Most disappointing/worst game of the year contender so far for 2015?

@zombie2011: I was pleasantly surprised considering the negative feedback it received. Decent game just too short. The game play in the later missions ( Especially the stealth missions ) was great and not as restricted as the intro missions.

No game has blown me away this year on the ps4, Horizon better not be on the list next year!

The Witcher 3, because that was the one I was most optimistic about. A few things I said previously:

The story lost me when it became about saving the world. I liked The Witcher more when it was just about political intrigue and personal stories. I found much of the dialogue fat and uninteresting.

The world would have been more enjoyable for me to continue in with tighter and more versatile controls.

One of the most annoying things for me was how Roche randomly stopped on bridges and other paths with a keyboard, especially during races. I might have been doing something wrong. But Geralt wasn’t that fun to control either. The combat is so basic. It’s just the same exaggerated strong and regular attacks all the time.

I would have made the run button and the evade button the same one, since they’re the same kinds of actions. It’s stupid that they have two evade buttons but don’t allow you to jump or climb during combat and don’t allow you to disengage the targeting system so that you CAN jump or climb. There were moments when I wanted to leave a hostile area, but I couldn’t because of that automatic targeting system. It’s a lame way to prevent you from leaving a fight. Other times I just wanted to run by, but Geralt turned towards the enemy for me. I want to have control over my character. Why is it that games are becoming more and more automated? Another example is how the character automatically draws and sheaths his swords for you. It made me unarmed during combat a few times.

The character understeered, didn’t stop fast enough and often ran even when I held control. He’s slow too. It’s not even about realism. You can have realistic controls that are enjoyable. Geralt just moves inefficiently.

Something I did like about the combat is that you can switch targets simply by moving towards the other, unlike in the Souls series, where you need to move the right stick and thus are unable to move the camera during combat, and Zelda, where you can’t switch targets at all.

The combat was at least more realistic and less finicky than in TW2, but the upgrade system was worse because the paths were all separate. As a result, you couldn't acquire a lot of the upgrades that you would have liked.

Ciri's combat was worse and didn't match the rest of the game, having fast auto-healing and no weapon degradation.

The maps were mostly natural, the art was good and I liked how unique the stories were, but I got somewhat bored traveling so much. I mean, the fact that Roche appears anywhere instantly, even on deserted islands, almost makes it seem like they weren’t that confident in the spacious world.

Witcher 3 also has a really ugly filter that breaks the fourth wall and ruins immersion.

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Tony Hawk 5 by far. I didn't expect it to be good but wow it was worse than I would have thought.

The only thing that will beat Tony Hawk could be Fall out.

Cause let's be real. I don't think a lot of people have/had high hopes for assassin's creed this year and the order.

Arkham Knight. I really enjoyed Asylum and City, but as games have adopted the combat mechanics, Batman had to find a new hook to satisfy. They chose the car as that new hook, which totally doesn't excite me.

As far as disappointing goes, Hotline Miami 2 might get thrown into the discussion. I could also see Evolve, it's always a bummer when a fresh idea for multiplayer shooters misses its mark.

The way you're interpreting the phrase "worst game of the year contender" is super confusing. I'd maybe say "well received games that you didn't like" or something.

@dandyboyapples: hotline Miami 2 still had an awesome soundtrack.

It should be Destiny but Tony Hawk was a real trainwreck.

THAT IT DID. Definitely the most I've listened to a soundtrack outside of playing the game all year.

I can see the argument for MGS V being disappointing. I'm in the camp that thinks it's an absolutely fantastic game but not a great Metal Gear game and it looks like a couple of other people in the thread think similarly. I'm not sure if this particular website will take that tack, but it might get some discussion before they inevitably give it to Arkham Knight.

My personal disappointment this year is catching up with my PS4 and realizing that I don't like Far Cry 4 and Dragon Age Inquisition. Is that cheating? Okay, then Massive Chalice. I don't have a ton of love for Double Fine, but I thought that game was a simplistic, watered-down and boring tactical RPG.

I think we'll want to get back to this topic when all the October and November releases have come upon us. For several games preview copies have made it out to streamers and youtubers exclusively.

@arbitrarywater: I don't know about that. I have never played previous MGS games and as a standalone video game Phantom Pain is mediocre at best. I wanted interesting story and likable characters. I hoped for varied missions and pleasing visuals for an open world game. I expected those kind of things from big budged title as this. I wasted 50 hours hoping for something, sadly I found none of the things I wanted.

The Witcher 3. It was my most anticipated game for this year, but it was just another 'western open world game' where they made all the effort to create a huge world with content content and content. But I hated the gameplay, much like Dragon Age Inquisition before it.
It ran poorly on PS4, Geralt controlled like shit, the combat was unresponsive, the menu's slow and the whole inventory a disaster. On top of that a buckload of glitches and bugs.
It had some great written stories, though (especially the famous Red Baron quest), but the main quest just drags on and on in some places.

Maybe I'll check it out now that it had some big patches, but I think I rather spent my time on something else.

Only game I played that was disappointing was galak z. Regret buying it.

Tony hawk 5. it felt like the offically end of the franchise, a game series that I love.

Why does a game have to be a game of the year contender to be most disappointing? If a game is THE most disappointing of the year for me, I couldn't see it contending for the GOTY.

I'm going with THPS5 but I think fallout 4 will overtake it because it's much more hyped.

Most broken obviously goes to Arkham Knight.

It has to be Tony Hawk 5, right? Like what even comes close to that?

I haven't bought many games this year, but I will say MGSV. Gonna echo what others are saying: Amazing gameplay, lackluster story/ characters

1. Bloodborne - big time let down.

2. MGSV - oh god that "story".

3. Witcher 3 - I think it's overrated, but it's got charm which most games lack nowadays so I enjoyed that quite a bit.

Yeah... 2015 in terms of games turned out to be the most disappointing year for video games in a long time for me. Unfortunate that Persona 5 got delayed. That would've probably been a clear cut for GOTY

Oh, well. 2016 is looking fantastic especially for Japanese games which is exciting. (NIER 2, FFXV, P5, Exist Archive, DS3, TLG,UC4, Ni-Oh)

Hm, I gotta join the others in chiding Tony Hawk: Pro Skater 5. I wasn't going to buy it in the first place, but I was always a big fan of the original games. Sure, I sucked at Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, but I would never dispute its Gamespot score: 10 out of 10. It was indeed that good a game. To see the franchise end on such a low point... ugh. I agree with Jeff's despondent commentary on the quicklook: "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5 is a bad game. It's a sad game. It makes me sad." :-P

As to my own "most disappointing game of the year," I don't know. This has been an incredible year for gaming and it's not over yet, either. On a personal, really stupid subjective level... I guess Batman: Arkham Knight. I had the PS4 version, so my framerate was good and it looked beautiful. The voice acting was great, though they didn't let Kevin Conroy have enough emotional variation in his lines (that man has demonstrated an awesome range to his version of Batman. He's amazing). None of the controls were broken, and it was indeed Triple AAA quality. That having been said, it also fell into the current Triple AAA pit of "must be bigger, better, badder!" that frankly kind of sucks.

Arkham Asylum was a tour de force and pretty linear. Sure, it opened up a bit more near the end for exploring old locations for Riddler trophies, but overall I'd contend that it was a very guided experience... and that worked in its favor. Aside from the Riddler trophies, there wasn't any fluff. It was a focused, action packed, awesome Metroid-ish experience that I still go back to every October for some Halloween flair. Arkham City was bigger and told a grander story, but that hub world connecting all the levels together kind of took some of the steam out of things. I'm not saying Arkham City was bad (it certainly wasn't); rather, Arkham City started to have some creeping fluff pop up.

In its efforts to be even bigger and grandiose, Arkham Knight embraced the fluff. It reveled in it. It made a giant open world (instead of a central, small-ish hub world) and covered it in repetitive side activities. Checkpoints, towers, APCs, bombs to defuse, EVEN MORE Riddler trophies than EVER BEFORE, etc.. Heck, even some villains became fluff; Dent, Penguin, Man-Bat, and others got relegated to one mission type repeated three or four times to pad out length. I wanted a linear action-adventure game like Arkham Asylum about Scarecrow hatching a plan to drive Gotham insane. I expected a set of linear levels with a smallish central hub connecting them all, newly designed to accommodate the Batmobile. I received a fairly by the numbers open world game with over half of all gameplay relegated to driving a battle-tank and fighting an endless army of identical drones, the experience only redeemed by the other parts of the game being quite exceptional. *shrug* It was such an experience of highs and lows.

Eh, what do I know though? I actually liked Mad Max, save the weak and utterly bizarre ending. I expected a by the numbers open world game with a Max Max aesthetic and Batman combat system, and I got exactly what I expected. No complaints. :-D

you could argue that "most disapointing" isnt the same as "worst game" but I also agree with your statement.

people saying arkham knight are crazy. gameplay wise it might be the best in series. only one of the series I 100%'d

Of the games I played:

- Dying Light

- Ori and the Blind Forest

- GTA V pc

- The Witcher 3

- Arkham Knight

- MGS V - The Phantom Pain

- Mad Max

Mad Max is easily the least fun I've had with a game this year.

I guess Code Name S.T.E.A.M.? I mean, I didn't exactly expect it to be on my GotY list but it had the potential to be since it's an Intelligent Systems take on a Valkyria Chronicles game more or less. It's hard for me to say I was "disappointed" though when I really didn't have any expectations going in.

Where the hell is this coming from? Did you not listen to last year's deliberations? Dan was totally agreeable throughout. Sure, he put up a fight for the games he likes just like everyone else, but he never even came close to being obnoxious about it (and even when he did step up like with Tropical Freeze for the soundtrack category it turned out to be really funny). And as far as the top spot is concerned, that really hasn't even been that much of a contest since the Skyrim vs Saint's Row argument, so I really don't know why you are characterizing it the way you are.

Seriously MGS V and The Witcher 3? If those are the worst/most disappointing games you guys have played whats the best?

@dudeglove: That's it, really? That was what, a few minutes out of hours and hours of recordings? Seems like you're just looking for an excuse to lash out at Dan. Whatever, good luck with the podcasts I guess.

I see THPS5 on here a lot, but that game looked awful from the first trailer. In order to truly be a disappointed you have to think it's going to be good at some point.

For me it's Star Wars: Battlefront. The main theme of Star Wars is Good vs Evil and Battlefront just seems to be a war game based in the Star Wars universe. This is the most boring and expected route for DICE to take, which makes it the most disappointing. I wonder if DICE has any creative freedom left, or if EA has just turned them into a factory making low-risk games with high production values.

@poser: Yup, low risk games like Mirrors Edge 2.

MGS5 in terms of story, but man it's got the best gameplay in a game, period.

@evilsbane said:

I feel the same way reading this thread. I can kind of see MGS fans being disappointed at the lack of story content, but as a game in general it's fantastic.

I think it has to be Tony Hawk 5, not only were expectations incredibly low but it somehow managed to take it to a whole new level of disaster.

I feel like Rock Band 4 might be considered a bit of a miss? It doesn't seem to be doing anything horribly wrong but it's not the game that'll bring music games back either.

The OP was asking what GOTY contenders that people were disappointed in or rather games that a lot of people loved that were disappointing. That's why there's a lot of MGS 5 and Witcher 3 and in the first page someone mentioned Tony Hawk but the OP clarified that it didn't fit the description since it is just a bad game in general.

Ah, my bad. Though in that case yeah, I'd say it'd be between the story in MGS or Rock Band 4 being kind of a letdown if you were hoping music games would come flooding back.

I'll really disappointed with Batman Arkham Knight. 118 days after release and I still can't buy it on PC. So I'm here... waiting. So disappointing, I love Batman. I wanted him to go out on a high note. I played through a couple of hours with a friend (6ish) and I was not that hyped afterwards. When it finally hits PC I'll play it to completion, but it's more about marking off a game on a check-list rather than be buzzed and excited to sit down and experience the whole game.

MGS V. I loved sneaking into bases and fultoning everything that wasn't bolted down, but the mediocre story and tedious boss fights (along with a whole host of other bull shit) left me with a game that felt half-baked.

@shozo: Did you really think Arkham Knight was going to be a GOTY contender, though?

this is all valid. but to defend my choice even if I knew it had a good chance of being bad I still had hope. it was also kinda the last stand for the series. they called it "pro skater 5" you don't go anywhere after that if you fail

and boy did they. adn fantastically. I was even ready for it to be "good but not great" and it wasn't even that. it was so bad that it basically confirmed the end of a franchise that means a lot to me. even if it hasn't been good for a while. its done. and because of that it makes it the most disapointing for me

Why were you disappointed in it?

@mike:Any game has the potential to be a GOTY contender. I loved Arkham City, early reports made it sound amazing. Who knew it would play out like this.

For THPS5 be the most disappointing game, you would have to expected it to be good first, which i don't think many people did.

I feel like MGSV was disappointing in a way, but i can appreciate all the things that it does right, while Batman is just straight up terrible.

I have to agree with the people saying MGSV. It's far from the worst game I've played this year, but it is the most disappointing.

Arkham Knight, no contest for me.

Can I vote for how the Giant Bomb staff talks about Witcher 3? Listening to the Bombcast and I feel like this is somehow the right answer.

Can't find anything to really be angry about this year, or at least i don't see the point in wasting my energy on it. Quite a few good surprises this year too (my personal one being Dying Light).

LOL! I'm sorry dude but this cracked me up. They set out to make a sequel to a war game series in the Star Wars universe and DICE practically only makes games just in this vein. I can't even get where you're coming from in the least here.

I actually wouldn't call any of the games I played this year a disappointment. Tony Hawk is the closest thing, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.

The thread title is incredibly confusing, as the topic seems to indicate it should refer to something that is considered a goty candidate (whatyever that means) but is bad/dissapointing, however Most Dissapointing and Worst Game are also goty categories that giant bomb gives out.

You realize the story is never about that right? If you finish the game, there is a line directly to that effect uttered by Ciri. "You're just a witcher, silly" That is the entire crux of that ending. You are rescuing Ciri and ultimately it's all up to her.

man this thread is full of some depressing views but I think this one takes the cake. You guys are impossible to please