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Every now and then, there are disconnects between gamers and critics. Steam reviews are an excellent example of this, showing that sometimes, even we mighty critics aren’t always right.
Now, to be fair, sometimes something happens after a game releases. A game update could rub people the wrong way, leading to disappointment and frustration with the playerbase. At other times, a change in policy from the developer results in consumer backlash, as seen in the case of Helldivers 2.
Whatever the reason, these games prove that sometimes, the critics got it wrong. Here are eight games that, despite being well reviewed, have a negative reception from Steam user reviews.
8 Monster Hunter Wilds
From One Of The Year's Best To Mostly Negative
From an outsider’s perspective, the inclusion of Monster Hunter Wilds will be incredibly confusing.
It’s one of the best-reviewed games of the year, including receiving a perfect score from us. So then, why are recent Steam reviews listed as «Mostly Negative?»
It’s simple: performance issues that were present at launch still persist in-game. No matter how often people praise the gameplay, and trust me, they rave about how much fun this game is, there’s one thing that keeps coming back that frustrates fans: the game’s frame rate.
Countless reviews paint the picture of a game that continues to struggle performance-wise, adding to an experience that, no matter how enjoyable it is to play, is overly negative.
7 Call of Duty: Warzone
No Desire To Drop In
Say what you want about Call of Duty: Warzone, but there’s no denying that it’s one of the most popular games on the market today.
The current state of Call of Duty is one that has potential, as judged by the reception of both Warzone and Black Ops 6, but fails to deliver on that promise.
In the case of Warzone, Steam reviews are overwhelmingly negative throughout the game’s history, so unlike Monster Hunter Wilds, this isn’t a recent development. What gives, then? For some, it’s performance. Others complain about the Fortnification of the game, something that Battlefield 6 has pushed back on.
For many, though, it’s the storage space required to install the game, something that Activision is aware of and is trying to address. As of right now, though, it’s a dealbreaker for many.
6 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Double-Crossed
The Splinter Cell franchise is one that’s been on ice for far too long, and I can’t help but feel like Ubisoft’s priorities are elsewhere, causing Splinter Cell to suffer. Maybe one day we’ll see a new Splinter Cell game.
Its most recent entry, Splinter Cell Blacklist, is seeing some poor reviews thanks to the game’s performance issues and constant crashes. We’re not here to talk about Blacklist, though; we’re talking about Double Agent, a terrible PC port of a fantastic game.
We’re discussing issues that have been present since the game’s inception and are indicative of a subpar PC port. We’re talking constant crashes, wonky AI, and inferior graphics. I get that playing older games on PC or your Steam Deck is the preferred way to play today, but this is one case where it’s far better to dust off the old console and boot it up instead.
5 Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
Chili Dog Induced Heartburn
This may be a bold statement: Sonic the Hedgehog is best in a 2D space. I know that the 3D Sonic games have a devoted following, but nothing beats that classic, nostalgic feeling of a side-scrolling Sonic platformer.
So when Sega was preparing to release Sonic the Hedgehog 4, I was super excited. Sadly, that potential was completely squandered in Episode 1, and I fully believe that it was only reviewed well because everyone wanted the very best from our favorite blue hedgehog.
While it looks like the Sonic games of old, it most certainly doesn’t feel that way. Controlling Sonic feels off, as he lacks the speed and precision we’ve come to expect over the years. It’s just a downright unfun gameplay experience that didn’t understand what made the originals so great.
Thankfully, Sega righted the ship in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2, but sadly since then, the only 2D Sonic action we’ve seen was the fan-developed Sonic Mania.
4 Total War: Warhammer 3
Total Disappointment
Total War: Warhammer 3 is one of the better-reviewed games on our list, boasting a 94% recommended rate on OpenCritic. Yet here it is on our list, with its most recent reviews listed as «Mostly Negative» on Steam. So what gives?
There are a couple of reasons that stand out. First, like Monster Hunter Wilds, the bugs and performance issues still persist today. You’d figure that they would have been resolved as we now approach nearly four years since the game’s release in February 2022. That’s not the case, apparently.
Another major cause of concern is that there are factions paywalled behind DLC updates. That’s not to say this is the first strategy game that has been released in three different versions (looking at you, StarCraft 2), but you could play as all the game’s races from the very start. If StarCraft 2 said, «Okay, you have to buy the other two games to play as Zerg and Protoss,» then yeah, you can imagine how well that would go over.
All in all, despite the positive buzz, Total War: Warhammer 3 has failed to capitalize on it, doing nothing but disappoint its fanbase for quite some time, and they’ve finally had enough.
3 Destiny 2
A Long, Troubled Lifespan
There are few franchises that have ebbed and flowed like Destiny. With so much potential, so much promise, and so many highs, peak Destiny is an experience unlike any other.
Earlier this year, we compared Destiny 2 to a toxic ex who will always overpromise and underdeliver. It’s like we should know better, but can’t escape its siren call, probably because we not only want Destiny 2 to succeed, but also because we know how enjoyable it can be when it does. As one positive Steam review says, «Just always finding my way back to Destiny.»
Sadly, that’s the exception and not the norm recently. Most people point out that the current state of Destiny 2 is a fall from grace, with inexplicable decisions on how it handles its old content. There have been so many twists and turns in the Destiny saga (and I’m not talking about the game here, but more so on the state of Bungie) that it’s hard to really figure out where the blame should go.
Regardless, one thing remains abundantly clear: Destiny 2 had all the promise in the world, and I truly believe it deserved the review scores it got. I also believe it deserves the negative Steam reviews it’s currently getting.
2 Overwatch 2
The Sequel No One Asked For
Overwatch was an incredible game that I spent thousands of hours with (far too many of them in solo queue). It was a breath of fresh air in the shooter genre that helped popularize the hero shooter genre.
Its successor, Overwatch 2, was met with strong reviews, though it didn’t come to the universal praise of the original. The community reaction, however, was far more negative. Honestly, it’s not all that hard to understand why.
Recently, reviews on Steam have graduated to «Mixed,» but overall, there’s still a very negative perception surrounding the game. First and foremost, there’s the fact that it feels like there’s no real reason for Overwatch 2 to exist. After Blizzard canned the PVE mode (something Marvel Rivals launched in under a year), it just felt like a 5v5 version of a far better game.
To make matters worse, a significant portion of Steam reviews highlight issues with the game’s matchmaking. Matchmaking in competitive shooters is such an important part of the experience that if you fail to deliver a good experience here, the game is DOA. Now, Overwatch’s community didn’t really need any fuel to that fire, but Overwatch 2 has, at times, done much of nothing to try to turn around that community opinion.
1 New World: Aeternum
Such A Shame
I’m not here to say that New World was perfect. Still, it felt like Amazon’s MMORPG was starting to build some momentum with Aeternum.
That all came to a crashing halt following Amazon’s layoffs and the news that the game was essentially coming to an end. Season 10 is the last batch of content New World will see, and the game’s servers will shutdown at some point next year. As you can imagine, people were less than pleased with this development.
I’ll let the reviews speak for themselves:
«Recently started playing was enjoying it, now its being shut down because Amazon being Amazon.»
«They are shutting it down after getting the player numbers back up to ~40k. what a stupid thing to do.»
«Amazon took endgame too seriously and literally ended the game there.»
That last review was from January 2022, but it’s one that feels shockingly relevant today. New World had so much promise and potential; I’ll never forget the hype around its launch. Sure, it wasn’t the smoothest of sailing, but what MMORPG has enjoyed a perfect launch? New World and its fanbase deserved better than what they got.
