As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on another year in gaming.Wonderful AAA gameslikeRed Dead Redemption 2,Marvel’s Spider-Man, andGod of Warenthralled millions across the world, and yes, Fortnite became even more popular.
Publishers are also now starting to change content models when it comes to paid expansions in the age where games as a service is king. And the battle royale genre has exploded even more thanks toCall of Duty: Black Ops 4‘sexcellent Blackout mode.
But not everything can delight. This year, gaming surely wasn’t immune to a few colossal disappointments and blunders. These are the biggest gaming fails of 2018.
‘Fallout 76’
When Bethesda announcedFallout 76, the multiplayer-oriented entry in its revered post-apocalyptic franchise, fan reaction was mixed. The Fallout series has always been known as a single-player experience. And a very good one at that. Upon launch,Fallout 76became this year’sMass Effect: Andromeda, a stunning failure that wasn’t ready for primetime in the slightest.Fallout 76currently holds a 52 on Metacritic for PS4 and 49 on Xbox One, shockingly low averages for a AAA game from a well-known studio.
Fallout 76plays like an early access game, with far more bugs than a typical Bethesda game. Even worse, there’s just not much of worth to do in this massive depiction of West Virginia. With very little story to speak of and derivative quest design, it’s easy to get bored. And for a game that has a multiplayer focus,Fallout 76is decidedly lonely due to the fact that the server cap is 24. You can walk for hours upon hours without seeing another player.
To make matters even worse, thecanvas bag that was supposed to comewith the expensive Power Armor edition was missing. Bethesda’s initial response was to give players 500 Atom (a $5 value) to purchase items in-game. Of course, that gesture made a lot of people angry. Bethesda changed its tune and will deliver the canvas bags early next year, but will anyone be playingFallout 76in early 2019?
CD Projekt Red’s very disappointing tweets
CD Projekt Red makes some very good games and runs a pretty cool storefront. Unfortunately, its Twitter presence was anything but great in 2018. On three separate occasions, CD Projekt Red’s tweets were subject to immense controversy.
First, GOG tweeted out an image of a tombstone to mark the arrival of aPostal 2expansion. The tombstone had the inscription “Games Journalism: Committed Suicide Aug 05, 2025.” The date referenced is commonly known as the beginning of the infamous harassment movement known as Gamergate. GOG later apologized for the tweet, saying it meant no harm by it.
Not long after thePostal 2tweet, theCyberpunk 2077account responded to a fan question with: “Did you just assume their gender?” This is a phrase frequently used to mock transgender people. Met with backlash once again, CD Projekt Red issued another apology, promising that it meant no harm.
Finally, in October, GOG tweeted, “Classic PC games #WontBeErased on our watch. Yeah, how’s that for some use of hashtags.” GOG had co-opted the transgender rights hashtag to talk about PC games. Once again, it was a terrible look.
Hopefully, CD Projekt Red starts taking its big platform more seriously in 2019.
GameStop makes light of domestic violence
During E3 2018, the largest video game retailer in the world tried to make a joke about Madden 19, and it was an absolute disaster. In response to a fan question that joked about the game having a battle royale mode, the official GameStop account wrote: “If it does — we got dibs on Ray Rice.”
Former NFL running back Ray Rice assaulted his then girlfriend in an elevator in 2014. The gruesome and disgusting video of the incident released later that year and Rice was effectively banished from the NFL.
GameStop’s “joke” was not just in poor taste, it was incredibly offensive to the many women who have been victims of domestic violence. Theretailer quickly apologized.
‘The Quiet Man’
There’s bad and then there’sThe Quiet Man, the latest game from Square Enix starring a deaf protagonist that punches and kicks his way through a gang for… reasons.The Quiet Manfeatured combat that was clunkier than a bad PS2 game, horrid animations, and a convoluted story that made absolutely no sense due to its lack of sound.
In a patch called “Answered”, the game can be replayed with sound and subtitles but even that didn’t make the game any better. Frankly, The Quiet Man takes home the award for worst game of the year.
The ‘Diablo Immortal’ saga
BlizzCon 2018featured a surprise Diablo announcement, just not the one fans were hoping for. To close out the opening ceremony, Blizzard announcedDiablo Immortal, a mobile game. Fans wanted aDiablo 4announcement, soDiablo Immortalwas viewed by many as a slight against the core audience of the action RPG franchise.
Whilefan outcrywas probably a bit dramatic — ahem,the guy who asked if it was a joke during a Q&A— Blizzard seriously underestimated how fans would react to the news. For that, Blizzard earns a spot on this list.Diablo Immortal, though, looks pretty fun, andDiablo 4is in development.
Battle Royale doesn’t always win
The runaway success ofFortnite,PUBG, and most recentlyCall of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s Blackout mode has led numerous developers to test the waters of battle royale. This year we learned that battle royale can also flop — hard.
In April, Cliff Bleszinski’s Boss Key Productions releasedRadical Heightsin early access.Radical Heightswas a 1980s-infused battle royale game with cartoonish visuals. It wasn’t even ready for early access, though. The servers became a ghost town almost immediately andBoss Key Productions closeda month afterRadical Heightslaunched.
Remarkably,Radical Heightswasn’t the biggest battle royale flop of 2018. Independent developer Xaviant surprise-releasedThe Culling 2, a sequel to its melee-focused battle royale experience. Sadly, Xaviant turnedThe Culling 2into a very bad rehash ofPUBG. Less than a week after a launch that featured desolate servers and terrible gameplay, Xaviant removed the game from storefronts and refunded those who purchased it.
