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[Virex]

In our current day and age it is very easy to get hyped up about games and you will see 10/10, 100/100 reviews all around for these massive hyped up games. But then I've noticed a trend where not long after the release of these games, you start seeing a more negative or a more realistic look at these games. And I'm talking about games like Spider-Man, God of War, Red Dead Redemption and so forth. Where games after release really aren't those 10/10s that we believed they are. And the most prominent one I am talking about is Red Dead Redemption(I have to admit that it's in my pile of shame because I've had it since launch and haven't played it). I see a lot of complaints about Red Dead Redemption 2 ranging from controls etc. I think Spider-Man was good and I enjoyed it but I did find it very average in many way. And then there are games that received no hype at all that I thought was great or games that reviewed poorly which I enjoyed(Elex comes to mind. But I am a PB fan so I was going to enjoy it anyway) and plenty of other games that reviewed poorly or average at best that I thought was fantastic. I'd like to hear you guys opinion regarding games when it comes to hype vs. reality. Which games do you think reviewed great but aren't all that great and average or games no one has heard of or didn't review well. But were some of the greatest experiences you've ever had. And they don't have to be new or very recent games. It can be any game from any platform.

 

[TeamGhobad]

RDR2 is not half as good as people think it is. The story is a mess and the missions are boring.

 

[Lanrutcon]

BOTW: I gave BOTW a shot. A few shots, in fact. Never clicked with me. I love open world games, but I found the game to be a chore. Ended up giving it to my nephew. 7/10? 7.5/10? somewhere around there.

Immortal Unchained: Clunky super hard Dark Souls with guns. Reviewed badly and almost nobody heard of it. I couldn't put it down. I think after the game butchered me continuously for a few hours straight I got stubborn and wouldn't quit until I'd kicked its ass. My new standard for hard Souls-like games. Definitely in my top 5 for 2018, and I promise 99% of people would hate it if they gave it a shot.

 

[Danjin44]

I was crazy hyped for Nier Automata, Persona 5, Dragon Quest XI, Gravity Rush 2 and Valkyria Chronicles 4 and all them met my hype and to this day my opinion about them hasn't changed.

I honesty never really got the whole "honeymoon period", I either like the game or I didn't and doesn't matter how much time it passes my opinion about them won't change.

 

[Husky]

I'm not sure if I've drifted away from any once-loved titles, when I'm disappointed I'm probably disappointed from the get-go. Of course I'd had plenty of burns from pre-release hype (oh, No Man's Sky--oh, PREY 2), but Skyrim, which had me more hyped than any other (released) title is still my favorite game of all time.

You know what's a game that had me really hyped, that received mediocre reviews, and is mostly forgotten today? I Am Alive. I remember loving that game, I oughta replay it soon. I'm interested in just about anything post-apocalyptic, so I Am Alive was right up my alley. Heck.

 

[xviper]

for the last few years, most of the games i played, their honeymoon period is when i buy them and uncover them, once i start playing them, yikes

 

[Mista]

Nier: Automa is overrated, RDR2 got more praise than it deserved and I never understood the “honeymoon period” everybody is talking about. If the game is good it’ll stay good during release and years after it.

 

[mcz117chief]

Games that didn't match my hype level, some massively: Killzone 2, Star Wars Battlefront II (the new one), Halo 4, Call of Duty Black Ops 3, NieR Automata, God of War 2018, Uncharted 3, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Gears of War 3, Total War: Rome 2, Ace Combat Assault Horizon (but I did learn to appreciate it later)

Games that matched the hype: Ace Combat 6, Earth Defense Force 5, Valkyria Chronicles 4, World of Final Fantasy, Pokémon HeartGold, Halo 3 and ODST, God of War 3, Mass Effect (1 and 2), DOOM 3, Metal Gear Solid 5, Monster Hunter World, Total War: Shogun 2 and Fall of the Samurai, Helldivers, Killing Floor 2

Those are just from the top of my head. Other games either surprised me by how good they are (NieR, ANNO 1404, Shadow Warrior 2013, Final Fantasy XIII-2, FTL, etc.) or by being slightly worse than I expected but are still very good (Shadow Warrior 2, DOOM 4, Crysis 2, Halo 2). Really these are all just examples, I would have to look at individual games to on my Steam profile or console collection to make an exhaustive list.

I never understood the “honeymoon period” everybody is talking about.

It is like, when you play something new and exciting because of its novelty you love it, but once you get used to it you realize the game itself is actually not very good beyond the first impressions.

 

[AV]

God of War was great, but I can't believe it won as many GOTY awards as it did.
Spider-Man is also great, but it's an 8/10 max. There's so much room for improvement.
I still think RDR2 is a landmark game, but I can completely understand why many, many people were put off by it.

 

[Meowzers]

Nothing wrong with Red Dead 2 it's just that people don't like going around on horses and seeing the landscapes. They call it a slow game, but that's what life was like back then.

This generation just want things 100mph like GTA and it's a great game, but more immature compared to RD 2. Characters are more grounded and the humour much more subtle.

It easily lived up to the hype for me. Gonna trade it in this week, but it's been a great blast and hope we do see a RD 3, but not before GTA 6 of course.

 

[Thiagosc777]

In our current day and age it is very easy to get hyped up about games and you will see 10/10, 100/100 reviews all around for these massive hyped up games. But then I've noticed a trend where not long after the release of these games, you start seeing a more negative or a more realistic look at these games. And I'm talking about games like Spider-Man, God of War, Red Dead Redemption and so forth. Where games after release really aren't those 10/10s that we believed they are. And the most prominent one I am talking about is Red Dead Redemption(I have to admit that it's in my pile of shame because I've had it since launch and haven't played it). I see a lot of complaints about Red Dead Redemption 2 ranging from controls etc. I think Spider-Man was good and I enjoyed it but I did find it very average in many way. And then there are games that received no hype at all that I thought was great or games that reviewed poorly which I enjoyed(Elex comes to mind. But I am a PB fan so I was going to enjoy it anyway) and plenty of other games that reviewed poorly or average at best that I thought was fantastic. I'd like to hear you guys opinion regarding games when it comes to hype vs. reality. Which games do you think reviewed great but aren't all that great and average or games no one has heard of or didn't review well. But were some of the greatest experiences you've ever had. And they don't have to be new or very recent games. It can be any game from any platform.

I am incapable of getting hyped. I don't trust the mainstream media, and forums are full of fanboys. If you say anything negative about those games in their launch week, you'll get lots of fanboy hate. I just ignore most games at this point.

Do you remember people around here when God of War or Assassin's Creed Odyssey were released. Those were "perfect" games, hahaha.

 

[thelawof4]

Watch some performance reviews and trust your own instincts. I very rarely (pretty much never) buy something because of the opinion of a reviewer.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Nothing wrong with Red Dead 2 it's just that people don't like going around on horses and seeing the landscapes. They call it a slow game, but that's what life was like back then.

This generation just want things 100mph like GTA and it's a great game, but more immature compared to RD 2. Characters are more grounded and the humour much more subtle.

It easily lived up to the hype for me. Gonna trade it in this week, but it's been a great blast and hope we do see a RD 3, but not before GTA 6 of course.

I loved Red Dead Redemption 1 but hated 2, which kind of sinks your theory.

 

[Saruhashi]

When you consider the amount of content in some of these games it makes sense that they would have this kind of pattern.

Just going to take the examples listed in the OP.
God of War - Approx 40 hours.
Spider-Man - Approx 40 hours.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Approx 70 hours.

So that's like the equivalent of a 4 to 6 season TV show more or less. Right?

For professional reviewers they are very likely playing the entire game in a single week. They have the advantage of being able/required to consume the entire story at once. So they aren't, for example playing chapter 1 and 2 one weekend and then maybe not picking up the game again until the next week.

Plus reviewers may be dedicating their time to only that one game for a week. A normal person on their PS4 might play a bit of RDR2 and then a bit of Hitman 2 and feel more compelled to pick up Hitman 2 next time they play something.

In a sense, a reviewer's take on the game is still a first impression even if they have completed the whole game.

The average player will have their first impression when they get the game but they may still have the game incomplete 4, 8, 12 weeks later etc.

To go back to the TV Show analogy...

Let's say you binge watched Lost over 2 weeks. You probably retain much of the good feeling from the early seasons even as you finish up the disappointing ending.
Let's say after 2 weeks you have only watched Season One. You are probably going to have a pretty positive feeling overall.

However, if you only watch one season every 2 weeks then 12 weeks down the line you are for sure going to be a bit more jaded about the whole thing as you realize that many episodes (gameplay sessions) are a bit boring and not much happens.

If this is also interspersed with sessions watching other shows, or playing other games then you may find yourself liking the big main show but preferring to watch (or play) something else instead regardless of quality.

I think that God of War and RDR2 and Spider-Man are the kind of games that you really do need to just get through in as close to one go as you can manage. This is especially true for God of War. I can't imagine playing through the opening and then coming back days or weeks later and feeling compelled to keep going.

I think the difference with TV is that a show can go through a few seasons and then can introduce completely new stuff to take a different direction or to improve. Stories can include twists and cliffhangers etc that allows a 40 to 70 hour show to remain fresh.

Games have a much bigger struggle there. Can you introduce an entirely new gameplay mechanic 50 hours into your game that changes everything? Or even just introduce new mechanics every 5 hours or so that keeps the game fresh? Then how do you even make that happen in a natural way so that it doesn't just feel like needless grind?

I think it's just the nature of games that over time you will start to feel a bit bored and notice things that you don't like. Minor annoyances just build up and then it's a case of feeling like the game is a chore.

I'd guess that seven 10-hour play sessions on RDR2 would feel completely different to twenty four 3-hour sessions.

 

[DonF]

Uncharted 4 for me, its one of the most disappointing games this gen. I liked the original trilogy. I loved The last of us. So I was waiting to be amazed. I saw most of the reviews praising it, but a couple of persons saying that it wasnt that good, just looks, some pacing problems. So I waited, got it for $20 and oh boy... I feel like I wasted those $20 or could have waited more. It was so boring to me. Very very pretty, yes, but I had to sit down one day and say "you are going to finish this game". I was bored every second I played it. And I agree with all those that said the game has pacing issues.

Surprisingly its the only Naughty Dog game I dislike.

 

[ethomaz]

Games are generally better than the hype after I play them.

Hype get me existed but playing get me immersed.

 

[JimmyRustler]

It's hard for me to get hyped these days. I mean, RE2 is coming out this week. I've been waiting for this game ever since the original REmake, it's my favourite series and I LOVED the demo. Yet still... I wouldn't mind waiting a couple more weeks... Guess I'm old or whatever.

Anyway, as for the topic. I remember only 2 games where I was extremely hyped and still they managed to deliver. RE4 and Skyrim. For all the others I usually only ended up being disappointed.

 

[Arun1910]

Hmm, Spider-Man.

Story was great, swinging great... it's the combat. There are so few combos that every fight feels the same, and when playing a game for hours on end, this repetitiveness gets old fast.

 

[Koala Driving a Ferrari]

BioShock Infinite is the greatest game of all time. Fact.

 

[Helios]

Basically, temper your expectations everything will go well. Worked fine for me until now. Except for DMC5, I can't not be hyped for that.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Basically, temper your expectations everything will go well. Worked fine for me until now. Except for DMC5, I can't not be hyped for that.

this graphic perfectly represents what will happend in Days Gone´s Hype


The only thing I knew about Gravity rush 2 is that it would be equally as good, and that's why I had hype, but finally it was the best game I've ever played.

By the way recently it was on anniversary 2 of that Great masterpiece

 

[StormCell]

Post Hype Game Opinions....

Super Mario Odyssey was supposed to play a lot like Super Mario 64, and therefore more like Super Mario Sunshine. While I found the game to be really cool on my playthrough, it felt short and I had diminished motivation to continue forward in the post-game. I disliked the emphasis on moons as opposed to having a collection of 100 collectibles for unlocking worlds/levels. As a consequence of having hundreds of moons, there's less sense of accomplishment when you uncover a secret in a level. My overall conclusion with the game is that it's a short play-through with very little reason to challenge the stages like in Super Mario Sunshine.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is basically what everyone else says about it. It's an incredibly well-made open world. The controls are arse. The game is really busy. I kind of stopped playing one weekend and a week later found myself dreading the return. That was a couple of months ago. I know I'll eventually return to the game, because it is fun and it's a quality game. I think I just got tired of the huge world, but if I just stick to the main quests and a few side quests, it would also feel like I'm squandering that massive world. Shrug. So much to do, so much to see...

 

[ThatGamingDude]

I haven't been "Hyped," about a AAA game in quite a while. These days personally I find myself falling into the getting-hyped-for-indie category.

In my childhood, I imported (and through other means) acquired many smaller titles that didn't make it into the western markets. It's because of this I feel that the western game market is very stale and bland; there used to be a lot of innovation, but I feel like these days it's more of "Mash as much as we can into this game to appeal to as many customers," versus "Let's do these things our game is about really well."

Guess you could say I like to keep things fresh and different; if I want to return to a certain place, I'd go to that place instead of trying to reconstitute my current position to a previous one.

Games like Destiny 2 (I wasn't hyped for, mind you, but still purchased) are exactly the reason why I don't allow myself to get hyped for games much anymore; you can pour as much money as you want into marketing, that's not going to make you have a good game.

That being said probably Doom 2016 and SSBU were the recent games that I was "Hyped," for, or at least looking extremely forward to. And either of those titles could have done the same "Market the hype train, do too much and flop," ideology I've come to be familiar with, even if my ideology is completely flawed. Just focused on the things they wanted to do well, kept the list to a minimum, and knocked it out of the park.

 

[Mikstl]

I fully agree with you, the game should be evaluated only in a few months. For example MMORPG has long been gaining rating, and games such as Lineage 2 classic worthy of his title

 

[CaptainSmirnov]

Post Hype Game Opinions....

Super Mario Odyssey was supposed to play a lot like Super Mario 64, and therefore more like Super Mario Sunshine. While I found the game to be really cool on my playthrough, it felt short and I had diminished motivation to continue forward in the post-game. I disliked the emphasis on moons as opposed to having a collection of 100 collectibles for unlocking worlds/levels. As a consequence of having hundreds of moons, there's less sense of accomplishment when you uncover a secret in a level. My overall conclusion with the game is that it's a short play-through with very little reason to challenge the stages like in Super Mario Sunshine.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is basically what everyone else says about it. It's an incredibly well-made open world. The controls are arse. The game is really busy. I kind of stopped playing one weekend and a week later found myself dreading the return. That was a couple of months ago. I know I'll eventually return to the game, because it is fun and it's a quality game. I think I just got tired of the huge world, but if I just stick to the main quests and a few side quests, it would also feel like I'm squandering that massive world. Shrug. So much to do, so much to see...

Man, totally agree about Mario Odyssey (last 3D Mario game for me was 64). I expected it to be something more, and I thought I was the only one that wasn’t seeing it when it came out, but now I know there’s plenty of people that feel the same way.

Otherwise I really enjoyed the big games recently like RDR2, GoW. Thought Spider-Man was a solid 8/10

 

[korvd]

I fully agree with you, the game should be evaluated only in a few months. For example MMORPG has long been gaining rating, and games such as Lineage 2 classic worthy of his title

Only that games that remain popular and attract new players deserve gamers' attention. I can't say that there are old games, there are some games that have become CLassic!

 

[Mikstl]

Only that games that remain popular and attract new players deserve gamers' attention. I can't say that there are old games, there are some games that have become CLassic!

You very beautifully said Yes, l2k can be considered a living legend, which is still played by millions of people, but some servers are so crowded that I lost the desire to play on them

 

[Hendrick's]

Most of my favorite games are 7-8's on metacritic. Seems like most 9-10's, while expertly polished, are more shallow experiences. I suppose games with more expansive systems are harder to polish, so that makes sense.

 

[korvd]

You very beautifully said Yes, l2k can be considered a living legend, which is still played by millions of people, but some servers are so crowded that I lost the desire to play on them

Try 4game servers. They are not overcrowded but there are enough players to find a party. I strongly advise you to find a clan here, it will be easier to farm

 

[Mikstl]

Try 4game servers. They are not overcrowded but there are enough players to find a party. I strongly advise you to find a clan here, it will be easier to farm

Oh, I saw them in the proposed Google search, is this the official server? Or am I wrong?

 

[kyubajin]

I haven’t been hyped for a game in a long while but now I just can’t stop thinking about how awesome RE2 and Sekiro are gonna be.

 

[hecatomb]

Red Dead was completely over hyped, the game may look good, but thats about it.

 

[Bakkus]

Most of my favorite games are 7-8's on metacritic

Could you mention some of them?

 

[StormCell]

Man, totally agree about Mario Odyssey (last 3D Mario game for me was 64). I expected it to be something more, and I thought I was the only one that wasn’t seeing it when it came out, but now I know there’s plenty of people that feel the same way.

Otherwise I really enjoyed the big games recently like RDR2, GoW. Thought Spider-Man was a solid 8/10

I thouroughly enjoyed Spider-man. It hits all the right notes for the mood they were aiming for. It hit a lot closer to the Toby Maguire Spider-man movies and I feel it really benefited from that (Mary Jane dislike conversation from the "no fan service" thread be damned!). Only thing I could sort of hold against this game is it, like Mario Odyssey, is really a single playthrough experience for me, and the DLC is adding nothing that interests me. Glad I didn't go all in on that based solely on hype. While I do feel like $60 is a steep price tag for one playthrough, it costs them a lot to make that experience, and for 20 hours I was... Spider-man.

 

[Hendrick's]

Could you mention some of them?

Some that come to mind that did not review particularly well, but that I really enjoyed:

• Prey
• Vermintide 1 (2 did review somewhat better)
• No Man's Sky
• Alien Isolation
• Rebel Galaxy
• Dishonored
• Until Dawn
• Don't Starve

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Are we supposed to post hype opinions?

Or are we supposed to post post-hype opinions?

 

[Raven117]

I don’t really fall into the “hype” if anything I have negative reactions to it.

 

[Danjin44]

I don’t really fall into the “hype” if anything I have negative reactions to it.

I said this before people should hype a game based on the gameplay footage, demo or their history with that series instead of hype from other people. Doesn't matter how much people hyped games like RDR2 or Witcher 3 it never got me hyped for those games because I know my own taste and I know what I want from my games.

 

[Bakkus]

• Prey
• Vermintide 1 (2 did review somewhat better)
• No Man's Sky
• Alien Isolation
• Rebel Galaxy
• Dishonored
• Until Dawn
• Don't Starve

Those are among your favorite games of all time?

 

[Raven117]

I said this before people should hype a game based on the gameplay footage, demo or their history with that series instead of hype from other people. Doesn't matter how much people hyped games like RDR2 or Witcher 3 it never got me hyped for those games because I know my own taste and I know what I want from my games.

Yup. My hype is never dependent on the “hype.” Gameplay, developer, and previews is all I need to make a call of whether I’d like it or not.

 

[Hendrick's]

Those are among your favorite games of all time?

No. Just some of recent memory, I never said all time favorite. Most of my all time favorites predate metacritic.

 

[magnumpy]

fallout 76 burned me bad with its hype. I bought it sight unseen the day it launched based on the fallout name, on boy what a huge mistake that was never again!

 

[renzolama]

When you consider the amount of content in some of these games it makes sense that they would have this kind of pattern.

Just going to take the examples listed in the OP.
God of War - Approx 40 hours.
Spider-Man - Approx 40 hours.
Red Dead Redemption 2 - Approx 70 hours.

So that's like the equivalent of a 4 to 6 season TV show more or less. Right?

For professional reviewers they are very likely playing the entire game in a single week. They have the advantage of being able/required to consume the entire story at once. So they aren't, for example playing chapter 1 and 2 one weekend and then maybe not picking up the game again until the next week.

Plus reviewers may be dedicating their time to only that one game for a week. A normal person on their PS4 might play a bit of RDR2 and then a bit of Hitman 2 and feel more compelled to pick up Hitman 2 next time they play something.

In a sense, a reviewer's take on the game is still a first impression even if they have completed the whole game.

The average player will have their first impression when they get the game but they may still have the game incomplete 4, 8, 12 weeks later etc.

To go back to the TV Show analogy...

Let's say you binge watched Lost over 2 weeks. You probably retain much of the good feeling from the early seasons even as you finish up the disappointing ending.
Let's say after 2 weeks you have only watched Season One. You are probably going to have a pretty positive feeling overall.

However, if you only watch one season every 2 weeks then 12 weeks down the line you are for sure going to be a bit more jaded about the whole thing as you realize that many episodes (gameplay sessions) are a bit boring and not much happens.

If this is also interspersed with sessions watching other shows, or playing other games then you may find yourself liking the big main show but preferring to watch (or play) something else instead regardless of quality.

I think that God of War and RDR2 and Spider-Man are the kind of games that you really do need to just get through in as close to one go as you can manage. This is especially true for God of War. I can't imagine playing through the opening and then coming back days or weeks later and feeling compelled to keep going.

I think the difference with TV is that a show can go through a few seasons and then can introduce completely new stuff to take a different direction or to improve. Stories can include twists and cliffhangers etc that allows a 40 to 70 hour show to remain fresh.

Games have a much bigger struggle there. Can you introduce an entirely new gameplay mechanic 50 hours into your game that changes everything? Or even just introduce new mechanics every 5 hours or so that keeps the game fresh? Then how do you even make that happen in a natural way so that it doesn't just feel like needless grind?

I think it's just the nature of games that over time you will start to feel a bit bored and notice things that you don't like. Minor annoyances just build up and then it's a case of feeling like the game is a chore.

I'd guess that seven 10-hour play sessions on RDR2 would feel completely different to twenty four 3-hour sessions.

I think the bigger reason that reviewers praise games which last 50+ hours is because they don't play more than 10-15 hours and therefore don't see the cracks start to show in the back half of the game. I can't count the number of times I see reviewers gushing about some feature that transforms into major design flaw by the end of the game, making it completely obvious that they never completed it.

Also, hyperbole sells more than measured and considerate response, it's why they always pick a couple AAA 'bad games' each year to dogpile on which conveniently also distracts from the golden tickets they give to the other 90% of heavily marketed AAA releases. I couldn't stop laughing listening to the giant bomb GOTY discussion this year when one of them goes balls deep calling Fallout 76 the most disappointing game ever only to immediately admit that he's never actually played it and never plans to. Seriously, that's where we're at with games criticism/journalism, it's completely okay to admit that you've never personally experienced the thing that you're criticizing.

 

[Javthusiast]

Was hyped for Nier Automata and Horizon and thankfully both delivered last year. This year I was mildly looking forward to gow, spider man and rdr2. And all of them met my expectations of being good, but nothing more.

The biggest hype for a game I ever had, was the years leading up to mgsv and getting all those amazing trailers. Mgs is my favourite franchise, or was, so I was super hyped. To my shock it was a total letdown as a mgs game. I still put a ton of time into it, cause the gameplay loop was fun, but ultimately it was a punch in the nuts as a fan.

Super interested in Death Stranding, but keep my expectations low now.