10 Games Held Back By A BAD Story

10 Games Held Back By a Bad Story

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 games that could have been solid at the least had it not been for some truly uninspired, messy, and mundane stories.

“Fallout 4” (2015)

“Fallout 4” is not some truly horrendous mess like so many folks love to make it out to be. Gunplay is great, base building can be ignored if you truly hate it, and there are some interesting landmarks to explore in the Commonwealth. If there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s that the story is really uninteresting. Sure, the overall exploration between human life and the Synths is a bit thought-provoking in some ways, but the search for your missing son feels like a rehash of “Fallout 3’s” story just in reverse. It certainly felt out of place in a game set in a historic city like Boston, Massachusetts, one of the oldest landmarks in America. We have a feeling there was a much more interesting story for the player that could have been used here instead of “father looks for missing son”. Let the milk cartons take care of that side story.

“Bionic Commando” (2009)

Back then, a bunch of us were dunking on this reboot for its ridiculous plot twist, and some of us still do today. Come on, you cannot tell us “my girlfriend is actually my robot arm” isn’t a stupid idea. And it's a real shame that that whole thing is so ridiculous that it single-handedly tarnishes “Bionic Commando”. This game is actually pretty fun! Not only does the game lean into its inspiration of cheesy action movies, but the arm swinging feels insanely good to control. If only it just didn’t pull the rug out from under us with that whole “my arm is my girlfriend” nonsense. Then, maybe more folks would give “Bionic Commando” a little more respect.

“Indivisible” (2019)

Considering the impressive artwork and animation on display with “Skullgirls”, “Indivisible” looked to be the big break Lab Zero Games had been pushing towards. It was an ambitious RPG with its integration of fighting game mechanics and 2D platforming exploration. Thing is that RPGs are heavy on the story, and “Indivisible” has a story that doesn’t know how to breathe or even be in the moment. Characters are quipping and bullying the bad guy without any real relationships being formed, and a lot of the wisecracks happen less than a minute after horrifying, borderline traumatic events. These events could have given “Indivisible’s” cast some much-needed weight, but sure, let’s just pick on Ravannavar for the hundredth time because it’s apparently really funny.

“Metroid: Other M” (2009)

In terms of gameplay, Team Ninja had some really cool ideas implemented into “Other M” from the way the camera moves in certain environments to simply making Samus a badass in combat. Unfortunately, for every epic moment we got for her, there were so many moments that made her an utter joke of a bounty hunter. Samus is supposed to be a lone wolf, a super soldier that doesn’t need to take orders from some dude and knows how to make the right decisions on the fly. Since when did she give a crap about following orders from someone who isn’t her? It wound up making her character incredibly vanilla, and it's why so many “Metroid” fans hold intense disdain for “Other M” despite its strengths in other areas.

“Bayonetta 3” (2023)

“Bayonetta 3”, the sequel we had long been anticipating only for it to come and go like a fart in the wind. We already knew the game was going to have solid combat. That’s just the bare minimum for PlatinumGames. As for the story? Well, just like “Indivisible”, “Bayonetta 3” suffers from major inconsistent changes in tone. “We want to be edgy and wacky, but we also want to be dark and serious, but now it's time to be edgy and wacky again!” It's such a rollercoaster of emotion that it gets flat out tiring to endure, and considering Platinum already had two games to finally figure out its direction, it's now more frustrating than tiring. Don’t even get us started on Viola.

“Star Wars Battlefront II” (2017)

One might be a bit irked by us putting a game that is primarily multiplayer on this list. However, given the amount of attention EA gave “Battlefront II’s” campaign during marketing, no, the game is definitely deserving to be here. “Battlefront II” was supposed to give us a campaign where we get an in-depth look into the life of a bad guy, an Imperial officer named Iden Versio who helps the Empire lay waste to rebel scum. But roughly midway into the campaign, she defects to the rebels after carrying out an order that harmed her home planet. This prideful and patriotic side of Iden is never shown or even remotely hinted at in the story early on. It winds up making her sudden betrayal feel like a cop out from telling a good villain story. Just another blemish on “Battlefront’s” face.

“Borderlands 3” (2019)

Gearbox has had quite a bit of trouble making “Borderlands” one of the best looter shooters with great storytelling, and the problems all started with “Borderlands 3”. While the game did have solid gunplay, the characters were absolutely insufferable. The way they talk, the lingo they use, the way they tend to keep talking and over-explain everything until a small peep of a joke magically comes out of their mouths… None of it comes close to the humor that “Borderlands”, its sequel, and “Pre-Sequel” boasted. What’s more infuriating is how “New Tales From the Borderlands” and “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands” continued this approach to its comedy and writing, and both were just as awful. Yeah, there’s not much hope for “Borderlands 4”.

“Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite” (2017)

MvCI already had quite a number of problems. The 2v2 format was a weird departure from the standard 3v3 that the series had become known for. And the visuals…well, even ugly games can turn out fun, especially since MvC was getting an actual story mode for the first time ever! Despite all the time and energy Capcom put into “Infinite”, it turned out to be a huge waste of time. “Infinite’s” story is a total mess in how it doesn’t explain ANYTHING that’s going on! Ultron and Sigma have already merged, and now, they’re invading all of the merged locations? But we also need to stop Jedah from creating a new version of Venom that would destroy cities, but we also need to free Thanos just so he can tell us where to find the Infinity Stones while keeping an eye on him because he’s a big meanie… You’re thrown around with meaningless plots and details so frequently that by the time you beat Ultron Omega, you’ll have no memory of everything that happened beforehand.

“Immortals of Aveum” (2023)

There were two big complaints that plagued “Immortals of Aveum” at launch. The first one was about the technical instability. The second one was regarding its story. Look, we aren’t going to trash it and say “its teh worst thing everr”. It isn’t perfect, but it isn’t dreadful. Its serviceable. Even so, we have to admit there are some groan-inducing moments that make “Immortals of Aveum’s” story hard to stomach. It pulls the same nonsense you’d expect from what one would describe as “MCU writing”. The amazement of their own powers doing cool stuff, the bad guy standing behind the good guy while they’re talking crap, you get the idea. We’re willing to say that “Immortals” was merely a victim of circumstance considering how saturated entertainment has gotten with this kind of writing. Regardless, that caveat isn’t going to fly with most players, and it didn’t.

“Forspoken” (2023)

“Forspoken” really did not get any credit it might have deserved. The combat may be enough for some to stick with the game, but unfortunately, “Forspoken” faced the same problems as “Bayonetta 3”, “Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite”, and “Immortals of Aveum”. Conflicting tones that don’t match up with the situation at hand and change on the fly. Plot points that fail to build upon anything that’s been established beforehand and expect you to just accept things are happening. And worst of all, the “writing”. It was so bad that co-writer Gary Whitta would state how the game turned out to be nothing like what he wrote. We can only imagine what little of Amy Hennig’s vision made it into the final build. That said, it is really, really hard to speak positively about “Forspoken” when the story turned out this bad.

Was there a game where the story might have killed your interest in the rest of the game? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!