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2021 “Game That Everyone Roasted But I Thought was Pretty Good” of the Year

Archduke Kong

Archduke Kong

Member
Feb 2, 2019
2,309
I didn't see a similar thread but lock if done already. I guess "guilty pleasure" would be a better way to phrase it, but that would imply we need to feel guilt!

Basically, what's a game(s) from 2021 that everyone seemed to hate but you had a good time with? I've been noticing a lot of my casual friends have been vibing with a lot of games that got roasted to kingdom come here on ERA (Battlefielrd, GTA, etc) and I'm sure some people here have had fun with some fairly disliked games

For me, it's the Switch port of Apex Legends. It's ugly as hell, pop in and lag was a constant problem and it was so apparent that it's the inferior way to play the game that you'd have better luck playing the mobile version (and it looks nicer!). That said, this game is so fun for pick up and play sessions in handheld mode that I was able to deal with it for a few months. It was my go to multiplayer shooter this year for the first half of the year, I'd put something on the TV in the background and play a few matches before bed in handheld mode. I remember a lot of people talking about how it will OBVIOUSLY be improved on the Switch Pro. Anyway, it's trash… but it's MY trash

What's yours?
 
AstralSphere

AstralSphere

Member
Feb 10, 2021
8,959
Yeah, I enjoyed Cyberpunk a lot on PS5. However I didn't really go in expecting some GTA x Western RPG masterpiece. I just wanted an open world Deus Ex-like in a cool cyberpunk city and it largely succeeded with that. And I ended up liking the characters too.
 
ez123

ez123

Member
Feb 18, 2020
2,621
This may be off-base but any time I notice The Medium come up in the Game Pass thread it seems negative so Ill go with that.
 
Caiusto

Caiusto

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,743
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood. Felt like an ordinary Xbox 360 game and I'm ok with that.
 
roguesquirrel

roguesquirrel

The Fallen
Oct 29, 2017
5,483
BioMutant for me. Couldn't stand it myself during the protracted flashback intro sequence it launched with (i think they addressed this with a patch?), but once you got out to the open world it was catnip for me. Just loved aimlessly exploring around
 
NightShift

NightShift

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,999
Australia
I thought the GTA remasters were pretty good. Some weird looking parts of course but overall I liked the way they looked and thought the attempts at "modernisation" such as the controls and checkpoints were handled well by not being too big to effect the game design. I understand why people were upset though as it's so, so far below the bar of quality Rockstar set for itself.
 
Kasey

Kasey

Member
Nov 1, 2017
10,822
Boise
GTA collection didn't piss me off as bad as it did for other folks.

Unlike Cyberpunk, there's actually very good games buried beneath the bugs and performance issues.
 
Suedemaker

Suedemaker

Linked the Fire
Member
Jun 4, 2019
1,776
roguesquirrel said:
BioMutant for me. Couldn't stand it myself during the protracted flashback intro sequence it launched with (I think they addressed this with a patch?), but once you got out to the open world it was catnip for me. Just loved aimlessly exploring around
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Hmm...maybe I should hop back in this at some point. I took advantage of the price error when it launched but fell off it right as I got to the open world and didn't give it the attention it needed for that to grab me. Performance on my old PC wasn't great either so that was definitely part of it.

As for my game...I don't think I have one actually. I don't really remember playing a game that either came out this year or that I played this year that I thought was better than most people gave it credit for. *shrug* I guess maybe NSO + Expansion Pak? Everyone seems to hate it, but I have put more hours into Star Fox 64 since it released than I have entire other brand new games.

Edit: Also Outriders! I never got to the endgame so that might be why I find all the hate around it unnecessary. I just really enjoyed playing it and getting loot, wishing that my friend could play it with me because it would be amazing. It was super annoying that the servers barely worked when it released but the game itself is a blast. Even started playing it again on PC Game Pass now that it runs well after all the patches, bought it on PS5 at launch though.
 
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Mad Gamer 64

Member
Nov 6, 2017
699
Riders Republic. I feel like most of the criticism around it latched onto how lame the Xtreme/epic dudez tone/dialogue was. While that's absolutely correct, it's such a small part of the game that I found it easy to ignore. The rest of the game is basically my dream game and it mostly nails it in the gameplay/traversal aspects
 
Smoolio

Smoolio

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,824
Does Guardians of the Galaxy count? That's only for people that haven't played it though.
 
Doomburrito

Doomburrito

Member
Feb 9, 2018
1,155
Recompile!

People I talked to all hated it but I thought it was super fun. There's a moment near the end that I don't know if it is horrible game design or an incredibly clever subversion, but either way, it was my favorite single moment of the year.
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,305
ornery said:
Battlefield 2042
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Battlefield 2042 has improved massively since the Beta and the launch as well. I think a lot of people had their minds made up from the Beta, though, as the game is extremely fun in its current, imperfect state. If people are uninterested in giving it another try, then so be it, but I already enjoy it much more than my time spend with BF1 and BFV.
 
shinobi602

shinobi602

Verified
Oct 24, 2017
8,327
I don't know if everyone 'roasted it', but I'm having fun with Far Cry 6. The map is freakishly big once again, but the gunplay is the best in the series and I'm having a good time just wandering the world and causing whatever chaos I can get up to.
 
AllChan7

AllChan7

Tries to be a positive role model
Member
Apr 30, 2019
3,670
Deathloop
I went in thinking it would be mediocre based on what some people here said and I'm glad my experience was different from theirs. The game is amazing so far
 
ajszenk

ajszenk

Member
Dec 6, 2017
1,206
Guardians of the Galaxy and Deathloop share the title for me. Both of have gotten quite a bit of flak, for different reasons, but I adored both of these games. Can't decide which is GoTY for me personally.
 
Kaswa101

Kaswa101

Member
Oct 28, 2017
17,742
shinobi602 said:
I don't know if everyone 'roasted it', but I'm having fun with Far Cry 6. The map is freakishly big once again, but the gunplay is the best in the series and I'm having a good time just wandering the world and causing whatever chaos I can get up to.
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Yeah I was gonna say this. It's definitely just "more Far Cry" and flawed in many ways, but I loved the setting and the gameplay was fun as always. Taking out an outpost with a silent sniper just never gets old lol
 
J75

J75

Member
Sep 29, 2018
6,597
I acknowledge how flawed and how much Rockstar screwed up, but I had some fun with GTA 3 Definitive Edition, it deserves all the flak, though.
 
T.Rex In F-14

T.Rex In F-14

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,461
Mario Golf: Super Rush.

The story mode is half-baked at best and the Speed Golf turned out to be fairly lame but I like to boot it up, pick a character, and just relax while playing a course or two by myself. The free courses have all been good additions and I have been happy with my time with it.
 
CadobaDelta

CadobaDelta

Banned
Apr 27, 2020
101
I had a fun time with Outriders. The gameplay was shallow, but more than serviceable, and the lore was great. I even liked the story and most of the characters.
 
Smoolio

Smoolio

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
2,824
CadobaDelta said:
I had a fun time with Outriders. The gameplay was shallow, but more than serviceable, and the lore was great. I even liked the story and most of the characters.
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Oh that's a good pick, had heaps of fun with Outriders, one of the best gear systems out there at the end game.
 
Bingle Bango

Bingle Bango

Member
Sep 13, 2018
215
It seemed like people were pretty low on The Gunk. However, I am fairly high on The Gunk. In fact, I liked The Gunk quite a bit, and not just for having the best videogame title of 2021.
 
BlueBrand

BlueBrand

Member
Oct 28, 2017
133
Deathloop, I nearly didn't play it as everyone was saying it was not worth playing and that Arkane Studios has lost a step. But I remember hearing similar things when Prey came out and I loved that game. While this game does not hit the peaks that Prey did, I really did enjoy it. This was a stacked year, and it might even get into my top 10 this year.
 
lvl 99 Pixel

lvl 99 Pixel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
44,639
BlueBrand said:
Deathloop, I nearly didn't play it as everyone was saying it was not worth playing and that Arkane Studios has lost a step. But I remember hearing similar things when Prey came out and I loved that game. While this game does not hit the peaks that Prey did, I really did enjoy it. This was a stacked year, and it might even get into my top 10 this year.
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I wouldn't say everyone roasted Deathloop when it has some of the most GOTY wins of any game this year.
 
PintSizedSlasher

PintSizedSlasher

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,366
The Netherlands
Hell let Loose.
When it came to PS+ loads of people tried it and immediately wrote it off as a "walking simulator" without giving it a proper chance.
It was hard to learn, hard to master, but once it all clicked it was the most fun I had in a MP game this year.
And it has fantastic Dualsense features.
 

Deleted member 8257

Oct 26, 2017
24,586
Cyberpunk is still glitchy AF. But it really has some of the best videogame characters of all time. Keanu as Silverhand just works. Judy is awesome. Takemura is badass. I'm like 70% through but waiting for that mega patch sometime in Feb or March to finish the game.
 
pikachief

pikachief

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,518
Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

to be fair, its not really all that good lol but I still love it
 
backpropaganda

backpropaganda

Member
Dec 13, 2018
1,521
The only game I played that could fall in this camp so far is cyberpunk 2077, though I haven't played much but what I did play was good
 
Tortillo VI

Tortillo VI

Member
May 27, 2018
1,951
I enjoyed Cyberpunk a lot. Just wished it was finished. And that my character didn't appear bald and clipping, T-posing through my car when going high speed.
 
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