The year 2024 was brimming with new game releases, yet not all lived up to gamers’ expectations. While some had the potential to be hits and others were eagerly anticipated sequels to beloved series, they fell short. This article will examine the most disappointing games of 2024 and explore the reasons behind their failures.
1. Dragon’s Dogma 2: beautiful picture, empty content
Dragon’s Dogma 2, launched in the first quarter of 2024, garnered attention with its stunning trailers and the promise of an engaging narrative. However, it ultimately disappointed with tedious quests, a clichéd storyline, and lackluster dialogue, leading to a swift decline in player interest in Capcom’s sequel to the beloved role-playing game.
The main reasons for failure:
- The gameplay was monotonous. The game suffered from numerous issues: repetitive tasks, recurring opponents in battles, and a barren open world filled with dull dungeons. Understandably, this led to gamer dissatisfaction.
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 presents optimization challenges. Despite its high system requirements, it remains unstable on high-end PCs, primarily due to its processor-intensive design, meaning that upgrading the graphics card alone will not resolve the issues.
- The game suffers from a lack of content, with many empty locations and an absence of significant plot points, which swiftly diminishes the desire to revisit the game.
2. STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection: How to Mess Up a Space Epic
The STAR WARS: Battlefront Classic Collection, released in Q1 2024, aimed to revive the beloved shooter series for contemporary platforms but fell short due to subpar execution. Players reported numerous issues, including server problems, substandard graphics, and various other defects. Despite its promise, the re-release was ultimately a disappointment.
What went wrong:
- Multiplayer issues are a significant source of disappointment. The malfunctioning multiplayer mode frequently leads to player experiences of crashes, severe lag, and matchmaking problems.
- The remaster shows little improvement over the original. Despite its formal status as a remaster, it offers no substantial updates; the visuals and controls appear dated, lacking significant graphical enhancements.
- The absence of crossplay restricts gamers on different platforms from playing together, significantly limiting the active player base.
3. Once Human: Wipe Servers and Take Away Progress – How Is This Possible?
Creating something original in a post-apocalyptic setting is challenging, yet Once Human has managed to be unexpectedly disappointing. Released in the third quarter of 2024, the game has quickly disillusioned many players. A primary grievance is the seasonal wipes; every six weeks, players’ progress is reset, forcing them to begin anew with weapon and armor upgrades.
Why the game failed:
- The multiplayer mode is plagued by persistent server problems, including connection issues, crashes, and high latency. Additionally, players report a multitude of bugs.
- The game implements a seasonal system where players’ progress is mostly reset every six weeks. While blueprints and certain items are retained, the erasure of levels and achievements has left many players dissatisfied, particularly due to the monotonous nature of the quests.
- The game suffers from a lack of originality, offering no new concepts within its genre. Its gameplay has been criticized for being monotonous and featuring poorly conceived tasks.
4. Star Wars Outlaws – Terrible stealth and empty open world
Star Wars Outlaws presents an original perspective on a beloved universe with a stunning open world. However, technical issues and repetitive gameplay have hindered it from achieving its anticipated success. Lackluster sales have compelled the publisher to release the game on Steam, where it will be available for purchase in November.
What went wrong:
- An empty open world. Despite the impressive graphics, many critics have pointed out that the open world feels empty. The cities seem animated only at first glance. On closer examination, it’s evident that the NPCs barely interact with the player, and the environment resembles a static backdrop rather than a dynamic universe.
- The game features repetitive combat and stealth mechanics. The stealth and combat systems are rigid and monotonous. Despite being a stealth game, the restrictive level design and limited features hinder the full enjoyment of the gameplay.
- The plot is rather superficial. While the main character, Kay Wess, and her amusing sidekick, Nyx, are intriguing, the secondary characters and subplots lack depth. Additionally, the reputation system involving crime syndicates, initially promising, fails to integrate well with the main narrative, diminishing the game’s replay value.
The year 2024 has been a series of letdowns for gamers. It has proven that even games with high-profile announcements and substantial budgets can fall short. Failures in detail, optimization, and innovation have led to the downfall of many anticipated projects. What are some of the gaming disappointments you recall? Share with us in the comments.
