5 overhyped games that turned out to be mediocre

Overhyped games are a curse to the gaming community, as they can often lead fans to a disappointing release if expectations are not met. It all starts when developers announce a new title with never-before-heard features that will supposedly change gaming forever. Gamers often end up overhyping such releases months before the release date, only to get disappointed by the product.

Games like Cyberpunk stand as an example of why we should keep our expectations in check before a game comes out. Owing to multiple postponements, many would have thought that the title would be path-breaking. However, after its release, Cyberpunk was almost unplayable. It took CD Projekt Red years to ensure that Cyberpunk becomes a glitch-free experience.

In this article, we will take a look at 5 overhyped games that turned out to be mediocre.

NOTE: This article is subjective, solely reflects the writer's opinions, and is not ranked in any particular order.

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Overhyped releases that turned out to be mediocre

1) Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Assassin's Creed Odyssey doesn't make you feel like an assassin (Image via Ubisoft)

With the release of Assassin's Creed Origins, it was clear that the franchise was moving in a new direction, with the games now becoming more RPG-focused. However, fans didn't realize that the games would start losing their essence in the process. The success of Origins meant that the player base was looking forward to the release of Odyssey.

What they didn't know is the fact that the game would be another entry in the franchise, but would take out everything related to being an assassin, and instead make the player feel like a spartan. This made Odyssey unrecognizable for many, which made the game mediocre at best. The title lacked the main features of the series like stealth and assassinations.

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2) God of War Ascension

God of War Ascension was unnecessary (Image via Santa Monica Studio)

After Kratos killed Zeus and Gaia using the blade of Olympus at the end of the third game, the franchise had nowhere to go forward. However, Santa Monica Studio decided to work on a prequel, God of War Ascension. The game's marketing was hyped with incredible-looking trailers and promotions in the build-up to its release in 2013.

Ascension ended up being mediocre at best after its overhyped launch because it didn't contribute anything new to the franchise. It is a prequel that sets up the events of the first God of War game, however; it doesn't feel impactful, because the series had already concluded. The combat also felt repetitive this time around, since it didn't feature anything new except for generic elemental attacks.

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3) Death Stranding

Death Stranding is not Hideo Kojima's best work (Image via 505 Games)

Despite being helmed by legendary game director Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding became another overhyped project. After hyping the game and talking about how it would change the landscape of gaming forever, just like his Metal Gear Solid franchise did in the early '90s, the overall experience felt incredibly mediocre because of the repetitive gameplay and an incomprehensible story.

Death Stranding impressed gamers with its breathtaking visuals and acting performances, but apart from that, even Koijma's long-time fans were not able to get into the game. This was also because the gaming community was caught off guard by Death Stranding, as they were expecting Kojima to deliver something Silent Hill-related after the P.T. demo.

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4) Starfield

Starfield felt outdated at times (Image via Bethesda Softworks)

Bethesda Game Studios was behind some of the best RPGs of all time such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. This led to the Xbox gaming community's trust in the studio. However, Bethesda's Starfield still managed to change from overhyped to a mediocre title on the day of its release. The developers promised and delivered a thousand planets to explore, and over 250,000 lines of recorded dialogue.

The title featured loading screens and was capped at 30 FPS on the Xbox Series X, making the experience feel outdated by today's standards. It also featured empty planets, which all looked the same with no actual mode of transportation to explore them. The game was also riddled with bugs just like previous Bethesda titles, which created a bad reputation for Starfield on its release.

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5) Crackdown 3

Crackdown 3 was the worst in the franchise (Image via Microsoft Studios)

The success of Crackdown 1 and 2 meant that the third installment had a lot riding on it. The hype for gamers over the years rose significantly, and most would agree it landed in the category of overhyped games. What harmed the title's reputation was that it was stuck in development hell for over 5 years, with the announcement being made in 2014 and the game coming out in 2019.

This long development cycle ended up dooming the game as the mechanics felt outdated at times because of the underwhelming destructible environments and technical difficulties that plagued the release. Compared to its predecessors, Crackdown 3 disappointed fans and turned out to be an uninspired title, with the previous entries proving to be miles ahead of it.