Here's Your Most Disappointing Game Of 2018

Image: Supplied

There were some cracking games in 2018, with a standout top three in particular.

But what game let you down the most this year? Here's the results.

There were some strong surprises in the voting this year. Before we get into that, let's give a quick shoutout to these legends for their "nominations" for most disappointing game of 2018:

Poll me daddy!
No mans butthole
Fallout 69
Karate kid N.E.S still cant beat it
Mass Effect Andromeda (I know it’s 2017 I’m still disappointed)
Cory in the House on Nintendo DS

God bless you all.

Now, for the actual results. Just outside of the top 3 was Fortnite, Battlefield 5 and World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth.

But your third most disappointing game of the year was...

Far Cry 5

A good doggo wasn't enough to stop Far Cry 5 from letting a lot of you down. Was it the ending? Not enough doggo? Or the whole American cultist shtick?

Either way, Far Cry 5 got bronze medal in this year's frownface poll. Not by much though - it beat out Battle for Azeroth by a single vote.

But given the way votes went previously, I have a feeling you'll be surprised with what came second. Your runner-up for most disappointing game of the year was...

Red Dead Redemption 2

Image: Rockstar

I'd chalk this up to expectation management more than a genuine slight against RDR2's quality. That said, I can understand the whiplash from players expecting one of the best games in years, only to hit that wall of frustration with mechanics and item management.

I guess it ultimately depends on what you personally prefer from a particular game. Everyone has their humps that they can't get over. Frame rate is a big thing for a lot of people. Shitty UI really gets to me.

And for a good chunk of you, something about Red Dead 2 just didn't jive.

But it wasn't even close to the people who were let down by this year's most disappointing game of the year.

That game was...


Fallout 76

Not even remotely close. The reception to Fallout 76 and some of the stories that preceded it reminded me of the response to No Man's Sky initial launch. People were angry. People are still angry.

I'm curious to see where FO76 goes from here, however, knowing how games transform over time. It's certainly got a dedicated fanbase, and I enjoyed my initial 30 hours with the game.

But I haven't been back for a while. And it's not been the first, second, third, or fourth game I've recommended to people when asked.

A lot can change, though. FO76 certainly wouldn't be the first game to get a new lease of life, to surpass expectations a year later. But as 2018 comes to a close, it remains your choice for the most disappointing game of the year.


    Just Cause 4 was mine for the year. My god how did they make it look so shit? cutscenes look like early ps3 days and instead of causing mayhem to progress its now done with stunts. They ruined one of the most simple and fun gameplay mechanics, yes there is still lots to blow up but its not a requirement anymore.

    Instead of trying to push it out for the Christmas rush, just delay it for a few months of polish.

    Edit* I can agree with RDR2 i just simply cannot get into the game after 10 hours i have simply given up, it might get better later but playing it at the moment is just a chore.

    Last edited 24/12/18 10:49 am

      I guess it depends on how you define progress. It's either done via stunts for skills (compared to mini-games) or the story is done via those reasonably basic missions.

      It was dumbed down a bit too much for my liking.

    How were people disappointed by 76? It was clearly a trash fire from first pitch. Todd chose his words real carefully when unveiling it.


      I said in the original post that F76 wasn't a disappointment because i could tell it would be a dumpster fire. F76 was more a confirmation than a disappointment.

        You can literally see the difference in how he has talked about their other titles at E3. Its like the difference between a salesman working at the sports store (that hopefully likes their job) and a used car salesman that carefully chooses every word so they can't be sued afterwards.

    People DV'ing RDR2 for 2 reasons:

    - MTX
    - They don't like when people kill them in online mode.

      or it could be cause of the input lag, the fact its not as 'fun' as the first one, or heaps of other reasons that have been brought up by people.

        I have never seen shooting mechanics as uninteresting as RDR2.

      I think downvoting a game because it includes MTX is a legit reason.

    FC5 was disappointing because of the mechanics, same bad guys, missions being walled off because you play the game, absolutely woeful DLC and ultimately an ending that stuck in everyone's craw. At least until we realised that ending was getting a sequel, of a sort.

      The Mars DLC was okay'ish. Otherwise I agree the DLC was crap.

      The ending was ok. The antagonists were just crap and getting dragged into cutscenes was jaring.

      The mechanics were Farcry mechanics. It's how the series has more or less always been. The biggest change was the lack of radio towers.

      I can't comment on the DLC.

        The challenge system for levelling was totally different.

    Yeah, that tracks. Having said that, I should probably give FC5 a go, given I love Red Dead lol

    Tomb raider. an utterly beautiful game that left me feeling absolutely nothing

      That was the same for me. The combat was also unpleasant and the ending simultaneously boring and frustrating. I love Tomb Raider, but it was one of the weakest I thought.

      Really? I love Tomb Raider but the mixed reviews made me not buy it at launch. I bought it after playing the demo. I am only about halfway through the story but I love it so far. Sure, the story has got some problems but I can see they addressed almost all of the criticism levelled against the earlier games.

      For example, reviewers had criticised that lara shouldn't really be killing people and that focus should be on puzzles and tombs. This game minimised combat and the puzzles and tombs are better than ever.

      The challenge tombs are spectacular.

      They even tried addressing the story and marrying it with gameplay but didnt quite land it. It is still passable (so far).

      The game ALMOST captured what makes tomb raider great. I really am failing to see why reviews are negative.

    I honestly enjoyed FC5. Maybe because it is one of the few co-op games you can just go around with a friend and blow everyone up in the main campaign in an open world rather then being forced to go online with lobbies and MP (even though that was an option with Arcade for those that prefer it). The random things that happen (like a buffalo coming out of nowhere and overturning a cultist truck) are always amusing, and make taking on the cultists that much more unpredictable.
    I am currently replaying it before FCND releases next year to get a feel for the controls again after playing way too much ACO and still think it's an adequate game. Not great, not bad, but passable. I don't regret buying it. Would have liked to be able to have more choice in the storyline rather then it being linear (choice is an illusion). Missed opportunities with Faith and Eli to name a few points of deviation I would have liked to explore. I really wish i could have shoved a jackalope down Jacob's throat though, he was by far the most annoying villain I have encountered for a while, even topping the hipster trash that was the main antagonist.

      I am one of those who voted far cry 5 here. I don't think it is a bad game at all. But because 2018 was s9 great for games fc 5 was a bit of a let down.

      Also I had ridiculous amounts of fun in fc5. I am Indian so I loved its Indian-like setting. The soundtrack was amazing. The missions were COLORFUL, even if they were repetitive. You even had rideable elephants.

      FC5 with its American setting felt like a step back. The soundtrack while ok still didnt have the same excitement as fc4. The levels were fairly plain. The story pretty intrusive, literally kidnapping me while I am doing another mission to show me a long cutscene where the bad guy says a whole lot of nothing. I still had fun .. just not as much or of the quality I expected. Hence, disappointment.

        I meant I had ridiculous amounts of fun in fc4.... in the starting line of my second paragraph. Sorry its pretty late.

    How could you be let down by RDR2 ????

      I assume this question was meant to be rhetorical, which is silly because it's EASY to be let down by RDR2.

    I enjoyed Far Cry 5. May have been the same game as 3 and 4 but it was still mostly good.

    I love that RDR2 is both the second best game of the year and the second most disappointing of the year, that's hilarious

    For me, WoW: BFA take the prize. The latest expansion is an absolute turd.

      Yeah. There’s a difference between something not being as good as you’d hoped and you say, “Oh, that’s disappointing,” and then there’s the disappointment that just keeps coming back to you like a wound that won’t heal. I miss enjoying WoW and I’d love to be in there... but not like this. And every time I get that itch, I’m reminded about the baggage it comes with and it bums me out all over again.

    Oops ... Wrong reply

    Last edited 25/12/18 9:33 am

    I’ll take RDRR (the second R is for Rtwo)’a wonky gun controls over BFA any day.

    You can keep FO76 however

    The most disappointing games I played in 2018 was the Secret of Mana Remake, followed by Shadow of the Tomb Raider. While Far Cry 5 was fun, it was incredibly flawed and contained a lot of unnecessary and questionable mechanics. I never had the uh, opportunity, to play Fallout 76.

    My favourite games of 2018 were Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man, God of War and Subnautica.

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