10 Video Games Everyone Lost Respect For

Top 10 Video Games Everyone Lost Respect For

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re counting down our picks for games that were once big but are no longer favored by the public.

#10: “Silent Hill” series (1999-)

Konami once housed one of the most respected IPs in horror gaming. All four of the mainline “Silent Hill” games were brilliant in their own ways, but when spin-offs like “Downpour” and “Homecoming” became the main focus, “Silent Hill” faded into obscurity. Konami’s efforts in resurrecting the IP in the 2020s have not helped either. The streaming game “Silent Hill: Ascension” was widely scrutinized by casual and hardcore fans for its atrocious narrative. The free-to-play “Silent Hill: The Short Message” was mocked for its awful writing and rotten vanilla story. And much of the revival has been focused on merchandise more than maintaining the quality of upcoming projects. The alarms are going nuts.

#9: “Borderlands” series (2009-)

While some hardcore fans swear that “Borderlands” is “still good,” most of the once-sprawling fanbase has quit the franchise. “Borderlands 3” was a massive step backward with its obnoxious antagonists and uninspiring character classes. “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands” was not much better. And “New Tales from the Borderlands?” One of the worst games we saw in 2022. It has been so bland and so bad for so long that folks are beginning to question if Gearbox simply caught a flash in the pan with “Borderlands 2.” With “Borderlands 4” and a second “Wonderlands” game on the way, one can only hope for a solid game for so long before more folks leave the community.

#8: “Tomb Raider” series (1996-)

There was a time when Lara Croft was one of the biggest characters in video games. Problem is that no matter which era of “Tomb Raider” you may have experienced, each had a massive downfall in one embarrassing way or another. “Angel of Darkness” was just a genuinely bad game with outdated controls and dumb AI. “Underworld” suffered a similar fate. The reboot trilogy that came from Crystal Dynamics had a weird “adversity is sexy” approach to Lara Croft, and “Shadow of the Tomb Raider” had a bizarre shift toward stealth gameplay, unlike the previous two games. Fans have only wanted the same sexy, badass, confident, and intelligent Lara Croft they knew from the old days. The constant reinvention of the character has only caused more discourse.

#7: “MultiVersus” (2024)

Back in 2022, “MultiVersus” did show some promise during its open beta. There was a steady flow of new characters and stages getting added to the game, the netcode was slowly improving, and the team-based mechanics helped separate it from “Super Smash Bros.” Fast-forward to 2024, and it’s a wildly different story with its Version 1.0 launch. The character roster has seen only a couple of additions in Joker and Jason Voorhees. The single-player campaign is just simple fights and minigames cobbled together in unimaginative ways. The monetization is even more egregious with fighters costing ten bucks a pop. And the online connectivity is WORSE than it ever was before. Another crossover, another crash and burn. Same old story, same old song and dance.

#6: “Mortal Kombat” series (1992-)

The state of “Mortal Kombat 11” already had some folks on edge with its rocky technical performance and emphasis on the mobile game-esque “Towers of Time” mode. Maybe “Mortal Kombat 1” will reign in the live service elements? Nope! “MK1” launched with a tedious Invasions mode where every season gets stale quickly with mundane gimmicks, and the new Kameo fighter system makes fights look incredibly awkward. What’s made folks so frustrated is the online functionality. At the time of this video, the game is a year old and still sees lengthy matchmaking times, stuttering, and disconnections. Couple that with the complete lack of support for the competitive scene, and you’ll see why many FGC streamers aren’t playing this actively outside of new DLC fighter launches.

#5: “Need For Speed” series (1994-)

The “Need for Speed” games may seem like they’re doing well. To an extent, maybe, but racing fans say differently. Once revered for its blend of arcade racing and racing sim game feel, “Need for Speed” has tanked in quality over the years. For “Payback”, it was awful monetization and lack of customization. For “Heat,” it was the unimaginative track design and terrible loot box system (just like “Payback”). And for “Unbound,” it was the horrendous rubberbanding and, just as with the previous two games, the abysmal monetization. When “Gran Turismo” and “Forza” are delivering stellar experiences in their own way, “Need for Speed” just comes off like a game built entirely on extracting cash from you as much as possible with little effort.

#4: “Far Cry” series (2004-)

These games aren’t exactly dreadful by any stretch of the imagination, but they are nowhere near the level of quality they could be. While “Far Cry 3” did capture people’s attention with its villain and open-world gameplay, everything that’s come after has basically been that on repeat. Give the player a villain to hate, throw them into the world, give them a gun, and that’s it. “FC5” and “6” have had some neat ideas of their own with animal companions. However, we can’t blame people for feeling like these games have become stale over time. At least there aren’t as many radio towers these days.

#3: “Halo” series (2001-)

“Halo” is arguably the biggest giant to have fallen from grace in the video game scene. Ever since Bungie was made to pass the torch to Microsoft’s own 343 Industries, “Halo” has not once come close to reaching the same level of quality as its earlier titles. From bad writing and storytelling to broken online multiplayer, players have become so frustrated with 343 that some have begun calling for its closure, or at least, a drastic change in management. “Halo Infinite” has been on the up and up, but with 343 fumbling for as long as they have, the Chief is nothing more than a joke to Xbox fans current and former.

#2: “Fortnite” (2017)

To its credit, “Fortnite” is a fun game to play both solo and with friends. Plus, the addition of the Lego survival mode, Rocket Racing, and Fortnite Festival have new ways to play, and they are all excellent modes in their own right. But with all the crossovers and licenses constantly getting hamfisted into the game comes a wave of unease and pity. Some folks have begun pointing out how soulless it all feels. No longer is this a battle royale game; it is just one giant cash cow for marketing with a big push to be anything and everything. “Fortnite” was visually unique in its own way at one point. Now? It could literally be any video game.

#1: “Call of Duty” series (2003-)

At one point, “Call of Duty” was all anyone could talk about whether it was the original “Modern Warfare” games or the first few “Black Ops” games. Nowadays, buying a “Call of Duty” is practically a guessing game. Is this going to be better than last year? Are we gonna get jipped on a campaign with this year’s release? How bad is the cheating going to get? How bad is the meta going to get? There is simply too much at stake that it’s made fans leave the nest for other games. Plus, the annualization of the franchise hasn’t helped. “Call of Duty” still sells millions, but it’s nowhere near the quality and sales it saw back in the days of “Modern Warfare 2.”

Which game lost your respect for the foreseeable future? Let us know in the comments!