Every year seems like it has some of the most anticipated titles coming out, and every year some of them end up disappointing fans. It’s just how the game industry works. Products can’t always match the hype, and that leaves a lot of consumers unsatisfied. On the flip side, plenty of under-the-radar games end up catching everyone off guard.
It’s almost impossible to tell which games will fall into which category beforehand. This year, plenty of big-name titles have released to lukewarm reviews, while a bunch of less publicized ones have been met with critical praise. These are 5 2019 video games that have been disappointing, and 5 that surprised us.
10 Disappointing: Kingdom Hearts III
While it wasn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, the consensus on Kingdom Hearts III was that it wasn’t worth the wait. The game is well made, but not in any way noteworthy or outstanding.
The story is a bit of a mess, and the game’s climax feels fairly lackluster, with a lot of it seeming like it was thrown together for the sake of resolving old plot threads. The worlds aren’t anything special either and seem empty and lifeless.
9 Surprised Us: A Plague Tale: Innocence
Asobo Studio’s A Plague Tale: Innocence snuck up on a lot of gamers but was met with rave reviews when it released. The game is a mixture of stealth, survival horror, and action gameplay.
The game was praised for its beautiful visuals, engaging narrative, dark tone, and characters. It may not seem like it at first glance, but A Plague Tale stands out as one of the best games of 2019 thus far.
8 Disappointing: Pathologic 2
A follow-up to the 2004 cult psychological horror game, Pathologic 2 failed to meet expectations, though it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on the developers’ part. Pathologic 2 does some things right but just fails to get some core gameplay aspects down.
In terms of narrative and atmosphere, the game manages to deliver. But, when it comes to performance and gameplay, Pathologic 2 just feels mediocre and shoddily done. It’s a real shame, seeing as it is a genuinely enjoyable horror experience when it functions properly.
7 Surprised Us: Tetris 99
Tetris has pretty much been done to death over the years, but Tetris 99 adds in a new spin on the classic, making it an enjoyable breath of fresh air. The concept is pretty simple; think Tetris but add in multiplayer elements. That’s all there is to it.
Tetris 99 is pretty much an online multiplayer battle royale Tetris with 99 players competing at once. The core gameplay is still pretty much the same, but the developers didn’t need to do all that much to revitalize this old classic.
6 Disappointing: Anthem
Sadly, disappointment has recently become the norm when purchasing a BioWare product. When it was first announced, Anthem seemed like it would be one of the biggest successes of 2019. But as soon as the game launched, the reviews indicated the complete opposite.
The game is broken and proves itself to be nothing more than a mediocre product at best. What’s even worse is that the game had so much potential, but was obviously rushed. It shows and suffers due to that.
5 Surprised Us: Void Bastards
Every year, there are a handful of indie titles that come out of nowhere and really leave an impression. These games don’t have the benefit of having huge marketing budgets and instead rely on solid gameplay to spread the word around. Void Bastards is one of those games.
While the game does have some technical hiccups, it’s nothing that overshadows its solid gameplay and phenomenal visuals. Void Bastards is a great mix of style and fun that you can enjoy for hours on end.
4 Disappointing: Wolfenstein: Youngblood
The Wolfenstein games have been trending downwards recently, with the series seemingly losing some of what made it so special in the first place. Youngblood is the worst entry to date and certainly doesn’t live up to the legacy of its predecessors.
There are issues all across the board here. Bad level design, mediocre shooting mechanics, and AI that’s so bad it makes the game feel like it’s over a decade old. This is a definite pass, even if you are a fan of the series.
3 Surprised Us: Katana Zero
Askiisoft’s Katana Zero is another awesome indie game that many didn’t hear about until after it released. The game has done fairly well both critically and financially so far, and, with any luck, will sustain that success going forward.
The game suffers from some technical hiccups here and there, but, given the small team working on it, that’s to be expected. Katana Zero is incredibly stylish and will certainly leave an impression with its fun gameplay and unique presentation.
2 Disappointing: Jump Force
This was a game that a lot of people were excited for when it was first announced. The concept alone should’ve ensured that Jump Force was a massive success. Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go down as most fans expected, and what shipped was a buggy and mediocre product.
While being able to choose from a plethora of Shounen Jump characters seems like an easy sell, early impressions of Jump Force were that the game was too clunky and awkward to really compete with most fighters on the market. It’s a shame as well as a total waste.
1 Surprised Us: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Though the Fire Emblem series is well established in North America, the success of Three Houses thus far is a little surprising. Three Houses seems to have surpassed modern FE titles in terms of reception and popularity—and the game hasn’t even been out all that long.
The game keeps its TRPG roots and makes some additions to core gameplay while also expanding on social sim and exploration elements touched upon in previous entries. It’s one of the best Switch games of 2019 thus far.