20 Great Games That Still Get Unjustified Hate

As old folk wisdom teaches us, you can spend years building a good reputation, but all it takes is one simple mistake to ruin it. This fact rings true especially in the gaming sphere, where a bad launch or poor marketing can sometimes cost a game studio its entire career.

However, as much as it is easy to hate on games that messed up in one way or another, sometimes this hate is undeserved. There are games that are absolutely worthy of ridicule, of course, but among them, there are also titles that have had a horrible reputation for years, despite the fact that they are actually decent or even great games.

Not every game that is criticized these days deserves the hate. Although they might have had a terrible launch or been the subject of a controversy, these days they are fun experiences that need to be recognized.

The following titles are secretly amazing, even though the popular opinion would suggest otherwise. If you just ignore the common prejudice against them, you’ll realize why they’re accumulating new fans against all odds.

Star Wars Outlaws has suffered the same ridicule as many modern Ubisoft titles, and there are good reasons for it. Aside from people’s fatigue with the generic and repetitive open-world formula that Ubisoft has been peddling for the past decade or so, the game had plenty of issues at launch, and the gameplay loop felt pretty underwhelming.

This said, Star Wars Outlaws differs from other Ubisoft flops in that its creators have actually been putting a lot of effort into addressing the issues the fans have had with the game. Since its release, Outlaws has had its combat and stealth sections completely redesigned. The stealth sections are no longer forced on the player, the combat is more tactical thanks to the addition of enemy weak spots and improved aiming mechanics, and the game feels more immersive thanks to new animations that make NPCs and protagonist Kay move around more, instead of standing still with emotionless expressions.

The creators seem to genuinely listen to community feedback, and while the game may still not be a masterpiece, it’s definitely a lot more enjoyable now and deserves to get a second chance.