We're already more than halfway through 2018, and have so far been lucky to have an array of fantastic next-generation games. However with excitement, also comes disappointment. Like every year, there have been a bunch of great games released that have made us glued to our screens, but there have also been some games which we thought were going to blow our minds, but ended up being quite disappointing.
Big games such as Far Cry 5, God of War, and Sea of Thieves have been greatly anticipated, and we've been waiting ever so patiently to get our hands on them. Now the time has come, and they have bombarded us with flawless attention to detail and engaging storylines. This time last year, we were gifted with great games such as Resident Evil: Biohazard and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. This year, games are successfully meeting the same high standards in a wide variety of genres, and with the holiday season fast approaching, it looks like we have A LOT more to look forward to in the second half o the year. That being said, while there have been some hits, that doesn't mean that all of the games we were most excited for hit big.
Now we're halfway through the year, it's time to pause, and look back at some of the best and unfortunately disappointing games released so far in 2018.
30 Disappointment: Crisis Of The Planet Of The Apes (VR)
We were excited to see what this game would bring to the table, especially given the quality of the recent Planet of the Apes movie franchise. Now that VR is a maturing, the idea of combining the two sounded great. The VR shooter takes place between the 2014 movie Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and most recent Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. However, unfortunately, the game turned out to be a bit of a clumsy mess. For the most part, it controls like a clumsy arcade shooter.
29 Best: State Of Decay 2
If you're a fan of The Walking Dead TV show, or Telltale game series, then State of Decay 2 is something worth trying out. It tackles a lot of the same tropes as TWD franchise, but on a granular system-oriented level. The game does feature a lot of zombie slaying if that's how you wanna play it, but it often won't work in your favour. You must build a community base for you and your fellow survivors, and think strategically about how to survive in this zombie ridden world. It's a massive improvement over the first game, and it has successfully satisfied State of Decay fans everywhere — and made some new ones along the way.
28 Disappointment: Sea Of Thieves
Real-life pirate battles on the stormy seas has made its way into the gaming world. The long awaited game is fun to play, and a visually appealing pirate-fantasy world. There are surprising discoveries every step of the way, and everything is placed with a purpose.
Travelling is one of the best parts of the game, however, it quickly became a disappointment when players realised how repetitive the gameloop is. The game is bursting with potential, but doesn't have enough to want to bring players back...
27 Best: Far Cry 5
One of the most anticipated games of 2018, Ubisoft have finally released their follow-up to 2014's Far Cry 4. You can expect a lot of what we've already seen in the other Far Cry games in this installment, however, the new setting goes a long way to create something special. The game has by far lived up to expectations, featuring all the great mechanics the Far Cry games already had, with additional changes, improvements, and things to do. Not to mention the graphics are insane!
26 Disappointment: Fear Effect Sedna
Fear Effect was a cult classic from the PlayStation 1 — it definitely found its footing in a post-The Matrix world. While the games had interesting ideas, it definitely had a lot of problems. In other words: they needed another chance (and a bigger budget) to tell their story. Sadly, Fear Effect: Sedna's story isn't all that great, the script is weak, voice acting is embarrassing, and AI is weak. It definitely seems like it's time to close the book on Fear Effect.
25 Best: God Of War
Released spring 2018, God of War is the most hyped game of the year, and players are definitely happy with the outcome. The PlayStation exclusive (sorry Xbox users), has received astonishing feedback from players and media all over the world. The storyline is captivating, matched with remarkable visuals and vast amounts of exploration in this Norse-mythology inspired world.
24 Disappointment: A Way Out
Gamers all over the world were hyped about this game because it is completely and utterly cooperative. There's nothing better than sitting down on the couch with your best buddy, and spending an entire evening playing a two-player game, and there aren't as many as we'd like out there. A Way Out has its pros, managing to build a personal-drama with great action and emotion, and —of course— it has great co-op play mechanics where you and your partner interact and help each other frequently. However, a few hours in, it becomes cliche and disappointing. It's trope-heavy and mostly uninspired.
23 Best: Shadow Of The Colossus
The 2005 version of the game was a revelation, a defining title of the PlayStation 2. The remaster for PlayStation 3 improved the game greatly, and now, in the 2018, the PlayStation 4 version is the defacto iteration of this masterpiece.
The world has been completely redrawn, its highly detailed environment is breathtaking. Don't miss a change to see one of the great gaming classics running on a modern gaming machine.
22 Disappointment: Metal Gear Survive
The action-adventure survival game was released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft platforms earlier this year. The game is a spin-off of the Metal Gear Solid V story that is located in a strange, alternate universe (however, it doesn't feel like a Metal Gear game). It sounds pretty cool, but failed to deliver a fun and memorable experience.
Despite a large environment, it feels bland and claustrophobic.
Metal Gear: Survive is just another survival game full of micro-transactions. Although the combat is fun, the story is unfortunately extremely dull, and doesn't deserve to carry on the Metal Gear name.
21 Best: Dandara
Dandara is a 2D platformer, Metroidivania game developed by Long Hat House. Available on an array of platforms (PS4, Xbox One, PC, iOs, Nintendo Switch, and many more), where Dandara has awoken in a bizarre universe on the shrink of oblivion, ready to reshape the world. In order to move Dandara, players must bounce from one platform to the next.
Explore a pixel-art world like no other.
The game replaces the typical running and jumping actions with the ability to slingshot your character (Dandara) between walls and platforms. It has been an indie highlight of 2018.
20 Disappointment: Sword Of Fortress: The Onomuzium
Available only on PlayStation 4, Sword of Fortress: The Onomuzium is one heck of a disappointment of a game, if you could even call it that. It is riddled with bugs, has a practically empty open-world with lack of scenery and colours, and a very poor combat system which doesn't work half the time.
The fact the game is supposedly based on the Dark Souls franchise is an insult.
It's almost surprising Sony allowed this game on their marketplace of this game. What a wasted opportunity.
19 Best: Ocopath Traveller
Square Enix's new and exclusive Nintendo Switch RPG has just been launched, following the journey of eight travelers through a vibrant and exciting world named Osterra. Battling monsters through in-depth, multi-layered, turn-based combat, the game is a JRPG fan's dream.
Each of the eight travellers are protagonists with their own story. With all new mechanics, you can venture into different path actions and experience the different strengths and weaknesses of each character. Be sure to have booked a holiday, because you won't be able to stop playing.
18 Disappointment: The Crew 2
The Crew 2 had potential to be a great game, however, failed to provide some of the essentials of a driving game. With Forza Horizon 4 literally on the horizon, you'd think developers, Ivy Tower, would've upped their game even higher. Although they developed a fun, free, large-scale driving experience, the title feels completely hollow.
The animation and cutscenes were cringeworthy, matching with a non-existent storyline. The Crew 2 is your average driving game, we recommend waiting for the next Forza (don't tell them we said that!)
17 Best: Vampyr
Set in the early 20th Century in England, Vampyr is an absolute diamond in the rough. players explore the streets of London (plagued by the Spanish flu and fear) as they take the role of Johnathan E. Reid, a military surgeon turned bloodsucking vampire. Interact with numerous characters in the game, but don't get too attached to them because sooner or later, you may need to feed on them. Who will it be?
16 Disappointment: Dynasty Warriors 9
Journey through China in a vast open-world map and watch three kingdoms unfold through a cast of 90 different playable characters. As cool as it sounds, it may have been released a little too early as it doesn't feel complete. Partially because of how poorly the game runs on all platforms, and the whole open-world and combat system is lacking. It's hardly the worst offender on this list, but we expect more from such a long-running franchise.
15 Best: Dark Souls (Remastered)
This is it, the moment we've been waiting for (since around 2011), DARK SOULS REMASTERED!
The release provides the same exhilarating experience as the original, but with a sharper performance and beautifully enhanced graphics.
The remastered version runs from 1080p at 60 frames per second on PS4, and at native 1800p scaled to 4K/60 on PS4 Pro.
Embark upon an epic dark fantasy in one of the most popular (and hardest) game franchises to date - fans worldwide were more than excited to get their hands on an even better version of this incredible game available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch since May 2018.
14 Disappointment: The Inpatient (VR)
The Inpatient acts as a pseudo-prequel to Until Dawn. The virtual reality, psychological horror (developed by Supermassive Games), was released at the beginning of this year. The PS VR exclusive quickly became a disappointment to players when they realised how quickly it was over. The game is really just an experience more than anything else, although it looked like an exciting prospect, it lacked in story content, variety, and was overall a really short game. The Inpatient has a few jump scares, but nothing in comparison to other games on the market
13 Best: Ni Nu Kuni: II
Re-enter the animated world of Ni Nu Kuni in this stunning sequel. The colourful visuals is more than enough to draw our eyes to this game — but it also helps that it's a role-playing masterpiece. It's hard to say if this sequel matches the original, but the game doesn't require you to have played the first one to understand the plot. There is plenty to explore and the combat is incredibly fun, plus the diverse art animation is more than enough to make this a great game.
12 Disappointment: Agony
Agony is the right word to describe the experience of playing this game. The dark fantasy survival horror (released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC), takes players on a journey as a tormented soul in the deep dark depths of the below. The story sounds like a horror game you would most definitely want to play, sadly the game is tedious and boring. Moreover, some of the design and worldbuilding borders on offensively juvenile.
11 Best: Celeste
Celeste is without a doubt one of the best games released this year.
The game was initially a prototype, created in four days, which later became a full release.
Help young Madeline survive on her journey up to Celeste Mountain, overcoming her inner demons. It may seem simple, but this ridiculously challenging platformer will put even veteran gamers through their paces.