10 Games That Received UNFAIR Criticism

10 Games That Received Unfair Criticism

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re taking a look at 10 games that were judged harshly or sometimes unreasonably.

“Assassin’s Creed III” (2012)

There are some justified criticisms to make against “Assassin’s Creed III”. Not a ton of people were crazy about Connor, and some of the level design isn’t optimized for the parkour mechanics the series is known for. But is that really enough to call it an awful game? Not really. The combat was just as fun as it was in “Assassin’s Creed II” and Haytham went down as one of the most memorable villains in the franchise. We ranked it at number eleven on our list of Every “Assassin’s Creed” Ranked, and we’d argue that’s still a solid spot for a game like this. Some folks really gotta chill with the hate.

“Mad Max” (2015)

You know, some folks accuse us of “complaining too much” or “whining” whenever we criticize their favorite games. No, the hullabaloo surrounding “Mad Max” is straight up whining and complaining. Many gaming outlets complained about the game’s world being empty or even filled with too much sand. Gee, it’s almost like the game takes place in an apocalyptic wasteland in Australia... It’s such a shame that you have to drive around to find stuff to do in a game based on a movie franchise where characters are always driving around to do stuff. These statements are what got the game a totally unfair Metacritic score of 69. THIS is complaining. THIS is whining.

“Days Gone” (2019)

In the case of “Days Gone”, both gaming outlets and Sony themselves are to blame for the game’s failure. Many critics slammed the game for being a buggy mess and because of how utterly generic it was in setting and tone. The latter can be understandable given how excessive the use of zombies is in games. As for the buggy mess, this could have been avoided in two different ways. First off, Sony sent out review copies almost an entire month before launch, leading reviewers to play an outdated version of the game. After several patches were implemented leading up to launch, none of the problems outlets claimed to have had were present, and if they were, they were rare cases. Had outlets waited until launch or Sony PR held off on sending review copies, perhaps Bend Studio would be working on a “Days Gone 2”.

“Forspoken” (2023)

While we’re on the subject of open world games that were done wrong, we need to stick up for “Forspoken”. Yes, we know. Story bad. Story no good because character talk no good. Ah, but that no mean game bad, fellow Neanderthal. We are also aware that we called this one of the most mid games of 2023. But does that make it awful? No, not by a mile. “Forspoken” has some fun combat, good enemy variety, and entertaining parkour mechanics. We played it on the hardest difficulty, too, and had a blast with it. The story and writing is weak, we know. But the amount of hate towards the game is utterly confusing and has oftentimes been used as a poor excuse to cry about games being “woke”. We can’t play as women, guys. Guess we gotta stop playing “Metroid” and “Tomb Raider”, too.

“Starfield” (2023)

Honestly, we are not quite sure where the vitriol towards “Starfield” is coming from. The game is by no means perfect, and if you’re not familiar with Bethesda’s games or never cared for them to begin with, no one is going to change your mind by having you play “Starfield”. However, many are taking it way, WAY over the edge! Maybe it’s because this was the biggest launch of 2023, but it’s so bizarre how many people came out of the shadows to kick and scream about two-second loading screens or, heaven forbid, the inclusion of pronouns. As expected, so many PlayStation and Xbox players started going after each other’s throats. Guys… chill. The game is fine. Calm down.

“The Last of Us: Part II” (2020)

Wait, don’t leave! We totally understand the criticism towards “The Last of Us: Part II”! That whole section where you play as Abby really was divisive, with many players feeling it messed with the pacing of the game (myself included). Those of sound mind and body would either agree with that sentiment or come up with a compelling and detailed reason for why they feel different. Unfortunately, too many bad actors were invading the community and cramming their bigoted beliefs into the conversation. From Ellie’s orientation to Abby’s role in the story, the discourse surrounding the game from a large portion of the community was nothing but toxic, which is a shame.

“SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated” (2020)

We’ll shift gears back to less political turmoil for the remainder of the video now. How about a more lighthearted game like “SpongeBob Rehydrated”? This remake of the 2003 “Battle for Bikini Bottom” game saw a review process more bizarre than “Days Gone”. Once again, we had ourselves a game scrutinized for supposedly being a buggy trainwreck… except it wasn’t when the game launched. Sure, there were a few bugs and glitches, but nothing truly appalling or game-breaking. Even more surreal was how some reviewers like GameSpot complained about the lack of a dodge mechanic and not being able to run. Was this remake supposed to turn SpongeBob into a “Dark Souls” clone? Did we miss a trailer or press kit that said otherwise? A 2 out of 10 for this was just extremely harsh for no good reason.

“The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker” (2003)

It is really funny how so many “Zelda” fans swear by “Wind Waker” and pretend they were so excited for the game. We’re sure some of you out there were, but the older crowd remembers a vastly different attitude from the “Zelda” fandom. Prior to its launch, many lamented the game’s cartoony visuals, often using the phrase “Cel-da” as a knock against it. Of course, the game came out, reviewers loved it, fans loved it, and it went down as one of the best games in the franchise. Today, so many claim the game was welcomed from the very beginning, but revisionists are going to have to do better to expunge the talk from our memories.

“Marvel’s Midnight Suns” (2022)

You’re damn right we’re going to talk this game up again! It’s the least we can do for leaving it off of our Top 10 Games of 2022. “Marvel’s Midnight Suns” is a far better game than many gave it credit for. Are there problems with the Abbey and the never-ending wave of Hydra reinforcements? Of course, but that’s not what most folks complained about. No, so many people dismissed it because how dare they make HALF of the game revolved around cards!! The presence of cards was apparently too revolting for some to give it the time of day, regardless of the deep systems around it. Cool - we’ll remember this in ten years when people start asking why we never got a “Midnight Suns 2”.

“Brütal Legend” (2009)

Much like “Marvel’s Midnight Suns”, “Brutal Legend” was unfairly shunned by a wide variety of players. We get it - EA did not market the game accurately. Many of the trailers and commercials made it seem like this was a hack-&-slash game like “Devil May Cry”. That is definitely an EA problem. However, the way so many people dropped the game the second it turned into something they weren’t expecting was pretty unreasonable. This is why you don’t let just trailers and TV spots do the talking. Watch gameplay, look for articles, interviews, reviews, etc. “Why aren’t we getting a sequel??” Because of picky tastes and consumer behavior.

What game do you feel was judged way too harshly by critics and/or fans? Did it make our list? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!