20 Games Players LOVED and Critics HATED
advertisement
VOICE OVER: Johnny Reynolds
WRITTEN BY: Johnny Reynolds
Gamers and critics have rarely ever seen eye to eye but there are some instances where neither side can seem to agree. For this list we'll be breaking down the games that divided critics and gamers on one side of the battlefield or the other with no chance of any resolution. In this video Days Gone will send the freakers back at the review outlets, SpongeBob replays his classics perfectly but apparently still not well enough, Monster Hunter slays its way to a major franchise despite the initial poor reception and many more.
20 Games Players Loved and Critics Hated
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at games that struggled with critics, but still earned passionate fan bases among players.
“Days Gone” (2019)
Likely coming to mind for lots of you who clicked on this video, “Days Gone” has a sizable following. Players loved the horde feature, riding their bike across a fairly well-thought out recreation of Oregon, and Deacon St. John’s tense journey to find his missing wife. However, when it comes to critics, reception could be best described as lukewarm. Admittedly, its 71 Metacritic score isn’t too low. But when news broke about a rejected sequel pitch, despite high sales, there was a huge outcry from players who wanted to see the series continue. Sony seemingly looked at the tepid critical reception, and felt it didn’t fit in with its more prestigious output.
“SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle For Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated” (2020)
The original “Battle For Bikini Bottom” remains a favorite among “SpongeBob” fans. While not the most original of 3D platformers, it was a fun enough romp through the show’s setting. The game was remade in 2020, but there was a common hurdle most critics couldn’t get over. While the visuals were excellent, some of the mechanics and gameplay had grown outdated in the nearly two decades since the original. Many compared it unfavorably to refreshes of other games, with GameSpot giving it an abysmal 2/10. Fans, on the other hand, were more than happy to enjoy the nostalgia and forgive those shortcomings. Most versions scored in the high 60s on Metacritic, while the user score sits at an 8.8.
“Monster Hunter” (2004)
It’s funny to look back on the first entry in the now-massive “Monster Hunter” series, as it wasn’t exactly a critical darling the way many of its sequels would be. Most complaints from critics centered on the small environments, clunky controls, troublesome camera, and problems that came from early online matchmaking of the era. This earned it a mediocre 68 on Metacritic. But the 7.5 user score shows players were a bit more open to it, probably because, despite these issues, you still got to take on awe-inspiring monsters in thrilling action combat. Even through a few subsequent entries, “Monster Hunter” struggled to score higher with critics while fans continued to support it until the series became a juggernaut.
“Urban Reign” (2005)
To a certain group of players, “Urban Reign” is one of the most underrated beat ‘em ups of all time. Released on the PS2 by Bandai Namco, you play as hired muscle Brad Hawk, digging into the political ties to the criminal underworld. Many critics felt it needed polish in nearly every category, from its enemy AI, which they felt was unbalanced, to its mechanics, which they felt were tedious, leading to a 60 on Metacritic. However, with an 8.6 user score, you can tell there’s a pretty big divide here. Many players felt the combat system was actually quite impressive and that critics didn’t dig deep enough. Difficulty could still get overwhelming, but knowing the mechanics made it a bit more fair.
“Postal 2” (2003)
The critic and player scores of the original “Postal” on Metacritic are actually fairly close. But the same can’t be said of its sequel. When “Postal 2” launched, most reviews slammed its humor as immature, and its violence against anyone you wanted as too over the top. It sits at a 50 on Metacritic because of this, but that’s exactly what fans love about it. It remains the high point of the series in the eyes of many players, who praised its dark humor above everything else. And while yes, you could commit some pretty vile acts, the level of freedom was surprising in 2003. It currently holds an 8.1 on Metacritic, as well as an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ ranking on Steam.
“Pokémon Mystery Dungeon” Series (2006-20)
“Pokémon” has an absurd amount of spin-off games. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and some deserve more love than they will ever get. The “Mystery Dungeon” series is of the latter variety. Most games follow the same base premise, about a human-turned-Pokemon who must rely on the help of other creatures to solve this mystery. It blends the turn-based mechanics with procedurally generated dungeon crawling, a unique spin that has delighted hardcore Poké-fans each time. Critics never really saw what the fuss was about, though. The biggest divide goes to 2009’s “Explorers of Sky,” which holds a critical score of 54 and user score of 9.1.
“MediEvil” (2019)
“MediEvil” is in the same boat as “Battle For Bikini Bottom.” A remake of the PS1 action title, the game received an incredible visual overhaul that made its gothic horror locale shine. But once again, there weren’t many improvements to gameplay, and critics took aim at outdated features that made the overall experience more frustrating, notably pointing towards combat as “sloppy.” This earned it a 67 on Metacritic. However, to fans, sticking too close to the original wasn’t really an issue. The 8.0 user rating shows that they were happy to deal with a few old school hindrances if it meant revisiting a cult classic.
“Alpha Protocol” (2010)
Obsidian Entertainment’s “Alpha Protocol” is regarded by its cult followers as being far ahead of its time. The biggest issue critics had with it was its gameplay; most felt the shooting mechanics were mediocre and repetitive at best, and complete trash at worst. The visuals were also criticized, with the kindest of reviewers calling them bland. The console versions sit in the low 60s on Metacritic, but hold a 7.2 with players, along with a ‘Very Positive’ ranking on Steam. While even its biggest defenders can recognize the significant amount of jank, they’re willing to forgive it because the story is just that good. Not only that, but there's incredible wealth when it comes to your choices making a difference in the plot.
“Mad Max” (2015)
While it’s unsurprising that this game would get overshadowed by “Metal Gear Solid V,” there is still a huge group of players who will defend it to the death. Some reviewers were a bit harsh when it came to the game’s story, which they felt to be too small a focus for an expansive, open world game. Others felt that the vehicular combat and overall quest design was too repetitive for such a big game, whose environments could become stale. It scored in the low 70s on Metacritic and underperformed in sales. Ask its defenders, though, and they’ll champion it as an underrated gem. Within the 7.9 user score on Metacritic and the ‘Very Positive’ reviews on Steam, you’ll find endless praise for its world, combat, and interesting NPCs.
“Kirby Air Ride” (2003)
There’s a great deal of Kirby fans who still love “Air Ride,” his racer that was released on the GameCube. But when it came to critics, most felt the mechanics were overly simplistic, and negatively compared it to other Nintendo racers of the time, “Mario Kart: Double Dash” and “F-Zero GX.” Honestly, if you went into this expecting anything like “F-Zero,” that’s on you. Kirby has always been simplistic in mechanics, but that has never been a bad thing. There’s still a lot of joy to be had when racing through these courses, especially when playing with friends. Most critics, which collectively gave it a 61 on Metacritic, felt it was too shallow to recommend. Players felt the opposite, giving it a generous score of 8.2.
“Friday the 13th: The Game” (2017)
This “Friday the 13th” tie-in was there at the onset of the modern, asymmetrical horror boom we’re all still enjoying. It placed most players in the shoes of camp counselors and one other in the role of iconic film killer, Jason Voorhees. It was pretty obvious that the game could’ve used a bit more polish, with critics noting a plethora of bugs and some unbalanced gameplay issues. Fans, though, were just happy to see Jason return. And many of them were more forgiving of the technical issues, as they added to the campy factor prominent in the film series. The developers worked to fix the problems, despite licensing issues that have plagued even its source material, leading to more positive reception from players.
“Gauntlet Dark Legacy” (1999)
“Gauntlet Dark Legacy” did fairly well in arcades. But when it was ported to consoles, that’s when many critics began airing their grievances. While the PS2 version reviewed okay, with a 73 on Metacritic, the GameCube and Xbox versions, released a year later, did not, scoring a 60 and 54 respectively. Many of the negative reviews pointed to the graphics as outdated. But considering it was a three-year old port of an arcade game, that shouldn’t have been a major sticking point. Many also took issue with level design and gameplay, considering it boring, as well as technical issues and slow down with large groups of enemies. Personally, I played and loved the GameCube version; the technical complaints were definitely overstated, and there was plenty of action and secrets to keep you entertained, especially in co-op.
“Pathologic 2” (2019)
The first “Pathologic” gained a cult following thanks to its spooky atmosphere and slow-burn narrative. When it got a sequel much later, which drew a lot more attention, there were a lot of critics who simply didn’t have the time for what it was trying to do. While its setting was another point of praise, the high difficulty that came with its brutal survival mechanics certainly wasn’t. Players, naturally having more time to spend with a game without rushing out a review, grew more used to this difficulty curve, especially those who had played the first. Post-launch, the developers also added customizable difficulty sliders, which most critic scores obviously don’t reflect. It holds a 70 on Metacritic, while the user score is a fair bit higher at 8.8.
“Rain World” (2017)
“Rain World” is another game most reviewers found too frustratingly difficult to enjoy. You play as an animal called a slugcat, who must navigate and survive in increasingly more hostile biomes. To be fair, there’s an insane amount of ways to die in this game, all of which are easy to get caught by, from the many one-hit kill enemies to its disastrous weather system. Critics spoke with their scores, with the PS4 being the lowest-rated at 59. However, survival players are gluttons for punishment, and many of them met the challenge head-on. They loved the high difficulty, and felt that surpassing it was extremely rewarding. The 8.8 Metacritic user score and ‘Very Positive’ Steam ranking were also reached due to the developers issuing post-launch patches.
“Deadly Premonition” (2010)
One of the most famous cult classic games in existence, you don’t earn such a title without either reviewing or selling poorly. “Deadly Premonition” did both. You play as an FBI agent investigating a series of murders, when a whole lot of weird things begin to occur. Some of the more common elements criticized were its gameplay, which some reviewers called horrible, and its visuals, which were considered low quality. However, the game was such an oddity that it eventually drew the attention of many players, earning its cult status. Fans love the campy vibes, seeing some of the things that critics hated as part of the charm. The 360 and PS3 versions hold Metacritic scores of 68 and 70 respectively, while the user score sits at an 8.2.
“Terminator: Resistance” (2019)
Movie tie-in games can be risky, hence why there’s a running joke about them usually being bad. According to the critical reviews of “Terminator: Resistance,” it’s just another in a long line of that legacy. Many critics found it boring and unable to measure up to the many other FPS games on the market. The PS4 version earned the lowest score on Metacritic, a 47. But even the next-gen upgrades, which had better performance, didn’t reach nearly as high ratings as players gave it. Overall, it holds a 7.6 on the site, as well as a ‘Very Positive’ ranking on Steam. It seems “Terminator” fans were simply happy to get another game, and were willing to forgive its lack of originality.
“God Hand” (2006)
At a 73 on Metacritic, “God Hand” holds the highest score of any game on this list. But with an impressive 9.2 user score, there’s still a sizable divide between critics and players. While most reviewers praised its unique spin on beat ‘em up gameplay, they took issue with the controls that had you experience it. They also slammed the camera, visuals, and level design. IGN famously gave it a 3 out of 10, while a 5.5 review from 411Mania considered it a sign as to why Clover Studio needed to shut down soon after release. Ouch. Players, though, still adore it today. They love the oddball sense of humor, and praise its combat encounters as some of the most distinct in its genre.
“NieR” (2010)
A precursor to the near-universally beloved “Automata,” the original “NieR” didn’t perform quite as well. The Xbox 360 version earned a 67 on Metacritic and the PS3 version a 68. Many reviewers had problems with the same aspects. They felt its visuals and environments were bland and uninspired, its gameplay, which utilized several styles, was uneven, and its side quests were repetitive, mindless fluff. However, to players, who gave it an 8.5 user score, none of that detracted from what the game does best. They didn’t care about subpar graphics when the story, voice acting, and music were all this superb. And the uneven gameplay that critics were bothered by, they saw as a varied way to continuously engage with the game.
“Sonic Unleashed” (2008)
In general, the “Sonic” fanbase is much more willing to forgive certain shortcomings that critics are not. But today, we’re talking about “Unleashed.” When it was first released, most reviewers agreed that its visuals and soundtrack were a pretty big step forward. When it came to gameplay, that’s when problems arose for many of them. They felt the werehog sections completely derailed the ‘traditional’ Sonic experience, that they were far too slow and focused too heavily on clunky combat. Some outright hated them. Fans, however, genuinely enjoyed them, and retroactive reception in more recent years has grown far more positive. The lowest the game scored with critics was a 54 on PS3, but it currently holds a user score of 8.5.
“Spider-Man: Web of Shadows” (2008)
There were different versions of “Web of Shadows” for different platforms. But the one most of us played, on PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360, didn’t get nearly as high of reviews as it should have. These all earned scores in the mid 60s on Metacritic, save for the PC’s lower 52. Common complaints among reviewers were some technical issues, a problematic camera, and the way the story was told. In fact, while many agreed its combat was top-notch, most everything else was disappointing. Not to players, though, who have given these versions an overall user score of 8.4. They praise the storyline, which features some great crossover characters and different endings, and for the fact that it is simply damn fun to play.
What’s a game you feel critics judged too harshly? Share it with us in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!
Send