Top 10 Upcoming 2022 Video Games That Are Already Hated

This spin-off entry in the “Borderlands” franchise shows a decent amount of promise. “Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep” is often heralded as the best “Borderlands” DLC ever, so much so that Gearbox re-released the campaign as a standalone game in November 2021. So, why are some folks speaking negatively about “Wonderlands”? Well, some “Borderlands” fans weren’t all that impressed with the third mainline game in 2019, which was criticized for its uninspired character classes, unlikable villains, and occasionally cringey dialogue. Die-hard fans might flock to “Wonderlands” at launch, but those who felt burnt by “Borderlands 3” have begun showing their skepticism.

Though “Splatoon” has managed to find its own modest fanbase having two games on Wii U and Switch, there’s something about “Splatoon 3” that has many a little agitated. For starters, the Switch already launched “Splatoon 2” during its debut year in 2017, and it didn’t receive as much post-launch support as newer Switch titles. On top of that, one notorious criticism is that the “Splatoon” series hasn’t been able to shake off its balancing issues, making it way harder for newer players to join months after launch. Maybe “Splatoon 3” will be the shift and fully realize the series as an online service platform, but for now, those still playing the second game are groaning about having to pay sixty dollars for what may not be anything different.

For A YEAR AND A HALF now, Rockstar has been eating up time in digital showcases telling people that GTA V is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S with next-gen upgrades. Hundreds of thousands of gamers have voiced their frustration, and understandably so. First off, GTA V is roughly a decade-old game that’s on almost every platform available today. Second, GTA V has been known to host an incredibly toxic player base with manipulative and grindy monetization. And lastly, several other developers have already released next-gen upgrades of their own games, some being far older than PS5 and X/S. Clearly, this upgrade is taking too much time and energy that could be spent on Rockstar’s next project.

When reports came out about an XCOM-like Marvel game, we were super stoked. Unfortunately, many of us are now unsure about “Midnight Suns” as we’ve learned more and more about the gameplay and mechanics. Not only is not much of an XCOM game like we thought, it’s more of a card game. On top of that, the game will not be borrowing “XCOM’s” permadeath mechanic, which added to the game’s difficulty and gave players reasons to continuously improve units. We’re open to new ideas, but for a Marvel game inspired by a legendary strategy franchise, this isn’t exactly what many had in mind.

A “Lord of the Rings” game centered on Gollum is already a terrible idea. Sure, we all do our best impersonations of the fallen Hobbit, but a whole game about him? No. And yet, Daedalic Entertainment is bringing us an action-adventure game starring him, and judging by what little they’ve shown, it hasn’t impressed anyone. Some have assumed it’s nothing more than a walking sim while others are still struggling to understand why a Gollum video game is even a thing. With the excitement we’ve been spoiled with from the “Middle-Earth” games, this doesn’t seem to be a game anyone is interested in.

Blizzard has already been dealing with a heap of trouble these last few years, having banned Blitzchung for his support for the Hong Kong protests, abandoning “Overwatch” in favor of a sequel, the half-assed “Warcraft III” remake, and of course, the dozens of accounts of sexual discrimination and harassment within the company. The only new game we know they’re releasing that’s supposed to launch in 2022 is “Diablo Immortal”. You know, the “Diablo” mobile spin-off that was booed wildly at Blizzcon 2018. Given the notorious business practices of various mobile game companies and their products, a mobile “Diablo” sounds like a controversy bomb waiting to happen. Even casual fans aren’t super thrilled about “Immortal’s” existence.

“Starfield” has found itself surrounded in backlash, but unfortunately, it’s for things that were never said. When Bethesda’s newest IP was revealed as an Xbox Series X/S exclusive, some folks got way too angry about it and began claiming that the game was supposed to be coming to PlayStation 5. Thing is that no such announcement was ever made. Ever. One can read past interviews and articles where “Starfield” was discussed for “next-gen consoles”, though nothing was ever specified. These same interviews and articles were written long before we even knew what the new Xbox and PlayStation were going to be called. So, the rage against “Starfield” is very questionable.

The “WWE 2K” series has drastically gone downhill over the last several years. “WWE 2K17”, “2K18”, “19”, and “20” have gone down as the worst games of their respective launch years due to the obscene number of bugs and ugly presentation. “Battlegrounds” did not fare any better and even went up on our list of the Top 10 Worst Games of 2020. So, it’s understandable why folks are skeptical of “2K22”. Former series developer Yuke’s has long departed from publisher 2K and are already working on a game for WWE’s competitor, All Elite Wrestling. The new developer, Visual Concepts, who developed “2K20”, is mostly known for the “NBA 2K” series. Needless to say, wrestling fans don’t have much confidence in the franchise’s return.

Like “WWE”, “Pokémon” fans have found themselves frustrated with Game Freak and their recent games. “Sword & Shield” was a contentious entry in the franchise as it showed how obsolete “Pokemon” has become in its visuals, animations, and technical abilities. Early showings of the action RPG spin-off, “Legends: Arceus”, haven’t helped the IP’s bleak outlook either. Across trailers and images, some folks have noticed dips in framerates, pop-ins, and more issues that were prominent in “Sword & Shield”. We’re hoping Game Freak has learned its lessons, but even if “Legends” doesn’t ship out in good condition, it’s gonna sell because, well, kids will want it.

Of all the games releasing in 2022, “Saints Row” has been quite the polarizing title. Those with legitimate complaints have voiced their concern with how Deep Silver and Volition are approaching this reboot of the franchise. While it boasts the aesthetic of the gritty and urban visuals of the first two “Saints Row” games, it also shows some humor and gear that’s reminiscent of the more quirky and zany “Saints Row The Third” and “Saints Row 4”. Even with these concerns, Volition and Deep Silver stand behind their decisions and believe in their product. We’ll just have to see what comes out when it launches in August 2022.