1. Cyberpunk 2077
Man, the launch of Night City was a nightmare, right? CD Projekt Red promised the moon and delivered... well, a buggy mess on last-gen consoles. It was a brutal reminder that hype can kill. But then, the updates started rolling out, the anime dropped, and suddenly, V's journey became genuinely compelling. It still stings a bit thinking about what could've been day one, but the redemption arc is undeniable, even if it took years.
2. No Man's Sky
Remember when this game was basically a tech demo with a fantastic aesthetic and zero substance? Sean Murray became a meme overnight. Yet, Hello Games, against all odds, kept adding, refining, and expanding. Now, it's a sprawling, incredible universe. It’s a testament to stubborn dedication, but it also highlights how much trust can be shattered, and painstakingly rebuilt, in this industry. A true phoenix from the ashes, but those initial burns still ache.
3. Starfield
Oh, Bethesda. We wanted *Skyrim* in space, a universe teeming with life and discovery. What we got was... well, a lot of loading screens and sterile planets. The procedural generation felt less like exploration and more like ticking off checkboxes. It’s got that Bethesda charm in places, sure, but the ambition felt out of sync with the execution, leaving many of us wondering where the magic went. It feels incomplete, a cosmic blueprint rather than a vibrant galaxy.
4. Anthem
BioWare, how did it come to this? This game was supposed to be their big live-service hit, a beautiful world with Iron Man suits. Instead, it was a shallow grind, repetitive missions, and a story that felt like an afterthought. The core combat was fun, no doubt, but everything around it crumbled. It's a sad monument to a once-great studio trying to chase trends and losing its soul in the process. The potential was *so* visible, making its failure even more frustrating.
5. Fallout 76
From the canvas bag fiasco to the endless bugs and the 'it's not a real Fallout game' cries, this one was a disaster. Bethesda tried to turn a beloved single-player RPG into a multiplayer survival title, and the community revolted. It's cleaned up a lot since, with actual NPCs and a more traditional experience, but that initial taste of disappointment and ethical missteps is hard to forget. It’s a case study in how *not* to launch a game.
6. Mass Effect: Andromeda
Following the legendary original trilogy was always going to be tough, but *Andromeda* stumbled hard out of the gate. The facial animations became internet legends for all the wrong reasons, and the story felt like a significant step down. While later patches fixed some issues, that first impression of jankiness and uninspired quests tarnished the whole experience. It left a bitter taste, making us question the future of one of gaming's best franchises.
7. The Day Before
This one's in a league of its own. Promised as a groundbreaking open-world zombie MMO, it launched as... well, nothing much at all, and then got yanked from Steam almost immediately. The whole saga, from the suspiciously good trailers to the outright scam allegations, is a wild ride. It’s a stark reminder to be wary of over-hyped, vague projects, and a cautionary tale about how easily trust can be exploited in the gaming world.
