?  I'm a video game fan and have always owned all the consoles but the last 2 years has actually persuaded me that I don't actually want a PS5.  Had there been one available at launch I'd have snapped it up.  But the best games don't need that super technology and I've got 9 hours and 45 minutes left of my Need for Speed Unbounded trial, but I keep playing Vampire Survivors and Mr Sodding Driller.

 

 

Well I can understand this - my biggest disappointment of the year was actually the PS5. I was excited to get my hands on one but aside from Elden Ring, I have barely touched it.

 

In terms of AAA games, it feels like we have plateaued. I think that is mainly because development teams can no longer meet the expectations of gamers in the timeframes demanded and the technology is now becoming more incremental than revolutionary.

 

But what we are seeing is a broadening of the kind of gaming experiences we can have thanks to Gamepass and Steam Deck and I think that is a more positive development than an unrealistic obsession with shinies.

[Jolly]

Disappointment: OlliOlli World

Adored the first two games, but thought this overcomplicated matters and then smothered it in unlikable presentation and powerfully unfunny talky bits. Brilliant soundtrack, mind.

 

Surprising: Marvel Snap

Been trying to move away from social media this year because Facebook makes me hate everyone and Twitter makes me hate one person in particular and this appears to have slotted into the time gap rather nicely. Something I have to both concentrate on and can play on autopilot, I find it weirdly mindful. Also, the animations are cool.

[Boozy The Clown]

Disappointing  - Not playing Forza Motorsport. 

 

Surprising - Power Washer Simulator - I spent so any hours blissfully cleaning shit off stuff.

[Vorgot]

Surprising : Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Thought it would be a fun game, it was a slice of joy in a miserable world. Had never played a Kirby game before, this was ace. Nad it got tough as well. It walked the line between being easy to play at one level with enough secrets and bonus levels for those who want a challenge.

 

Disappointing : Atlus not providing an upgrade path for Persona 5 Royal on PS5. I'd already bought the original game, and Royal with all the DLC. And for the small visual upgrade, you want me to pay £50 again? Not a chance, Same for Judgement. And Sony not letting people who have the PS+ version of Resi VII not get the free upgrade to the PS5. 

 

Death Stranding offered me an upgrade to the PS5 Director cut for £5, was OK with that, because it also has some changes in it. Atlus Day 1 DLC is getting stupid. This blatant disregard for customers was appalling.

[ScouserInExile]

I actually can't think of a disappointing game from this year. I was going to say Forza Horizon 5, but it came out in 2021, which I was surprised about. And that would be more I'm disappointed in myself for not playing it than it being a bad game.

 

Biggest surprise has to be Vampire Saviour. Knew nothing about it, can't even remember why I started playing it. Completely obsessed now. As I posted in the thread about it, it's like digital crack.

[spanx]

Vampire Survivor surprised me most despite only just getting it. Wrote it off as yet another purposely shit looking roguelike type game, but have quickly succumbed to its charms. 
 

Not sure about disappointments; Super Mario 3D World maybe, not launched this year but gave it a bash during my holiday this year and just found it a frustrating mess. And Elden Ring too to an extent. Loved it for the first few weeks and genuinely thought I’d cracked my dislike of Souls type games, but eventually I hit the wall and the fun drained away very quickly. 

[Wiper]

4 hours ago, Jolly said:

 Twitter makes me hate one person in particular

 

I didn't think my tweets were that bad

[imp]

Disapppointment: Horizon Forbidden West

 

I quite liked the original Horizon, as someone who hasn't played Ubisoft-style open world game since Far Cry 3. I thought it had really fun combat and a surprisingly engaging plot for a game with such a ridiculous concept. The open world element was pretty uninspired, but hey, it came out just before Breath of the Wild, so I didn't really have expectations in that department. What I really wanted for a sequel was for the developers to have taken some lessons from BotW in terms of making the exploration of the open world an essential and exciting part of the game. Anything extra, like making some new and interesting creatures to fight would simply be a cherry on top. I did not get what I hoped for. I thought the story was much less engaging, sure Aloy is something of a 'tough hang' as she's continually selfish in all her interactions with the supporting cast until the climax, but it's not that she isn't 'nice' that galls, it's that no-one actually calls her out on her behaviour, they all just take it without saying a word. I wouldn't have minded if she'd continued to act poorly if any of the supporting cast she's so continually mistreating told her how her actions impacted them as her inability to change to meet their needs would have at least been more dramatically interesting, but no, all we get is a hollow acceptance no matter her shitty behaviour that means the core cast are fairly inert in the dramatic stakes.

 

More irritatingly, the devs really overcomplicated the combat past the point of being fun. It was a real chore chasing a loadout that was useful in all situations (basically a feat impossible until the endgame) and there were so many new status effects and elements added to the game most of the simple joy of shooting bits off robot dinosaurs was diluted by endless micro gear checks. Lastly, it was just really disappointing to see that no effort had been made to make the exploration of the open world interesting at all. Yet again it was just a map full of icons where you would go from A to B without ever really finding anything worthwhile (or god forbid, surprising) along the way. You never felt like you discovered anything yourself, or engaged with the lay of the land in a meaningful way, you just went grudgingly across it from checkpoint to checkpoint, steadily growing more and more tired of the endless combat encounters that littered your path.

 

Surprise: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade

 

Did this come out this year? I can't remember, but I certainly enjoyed it way more than I was expecting. I'd been steadily cooling on SQEX games since FFX, with a few notable exceptions, but I wasn't really sure if a 10 hour stretch of the original game ballooned out to a 40 hour play time supported by SQEX's famously wooly action combat and endless cutscenes would really be what I wanted, but damn, for all its flaws it really charmed me. Aeriス really is an all-time great character (to quote Tim Rogers, "I'd let her kill me"), and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they have in store next. Also, that DLC was worth it for Yuffie's combat mechanics alone, which are very promising indeed for the future of the series!

[ZOK]

Biggest Surprise: Vampire Survivors on iOS!

 

Obviously no-one is surprised by now that this game is good, but nothing short of incredible that the phone version (which is completely free) is an exact replica of the computer original but runs even better on a modern phone than it does on a two and a half grand M1 MacBook. It doesn’t matter what they throw onscreen, it doesn’t stutter at all. Amazing.

[Mike S]

7 hours ago, ChewMagma said:

Well I can understand this - my biggest disappointment of the year was actually the PS5. I was excited to get my hands on one but aside from Elden Ring, I have barely touched it.

 

 

The solution to that problem is Returnal.

 

I've been playing it since it's release early last year and, thanks to the amazing (and free) DLC, am still putting in an hour or two a few times per week. It is a fearsomely great game and probably second only to Bloodborne on my greatest games of all time list. 

[Mike S]

7 minutes ago, ZOK said:

Biggest Surprise: Vampire Survivors on iOS!

 

Obviously no-one is surprised by now that this game is good, but nothing short of incredible that the phone version (which is completely free) is an exact replica of the computer original but runs even better on a modern phone than it does on a two and a half grand M1 MacBook. It doesn’t matter what they throw onscreen, it doesn’t stutter at all. Amazing.

 

 

I don't have any problem running it on my MacBook although, that said, it is the only thing I've ever run on it that causes the machine to generate discernible heat. The typically abysmal touch controls render the iOS version a curiosity worth no more than a few idle minutes rather than the all consuming 30 min or nothing sessions of the proper game. 

[ZOK]

53 minutes ago, Mike S said:

 

 

I don't have any problem running it on my MacBook although, that said, it is the only thing I've ever run on it that causes the machine to generate discernible heat. The typically abysmal touch controls render the iOS version a curiosity worth no more than a few idle minutes rather than the all consuming 30 min or nothing sessions of the proper game. 

 

I'm playing it on a 16" M1 Pro with 16GB memory, and when you get to screen filling levels in the last few minutes, occasionally it visibly stutters. On an iPhone 14 Pro, it doesn't happen at all.

 

I've collected nearly everything on both versions and can report with confidence that the controls on the iPhone are a dream, even compared to playing it on the Switch Pro controller. It's the better version in my view because you can play it anywhere, and both versions are identical...well, other than the iPhone version playing more smoothly, of course.

 

EDIT: Also, ‘typically abysmal touch controls’? Mate, do you think it’s still 2011 or something?

[Mike S]

24 minutes ago, ZOK said:

 

I'm playing it on a 16" M1 Pro with 16GB memory, and when you get to screen filling levels in the last few minutes, occasionally it visibly stutters. On an iPhone 14 Pro, it doesn't happen at all.

 

I've collected nearly everything on both versions and can report with confidence that the controls on the iPhone are a dream, even compared to playing it on the Switch Pro controller. It's the better version in my view because you can play it anywhere, and both versions are identical...well, other than the iPhone version playing more smoothly, of course.

 

EDIT: Also, ‘typically abysmal touch controls’? Mate, do you think it’s still 2011 or something?

 

 

We have the same MacBook then but I've never noticed the slowdown. Mind, I mostly play on PC and that never breaks a sweat however chaotic it gets.

 

We shall have to disagree on the controls as, to me, they are dreadful. A weird, floaty, dead spot and then the usual pushing my thumb or finger all over the screen. I gave up after three or four goes and am in no rush to pick it up on the phone.

[ZOK]

I suppose thinking logically a computer has to drive around three times the visible area, whereas on the phone it’s just this:

 

[phillv85]

Disappointing - Stranger of Paradise. I thought this looked pretty cool but was prepared for it to be a little undercooked. What we got was something I just found so boring. The enemies are just so tedious and the stage layouts are no fun.
 

Surprising - Pokemon Legends Arceus. Was just quite a bit better than I expected. Loads of fun running around catching Pokémon.

[Ry]

Elden The by surprised me as I couldn't get on with "souls like" games at all. 

 

Made me go back and play Dark Souls Remastered, which was great. And much harder than Elden Ring (which I tried numerous times and gave up on a out an hour in each time)