A shocking revelation to all: not everyone at WTMG agrees all the time with everyone else’s opinions regarding games, the scores we give them, and the reception they receive elsewhere by critics and public. We’re only human, and we each have our own tastes and opinions, and that also includes not being fans of some really critically and commercially acclaimed titles.

We decided to pick one game each, and list why we think said game is overrated and undeserving of the overwhelming amount of praise it receives. By no means we’re saying our opinion is what matters, and by no means we are judging others for liking these games. To be honest, some of us actually like the games we consider to be overrated.

Bring in the pitchforks, folks. It’s time for discord.

 

Leo’s pick – Overwatch

I just don’t get it. I had already heard from dozens of colleagues how phenomenal Overwatch was prior to checking it out for myself. At the time, the game was receiving a truckload of Game of the Year awards, everybody and their mother was cosplaying as Tracer or D.Va, a professional league of its own was being created, and so on.

When I finally got my hands on Overwatch, I was pleased with the visuals, easy controls and the instantly likable cast of characters. I also noticed how shallow of a game Overwatch ended up being, thanks to a very limited amount of modes, repetitiveness, scarce amount of maps, and the fact it featured absolutely no single-player content despite its 60 dollar pricetag on console. There was fun to be had, without a doubt, but nothing that made me want to play it for more than fifteen minutes at a time, and definitely not enough to make me want to endure the grind that was leveling up when there were no events taking place.

Overwatch was also partially responsible for the introduction of lootboxes in full-priced console games and for that I can’t ever forgive it.

Jason’s pick – Resident Evil VII: Biohazard

I enjoyed Resident Evil VII: Biohazard, but I simply think it gets more credit than it deserves. The opening hours were excellent and I found myself holding my breath for much longer than my lungs liked. But as the story progressed and moved beyond Jack and Marguerite Baker, I found myself becoming less and less interested. As a whole, the game was a great time, but as the truth about Eveline and The Molded evolved I became less interested. I was far more interested in the horror of the backwoods family than the lumbering goo monsters and the longer the game went on, the less it scared me.

There’s no arguing that Resident Evil VII: Biohazard was a great comeback for the franchise, but it started stronger than it ended and just doesn’t deserve all of the praise it gets.

Todd’s pick – Fortnite Battle Royale

Since no one else here will bite this bullet, I will. This isn’t me saying Fortnite isn’t a fun game. This isn’t me saying Fortnite is a bad game. This is me saying that it is overrated and over inflated because of the influencers. Fortnite is a barebones shooter and looter, but it excels at marketing skins that you will replace in two months. It excels at “keeping up with the Jones’s.” It caters to the influencers that then cater to children. Plus, it is acceptable to the parents so Billy, who can’t play Call of Duty, can jump on this. I completely understand why it is a phenom. It caters to every addictive attribute in children. It is McDonald’s. Nothing in it is actually good. They just excel at making you want to walk in the door regardless because a five minute experience, that all your friends do, is better than a good experience.

Thomas’ pick – Doom (2016)

There’s no denying DOOM was a pretty good game; a standout in the otherwise underwhelming 2016. However, it had some pretty major issues that cause it to fall way short of the praise it gets.

For one, the story is mind-numbingly stupid. Which wouldn’t be a problem for a Doom game if it didn’t continuously shove it down your throat. From locking you in rooms while Generic Evil Scientist guy monologues, to mindless droning on during a level (interrupting the fantastic music), it’s an ever present menace. Even at the start, while Doomguy shuts the guy up at first, you get trapped in the elevator less then 10 minutes later and forced to listen anyway. The game constantly says “We’re going to be different and make a statement, but not”. Arcade mode fixed this by removing the entire story, but it came way too late.

The other major issue is the uninspired map design. Instead of the series’ usual sprawling labyrinths to explore, Doom‘s maps were mostly just linear hallways connecting arena segments. Foundry was a fantastic exception, but for the most part the others followed the same pattern and it quickly got repetitive. Follow hallway, clear area of monsters, follow the next hallway, rinse and repeat.

Jordan’s Pick – Uncharted 4

I realize this may be a controversial pick, but I felt that Uncharted 4 under delivered on quite a few things that I love about the series. Right off the bat the game starts off with a very awkward flashback sequence that not only introduces a brother that is never once mentioned previously, but also a very important gameplay mechanic that you’ll use numerous times which Nathan apparently forgot about through UC1-3. The brother angle didn’t sit right with me and it may have been from the changes in development and directors it had to go through, but It still felt forced in and awkward.

Beyond that the entire tone of the game felt off. The story was a bit drab filled with relationship drama from his wife or his brother. Quite a few extremely long and drawn out sections that offer nothing to explore like the Madagascar sequence. It repeated actions much too often, I swear there was a point where you lift your brother up on a ledge for him to drop a box down for you four or five times in a row. The biggest disappointment for me, however, was the removal of the mysticism. There were quite a few times where this could come into play, and it was even very prominent in the multiplayer.

I’m not saying Uncharted 4 is a bad game, it is still a very entertaining action adventure game that had some enjoyable moments. Looking back on it though, I thought it fell short of what made me love the series as well as some design decisions that didn’t do much for me.

Kyle’s Pick – Halo 5 Guardians

I grew up playing Halo. It was the series that got me into first person shooters. Each game in the Halo series usually has a fantastic campaign with a superb multiplayer experience to go with it. So when Halo 5 came out I was disappointed with the game. Whilst it is generally accepted that the campaign is disappointing, I found the entire package to be overrated.

Beyond the shallow story is the worst Halo multiplayer experience to date. I don’t like the changes 343 made to the formula, for the first time in the series I didn’t feel like I was playing a Halo game. I’m all for a change but it felt like Guardians was simply chasing trends that it didn’t need to, adding ADS for no reason is an example of this. Map design was completely forgettable with no real standouts other than the midship remake.The post launch support whilst free, wasn’t impressive either. Forge and Big Team Battle, major components of the series for years were missing from the game only to be shoehorned in at a later date.

Halo 5 wasn’t all that bad. There are a couple of moments where I did enjoy my time with the games multiplayer. Namely in the eSports styled mode, Breakout. A one life competitive mode that was fast and refreshing. The mode at it’s absolute best was full of intense bursts of action. Warzone was also a fresh idea but the execution was lacking. 

Heidi’s Pick- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

 

The Legend of Zelda games have been some of my absolute favorites during all my years as a gamer. From the diverse characters you encounter, to the challenging level designs, to the rich storylines, nearly every entry to the franchise has been a memorable experience. So it greatly surprised me when one of the most anticipated titles in Zelda history, Breath of the Wild, just seemed to fall a bit flat.

Now I’m not saying that Breath of the Wild was a bad game, far from it in fact. It simply, for me, didn’t hold the same level charm or intrigue as many of the other Zelda titles. Yes there was a deep storyline and there were plenty of places to visit over the vast map, but I felt as though the temples and “boss” fights were seriously lacking in variety and ingenuity.

There were a ton of shrines to discover, but they only had a few different categories of obstacles to offer, like fighting a mechanical foe to test your might or doing a platforming puzzle. They started feeling stale after the first few and then really started to feel tedious after going through dozens more of the same thing. Then you have the Divine Beasts that serve as the main “temple” equivalent levels of the game. There are only four of them and they all pretty much feel exactly the same. I really missed the richness of having an area focused temple with its own unique theme and music. There was a lot Breath of the Wild did well, but it didn’t feel like it had the same charisma and magic as many of the other games.

 

What about you? Do you consider any widely acclaimed game out there to be overrated as well? Leave your thoughts below!