Overhyped Games That Were Total Flops
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00:00A CEO confronting gamers, a creator separated from his own project, and a game that initially
00:06only launched for some.
00:08Despite the hype, many of these games were doomed from the start.
00:11Cyberpunk 2077 lived up to its glitchy wetware aesthetics by being unbelievably buggy at
00:17launch.
00:18While many of the glitches were funny, several also blocked player progression within the
00:22main storyline.
00:23Gamers who couldn't progress quickly became frustrated, and many requested and received
00:28refunds for the game.
00:29PlayStation even delisted it from its online store until developer CD Projekt Red could
00:34get the title in working order.
00:35Considering the game had been in development for years, no one could have predicted such
00:39a disastrous release.
00:41Be my man.
00:43You made it.
00:44You blowing up all over the news.
00:46In fact, the launch was so bad that lawsuits against CD Projekt Red started to roll in,
00:51with plaintiffs arguing that the developer had misrepresented the state of the game.
00:56CD Projekt Red eventually agreed to a settlement in early 2023.
01:00It might have been easy for fans to excuse the poor shape of Cyberpunk 2077 if the developers
01:05weren't aware of mistakes in the game, but it seems that CD Projekt Red knew these glitches
01:10were coming and chose to release the title anyway.
01:13To be fair to Cyberpunk 2077, various patches have greatly improved its performance since
01:18its initial release.
01:19The game ultimately made money, however.
01:21The fallout from the lawsuits and the embarrassments that accumulated during the game's first year
01:25or so will stick with CD Projekt Red forever, tarnishing the company's credibility.
01:31Video game fans will take almost any opportunity to be a superhero.
01:34Sadly, Marvel's Avengers failed to save the day.
01:37Gamers were initially excited for the Square Enix-published superhero game, but things
01:41began to go awry before it even released.
01:44First PlayStation announced that gamers playing on its systems would receive an exclusive
01:48character, Spider-Man.
01:49Of course, this infuriated folks playing on other systems.
01:53Even though PlayStation fans ended up not enjoying the exclusive version of Spidey,
01:57this inequality in the game's rollout had some players suspicious prior to launch.
02:01And when it did launch, that was another set of problems.
02:05Marvel's Avengers lost almost 96 percent of its player base within months of its debut.
02:10Gamers believed that the title had uninspired mission design, game-breaking bugs, and a
02:14lack of support from developer Crystal Dynamics.
02:17Even with updates, Marvel's Avengers never really improved, so it was no surprise when
02:21Crystal Dynamics announced that the game's final update would be in 2023.
02:27Wizards Unite was supposed to be a Harry Potter-flavored version of Pokemon Go, but it was also meant
02:31to be so much more than that.
02:33The mobile game, developed by Pokemon Go developer Niantic, promised players a narrative-driven
02:38adventure full of spells, magical creatures, and exploration.
02:42However, the game only lasted a few years before being unceremoniously shut down.
02:48It's hard to pin down exactly why Wizards Unite was a total flop, but one reason could
02:52be money.
02:53The wizarding game didn't bring in as much cash as its Pokemon counterpart, partially
02:57because some players didn't feel incentivized to continue playing after goals were easily
03:02met.
03:03Then again, some gamers argued that Wizards Unite was a bit too difficult and didn't offer
03:07enough of a return.
03:08For its part, Niantic explained that not all games are meant to last forever.
03:12That said, the developer's other game, Pokemon Go, has had no problem lasting.
03:17There's a reason why the steady stream of Sims games stopped after 2014, and it may
03:21have been because of the utter flop of 2013's SimCity.
03:25Previous SimCity titles managed to garner the admiration of amateurs and master architects
03:29alike, as they built and wrecked entire interactive cities.
03:33But when it came to the launch of the 2013 reboot, it was the game itself that got wrecked.
03:38The game had the ambitious aim of making SimCity bigger than ever.
03:42It was going to be 3D and free of everything that made previous games tedious or confusing.
03:47If that wasn't enough, EA had plans for an always-online experience where players could
03:51connect their cities to those of their friends and build metropolises together.
03:56But this cool-sounding idea turned out to be a fatal flaw because, upon launch, a million
04:00people trying to play were left unable to log on.
04:03The servers couldn't handle the load and wouldn't for months and months, even as EA scrambled
04:08to add more and repair others.
04:10This meant that planned content was scrapped in favor of putting out fires, which disappointed
04:14many fans enough to demand refunds.
04:17John Romero, co-founder of id Software, has had a major impact on gaming as we know it.
04:22He coins the term Deathmatch and was a big influence behind historic titles like Doom,
04:27Quake, and Wolfenstein 3D.
04:29Naturally, the industry is right to have high expectations for any game he hypes up, but
04:342000's Daikatana didn't deliver.
04:36Romero was so confident in the time-traveling, futuristic RPG shooter that the ads read,
04:41"'John Romero's about to make you his b----.
04:44Suck it down.'"
04:45A little aggressive, and considering the game's fate, downright humiliating.
04:49Daikatana was delayed several times, but the extra time in development did little to improve
04:54the clunky gameplay, weird story, and aggravating enemies.
04:58If players didn't fall through the world into polygonal oblivion, then they had to face
05:01down the same ugly enemies again and again.
05:04Its graphics made the game look like it was five years behind, and fans were disappointed.
05:09"'We have orders to contain this threat by any means necessary.'"
05:13Romero later told GameSource magazine,
05:15"'You know, I never wanted to make you my b----.
05:18Not you, not them, not any of the other players, and most importantly, not any of my fans.'"
05:23The dismal performance of 2014's Thief remake proves that you should never try to reinvent
05:28the wheel.
05:291998's Thief The Dark Project was something of a revolution, and its influence had touched
05:34a myriad of games since.
05:36Instead of running in guns blazing and swords flashing, Thief was all about slow sneaking
05:40and light fingers.
05:41The game and its sequels had a cult following, and they're still perfectly playable today.
05:45IDA's Montreal's remake had to live up to some high expectations.
05:49They had years to do so and a triple-A budget, but like many a flop, something went wrong
05:54along the way.
05:55The game that was finally released was worse at stealth and quick escapes than contemporary
05:59titles like Dishonored and Assassin's Creed.
06:01Apparently, legendary Master Thief Garrett is unable to open windows after they are shut
06:06behind him.
06:07The world of 2014's Thief was a whole lot of locked doors and dead ends, with little
06:11polish to make up for bad AI and frequent bugs.
06:14Rather than stealing hearts, Thief stole fans' faith in an otherwise amazing series of games.
06:19To be clear, Gotham Knights wasn't a bad game, but it did fail to live up to the massive
06:23hype surrounding it.
06:25On the surface, it had everything gamers wanted from a new Bat game.
06:28The title promised to focus on other members of the Bat family like Batgirl and Nightwing,
06:33not to mention all the fluid combat one could desire in an open-world setting.
06:37It sounded too good to be true, and it was.
06:39While fans expected an Arkham-style game with different main characters, the plot and combat
06:44of Gotham Knights left much to be desired.
06:46Critics complained that the title had performance issues and was difficult to play on some platforms.
06:51Most infuriatingly, Gotham Knights didn't have a performance mode.
06:55The game is also permanently capped at 30 FPS instead of 60 FPS, even on PCs.
07:02Gamers felt like the lack of a performance mode paired with the game's general performance
07:05bugs made Gotham Knights worth skipping.
07:08Not every game needs a reboot, and Saints Row proves this.
07:11The Saints Row series has a notorious reputation for being wild, wacky, and violent.
07:16While it was initially written off as a Grand Theft Auto clone, it eventually found its
07:20fan base and went on to have some successful entries.
07:22How do we make a statement?
07:24We want to be more than a street gang.
07:27We just gotta be a little more creative.
07:30In 2022, however, the series got a reboot from Volition that went wrong.
07:34Early reactions to the game all said the same thing.
07:37It was buggy to the point of being nearly unplayable.
07:40While the reboot eventually got an update that fixed the glitches, the damage was already
07:44done.
07:45Players just weren't interested.
07:47Saints Row was such an embarrassment that the CEO of Volition's parent company, Embracer
07:51Group, spoke out about the game's harsh reception.
07:54Lars Vingerfors said that even though critics didn't enjoy the game, some gamers did.
07:58He assured investors that the reboot would eventually earn money for the company, even
08:02if it didn't rake in the big bucks as planned.
08:05Scorn combines HR Giger-esque art direction with eldritch horrors to create an ambience
08:10like no other.
08:11So, why was it a flop?
08:12Well, Scorn was a long time in the making, with several failures in its past.
08:16Developer Ebb Software originally sought funding via Kickstarter, but when its first campaign
08:21didn't work out, it looked for investors elsewhere.
08:24One more Kickstarter later, and Scorn was in business.
08:27Still, the public wouldn't see the game for a few more years.
08:30Originally announced in 2014, Scorn wasn't actually released until 2022.
08:35And when it did arrive, critics weren't impressed.
08:38Scorn garnered lackluster scores at best, with most reviewers praising its creepy atmosphere
08:42while shaming its story and gameplay.
08:45For a game that took so long to develop, Scorn didn't quite deliver on its promises.
08:49There was drama before the game even released, though.
08:51In 2021, an update from Ebb Software CEO Lubomir Pekla directly addressed supporters who complained
08:58about the lengthy development of Scorn.
09:00Pekla challenged the satisfied customers to ask for a refund, and based on the update's
09:04comments, many did.
09:06Even though he later apologized for his angry response, it was too late.
09:10At that point, many gamers were already turned off by Scorn.
09:13What can one say about Balan Wonderworld that hasn't already been said?
09:17The baffling title from legendary game designer Yuji Naka seemed like it had potential, but
09:21many were perplexed from the start.
09:23While the game embraces a colorful and chipper style, its facade hides mediocre and often
09:28frustrating gameplay.
09:30Critics said Balan Wonderworld looked and played like a game from a different time,
09:34suggesting that its dated qualities kept it from being enjoyable.
09:37Yes, it was a bad game, but it also had a series of misfortunes working against it.
09:42Yuji Naka slammed Square Enix for removing him from Balan Wonderworld development months
09:46before its release.
09:47While the creative team readied the title for its debut, Naka was allegedly barred from
09:52putting the finishing touches on the game and making sure it was fit for the public.
09:56He publicly apologized to gamers who purchased Balan Wonderworld, saying that he wasn't proud
10:00of the final version.
10:02The game also bombed because it simply didn't manage to sell.
10:05Gamers weren't sure what to make of it, and review copies of Balan Wonderworld didn't
10:09get distributed to news outlets in time for reviews to be written.
10:12Those who did pick up the game also weren't shy about blasting it online, ridiculing
10:17every aspect they could.
10:19Anthem seemed to be a bit of a mess from the get-go.
10:21The game partially launched for some gamers before others, leaving many fans confused
10:25about when they'll be able to access content.
10:28But even before all of that, some players suspected that Anthem could spell the end
10:31of BioWare, as the company had seemingly sunk all of its resources into the game.
10:36While BioWare continues to develop games, Anthem sadly went dark in 2021, ending progress
10:42on a series of updates that were meant to rework the game from the ground up.
10:46Anthem had potential, and while many enjoyed it, a lack of updates, not to mention features
10:51to set it apart from the competition, ultimately led a lot of gamers to stop playing.
10:56Even though some fans stuck with Anthem until its end, it lost most of its player base within
11:00its first few months.
11:01And because it was a title that needed online engagement to succeed, BioWare had less incentive
11:06to continue live support for the game.