10 Awesome Video Games Where The Gameplay Is The Worst Part
5. Shenmue
Perhaps no video game series in history has more successfully traded on the strength of its sheer charm than Shenmue.
The original open world adventure game was an almost unfathomably ambitious title for 1999, and while not much of a commercial success, won itself a swell of committed fans who loved the vibrant character of its world, its mysterious story, and its idiosyncratic tone.
But it's tough to deny that, even over 20 years ago, Shenmue's gameplay was pretty rough.
From the clunky controls to the awkward camera, and tireless commitment to dull "realism," Shenmue matched its gorgeous world and sheer array of Things To Do with maddeningly boring, time-consuming nonsense.
Add to this the fact that combat is infrequent and the QTE sequences are aggravatingly unforgiving, and Shenmue is clearly a game overwhelmingly elevated by basically everything outside of its minute-to-minute gameplay.
And yet, Sega effectively doubled down on this for both sequels, most amusingly the near-20-years-later Shenmue III.
Many players and critics were surprised - if not also annoyed - that director Yu Suzuki made virtually no effort to move the gameplay forward, opting instead to replicate the same rough-around-the-edges, clumsy feel of its predecessors.
A lot of fans continue to fly the flag for Shenmue's methodical gameplay, but it's by far the worst part of an otherwise spectacular package.