The failure of the year

The failure of the year

About the nomination

In this nomination, or rather, antinomination, we collected failures that in 2018 rattled the entire game industry. Raw releases, bad marketing solutions and simply bad games – all this is here.

Gambling summarizes the results of the year: the best games of 2018!

Third place – release Battlefield v

Battlefield v – A good game. Even good. Moreover, this is one of the best multiplayer shooters of 2018. But Electronic Arts For a couple with Dice did everything so that no one believes in it.

The first negative from the fans fell on the creators after the debut trailer. Yes, the very one where a woman with a prosthesis, instead of a hand, showed the Germans Kuzkin mother in the margins of the Second World War. The reaction to him was ambiguous. Well, if I may say about a mixture of frankly mocking jokes and fierce indignation. Of course, we were promised a new look at the war, but few expected it that he would be so … hmm … non -conformist. (https://whyinstitute.com/) Well, all those who disagree with the chosen course in English -language social networks, according to a good tradition, attributed to sexists, chauvinists, racists and other narrow -minded radicals. This only contributed to the fact that the negativity area has grown around Battlefield v long before the game came out.

At the same time, Electronic Arts itself, it seemed, was not particularly interested in the success of the project. On the show in the framework (well, purely technically, beyond) E3 2018 she was dedicated even less time than spin-off Command & Conquer for smartphones.

Well, the release itself turned out if not a disaster, then something close to it. On the one hand, DICE developers restrained this word – there is no seasonal subscription to Battlefield v, all additions are free. But on the other, in a manic desire to create a game-service Electronic Arts chopped up the game itself. As a result, at the start, customers got three chapters of the plot campaign of four and only eight cards for multiplayer. Many familiar modes, including even a tutorial, left for updates. And of course, bugs, breakthrough bugs, many of whom made gameplay simply unbearable. If Battlefield V were in early access, no one would have any questions – Beta, what to take from her?

But no, we are talking about a full release. Players do not forgive such. The result is predictable – in English retail, the fifth started 63% worse than Battlefield 1. Just a month after release, a discount appeared at 40%. And more recently, trying to attract a casual audience to the multiplayer, Dice has significantly increased TTK, that is, time for murder, which has already broken an imperfect balance. Hardcore players raised such a howl that the developers had to roll back all the changes.

To be honest, we are almost sorry for the studio, which once again became an experimental rabbit EA, and therefore we give the release of Battlefield v only the third place.

Second place – Agony and The Quiet Man

Silver divide two completely different games, which nevertheless have something in common-pretentiousness and disgusting quality of execution.

IN Agony studio Madmind promised us an uncompromising immersion in the abysses of hell. According to the assurances of the developers, the game should have turned out to be bold, repulsive and at the same time attractive. The first concept arts even inspired optimism: a catchy design in the style of a rally, elements of erotica, literally a living environment-we really have not seen such a underworld since the time Dante’s Inferno.

Only now, after the release, it turned out that there was nothing but shock-content in Agony: neither a coherent story, nor a protracting gameplay, nor meaning as such. Monotonous wandering along dark corridors of flesh and bones cause only boredom. Stealth curve, locations are the same, and the picture is frankly ugly – it’s hard to believe that all this is done on Unreal Engine 4. It seems that only the lazy did not joke that Agony fully justified its name.

But that debut project of a small independent studio. And here The Quiet Man – This is the brainchild of the creators of the cult Rune And the good first Prey , In addition, released Square Enix. Moreover, they announced the game during the publishing house conference on E3. And, again, everything looked very pretentious: inserts with living actors, maximum cinematography, deaf -mute main character.

On the latter, a special emphasis was made. Say, we will see the world through the eyes of a person who, because of the disease, perceives the environment in a completely different way. And how is it realized in practice? Yes, it is extremely simple – there is no voice acting in the game. And there are no subtitles. That is, formally, both are present, but opens only after complete passage.

At the same time, the heroes in the Katsets constantly chatting about something, find out relationships and share important plot details. And you sit, clap your eyes and do not cut at all, what is happening at all. Well, like a new experience, it refreshes? And even if the sound was available right away, it would not help the game. Because The Quiet Man is a primitive, monotonous, double -button beatʼem up. We looked at Katsen – beat the bandits, looked at another – beat bandits, beat the bandits – beat the bandits. And so three hours.

Agony and The Quiet Man are interactive analogues of water torture. Each of them is worthy of the first place, but some laid it stronger, and on the industry, this failure means much more.

Mention are worthy

2018 was rich in mistakes of the https://raptor-wins-casino.co.uk/ most diverse. I almost reached the top Devil May Cry HD Collection – Absolutely lazy port and a clear example of how remasters do not need to do. Absolute and no one needs Metal Gear Survive I could also get a well -deserved place, but to be honest, we completely forgot about its existence. It is for the better.

Sea of ​​Thieves I almost repeated fate No Man’s Sky , But the developers at least try to finish the game. Maybe over time it will become better, as happened with the very creation Hello Games. You can still remember a sad fate The Culling 2 And Radical Heights – projects that they tried to earn on the popularity of royal battles, but never found an audience. Partly due to the lack of any originality, partly due to bad quality.

Of course, the announcement suggests itself in the nomination Diablo Immortal , However, we have not seen the game itself yet. And those who have already managed to try it out, claim that the project is very good. So for a while we will remove the pitchfork and torches.

First place – Fallout 76

Eh, where to start? Well, probably from the fact that the multi -user Fallout – The long -standing dream of many fans of the series. Some enthusiasts even tried to implement it on their own, with varying success. But this year I got down to business Bethesda. It would seem to be afraid? What kind of experience in MMO the publishing house has. Of course, at the start The Elder Scrolls Online I did not cause enthusiasm, but over time I became enriched with content and found its audience. Why this time it should have turned out differently?

On E3, Todd Howard personally promised the largest and most beautiful Fallout, with impeccable technical performance, a bunch of fascinating quests and gameplay, perfectly adapted for multiplayer. All this turned out to be a lie, from the first word to the last. Neither Sean Murray, nor even Peter Molnier hung such noodles on our ears.

Fallout 76 turned out to be as damp, as a crooked and as empty game with exemplary disgusting support. Somehow, the project manages to look worse than Fallout 4 two -year prescription. He slows down and flies away – what's on the consoles, what's on the top gland. And by the number of bugs, it devotes all the previous Bethesda games together. The funny thing is that many glitches migrated directly from the previous part, where users themselves caught and corrected them for a long time.

Okay, we’ll close our eyes to the technical part, imagine that the game came out just as licked as Howard promised (and no one pulled the tongue). But there is almost nothing to do in it. Characters, plot, variable quests-pf-f-f who needs this garbage? Keep instead an innovative approach to storitelling-notes, terminals and endless instructions in the spirit of "Give-Brother". What, you are unhappy with something? We actually have MMO here, and not a single game-come with friends and get a completely different experience.

Well, suppose, but the PVP-component is broken in the same way as PVE-. Trying to protect player players from the bullying of aggressor players, Bethesda introduced completely absurd mechanics, which makes the user almost invulnerable to other people's attacks until he fired in response. And if he shoots, he will get involved in an absurd and uncomfortable brawl – weapons in Fallout 76 are felt disgusting. Mobs (very stupid, by the way) either die after a pair of hits, or they force to spend all the ammunition.

In general, there is no question of any balance.

Well, how to keep silent about the behavior of Bethesda itself … Let's start with the fact that the company simply refuses to return the money for the game, even if the user has not started, he downloaded the client. On this occasion, now one American law firm is preparing a collective lawsuit against the publishing house.

We continue that the first discount on Fallout 76, and already 33%, appeared already a week after the release. Just imagine the anger of those who paid the full price at the start. Well, as a cherry on this cake from mud – a scandal around the collecting publication of the game for two hundred dollars. The advertisement assured that the kites included a canvas bag according to the type of army, however, instead of it, each buyer got a cheap plastic bag in which even a shift is awkward.

When users' outrage stirred the Internet, Bethesda offered all the victims of 500 units of the in -game currency as compensation – by the standards of Fallout 76, the amount is scanty, and nothing sensible for it can be bought. If this is not a lead, then?

Bethesda at once exhausted its entire credit of trust. AND Starfield , And The Elder Scrolls VI We are now waiting with cautiously, and Fallout 76 rightfully receives the title of failure of the year.

We will not make any forecasts for 2019. Who knows, suddenly Hideo Kodzima drove us by the nose all these years and Death Stranding In fact – an absolutely non -packed dummy. Or CD Projekt Red So hurry with release Cyberpunk 2077 , that we are overwhelmed in bugs. After all, no one is safe from mistakes.

Gambling summarizes the results of the year: the best games of 2018!