5. Starfield: Shattered Space DLC
Starfield was one of the most disappointing games of 2023. Some people love it, but it’s hard to say it wasn’t a major disappointment compared to Elder Scrolls or Fallout. Starfield: Shattered Space is more Starfield. It doesn’t improve or change anything. It does give a new world to explore that’s a lot less barren than the ones found in the main game, but there are no new abilities or systems. Starfield fans hoping for a core game upgrade were left wanting, which makes Starfield: Shattered Space an easy pick for COGconnected’s Most Disappointing Video Games of 2024.
4. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II
Our reviewer loved Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. They gave it 95/100. It’s a gorgeous game, with an immersive world. But a lot of people found Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II to be too much of what I call “third person cinematic games”, popularized by the Uncharted series. The game is designed with no HUD, and combat is filled with cutscenes, making the player watch more than play. As an interactive movie, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II succeeds, but as a fun action/ adventure game, it’s not very fun to play. Honestly, I’m surprised so many of COGconnected’s writers agree with me.
3. Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones was supposed to be Ubisoft’s glorious return to the pirate battles of Assassin’s Creed IV. The game had an 11-year development cycle, so it was surprising when the end product turned out so flawed. Skull and Bones’ core combat is really fun, but its missions are repetitive. The narrative is almost non-existent, there’s not much to do, and the whole thing just lacks pirate fun. It’s like Ubisoft spent so much time trying to get the gameplay right, that they rushed every other aspect right at the end. These problems make Skull and Bones an easy choice for COGconnected’s Most Disappointing Video Games of 2024 list.
2. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League easily could have been #1 on COGconnected’s Most Disappointing Video Games of 2024. It was made by Rocksteady, the developer behind the mainline Batman Arkham games. Early trailers looked promising, with quality cinematics. They even brought back Kevin Conroy as the voice of Batman. But the game just has a really boring, repetitive gameplay loop. Our reviewer wrote “I saw everything SSKtJL had to show me within the first thirty minutes of gameplay”. Rocksteady innovated with their third person combat in Batman: Arkham Asylum. In Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, they just crappily copied Fortnite.
1. Concord
The #1 game on COGconnected’s Most Disappointing Video Games of 2024 is Concord, a game that doesn’t even exist anymore. So few people played Concord that Sony refunded all purchases. They thought it would be their next major franchise, with budget estimates being as high as $400 million! Personally, I thought it looked insanely generic before launch, and didn’t even consider playing it. I thought it looked like a bland Overwatch clone. Arguably 2024’s biggest disappointment, but 100% 2024’s biggest failure.
Do you agree with our choices? What was your most disappointing game of 2024? Let us know in the comments.
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