All games are clearly not created equally, because some just don’t make the cut into our best category. As we mentioned before, we’ve got our favourites of the year, but we also kept our eye on the not-so-best games to come out this year. Not saying they’re the worst ever, but, it either didn’t meet expectations, or just had too many problems to even warrant being a game in the first place. You’ll know what we mean when you check out the list. With that being said, let’s get to the games that just bust this year! 

Rage 2 

Okay, Rage 2 is actually a fun game for a first-person shooter, and it has crazy looking physics and dynamics that makes it a cool experience. But just because it plays fun, it doesn’t mean that it is overall a good game. The problem comes when they tried to expand it into the open world genre as well, as it just makes it boring. The missions are basically repetitive, and the campaign is short. What was supposed to make it stand out was its wackiness, but even that didn’t land well due to a pretty bad script and poor jokes. Even as fun as it is to shoot people in this game, and a pretty decent upgrade tree and weapons, it doesn’t make up for how boring it just ends up being. That’s a bust from me dawg. 

Anthem  

Okay this one counts as being one of the most hyped up but FAILED games of the year, and it really does deserve that title. While initial impressions are of a beautiful world and environments, there’s only so much we can pay attention to the surroundings, and not the game itself. When it first came out, that was the story it told. Over time, people started realising that the game is extremely buggy, long load times, and you just can’t start to care about the world and universe. It failed to capture the audience with its storytelling, and in turn became all too often derivative and lifeless. The game released, and it already felt unfinished. It should have been a hit, with how cool everything looks, and the concept of the game. But its poor execution led it to being here, on our Bust list of games. Better luck next time BioWare. 

Crackdown 3 

This game came 9 years after its previous instalment, Crackdown 2, and they came out promising a fun, energetic open-world city. They also promised it’d be full of personalities like Terry Crews, but play enough, and you’ll know it’s not all that it’s ‘cracked’ up to be. Haha, get it? Anyway, the game ended up being just a bunch of repetition and busywork to make you feel like you’re having fun, but in all reality, it’s really not. Something akin to a mobile game, but with Terry Crews in it. On the topic of Terry Crew’s cameo, he barely had anything to do with the game, in terms of plot and screen time even though it had been heavily marketed towards that. At the end of it, the game’s just boring, and there’s nothing worse than a boring game.  

Pokémon Sword and Shield 

This is one of the milder instances of being a Bust, but it was serious enough to be on our list. Pokémon Sword and Shield is the first real Pokémon game to be on Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch. Therefore, it was kind of a big deal for many Nintendo fans, and especially Pokémon fans. But to developer Game Freak’s dismay, it wasn’t as well received as one had hoped. Mainly because of the it’s graphics, which they expected more out of considering the Switch is Nintendo’s most powerful console to date.

Another thing that really caused it to fall short of what could’ve been, is the exclusion of the National Pokédex, which meant you’re not getting all the Pokemon you’ve loved for so long. There’s no Bulbasaur, or Squirtle, but there’s Charmander. Where’s the line on who gets the cut?

Otherwise, the game was widely adored, and was praised but just not enough. It was only truly a Bust, because it fell short of its expectations. Pokémon Sword and Shield could have been so much more, but it is what it is.