10 Video Games Ruined By One Dumb Decision
6. Outsourcing Boss Battles To Another Studio - Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution seemed primed to be a major return to form for the franchise, and though the bulk of the experience was a ton of fun - particularly the world-building and wealth of player freedom - the game was fatally hobbled by its howlingly awful boss fights.
Because Eidos Montréal was struggling to complete the game under considerable constraints, they actually outsourced the boss battles to little-known dev team Grip Entertainment.
The result was a major stylistic disconnect between these action-centric sequences and the more stealth-orientated gameplay of the rest of the game.
Fan response with universally negative, with some so frustrated by the difficulty spikes of these engagements - due to most players being ill-equipped to fight tank-like enemies - that they abandoned the game entirely.
Eidos did eventually release a Director's Cut of the game which severely nerfed the difficulty by providing more solutions to dispatch the bosses, but of course, you had to buy the game again for the privilege (albeit discounted at the time of release for owners of the original version).
Though it severely tainted the reception of an otherwise spectacular action-RPG, the developer at least learned their lesson for the sequel, 2016's Mankind Divided, which majorly de-emphasised its few boss encounters on offer.