9 Great Video Games That Did Not Deserve The Hate

Don't think much of these games? Now's a good time to think again.

assassins creed 3
Ubisoft

Gamers can be a fickle bunch. While positivity is good and all, nothing is more fun than tearing a game to shreds and with the Internet being what it is, we can – and do – make sure that everyone knows about it. After all, with hype comes expectation and if that expectation is not met Hell quickly follows.

Sometimes that negativity is warranted. The gaming landscape is filled with enough empty promises, half-baked, lazy attempts and downright broken cash-grabs that being a smidge jaded can keep our hard-earned money in our wallets and encourage the greedy, incompetent or criminal to rethink their shady practices.

Then there are times when the negativity gets out of hand. This is where things get ugly, where a poor previous outing creates near insurmountable scepticism, a bad screenshot or two overpowers all the good that comes after, and a shaky release leads to a storm of furious reviews. And so, many a great game has died a gruesome death, or simply been ignored, left to languish until some brave soul gave it a second glance.

Today, we’re taking that second glance. These are titles that fell afoul of the Internet for less than valid reasons and were denied sequels, acclaim and success because of it. So, let’s chuck that negativity, grab a cup of tea, warm our crotchety old hearts, and show some love to games that truly deserve it.

9. Mass Effect: Andromeda

assassins creed 3
Bioware

If ever there was a game that did not deserve the sheer, unrelenting vitriol that was spewed at it, it is Andromeda. And all of that scorn and ridicule was based, almost exclusively, on the spectre of a wonky expression seen on a female Ryder. A near 60 hour campaign, all ignored on the basis of a few seconds.

And yet those 60 hours contained so much brilliance.

Ryder is that rare thing in video game protagonists – a human being. Unlike the power fantasy that is Shepard, Ryder is awkward, insecure, uncertain. They struggle, and so too do her squad mates, with doubt, familial relationships, old age. It is one of the most relatable video game casts ever created.

The world they adventure in is absolutely breathtaking with expansive, distinct environments that the player takes an active hand in restoring, and to see those changes bear fruit is immensely rewarding.

Gunplay is fantastic. No longer is the player tied to cover, but is able to dominate the battlefield using skills available to all the game's classes, in real time, in the same battle.

The story is one of hope, of optimism and new beginnings, and while the threat of the Kett builds slowly once it reaches crisis point, the action is every bit as epic and tense as anything seen in previous titles.

The music is outstanding, the voice acting on point, the writing of a high standard.

And yet all of Andromeda’s fine qualities were completely ignored, all for glitches and missteps in animation that are far from game-breaking and easily forgiven. The internet, despite good reviews from critics, decided to hate it. The result was Anthem, and nobody needed that.

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Marcellus Huisamen hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.