Long time no see! Time to rustle some jimmies and tell people what games I think are overrated. Before I do, a few reminders:
- Overrated does not mean bad. Overrated means that the game was very well received (usually to the point of critical acclaim) and I don’t believe that it deserved to be. In most cases, I still consider an overrated game to be good; just not as good as many others consider it.
- Since this list will only contain games from the 2000s and 2010s, don’t expect any old-school games to be on the list. Sorry Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy VII haters, they won’t be mentioned anywhere else here.
Let’s begin!
5. Gears of War
Release Date: 2006
Metacritic: 94/100
I generally enjoy the Gears of War games, particularly, the campaign because I am absolutely abysmal at Gears multiplayer. The campaigns in Gears 2, 3, and 4 were all solid and I enjoyed playing each of them. I can’t say the same about Gears 1 though.
I can’t put my finger on why exactly I didn’t enjoy the Gears 1 campaign. The story just never grabbed me like its sequels did. Also, being a game from 2006, it shows its age, especially in comparison with the sequels.
So, I didn’t care for the campaign, I generally don’t enjoy Gears multiplayer, and the game obviously isn’t as smooth gameplay-wise as its sequels. I think that about sums up why I am not crazy about Gears of War.
4. Dark Souls
Release Date: 2011
Metacritic: 89/100
I can hear the “GIT GUD” screeches already. As you may or may not know, I am not fond of difficult games. If you were, then it is probably no surprise that Dark Souls makes the list.
Much of the game revolved around learning your enemy’s attack patterns and strategies in order to defeat them. Problem is, that this normally takes a handful of attempts for you to do. I simply do not have the patience to die to a boss over and over again until I figure out how to defeat them.
This one is more of a case of it being a game that just isn’t for me. The entire Soulsborne franchise gets praise from countless gamers, and it deserves a lot of it. But it won’t be getting any from me any time soon.
3. Grand Theft Auto IV
Release Date: 2008
Metacritic: 98/100
GTA IV was shattering sales records and getting perfect reviews right from the get go. I was so pumped to finally get GTA for myself, as my only previous experience with GTA had been playing San Andreas at a friend’s house.
Oh boy, this game disappointed me. Everything about this game was clunky and awkward. The running, the shooting, the driving, all three critically important game mechanics, all three lackluster.
Add to that the drab, dull color palette and the many boring, repetitive missions to endure, and you have yourself one overrated game.
I will say though, that at least GTA IV’s multiplayer was decent. At least I didn’t have to grind my way to buying all the cool stuff, unlike its successor.
2. Battle Royale Games
I couldn’t just limit myself to just one of many Battle Royale games out there. Instead, I’ll just say the entire genre is overrated!
It’s sooooooooooo boring! You either land in a heavily populated area and hope you get lucky to make your way out alive, or you land in the middle of nowhere and run around for 20 minutes trying to find any sign of life, usually only to get shot in the back.
At least with a traditional FPS, the action usually isn’t far away and if I die, I can just respawn and get back into the fray. The same cannot be said for Battle Royale games.
This is probably the only one on the list where I don’t have anything positive to say about it. There isn’t anything I like about Battle Royale games, and I don’t see that changing.
1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Release Date: 2009
Metacritic: 94/100
Out of all the games on this list, Modern Warfare 2 was by far the most disappointing in my eyes. After playing the shit out of Call of Duty 4, and being slightly let down by World at War, MW2 had me hyped more than any game ever had at that point.
The campaign was short and full of cliches, but it was still okay. Spec-Ops was pretty fun, I enjoyed that for sure. Multiplayer, however, was a mess.
It had overpowered killstreaks, perks that were straight up broken (looking at you, Commando and One Man Army), shotguns with ridiculously long range (at least they fixed that), and maps that encouraged camping. But hey, at least most of the guns were balanced decently, right?
Heartbeat Sensors, Care Packages, shotguns as secondary weapons, way too many air-based killstreaks, quickscoping sniper rifles, Tactical Insertions, I could go on, but I won’t.
To this day, no multiplayer game enraged me more than MW2. For how unbalanced it was, it shocks me that it is beloved by so many people and considered one of the best in the franchise. It is something I will never understand.
What games do you think are overrated? Care to tell me how my opinions are objectively wrong? Let me know in the comments!
The Analog Sticks 