Sometimes games have a long cycle of promotion before release, with an undeniably huge hype train involved. Hollow Knight: Silksong This is a good example, which was announced in 2019 before being released in 2025. It was almost too big to fail, and while there are some who didn't enjoy the game because of the difficulty, many would say it was worth the wait.
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These other games had muddier projections. Maybe they were initially glitchy, leading to poor review scores, or maybe they were released with a big deal. Anyway, fans Wanted to love these games more, but they never fulfilled them For many reasons.
Starfield
Another big franchise from Bethesda
Starfield There was another big project from Bethesda, and it was going to happen result in space. Just as big, if not bigger, were the hopes riding on the game Result 4 In terms of popularity, especially since it was teased in 2018, it took five years to come out.
While Starfield While it started out great and some players loved it, it wasn't the space RPG revolution that many had hoped for. Most players checked it out and enjoyed the combat improvements and maybe the ship-building mechanics, but most also fell behind a point.
song
BioWare's Strike Two
song
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February 22, 2019
BioWare disappointed many fans Mass Effect: Andromedaand song After that project was another game. Fans were hopeful that this was going to be an improvement, but it looks like two strikes for the developer.
The launch was adequate, but what upset fans the most was the content, as there wasn't much of it, especially in the final game. What there was wasn't as compelling as BioWare's other RPGs to keep players interested, and the road map for updates wasn't clearly spelled out. The positives were high, as the mechanized suits, called javelins, gave players a freedom they had never experienced before, but there was little to recover from below.
Man has no sky
Not the promised land
Man has no sky The world was promised when it was unveiled in 2013, but the launch was nothing more than a very basic space sim with a lot of procedural generation. Players could acquire ships, fly from planet to planet, and discover new life, but there didn't seem to be any gameplay behind the scavenging and exploration.
There was no multiplayer, for example, and the action wasn't that exciting. Finally, with No Man's Sky Next Updated in 2018, the game began to take shape as initially advertised. At that point, many players abandoned the game. They may have heard it well from others, but never came back.
Cyberpunk 2077
A bad launch
Cyberpunk 2077 There was also a bad launch, but this is not because of a promise not fulfilled. The console versions on Xbox One and PS4 didn't play well, giving everything a blurry texture overlay as if it was an Early Access game.
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It ran well on PC, and if players were able to purchase an Xbox Series X/S or PS5 at launch, then the game looked and ran fine, but players still reported frequent crashes after fifteen minutes of play. It was too much crap to deal with, so many put it down, hoping to eventually come back. They may or may not have done so after CD Projekt Red released some patches.
Ring Fit Adventure
It's a commitment
Ring Fit Adventure The exercise game from Nintendo was more detailed than anyone imagined. The motion-based technology worked well, causing players to work up a good sweat, and the game itself was a meaty turn-based RPG with inventive moves on fighting monsters.
Like any exercise routine, it's a commitment, and not everyone's stomach continues to play. It wasn't the game's fault that people were falling out of the workout routine, because even though the game itself is fun, players need the will to keep exercising.
dead island
Not quite Next Borderlands
In the early 2010s, players were desperate for action RPGs with co-op at scale. border area. That's why dead island Looked very attractive, and while there was fun to be had, players had to suffer through glitches to get the good stuff.
The story was nothing to write home about, and bugs caused everything from save errors to quest snafus. The core gameplay of teaming up with friends, building unique equipment, and outrunning zombies was satisfying, but there were too many quality issues to pick through that not everyone enjoyed it enough to complete it.
Shenmue 3
Decades in the making
Shenmue In North America in 2000 gamers were amazed on the Dreamcast, while another chapter would soon follow on the original Xbox. After a long period of no news, fans gave up hope for a sequel Shenmue 3 Finally released in 2019. For better or worse, it was definitely the successor to the franchise, but also caused some fans to be disappointed.
Shenmue 3 Video game development was basically ignored for the past two decades, and it was like playing a Dreamcast game again. As such, while fans were curious about the story progression, they couldn't push themselves through a bland adventure that felt mechanically dated.
Death Stranding
Kojima's Phantom follow-up
Death Stranding It was the next big game from Hideo Kojima after leaving Konami, so all eyes were on it. While it's nowhere near a bad game, many people were put off because it was unlike any other Kojima game that had come before. It was essentially a walking simulator.
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The story was also harder to understand than expected, the mechanics could literally trip players up if they weren't careful, and the deliveries that make up the main gameplay loop were long and arduous. Many complaints were resolved in the sequel, but everything Death Stranding was divisive.
Kingdom Come: Redemption
Not quite Skyrim
the promise of Kingdom Come: Redemption The aim was to give players a vast open world to explore in a medieval setting, not based on fantasy. The historical value was fun as the city settings and NPCs behaved like hosts at a Renaissance fair.
However, it was one of the slowest RPGs to build momentum, as players had to work to gain an established place in society with good gear. This buildup wasn't something every player signed up for when they imagined they were going to learn the game quickly, eg The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, Minus the magic.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Not very effective
It was a miracle when Larian Studios was able to bring divinity Series with Return from the Dead Divinity: Original SinOffering players one of the best PC-style RPGs in ages. When the sequel, Divinity: Original Sin 2as good as it was, felt less special. It was proof that lightning cannot strike twice to create a cultural phenomenon.
That is, until Larian brought up the studio Baldur's Gate Also back from the dead. This raises the question, will Baldur's Gate 4 Less specifically can be seen, eg Divinity: Original Sin 2Lead to falling fans faster? Or will speed from Baldur's Gate 3 Is it enough to guarantee another success?
10 games with such complex stories you'll need someone to talk to afterwards
You need a thousand-page translation guide or a nerdy friend to understand these games and their complex stories.
