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2019 turned out to be quite a disappointing year for video games. Other than a handful of successes, the year was mostly defined by much-hyped games falling flat on their faces at launch. With the year behind us, let's take a look at some of these disasters.
#10 Rage 2
2019 was not a good year for Bethesda. Apart from the disastrous continuation that is the debacle that was Fallout 76, they didn't release a single good game last year which was amplified by Doom Eternal's delay.
It's no surprise that our list starts off with the forgettable Rage 2. When I started compiling this list I didn't even remember that Rage 2 was released in 2019. The premise of the game was great on paper, an open world action game with the incredible shooting mechanics of Doom. However, the game just didn't deliver. I found the story terrible, most of the jokes cringy and the open world was sparse and reminiscent of open-world design from the last generation. Rage 2 looked great but in the end, it was mostly style and little substance. Oh yeah, this game also has microtransactions.
#9 Crackdown 3
I don't even know where to begin with Crackdown 3. All the cloud-based destruction that was teased in early trailers ended up being cut from the game and even the basic destruction we got in multiplayer maps has been done better by other games already. Multiplayer also had a lock on aiming mechanic which made the skill ceiling non-existent. In short, there's no reason to bother with the multiplayer.
As for the single-player mode, it was straight out of the Xbox 360 era both in terms of gameplay and graphics. Not a lot has improved from Crackdown 2 which released way back in 2010 and in my opinion, is a better game than Crackdown 3. Even Terry Crews being in the game couldn't salvage this disaster.
#8 Generation Zero
When we saw early previews of Generation Zero it had promise, especially with the game being set in picturesque Sweden. However, when we played it ourselves it was a chore - the maps are sparse and empty, the loot isn't very good and of course, it comes with a ton of bugs.
This game can possibly still be salvaged by future patches and updates but at release and through 2019, there's no reason to play this.
#7 Jump Force
What happens when the heavy hitters of Shonen Jump come together in one fighting game? If Jump Force is anything to go by, it leads to a ton of unfulfilled promise.
I was hyped for this one when it came out, ready to battle with and alongside some of my favorites from Bleach and Dragon Ball. The story mode is pretty terrible and what makes it even worse are some of the worst animations this generation. Conversations in story mode don't come in as cut scenes but instead the player talks to static character models. The gameplay can also get repetitive with the combos often feeling like they have no force behind them. Avoid this one at all costs, it will only disappoint.
#6 Ghost Recon: Breakpoint
Next up on the list is the travesty that was Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Breakpoint stripped the features that were trademarks of the Ghost Recon franchise and instead tried to be a re-skin of The Divison and it just didn't work. The story itself was boring and sometimes were at odds with the gameplay design. This is never more paramount than when you reach the hideout at the beginning of the story only to immediately see it filled with other players.
The game also launched with a whole host of microtransactions, some of which Ubisoft walked back after backlash from fans. Ghost Recon Breakpoint was such a disaster that it forced Ubisoft to delay 2020 releases so that they could be reworked.
#5 Narcos: Rise of Cartels
Narcos: Rise of Cartles didn't launch with a ton of expectations, seeing that its a port of a mobile title but it managed to be even worse than what we expected. For a game that tries to be XCOM, it makes mistakes in every point where the devs tried to differentiate the gameplay from XCOM.
If you're a fan of XCOM and are looking for something similar, avoid this one and check out Mutant Year Zero instead.
#4 Left Alive
I was barely alive after trying to play Left Alive. The game is tedious and broken with some of the worst stealth mechanics this generation. The game was hyped as a Metal Gear style game which it attempts to be but fails spectacularly in the effort. The only way to finish this game without losing your mind is by spamming the roll button. Enough said, play the old Metal Gear games instead.
#3 Wolfenstein: Youngblood
As a big fan of Machine Games' Wolfenstein series, I was looking forward to Youngblood. This turned out to be a massive disappointment because Youngblood is easily one of the worst Wolfenstein games ever made. The story was terrible, the two main protagonists were cringe-worthy and the gameplay was quite broken at times. When playing in co-op with AI, I can't stress how many times where the AI partner refused to revive me. There are also different ammo types for different enemies for some reason. It was no surprise to see that this game sold terribly and lets just hope it doesn't kill the franchise.
#2 Contra: Rogue Corps
Contra: Rogue Corps was almost #1 on our worst games list. It's easily the worst Contra game ever made. The levels are terrible, repetitive and for some reason, there's a cool down for shooting. This game showed us more evidence that Konami just do not have a clue about what to do with their iconic franchises.
#1 Anthem
The biggest gaming disaster of the year has to go to Anthem. Where do we begin with this one - the deceptive E3 trailer or the barebones game EA gave us at launch? EA promised that Anthem would be a 10-year game ahead of release but it already looks dead in early 2020.
The story was barebones, the loot was terrible and the missions were repetitive. The post-launch plan was ditched by BioWare soon after release to focus on "core issues" with the game. The much-hyped Cataclysm updated was disappointing. At this point, the best thing for BioWare to do would probably be to cut their losses with Anthem and focus on the upcoming Dragon Age game.
