They can’t all be winners… here are the biggest stinkers of 2022
Title: They can’t all be winners… here are the biggest stinkers of 2022
Description: 2022 has brought us some gaming masterpieces, but it’s also churned out some absolute duds. And here they are in all their glory
Keywords: 1xBit games, Babylon’s Fall, Zorro: the Chronicles, Switch Sports, Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition, Scorn, LEGO Brawls, Diablo: Immortal
Preview: 2022 has brought us some gaming masterpieces, but it’s also churned out some absolute duds. And here they are in all their glory
Body:
With the approach of the holidays, the sun is about to set on 2022, and while this year has brought us some stunning masterpieces, no end-of-year review would be complete without naming and shaming the insufferable stinkers that have been dropped unceremoniously onto gamers’ plates over the last 12 months.
So, while you’re enjoying God of War: Ragnarok or Elden Ring, spare a moment and a thought for all the unfortunate gamers who invested their hard-earned cash in one (or more) of these shameless piles of digital manure.
Contents:
- Babylon’s Fall
- Zorro: the Chronicles
- Switch Sports
- Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition
- Scorn
- LEGO Brawls
- Diablo: Immortal
Babylon’s Fall
This disaster lived up to its name in spectacular fashion as its servers were shut down less than a year after launch due to a stunning lack of interest. “Why?” we hear you ask. Well, the game amounted to a boring Dark Souls clone with clunky controls, gameplay that was as engaging as watching paint dry, and graphics that would have been considered ugly back in 2001.
Oh, and if you want any of the in-game items that are actually any good, get ready to shell out some cold, hard, real-world cash for the privilege.
Zorro: the Chronicles
Ask most people who their favorite Mexican hero is and they’ll probably slash a Z into the nearest wall and exclaim “Zorro!”. This righteous bandito who protects the downtrodden peasants and battles the greedy landowners should be the perfect protagonist for an epic swashbuckling adventure.
Unfortunately, in Zorro: the Chronicles, he looks like a lame Fortnite character, has about 3 moves in his arsenal, and inhabits a boring world plagued by bugs, as well as a complete lack of polish. In its defense, however, the game does let you slice a Z into the baddies’ butts, which is a videogaming first as far as we know.
Switch: Sports
Remember how much fun Wii Sports was? Swinging for the fences in baseball, pummeling your friends in boxing and of course, going toe-to-toe in epic tennis clashes… great times. Nintendo naturally wanted to treat us to a similar experience on the Switch. However, the disappointment was strong with this one.
With a measly six sports on offer (and golf not available initially on release), two of which are tennis and badminton, this updated version of the Nintendo Sports offering is just underwhelming all round and brings hardly anything new to the table. To be honest, you’re better off dusting off your Wii and enjoying the classic version instead of shelling out for this.
Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition
The last Blade Runner movie came out back in 2017 and it was met with acclaim from critics and fans alike. So, five years later, Nightdive Studios have very belatedly to capitalize on any remaining excitement around Blade Runner 2049 by releasing a (sort-of) updated version of a 1997 PC game based on the original 1982 movie.
Unfortunately, the game was only OK to begin with, the “enhanced” graphics don’t look much better than they did in ’97 (sometimes they look worse), and the controls are an absolute nightmare. We can be pretty confident that this pile of garbage will swiftly forgotten, like tears… in the rain.
Scorn
Here is a shining example of style over substance. When it was first announced, the trailer promised a unique and atmospheric horror game with a dark, moody ambience and creatively unsettling visuals. On this front, the game delivered, and the design does look great.
Unfortunately, with all this excitement about the look and vibe of the game, the developers forgot quite a key aspect of it – the gameplay. The shooting in the game is dull as hell and the puzzles are mind-numbing filler clearly stuffed in there to pad out the flimsy story.
LEGO Brawls
LEGO Brawls is essentially a console port of a 3-year-old mobile game that’s essentially a cheap and soulless imitation of Super Smash Bros. One among many major differences is that rather than playing as classic and beloved characters like Link, Kirby, and Princess Peach, LEGO Brawls lets you duke it out as such nonentities as Heroic Knight, Super Wrestler, and Space Blaster. Not thrilled by the prospect? Don’t worry, no one else was either and we hope that things can only go up for LEGO from here.
Diablo: Immortal
Diablo: Immortal was this year’s most shameless scam. On the surface, it’s a pretty solid mobile addition to the legendary RPG series, with interesting additions to the gameplay and engaging action and progression. However, there’s one major issue looming over the experience like a storm cloud: the dreaded pay-to-win.
After initially cruising up through the levels, at a certain point you’ll notice the game getting exponentially more tedious and requiring ungodly amounts of grinding to get anywhere, unless you cough up the cash to just buy your way up. Sadly, Immortal is only the latest in a long line of games to fall victim to this scheme, and certainly won’t be the last.