Good afternoon! 2022 was a turbulent year in the gaming industry for multiple reasons, but the overall release schedule was pretty good. However, last year was a bit overloaded and several games left something to be desired. Last week, I wrote about my favorite video games of 2022. Today, I’m focusing on my biggest disappointments. Keep in mind, some of these games aren’t bad. In fact, some of them had decent critical reception. I was just unimpressed with these releases for a variety of reasons, including game breaking bugs, poor gameplay, ridiculous price points, and any number of possibilities. In a perfect world, every video game would be amazing, but that’s not reality. Let’s check out my most disappointing video games of 2022.
Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo This narrative adventure probably wasn’t on anyone’s radar, but I enjoy the genre. It’s a mystery game that seems to have a connection with Alfred Hitchcock and Vertigo in name only. The game has a completely different story with a new cast of characters. Such a major change might not bother me in most cases, but Vertigo is an iconic film and the game is inferior on every level. It’s slow and predictable with an unsatisfying ending. Cheap animation and mundane voice acting doesn’t help either. The Callisto Protocol Come on, guys. Some of you created the original Dead Space. Unfortunately, The Callisto Protocol is disappointing because the gameplay is unpolished and awkward. The controls are downright weird and unresponsive most of the time. That’s a big deal because enemies are incredibly deadly with just a few hits. A game stops being fun when I’m dying constantly. The Callisto Protocol is legitimately scary with excellent animation, but these elements were mired by other issues. The Chant Here’s another horror game on my list of disappointments. The Chant didn’t receive a lot of attention and the reasons eventually became clear to me. Basically, this psychedelic Lovecraftian game had a ton of potential because it includes unique gameplay, interesting ideas, well developed characters, and a nice blend of horror and action. Sadly, everything goes downhill because the combat is a pain in the neck and it becomes progressively worse. It also leaves gamers on a cliffhanger for a sequel we probably won’t see. Evil Dead: The Game I really like the Evil Dead movies, but this multiplayer game is pretty weak. It seems like some gamers really enjoy this one and I won’t judge them. Evil Dead: The Game has very little variety in terms of gameplay and environments. You’re just playing the same type of mission all the time. Also, I find the combat awkward and unrefined. Perhaps, this game needed more time in development. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed This game broke my heart because I love the original Ghostbusters tv show. I didn’t have high expectations for this multiplayer game, but it wasn’t ready for the market yet. The upgrade system doesn’t provide enough perks and the overall gameplay isn’t very entertaining. Can you of you play as a ghost? I can’t! My save file has a glitch that won’t let me play as a ghost. I can pick a ghost character and arena, but the mission will always load a team of ghostbusters instead. No thank you. Gotham Knights Sorry Warner Bros., but Gotham Knights is probably my biggest disappointment of the year. It has some positive elements, although the overall experience is tedious, uninventive, repetitive, and plagued with bugs. The inventory and upgrade system is almost incomprehensible. Gotham Knights has one of the most unimpressive storylines in DC games and the graphics are noticeably worse than any of the Arkham titles. I was a huge advocate for this game until the final release, but apparently, the skeptics were right. Gungrave G.O.R.E. Nearly every component of this game is perplexing. Gungrave G.O.R.E. feels like an outdated shooter with a lot of repetition, linear progression, forgettable boss fights, lack of enemy variety, and poor voice acting. Furthermore, the combat is very awkward and you have to press the right trigger button repeatedly to fire any gun. Why can’t the player hold down the button like any other game? On the plus side, you can play this game on Xbox Game Pass. Ikai Honestly, I never felt scared while playing this horror game. Ikai has an interesting premise that focuses on a young girl in feudal Japan who’s trying to escape from ghosts and demons. Unfortunately, the mood ranges from boring to utterly hilarious. You can trace sigils that ward off evil spirits, but it looks like the scribblings of toddlers. The story is also bland with an abrupt ending. Some day, we’ll see a good horror game in ancient Japan, but it’s not this one. Kao the Kangaroo I’m a huge fan of animated platformers, although the reboot of Kao the Kangaroo is considerably weaker compared to Crash Bandicoot and similar releases. The animation is adorable and the controls work pretty well, but the camera moves around, which causes unnecessary deaths. I’m not impressed with the voice acting or story. Additionally, the gameplay is quite repetitive and the runtime is a bit short for a $35 price point. More importantly, you have a limited number of lives and it’s hard to gain more of them. New Tales from the Borderlands It seems like gamers waited an eternity for the next chapter in Tales from the Borderlands. This new game is serviceable and funny sometimes, but the overall experience is less impressive than many graphic adventures. Some of the dialogue is cringeworthy and the characters aren’t very endearing. The runtime feels excessive and none of the endings seem like a strong payoff. It’s fine, but not great. Pac-Man World Re-Pac The remake of Pac-Man World is a budget title, although I still expected a little more entertainment value. I find the platforming clunky and some of the levels are downright frustrating. Somehow, this game manages to be very easy and annoying at the same time. I’m not entirely sure why Bandai Namco released this game at all, but it’s definitely a weak entry in the Pac-Man franchise. There might be a reason why it had minimal marketing. Shadow Warrior 3 Devolver Digital had a rough year, in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed Shadow Warrior 2, but the most recent title was quite disappointing with janky controls, a short runtime, a lack of boss fights, and eye rolling humor. The graphics and creature effects are pretty cool, although most elements are completely forgettable. Spoiler alert! How many of you remember Kamiko turning into a dragon at the end of Shadow Warrior 2? They slay and eat her at the end of this one. Classy. Trek to Yomi This side scrolling action game has effective hack and slash combat along with a unique animation style. However, Trek to Yomi becomes very repetitive in a short period of time. Checkpoints are scarce and this simple type of gameplay is difficult to master. The story is gloomy and the overall experience isn’t particularly fun. It seems like this game was designed to be high art for some reason. Vampire: The Masquerade- Swansong I have to admit, this entry in Vampire: The Masquerade is just awful. Normally, I try to give more credit to a developer, but Swansong is unacceptable with a slew of glitches, broken dialogue mechanics, a lack of combat, and a confusing story. None of the characters are interesting and it might be the worst graphic adventure I played in 2022. Sorry for being so negative, but this game rubbed me the wrong way. It also had a whopping $50 price tag. Weird West This open world adventure game had high critical praise, but it didn’t click with me. Weird West has an interesting premise with unique characters, although the gameplay is really confusing and hard to grasp. This game is more frustrating than challenging and the upgrade system has very slow progression. It takes forever to unlock the best upgrades in the skill tree and the runtime is mindnumpingly long. It’s fine if you enjoy this game, but I wasn’t a fan. We can’t win them all. What games disappointed you the most last year? Add your picks in the comment section. Perhaps, I’ll keep this list in mind upon choosing games this year. 2023 is still young and we have many games ahead. Let’s hope most of them are really good. Thanks for visiting and come back again next week!
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