The most disappointing games of 2021
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In a few weeks we’ll be in 2022. A new year already packed with highly anticipated games in just it’s first quarter. But as we count the remaining days of this year, we look back at what was released this year. Some games blew us away, but there were a good amount of games that just didn’t make the cut as these are the most disappointing games of 2021.
Battlefield 2042
Battlefield 2042 was a technical struggle with its myriad of bugs at launch. Sadly, that wasn’t the only thing holding back what could have been a promising entry to the Battlefield franchise. This shooter is a perfect example of going bigger doesn’t always mean better as the maps designed to cater up to 128 players feel too large that most of it feels like wasted space. This game made me realize how much I appreciate static defensive placements (anti-air, machine gun placements, etc) or even the ability to fortify areas like in Battlefield V as we have none of that in the future, according to Battlefield 2042.
The big weather events like the sandstorms or tornados are more of a gimmick than being a significant inclusion to the overall gameplay, and the lack of features like a detailed scoreboard in a match or even an overall statistics page really dragged down this game during launch. It’s the little things that start to pile up and get noticed the more you play the game. Battlefield Portal is the only impressive thing about Battlefield 2042 as you can easily relive past Battlefield titles and maps in unique settings.
Will the game be better next year? Absolutely. But I don’t know how much more players can take on purchasing half-baked triple A titles.
Call of Duty: Vanguard
Thankfully, Call of Duty: Vanguard didn’t have the same issues or technical hiccups as Battlefield 2042, it just has an entirely different problem - franchise fatigue. With the Call of Duty series having a new title every year, it’s only natural to feel it, but with Vanguard it’s hard to shake off as the series goes back to World War II yet again with nothing unique to make it really stand out.
The campaign is a series of levels that felt all too similar with previous games in the same setting. Multiplayer – which admittedly, is a strong offering compared to last year – is the same old run and gun Call of Duty competitive shooting since the first Modern Warfare, and this year’s Zombies lacks what makes the game mode so loved by its community (currently no easter egg event). The series already revisited the World War II setting back in 2017. I was hoping Vanguard would try something new, something that would really make it stand out, but no, it’s one of the safest titles released.
Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance
I don’t know where to start with this one. From afar, it looks like Dungeon’s & Dragons: Dark Alliance is a promising dungeon crawler that can be played with up to three other players set in Dungeons & Dragons’ Icewind Dale. Once you start playing, the first level is enough to show that this isn’t a game worth spending your time on.
The combat is dull beyond reason, the loot is uninspiring, even the levels don’t express the need to explore and take in all that it has to offer. To make matters worse, the game felt dead on arrival as matchmaking was barely working.. or maybe there wasn’t anyone playing it. Either way, you’ll likely play alone unless you’re able to convince a friend or two to play with. There are better options if you’re looking for a good action RPG to play with friends, so best to stay away from this one.
Destruction Allstars
Another game that was dead on arrival. Desturction Allstars originally started at $70 as an exclusive PS5 title, but soon went down to $30. It launched as a free offering for PS Plus members back in February but that wasn’t enough to build a solid player base to keep this multiplayer-focused game afloat.
The problem? You lose the drive to play the game rather quickly. After just one night with the game I already struggled to feel the urge to play more of the game. It got even worse that after a few weeks of not playing as the game’s matchmaking turned for the worse as it was hard to get players in the Asia region. There was no feeling of wanting to play one more match after countless hours of playing the game. It just never clicked, and that’s a shame.
Magic: Legends
Magic: Legends was a free-to-play action RPG set in the Magic: the Gathering universe that went open beta this year but quickly shut down for good on October 31, 2021, and for good reason.
It was a complete mess. The urge to stop playing and uninstall Cryptic Studios’ latest title was so strong that an hour of the game was all I needed to know this isn’t going anywhere. It looked graphically dated and surprisingly struggled to maintain a decent framerate. Gameplay was so mindless that I didn’t care what I was pressing and their concept of integrating deck building was flawed. The lag was also unbearable plus it launched with aggressive microtransactions with even a class gated by a paywall.
The game didn’t feel close to fun as I was playing it with other friends excited to play a game set in the Magic universe. All of us felt like we tasted something awful that day and the fact that the game threw in the towel just six months after it hit open beta shows that we weren’t the only ones hit with disappointment.
New World
Amazon Games Studios’ MMORPG has so much potential. I loved my time with the beta and couldn’t wait to spend more on the game at launch. Sadly, everything turned sour the moment I surpassed level 25.
The problem with this game is that it doesn’t progress into something different, more challenging, or simply new. Whatever experience I’ve encountered from level 25 and below – be it crafting, gathering, combat, pvp, dungeons, etc – are all the same as you climb to the level cap. It doesn’t help that the main story or any quest you encounter has any meaningful stories to tell.
You fight the same old enemies in higher areas with the same attack patterns, most of the quests are just you tasked to kill this or gather that, and weapon builds lack any variety to keep things interesting and more complex. For example, my gameplay as a level 25 musket + rapier user isn’t that different compared to my level 40 self. The game’s pve dungeons were also a miss as not only was it not rewarding, it’s rather difficult to replay them as it requires a rare key item to get inside.
In short, I was slowly losing my appeal the longer I played. It didn’t help that the game launched with an insane amount of bugs from item duplication exploits, skill exploits, to passive skills and features simply not working as intended or not working at all. Every week since launch it felt like Amazon Games Studios was putting out a new fire that was quickly going out of control.
I still think New World shows promise as the game has a solid foundation as it was a lot of fun in the first 30 hours or so. I just wished Amazon was able to maintain that level of enjoyment all the way to the level cap.
