"We did it, we time traveled!" "But to what year?" "Let me ask that guy over there. What was the Jimquisition's 5th worst game of the year?" "BloodRayne." "Either 2011 or 2021."
Im going to assume that next year a lot of the 'worst of' games will be 'play to earn' NFT games now that the games industry has those damn things in its sights.
@@fabiandurr6865 They were angry about microtransactions at one point but they kept throwing them in games till we had no outrage left just exhausted most people just let it happen. Altough some of us still refuse to buy any games with them in it.
One-hit wonder? All the classic Sonic games, Nights into Dreams, Phantasy Star Online... even taking Balan into account, he still has a career most video game developers can only dream of.
It’s both amazing and depressing that almost everything wrong with the world right now can be traced back, directly or indirectly to Thatcher and Reagan.
Between Pokémon Unite, that Lego Mario thing begging children to buy the Luigi set and all the other bullshit, Nintendo is getting increasingly good at abominable business strategies.
Agreed. I’m not looking forward to seeing what shit they will try to pull in the forthcoming years. 😬 And I’m also tired of people needlessly defending the multi-million dollar company that literally owns several of the biggest media franchises in the world (including the largest). I may love various Nintendo game franchises, but psychologically manipulative game like “Pokémon Unite” *need* to be criticized, otherwise it just sends the message that these kinds of games are acceptable and that they can create more.
@@Harukurochan pokemon fans i tell ya, as a former i can comfirm many refuse to acknowledge the flaws and scummy business practices of the pokemon company. I still refuse to buy SWSH and BDSP, and install the aps
@@maximillianlylat1589 i bought the new pokemon series and i play unite from time to time, but still, i agree that pokemon unite would obviously be a better game without all the money grabbing. also, it is quite basic and repetitive, gets boring fairly quickly. in general, i'm really disappointed in the pokemon company. they don't really innovate on the formula of the main series games and try to take your money where they can.
@@tipep The sad part is Pokemon Unite could have been a great starter moba for kids and more casual players, kind of like how the main games are starter rpgs. But nah, let's ruin it with predatory monetization!
"Cost shouldn't be a factor in game reviews" Who claims that? The money-worshipping AAA game industry? The people who keep wanting to charge more and deliver less? LOL I don't think so!
I think it's fair to bring up the price in a review, but it should not be used to judge the quality of a game. It's fair to say a game is very good, but too expensive for what it offers. Or that it's not that great, but cheap enough to waste a few hours on it. But saying a game is bad just because it is expensive seems wrong to be because the price can change later down the line. Does the game become better because it's cheaper now? Surely not!
@@blackbot7113 I disagree. It's about how you're judging a game. If you're judging the game as a product, then price and quality are the most important aspects. Is it stable, is it worth investing time into, does it have predatory monetization, is it priced fairly, is it fun, ect. If you're judging it as art, then you should discard price and focus on what the game is trying to do or say, is it unique, does it make you feel things, is it an engaging story, does it have good art direction, is it fun, ect. Obviously there's overlap, but price is most certainly something that should be brought up, especially here, because this channel focuses on games as products. If you want games as art, you need a video essay channel.
@@elizabethhicks4181 I think we're on the same page here actually. As you say, you are judging the game as a product - both price and quality. However, it is absolutely possible to separate those two things to a certain extent. I am purely talking about price in a "one-time purchase" context, saying stuff like "This is a game of great quality, but paying 50$ for what it has to offer is too high a price to pay" is something you can say and still put it in your "Top 10 Games" list because the quality convinced you even if the price did not. It is absolutely fair to say that the new MacBook is a piece of absolutely amazing technology while at the same time saying it's too expensive for what it has to offer. I think the same applies to games. Predatory monetization is IMO a different beast altogether because it directly impacts the quality of the game, by making the game worse to earn money and by being...well...predatory, trying to exploit the weak. It is also inherently a PART of the game, unlike the "normal" retail price which can be changed far more easily simply by putting it on sale. So in other words: "This is a great game and will be in my Top 10, even though it tries to exploit children with manipulative advertisement" is something that I would strongly oppose. "This is a great game and will be in my Top 10, but I would not pay more than 20$ for the amount of content it has" is absolutely OK in my mind.
@@blackbot7113 Okay yeah we are on the same page. It's unfortunate that in game purchases have become so invasive that they now have to be considered 'part of the game' like it's a mechanic that you feel obligated (or at least HEAVILY pushed) to engage with. But I see where you're coming from, yeah. Caveats are important too, you could be like "This game WOULD be in my top 10, BUT I can't put it there in good conscience because of (insert predatory practices here)..." which is also valid, I think.
Looking forward to Orochi Musou 7, where they'll have 365 characters from all the musou franchises, all of whom will share the same weapon type and fighting style, with a generous variety of three palette swaps on the same weapon mesh. It's gonna be awesome! Also they all share three voice actors. One male, one female, and one super-annoying male who does almost every character voice.
I can tell you exactly why Balan Wonderworld exists; Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic and NiGHTS. Much like Mighty No. 9, it's another case of a man who was once a big deal using his fame to get funding for a game that ended up not delivering on anything it promised.
"Balan wonderworld is so barebones" It's not even barebones, it's a platformer without a jump button! The jump is an ability that you can find yourself missing at times
It's with one costume. Poor Yuji Naka, off the success of NiGHTS into a pile of poo apparently. I thought what I played of the demo was lovely, (I love the visuals and how the music itself is subtly visual which as an HoH person was very helpful.) I just felt stupid not being able to find enough statues to unlock the next level after the first set, and that's my fault as an impatient adult, not its. I can see why people love it. It looks like a proper game as opposed to New Pokemon Snap which felt like a 50 quid mobile game. And I was excited for that.
@@Roadent1241 eh Snap is fine. It's basically an arcade rail shooter and that works as intended. If it's not what you wanted, that's fine though. Plus to give it some credit, it had a free expansion during August, which I think no game nowadays has. Not exactly great, but hey, take your dubs when you can. It's made by Namco Bandai, so it's a surprising positive because those guys are greedy asses most of the time.
@@tenyokensekia8088 Out of all the bad decisions that went into Balan, this isn't one of them. The core idea of a puzzle-platformer where part of the puzzle is balan-cing your shifting moveset to accomplish the objectives the game throws your way is actually an interesting one, something like Baba Is You but as a platformer. Balan's inability to work it owes more to a complete lack of actual concrete direction and focus on anything but being a game purely for particularly stupid children, and thus an inability to create interesting challenges around this system.
Just imagine if Digital Homicide had waited just 6 years, their games would now be at the same quality level of most of the so called professional AAA gaming studios and publishers.
They probably work in the actual industry by now; you know _someone's_ petty enough to hire those shitbags JUST based on their trying to go to war with Sterling.
Digital homicide flopped into the toilet so [EA Activ./blizz Square Enix Fu-Konami and some indie studios] could shit on the floor and it's getting so bad the janitor is thinking about quitting..
Just another reminder: along with all the sexual abuse allegations, Games companies have admitted to in the past practicing crunch, and just because they don't admit to it now doesn't mean they have stopped. Remember kids: All they learned was to not talk about it, not that they should stop. Crunch is still a thing (on top of all the rampant sex crime and protection of predators ofc)
Correct. Alot of them simply outsourced the crunch to companies in 'lesser developed' economies like Lemon Sky Studio (these assholes are really shit) where you dont get paid overtime but are expected to work overtime.
I just love how much people go on about poor developers and 'crunch'. I live in an industrial town where everyone works in warehouses, overtime is mandatory and there's no such thing as 'calling out sick'. We do labourous shit standing up for 12-14 hours a day. If those people have a problem with their schedules than they could always work 20 hours at CVS.
@@stevejones148 are you... are you bragging about also working crunch hours?? Maybe you should ummm idk fine a better job? Those hours aren't healthy, games Dev, factory work, fuck even prostitutes shouldn't work those hours. Sorry your job sucks man...
@@stevejones148 ...that's not the good thing you think it is. You're basically being exploited for a shit wage, told that you can't call in sick regardless of what is wrong and told that you should be grateful for the few days you get free per year. You're essentially telling people you like being a replacable overworked underpaid mook with no prospects and that they should be fine with that too.
@@simplemaddness He's been brainwashed by anti-union, pro-corporate indoctrination sessions. Probably hanging in circles where anything derivate from this is hardline communism talk
The most depressing thing about Gilson is like I looked forward to seeing his yearly nonsense. Had to go and make himself a villain instead of a curiosity
Balan is a fucking tragedy if you ever have a shot at digging into why it ended up like that. There's a decent idea in there, completely thrown away by baffling but singular decisions like "let's not tell the rather complicated story to the player so they never have any idea why things are the way they are" and then things that are supposed to make sense like the NPCs avoiding you just don't. They did that awful thing where to give a sense of progression they start you off with nerfed forgettable versions of powers that are mildly fun to play, and basically locked everything fun and interesting about the game behind "you had to have read the manual" level of completion, for the same reason as that NPCs are inaccessible thing. And the power ups aren't really fun to recollect either, so even when you get the better ones you don't want to use them. It's like it could be decent (maybe mediocre but acceptable) but one or two bad decisions just had this fractal effect on turning the whole game shit. It's tragic. What a horrible end to Yuji Naka's career.
I remember hearing somewhere (though idk if it’s true or not) that it was originally going to be a mobile game, but was repurposed for modern consoles instead. Which would actually make a *lot* more sense, especially when the whole game can be played with one button.
@@mjc0961 there is always room to experiment in game development, _buuuut_ if a game is one button it isn't a game. even most rhythm games are more complex than balan.
Balllan's biggest problem is they STARTED with the premise of "lets make 80 different costume power ups" with zero consideration for schedule or budget. There's a reason most platformer/adventure games have 8-15 power up through the entire game. From mMegaman to Metroid to Zelda to Mario to Castlevania, that's generally all there's time to do significant work on give them reasonable variety and look good. Once you pass that design creep sets in and the abilities either start doing the same things, or you don't have time to integrate every funciton into the world map properly so you end up only needing a gien ability one time. STARTING with 80 as your main design goal and priority is insane.
says a lot that I was looking forward to see this time to finally admit that I just plain enjoy watching people rip and tear into shit games here's to another garbage year
@@JimSterling I mean the only quality game news we get, are news on how bad games are. I'd argue that that's probably the quality approach to the industry!
Right? I was on the fence about that rainbow Plaid button down from torrid but then I saw it on them in a video (and a few streams since) and was like hek I guess I need it, no regrets I get compliments every time I wear it. So many of thier clothes are so cute.
@@VisualdelightPro Genshin is neither the first nor the worst example of that model, not even close. >.> It always amuses me to see people talk about it as if Mihoyo had invented gacha games in 2020.
I haven't payed a cent towards any in-game progression (I think I've spent like $15 total on skins and cosmetics), and it's just a comparatively fun and stress-free moba. The currency systems are very predatory, but the fact remains that it's extremely easy to play completely free, and even in the video, he couldn't say anything against the actual game itself. It certainly doesn't belong on a list of worst games, unless he's really trying to push an agenda.
"Why is it so ****ing hard to remaster things these days?" Because it keeps emulators from being able to claim that the games aren't being sold, so they are filling a niche. Of course, since it's such a cynical argument, feel free to punch any executive who tries to make that claim.
We've somehow looped around from trying to find good games, to the point where finding a bad game, the truly worst game in a sea of shit, has turned almost prestigious albeit in a profoundly cum-stained way. It's not easy creating the worst game in 2021. There's a lot of competition.
@@Jabarri74 Trust them? Never, wait till something releases to see if it's alright from reviews maybe lol Also depends on the series, for example Diablo 4, after what D3 went thru I cant imagine they will try again with 4 and with immortal coming out as what will likely be a crash grab (i hope I'm wrong but doubt it) I'm guessing D4 will be safe from some of that. Of course that is a guess and i could be wrong, i dont trust them not to mess it up but it seems like they have ample opportunity right now to just release a proper game. However if immortal ends up being a success....... I would bet that becomes the new model, and that is sad.
@@Jabarri74 I wouldn't say that I trusted these companies even before the cash grabs. I've been in the game too long and remember horse armor and the wave of nickel and diming DLC that followed but that was several goal posts ago. Big companies like those, my starting position is, "Can I torrent it?" If not, then "Do I actually want to play this, I mean really?" If so, I buy it on G2A because I'm already rolling around in the mud at that point.
Balan is one that will stick with me, I’ve never seen a game designed so…./wrong/. Even Sonic 06 could have been salvaged into an okay game, but Balan is flawed to its core. I’ll never get over the decision to allow only 1 action input, as if we haven’t had 2 or more action buttons on every controller since the Atari joystick. Condescending to the little kids it was made for.
These crappy "remasters" really make me appreciate Night Dive Studios for their work restoring and updating old games for modern systems, like Turok 1 & 2 and Shadow Man. Also, I've got that damn Popeye music loop stuck in my head again! Dammit!
At this point it's hard to wonder if we turn up for the game commentary or just to see what fashion Steph is smashing it out of the park with this vid. I'll settle for either/or.
Great to see you still on your A game and being so happy being yourself Stephanie. Hope you have the best 2022 and finally hit that 1M subs you so rightly deserve!
There's something so cathartic about your videos. It's never totally holier than thou but has a good amount of "yes this IS a simple concept, just treat each other as human beings!"
Of course, the shittiest game of 2021 is the one ActiBlizz has been playing with its employees and customers to try to convince them that abuse is no longer a thing there.
Ever since Pokemon went 3D the quality has taken a noticeable dive. And this is coming from someone that actually likes Gen 6, but the fact that they learned nothing from that generation's mistakes is proof that the quality has gone down.
Agreed. Whereas I was super-hyped for HGSS and ORAS, I just haven't seen a reason to feel the same about BDSP. While Legends: Arceus looks genuinely interesting to me and will hopefully give the breath of fresh air this franchise needs, I think it says it all that I'm more looking forward to the full release of Temtem.
@@michaelgunnels9694 In retrospect I have to say that the NiGHTS games also had pretty bare-bones gameplay in most levels but they made up for it with a ton of charm and a great soundtrack. Also NiGHTS didn't pretend like deep-seated trauma can be solved via random dance number.
If James Stephanie was upset about the Bloodrayne remasters in this video, imagine how mad they'd be if they had been aware of the Limited Run physical editions and their prices (yes, the two games were sold separately over there, as well)..
The BloodRayne remasters are filled with digital destruction on their wake, because the source masters are currently lost or are unable to be relocated.
Well we got Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl also Legends arceus coming out in a few weeks..... so we're fine.... and most of us that play Unite are veterans of LoL and Dota2 so we'll be fine
I've loved pokemon since I was 5 and I'm beyond disgusted at my favorite creatures pracing around ready to sucker punch money from people like me. Shameful ain't even a shadow of the word needed.
@@Sonichero151 Yeah, a shitty remake and a game that brings much dread because Gamefreak is trying a bunch of shit they never did before due to being stuck in the same formula for 25 years. Pokemon is not fine when it comes to actual quality.
I got my shots without any side effects, The James Webb telescope got off the ground and (most significantly) i no longer have to listen to Trumps word salad every single day!! 2021 WAS at least a little bit better than 2020!
My first shot felt like I slammed my funnybone into a brick wall for two days. My second was pretty much just the usual sick-for-a-day. I was really impressed by how the shots didnt hurt to get at all, like the injection itself was extremely suprisingly painless.
I remember beta-testing Bloodrayne when it was originally released, it was a bit of a glitchy but stable mess back then. The graphics don't look any better than when I tested it over 19 years ago
I've recently unsubbed to most of the so called gaming critics on RUclips. Most of them are complete shills, or lack the skills in which to provide great analysis, honest opinions, and entertainment. On the other hand, this channel just keeps getting better.
I find it hysterical that in this year, with the shortage of games and products, the industry still managed to be on pace with being as horrible as ever🙆🏽♂️ Give us hell Sterling!
My first experience of Bloodrayne Revamped and I legitimately wondered if they’d released it on the original hardware. Or maybe even stepped it back to the N64.
Random comment but my kitten seems to like your voice and actually will sit still for 5 seconds when I have one of your videos playing. So thanks, hope 2022 has more videos so I got new stuff to lull my kitty with.
I hear Jim say «steam early access games» and get hit with nostalgia. Ah the sweet innocent times with cottage industry incompetence and unadulterated idiocy, I miss it, tbh. The low rent weirdos never inspired much nihilism compared to the AAA multinational variants.
I love how i was like this remasters gonna be shitty(gta) and everyone hounded me and said i was wrong. I was like they have had years to make this a good game, and looks like they gave it to a studio to make into this within 5 months.
I hadn't even considered that Pokemon United was indeed marketed for children. The pokemon series has been going downhill sure, but the levels of greed in United really show their true colours. Sad and disgusting.
It’s honestly a pretty fun game, at its core. But that fun is buried in battle passes, micro transactions, and player and pokemon skins that functionally do nothing but look cool. Impatient kids will cave and spend to unlock things, after which there’s little point to actually playing.
@@maxspecs Anything can be called a "pretty fun game" after you strip away the predatory practices lodged in it. The problem, at minimum, is the predatory practices being present in the first place, especially in a game marketed toward kids. The only thing you're accomplishing by running interference throughout the comments is telling people how bought in you are.
@@mechanomics2649 No, I actually think it speaks volumes that despite all the negative attention from bad practices at launch, it still managed to keep a huge audience due to being a very well-made moba without the toxicity many others tend to breed. Star Wars Battlefront also got a ton of flack for terrible loot box mechanics at launch, but they fixed that after consumer outlash, and we were eventually left with a genuinely good shooter. The complaint at launch wasn't that it was any more or less predatory than any other free-to-play game. It was that, as a moba, having pay-to-win elements completely defeated the purpose. They have since introduced items and rewards that almost completely undermine the pay-to-win aspects within maybe 2-3 days of casual playing.
In all fairness the company literally started making two versions of their game so that neither of them was complete. Reasonably sure greed was baked into it from the start.
Jim, hope you had a great 2021 and are looking forward to 2022, I certainly look forward to your content in this coming year! Couple of notes: You're looking great, happy and proud, keep it going! Also, you've lost quite a bit of weight, congratulations! Not sure if you meant to, but you have, great job my friend! Thanks for all you do and everything you say... Thank God, for you!
Im surprised age of empires 4 didn’t make the list with how bug filled and unplayable it is. The pvp in that game is a joke. I am sad that pokemon unite was a huge cashgrab. The fact that it is pay to win was a huge problem for me. I was hoping it would replace heroes of the storm, but that MOBA is still superior, and not pay to win.
It really says a lot about 2021 when Balan Wonderworld, a game fully devoid of any joy and creativity, is only at the beginning at the list. Can't wait for 2022 to suck even more!
"the moment [a year is done...] there's another one! You don't even get a break." And this is why we should try the french revolutionary calendar again. leap days? alternating months? eh, just have a variable length week between the end of a year and the beginning of the next that's all just one big holiday and not really part of the "year"
While there might not have been as many blow out titles this year, the amount of piled off shit within the world gaming was sadly stacked high and wide. Here’s to looking forward to 2022 to do marginally better (although at this point, best to not hold your breath for too long).
@@Herodegon technically God of War Ragnarok comes out next year too (others would say Horizon too, but I need to try and finish the first before I can dive into the second).
I know I'm late to the picture but thanks very much for another great set of rollups for 2021!! In future rollups I'd love to see MSRP quoted like you did for Balan Wonderworld and the Popeye title
There was a time when having someone say the shittiest game of the year was from the [spoilers] series would've made me so mad, but now, honestly... fuck it, why not? They've earned it.
I feel really bad for everyone that bought the Limited Run Games physical editions of anything at this point. Limited Run Games themselves are a fairly garbage company. From creating FOMO via multiple special editions with color or boxart variations, to having games they claim to be limited get a later physical release somewhere else, to releasing these physical games that are supposed to be feature complete with versions of the game that aren't feature complete and require patches, to releasing games that aren't physical at all but instead just include a download code, to even charging extra for a box so that your expensive collectible item doesn't get damaged during shipping. Yes, this company that supposedly cares about creating collectibles doesn't even care enough to ship said collectibles in a box by default. If you don't pay extra, you get a crappy bubble mailer so your plastic cases can be broken and your cardboard boxes can be crushed.
Feeling bad for anyone dumb enough to buy limited run games nowadays is like feeling sorry for people that would still pre-order games 5 years ago. It's totally their own fault at this point.
I am so numb to your shenanigans by now that I didn't even flinch at the admittedly brilliant "Pube Goldberg Machine" line. I simply reflexively muttered "Shut the fuck up, Jim." XD
Man I wish I can go back to the early 2000s-10s, where games had actual effort put into them, and games were, y'know, games. I also wish companies would take more risks, everyone wants to take the easy way out.
Another shitty year full of games, another beautiful year with the Jim Stephanie Sterling. Can't wait to get my blood boiled again next year with new Jimquisition's. Best wishes to you Stephanie and all the other beautiful people here.
It's slowly becoming apparent that "remaster" equals "lazy cash grab" and "remake" equals "actual efforts were put into it" in the AAA game industry in 2021. My wallet thanks you for the distinction, J.Steph. Thank god for you!
For what it's worth, there are at least four characters with unique movesets: old Mitsuhide Ackechi, Hattori Hanzo, Sandayu Momochi, and Hanbei. Quite why these four are unique I have no idea, but at least Hanbei's moveset slaps.
I've seen things like "Hentai vs Evil" pass by on Steam, I generally ignore them for the same reasons mentioned above. But actually looking at the footage during the commentary got me to realize something: If those are all just prefab models purchased out of an asset store, then this has come a long way! I mean certainly everything would need more polish, testing, and an actual interesting gameplay loop or goal to be good, but these models way there. Good on the unnamed asset store and hopefully the paid creator of the models.
Every single game with "Hentai" in the title is asset-flip trash, made to scam a quick buck out of horny idiots. _Real_ porn games have more dignity than to call themselves "HentaI" anything. Well OK, Hentai Asmodeus is at least playable, even if it was built on the Mirror engine. But it's not great either.
You are doing the most important work that needs being done in the realm of video games at this point in time. And full support on all the personal stuff too; looking great!
Just watched your interview on Owen Jones. Just wanted to say well done. Your tuff as nails to go through and put up with all the bullshit thrown your way. Much love from Liverpool 👍
"So few corners left to cut it's practically a circle" is going straight into my "big hessian bag of things I'll pretend I came up with"
"big Hessian Bag"
Well thats a new one
That's not a hessian bag. It's a burlap sack.
@@channelname1019 Can't argue with that, curse my rush to be the 617th comment!
@@PatVu (Cards on the table here; I had to google 'burlap' to make sure I wasn't making the word up. I'm in a country that calls it hessian. ;) )
"big hessian bag of things I'll pretend I came up with" is going in my big hessian bag of things i'll pretend i came up with
"We did it, we time traveled!"
"But to what year?"
"Let me ask that guy over there. What was the Jimquisition's 5th worst game of the year?"
"BloodRayne."
"Either 2011 or 2021."
lol.
See you in 2031!
ruclips.net/video/VKPgvRWpx58/видео.html
Good thing WayForward gave us a decent BloodRayne.
Naw they liked BloodRayne for the terrible trash it is. They talk about it on the Bloodrayne episodes of Spin Doctors.
Im going to assume that next year a lot of the 'worst of' games will be 'play to earn' NFT games now that the games industry has those damn things in its sights.
Far more people seem to be outraged about NFTs than they were about MTX and loot boxes, so maybe AAAs do something smart and do NOT get into that.
Oh God it'll be Molyneux
@@fabiandurr6865Ubisoft: "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."
@@fabiandurr6865 people were similarly outraged whenever mtx's got involved in a game, and look where we are now lmao.
@@fabiandurr6865 They were angry about microtransactions at one point but they kept throwing them in games till we had no outrage left just exhausted most people just let it happen. Altough some of us still refuse to buy any games with them in it.
I’m confused why Sony allows “Hentai Vs. Evil” in the Western storefront but not Xtreme beach Volleyball, an actual fun game.
Remember Sony also BARRED Omega Labyrinth Z & Senran Kagura 7even from being published and developed.
Bribes.
Because it looks so bad that it gives hentai a bad name.
Really? Xtreme Beach Volleyball? I'm sorry my dude but that game is full of bugs its barely a functioning piece of software.
@@JohnCena-ew1mf Compared to HvE it’s a masterpiece, plus the previous titles are still good
I didn't realize until now that the beach map in Popeye is the same map used in Hentai vs Evil.
Holy shit I forgot Balan was released this year. This year feels like it went too fast and too slow at the same time
Same. When I think about it as a whole, I feel like it zipped by, then I think about all the things that happened, and they feel like eons ago.
Yuji Naka really was a one-hit-wonder, wasn't he?
One-hit wonder? All the classic Sonic games, Nights into Dreams, Phantasy Star Online... even taking Balan into account, he still has a career most video game developers can only dream of.
@@JimSterling I forgot about Samurai Warriors 5 myself, my only surprise is that Skatebird wasn't on your worst list.
Yeah
"It's as if Margaret Thatcher never died"
That could be said about most of the world, let alone the entire industry or that game.
margaret thatcher never dies, she is immortal like the queen
Her and Reagan are probably 69in hell as they think of austerity and further ways to neo colonize parts of hell
It’s both amazing and depressing that almost everything wrong with the world right now can be traced back, directly or indirectly to Thatcher and Reagan.
ruclips.net/video/ILvd5buCEnU/видео.html
the world would be much better..........never forgive the ira for their failure.
Between Pokémon Unite, that Lego Mario thing begging children to buy the Luigi set and all the other bullshit, Nintendo is getting increasingly good at abominable business strategies.
Agreed. I’m not looking forward to seeing what shit they will try to pull in the forthcoming years. 😬
And I’m also tired of people needlessly defending the multi-million dollar company that literally owns several of the biggest media franchises in the world (including the largest). I may love various Nintendo game franchises, but psychologically manipulative game like “Pokémon Unite” *need* to be criticized, otherwise it just sends the message that these kinds of games are acceptable and that they can create more.
@@Harukurochan pokemon fans i tell ya, as a former i can comfirm many refuse to acknowledge the flaws and scummy business practices of the pokemon company. I still refuse to buy SWSH and BDSP, and install the aps
@@maximillianlylat1589 i bought the new pokemon series and i play unite from time to time, but still, i agree that pokemon unite would obviously be a better game without all the money grabbing. also, it is quite basic and repetitive, gets boring fairly quickly.
in general, i'm really disappointed in the pokemon company. they don't really innovate on the formula of the main series games and try to take your money where they can.
@@tipep The sad part is Pokemon Unite could have been a great starter moba for kids and more casual players, kind of like how the main games are starter rpgs. But nah, let's ruin it with predatory monetization!
@@tipep they tried to innovate in 2010. Fans demanded to stop innovating, so here we are.
0:49 - Balan Wonderworld
2:14 - Samurai Warriors 5
3:36 - Hentai vs. Evil
5:30 - Marvel Future Revolution
6:43 - Outriders
6:47 - Bloodrayne Revamped (that last one was short)
9:19 - Taishogun: Rise of Emperor
10:56 - Popeye
12:49 - Grand Theft Auto: Definitive Edition
14:32 - Pokemon Unite
"Cost shouldn't be a factor in game reviews"
Who claims that? The money-worshipping AAA game industry? The people who keep wanting to charge more and deliver less? LOL I don't think so!
I think it's fair to bring up the price in a review, but it should not be used to judge the quality of a game.
It's fair to say a game is very good, but too expensive for what it offers. Or that it's not that great, but cheap enough to waste a few hours on it.
But saying a game is bad just because it is expensive seems wrong to be because the price can change later down the line. Does the game become better because it's cheaper now? Surely not!
@@blackbot7113 I disagree. It's about how you're judging a game. If you're judging the game as a product, then price and quality are the most important aspects. Is it stable, is it worth investing time into, does it have predatory monetization, is it priced fairly, is it fun, ect. If you're judging it as art, then you should discard price and focus on what the game is trying to do or say, is it unique, does it make you feel things, is it an engaging story, does it have good art direction, is it fun, ect.
Obviously there's overlap, but price is most certainly something that should be brought up, especially here, because this channel focuses on games as products. If you want games as art, you need a video essay channel.
@@elizabethhicks4181 I think we're on the same page here actually. As you say, you are judging the game as a product - both price and quality. However, it is absolutely possible to separate those two things to a certain extent. I am purely talking about price in a "one-time purchase" context, saying stuff like "This is a game of great quality, but paying 50$ for what it has to offer is too high a price to pay" is something you can say and still put it in your "Top 10 Games" list because the quality convinced you even if the price did not. It is absolutely fair to say that the new MacBook is a piece of absolutely amazing technology while at the same time saying it's too expensive for what it has to offer. I think the same applies to games.
Predatory monetization is IMO a different beast altogether because it directly impacts the quality of the game, by making the game worse to earn money and by being...well...predatory, trying to exploit the weak. It is also inherently a PART of the game, unlike the "normal" retail price which can be changed far more easily simply by putting it on sale.
So in other words:
"This is a great game and will be in my Top 10, even though it tries to exploit children with manipulative advertisement" is something that I would strongly oppose.
"This is a great game and will be in my Top 10, but I would not pay more than 20$ for the amount of content it has" is absolutely OK in my mind.
@@blackbot7113 Okay yeah we are on the same page. It's unfortunate that in game purchases have become so invasive that they now have to be considered 'part of the game' like it's a mechanic that you feel obligated (or at least HEAVILY pushed) to engage with. But I see where you're coming from, yeah. Caveats are important too, you could be like "This game WOULD be in my top 10, BUT I can't put it there in good conscience because of (insert predatory practices here)..." which is also valid, I think.
"As you unlock new warriors... only disappointment can be found!"
This is unironically a killer line for advertising.
😂
Looking forward to Orochi Musou 7, where they'll have 365 characters from all the musou franchises, all of whom will share the same weapon type and fighting style, with a generous variety of three palette swaps on the same weapon mesh. It's gonna be awesome!
Also they all share three voice actors. One male, one female, and one super-annoying male who does almost every character voice.
The opposite of ironic is genuine
I can tell you exactly why Balan Wonderworld exists; Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic and NiGHTS. Much like Mighty No. 9, it's another case of a man who was once a big deal using his fame to get funding for a game that ended up not delivering on anything it promised.
I mean, if you dig a little deeper, there's more to the story, but... yeah, time has not treated Naka's brand of games kindly in the modern era.
@@stephenconstantinou6975 and the fact that Yuji Naka is a prick
@@stephenconstantinou6975 I dunno, NiGHTS is still pretty fun when you play it.
At least Koji Igarashi knocked it out of the park with Bloodstained, but so far that seems to be the exception.
It’s like how butch Hartman fell from grace or George Lucas. Their egos got too big and lost the good graces of the public
"Balan wonderworld is so barebones"
It's not even barebones, it's a platformer without a jump button! The jump is an ability that you can find yourself missing at times
To jump…get a new costume.
It's with one costume.
Poor Yuji Naka, off the success of NiGHTS into a pile of poo apparently. I thought what I played of the demo was lovely, (I love the visuals and how the music itself is subtly visual which as an HoH person was very helpful.) I just felt stupid not being able to find enough statues to unlock the next level after the first set, and that's my fault as an impatient adult, not its.
I can see why people love it. It looks like a proper game as opposed to New Pokemon Snap which felt like a 50 quid mobile game. And I was excited for that.
@@Roadent1241 eh Snap is fine. It's basically an arcade rail shooter and that works as intended. If it's not what you wanted, that's fine though.
Plus to give it some credit, it had a free expansion during August, which I think no game nowadays has. Not exactly great, but hey, take your dubs when you can. It's made by Namco Bandai, so it's a surprising positive because those guys are greedy asses most of the time.
And you know, you could make a design like that work! You just need to have a stronger build-around setup going.
@@tenyokensekia8088 Out of all the bad decisions that went into Balan, this isn't one of them. The core idea of a puzzle-platformer where part of the puzzle is balan-cing your shifting moveset to accomplish the objectives the game throws your way is actually an interesting one, something like Baba Is You but as a platformer.
Balan's inability to work it owes more to a complete lack of actual concrete direction and focus on anything but being a game purely for particularly stupid children, and thus an inability to create interesting challenges around this system.
Just imagine if Digital Homicide had waited just 6 years, their games would now be at the same quality level of most of the so called professional AAA gaming studios and publishers.
They probably work in the actual industry by now; you know _someone's_ petty enough to hire those shitbags JUST based on their trying to go to war with Sterling.
The sad thing is your not wrong.
If they ended up using Unreal 4 instead of Unity as their engine, their poop puzzle games would be on par with the GTA Definitive Edition
Digital homicide flopped into the toilet so [EA Activ./blizz Square Enix Fu-Konami and some indie studios] could shit on the floor and it's getting so bad the janitor is thinking about quitting..
"God that was a convoluted series of sentences to say 'Pube Goldberg'."
Worth it Steph, absolutely worth it.
Just another reminder: along with all the sexual abuse allegations, Games companies have admitted to in the past practicing crunch, and just because they don't admit to it now doesn't mean they have stopped.
Remember kids: All they learned was to not talk about it, not that they should stop. Crunch is still a thing (on top of all the rampant sex crime and protection of predators ofc)
Correct. Alot of them simply outsourced the crunch to companies in 'lesser developed' economies like Lemon Sky Studio (these assholes are really shit) where you dont get paid overtime but are expected to work overtime.
I just love how much people go on about poor developers and 'crunch'.
I live in an industrial town where everyone works in warehouses, overtime is mandatory and there's no such thing as 'calling out sick'. We do labourous shit standing up for 12-14 hours a day. If those people have a problem with their schedules than they could always work 20 hours at CVS.
@@stevejones148 are you... are you bragging about also working crunch hours?? Maybe you should ummm idk fine a better job? Those hours aren't healthy, games Dev, factory work, fuck even prostitutes shouldn't work those hours. Sorry your job sucks man...
@@stevejones148 ...that's not the good thing you think it is. You're basically being exploited for a shit wage, told that you can't call in sick regardless of what is wrong and told that you should be grateful for the few days you get free per year.
You're essentially telling people you like being a replacable overworked underpaid mook with no prospects and that they should be fine with that too.
@@simplemaddness He's been brainwashed by anti-union, pro-corporate indoctrination sessions. Probably hanging in circles where anything derivate from this is hardline communism talk
Balen Wonderworld only came out this year? My god, it already feels like that game is years old!
I totally thought it was a late 2020 game. XD
Well, in terms of gameplay/looks, you could've fooled me if you told me it was some obscure, japanese-only PS2 game, eh...
Basically what I was coming to the comments to say. Truly we live in an interminable helltime
It’s not the end of the year until Jimmy Steph deals with all the trash!
Yahtzee still needs to do it and then it's the end of the year.
It's so nice of Skeletor to keep coming back to help out on these each year, you really love to see the commitment.
I’m glad he found time in his busy schedule of shitposting He Man on Twitter to help out.
I want Sterling to dress up as Skeletor again
The most depressing thing about Gilson is like I looked forward to seeing his yearly nonsense. Had to go and make himself a villain instead of a curiosity
Balan is a fucking tragedy if you ever have a shot at digging into why it ended up like that. There's a decent idea in there, completely thrown away by baffling but singular decisions like "let's not tell the rather complicated story to the player so they never have any idea why things are the way they are" and then things that are supposed to make sense like the NPCs avoiding you just don't. They did that awful thing where to give a sense of progression they start you off with nerfed forgettable versions of powers that are mildly fun to play, and basically locked everything fun and interesting about the game behind "you had to have read the manual" level of completion, for the same reason as that NPCs are inaccessible thing. And the power ups aren't really fun to recollect either, so even when you get the better ones you don't want to use them. It's like it could be decent (maybe mediocre but acceptable) but one or two bad decisions just had this fractal effect on turning the whole game shit. It's tragic. What a horrible end to Yuji Naka's career.
Also that "everything is on one button" gameplay style will never not be garbage. There's multiple buttons on controllers for a reason. USE THEM.
I could see it being a rather lovely $10 switch game. There's potential, but they didn't use any of it, and that's just... sad.
I remember hearing somewhere (though idk if it’s true or not) that it was originally going to be a mobile game, but was repurposed for modern consoles instead. Which would actually make a *lot* more sense, especially when the whole game can be played with one button.
@@mjc0961 there is always room to experiment in game development, _buuuut_ if a game is one button it isn't a game. even most rhythm games are more complex than balan.
Balllan's biggest problem is they STARTED with the premise of "lets make 80 different costume power ups" with zero consideration for schedule or budget.
There's a reason most platformer/adventure games have 8-15 power up through the entire game. From mMegaman to Metroid to Zelda to Mario to Castlevania, that's generally all there's time to do significant work on give them reasonable variety and look good. Once you pass that design creep sets in and the abilities either start doing the same things, or you don't have time to integrate every funciton into the world map properly so you end up only needing a gien ability one time.
STARTING with 80 as your main design goal and priority is insane.
says a lot that I was looking forward to see this
time to finally admit that I just plain enjoy watching people rip and tear into shit games
here's to another garbage year
Everyone loves it. It's nice to pretend one is high minded enough to not, but let's be honest here!
@@JimSterling Everyone loves some well deserved schadenfreude
@@JimSterling I mean the only quality game news we get, are news on how bad games are. I'd argue that that's probably the quality approach to the industry!
BAD DEV: Why won’t you stop talking about how shit our games are?
Surprised Chef’s Pikachu Kiss
@@JimSterling HELLO 🙋♀️ Mrs Stephanie NEGATIVE.
‘So many cut corners it’s almost a circle’
Absolutely classic line and sadly applicable to so many long running series these days.
"So few corners left to cut it's practically a circle" was the single most savage thing I've ever heard.
Thank you for being a bright pink light in 2021. As a trans person who loves games, your constant work has been a genuine light in the dark for me
Same
Oh damn, I love that outfit Steph. You rock the fuck outta that outfit
Thank you! It's my current favorite dress, and I've been looking forward to using it on the show.
Thank god for your fashion getting us through this trying time, commander.
Right? I was on the fence about that rainbow Plaid button down from torrid but then I saw it on them in a video (and a few streams since) and was like hek I guess I need it, no regrets I get compliments every time I wear it.
So many of thier clothes are so cute.
@@Lili-ie9kk I know exactly which top you're speaking of and couldn't agree more. Love it
I read that in the XCom voice and I don't regret it.
I am disproportionately happy that I have that same belt.
Where's the dress from? :O :O
The worst thing is that because this is a top 10 it means there's other games that couldn't be mentioned like Battlefield 2042, FIFA 22 or Vanguard
can always do a runner up roundup
2042 is actually pretty good now after five updates.
@@middaymeds Did they fixed how shitty the gunplay is? No? Then it's still trash.
@@okagron they actually did. Have you played it since the latest update? There's still things to complain about but the gunplay is great now.
I'm surprise that Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance wasn't mention in the video.
Even as a huge Pokémon fan, Unite is genuinely disgusting with how heartlessly exploitative it is.
I'd say especially as a pokémon fan.
But all the big pokemon youtubers love it. Trainer Tips Nick reckons its his favourite ever Pokemon game! fuckin shills..
@@CaptnLoken Pokemon Unite is equivalent of Genshin Impacts' monetisation model. Aka the Normalisation of Gacha Practices.
@@VisualdelightPro Genshin is neither the first nor the worst example of that model, not even close. >.> It always amuses me to see people talk about it as if Mihoyo had invented gacha games in 2020.
I haven't payed a cent towards any in-game progression (I think I've spent like $15 total on skins and cosmetics), and it's just a comparatively fun and stress-free moba.
The currency systems are very predatory, but the fact remains that it's extremely easy to play completely free, and even in the video, he couldn't say anything against the actual game itself. It certainly doesn't belong on a list of worst games, unless he's really trying to push an agenda.
"Why is it so ****ing hard to remaster things these days?"
Because it keeps emulators from being able to claim that the games aren't being sold, so they are filling a niche. Of course, since it's such a cynical argument, feel free to punch any executive who tries to make that claim.
I’m low key kind of jealous of Steph’s fashion sense. It’s way too on point.
What can I say? Plaid just works on me.
Literally the only tartan they could find that didn't clash with the green screen..
@@JimSterling But would it work for………STERLING, the Super Heavyweight Supervillain of the Silver Age of Perfection?
@@JimSterling you look like a fuckin bagpipe and you look rad, mate. Keep rocking!
@@19godfather93 "you look life a fucking bagpipe" is way too accurate and it's an amazing look.
We've somehow looped around from trying to find good games, to the point where finding a bad game, the truly worst game in a sea of shit, has turned almost prestigious albeit in a profoundly cum-stained way. It's not easy creating the worst game in 2021. There's a lot of competition.
So many trusted publishers fall by the wayside. Who trusts Rockstar, Square Enix, Nintendo, Blizzard, CD Projekt Red after all the cash grabs?
@@Jabarri74 Trust them? Never, wait till something releases to see if it's alright from reviews maybe lol
Also depends on the series, for example Diablo 4, after what D3 went thru I cant imagine they will try again with 4 and with immortal coming out as what will likely be a crash grab (i hope I'm wrong but doubt it) I'm guessing D4 will be safe from some of that. Of course that is a guess and i could be wrong, i dont trust them not to mess it up but it seems like they have ample opportunity right now to just release a proper game.
However if immortal ends up being a success....... I would bet that becomes the new model, and that is sad.
@@Jabarri74 I wouldn't say that I trusted these companies even before the cash grabs. I've been in the game too long and remember horse armor and the wave of nickel and diming DLC that followed but that was several goal posts ago.
Big companies like those, my starting position is, "Can I torrent it?"
If not, then "Do I actually want to play this, I mean really?"
If so, I buy it on G2A because I'm already rolling around in the mud at that point.
Every year, you produce the only game awards shows that matter!
@KingArthurII 10000000%
Balan is one that will stick with me, I’ve never seen a game designed so…./wrong/. Even Sonic 06 could have been salvaged into an okay game, but Balan is flawed to its core. I’ll never get over the decision to allow only 1 action input, as if we haven’t had 2 or more action buttons on every controller since the Atari joystick. Condescending to the little kids it was made for.
"The Worst Game of the Year is Pokemon-"
"WHAT?!"
"-Unite!"
"Oh, wait, yeah, that's valid!"
The highligt of the year!
@J Souls why?
These crappy "remasters" really make me appreciate Night Dive Studios for their work restoring and updating old games for modern systems, like Turok 1 & 2 and Shadow Man.
Also, I've got that damn Popeye music loop stuck in my head again! Dammit!
yo what, Shadow Man? that one what got the infamously shit PS1 port?
At this point it's hard to wonder if we turn up for the game commentary or just to see what fashion Steph is smashing it out of the park with this vid. I'll settle for either/or.
Great to see you still on your A game and being so happy being yourself Stephanie. Hope you have the best 2022 and finally hit that 1M subs you so rightly deserve!
Oh yeah he clearly looks happy and self-actualized lmao
There's something so cathartic about your videos. It's never totally holier than thou but has a good amount of "yes this IS a simple concept, just treat each other as human beings!"
Of course, the shittiest game of 2021 is the one ActiBlizz has been playing with its employees and customers to try to convince them that abuse is no longer a thing there.
The worst thing is people still think they're just "allegations" despite the state of California having a compiled years-long investigation.
Been subbed for many years and I’ll admit… I look forward to this more every one. The second I heard Gilson B Pontiss I was dying
@@cynic1984 Does people actually buy his "games" ?
@@cynic1984 Jim has a hate play fetish to Gilson B Pontes games similar to Angry Joe hate play fetish of modern Madden games.
Sterling out here just killing that look, and nonchalantly dropping stellar content as they go.
I remember when those belts were popular in the 90's and I've never seen someone pull it off so well.
Shitiest year for games in the last 10 years, easily. But at-least we got the best year of Jim Sterling content, thank god for Steph.
"So few corners left to cut it's practically a circle"
My new favourite quote
Seeing the current state of the Pokémon franchise brings pain.
Not just Pokemon. Nintendo as a whole is sinking into the garbage.
i find digimon more entertaining. pokemon has always been meh.
@@cmdraftbrn Ghost Game has been excellent. Adventure Reboot was an eh experience though.
Ever since Pokemon went 3D the quality has taken a noticeable dive. And this is coming from someone that actually likes Gen 6, but the fact that they learned nothing from that generation's mistakes is proof that the quality has gone down.
Agreed. Whereas I was super-hyped for HGSS and ORAS, I just haven't seen a reason to feel the same about BDSP. While Legends: Arceus looks genuinely interesting to me and will hopefully give the breath of fresh air this franchise needs, I think it says it all that I'm more looking forward to the full release of Temtem.
You know this list is going to be good when balan wonderwold is at the bottom
Considering how terrible the game is, it deserves to BE a bottom.
@@wariodude128 or closer to number 1 but oh well
Yeah, so much for a spiritual successor to NiGHTS. I bought the game because of that association and was thoroughly disappointed.
@@Hellraiser2107 I played the demo of nights never played the original game but I can see why
@@michaelgunnels9694 In retrospect I have to say that the NiGHTS games also had pretty bare-bones gameplay in most levels but they made up for it with a ton of charm and a great soundtrack. Also NiGHTS didn't pretend like deep-seated trauma can be solved via random dance number.
If James Stephanie was upset about the Bloodrayne remasters in this video, imagine how mad they'd be if they had been aware of the Limited Run physical editions and their prices (yes, the two games were sold separately over there, as well)..
The BloodRayne remasters are filled with digital destruction on their wake, because the source masters are currently lost or are unable to be relocated.
@@SlapstickGenius23 so like silent hill he collection? Konami lost the original codes.
I just love that you’ve retained the talented Skeletor to work with you in making this video.
"See ya next year Gilson, ya fucI(ing prick"
Jim is the most badass internet warrior I know.
I do not envy you potentially having to deal with the Pokémon stans for putting Unite on the list. Good luck with that.
Also great video per usual.
Well we got Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl also Legends arceus coming out in a few weeks..... so we're fine.... and most of us that play Unite are veterans of LoL and Dota2 so we'll be fine
I've loved pokemon since I was 5 and I'm beyond disgusted at my favorite creatures pracing around ready to sucker punch money from people like me. Shameful ain't even a shadow of the word needed.
He doing to much
@@hemme100 ?
@@Sonichero151 Yeah, a shitty remake and a game that brings much dread because Gamefreak is trying a bunch of shit they never did before due to being stuck in the same formula for 25 years. Pokemon is not fine when it comes to actual quality.
I got my shots without any side effects, The James Webb telescope got off the ground and (most significantly) i no longer have to listen to Trumps word salad every single day!! 2021 WAS at least a little bit better than 2020!
Both my shots ended up feeling like an unusually strong infant gave me a charlie horse.
My first shot felt like I slammed my funnybone into a brick wall for two days. My second was pretty much just the usual sick-for-a-day.
I was really impressed by how the shots didnt hurt to get at all, like the injection itself was extremely suprisingly painless.
I spit out my water at "Pube Goldberg machine." Well-done, JSS. Another banger video.
Yeah, that one was great! The setup a bit strained, but the punchline worth it.
I remember beta-testing Bloodrayne when it was originally released, it was a bit of a glitchy but stable mess back then. The graphics don't look any better than when I tested it over 19 years ago
I'm genuinely curious about this. How did that work? Were you hired as a third-party or were you part of the dev team?
@@codycigar6542 I keep replying to this, but RUclips keeps deleting them for some reason
Basically it was a volunteer thing from a fan run forum for a previous game by the devs
Nocturne by Terminal Reality
Got a free copy of the game for testing
I've recently unsubbed to most of the so called gaming critics on RUclips. Most of them are complete shills, or lack the skills in which to provide great analysis, honest opinions, and entertainment.
On the other hand, this channel just keeps getting better.
Hence the channel bleeding subs.
@@KaseyMoore lol this made me chuckle
You’re joking right? I unsubbed a while back. I can’t listen to this guy anymore. Such a whinny weirdo.
@@Rycerz49 and yet, here you are. 👍
@@Caffeine_Club yeah. I saw a thumbnail of what this guy is looking like nowadays and had to check out the freak show. Guilty. 👍
I find it hysterical that in this year, with the shortage of games and products, the industry still managed to be on pace with being as horrible as ever🙆🏽♂️ Give us hell Sterling!
My god, I completely forgot Balan Wonderworld came out this year. Maybe that was for the best
My first experience of Bloodrayne Revamped and I legitimately wondered if they’d released it on the original hardware. Or maybe even stepped it back to the N64.
Such a shame a pun like Revamped was wasted on this
Random comment but my kitten seems to like your voice and actually will sit still for 5 seconds when I have one of your videos playing. So thanks, hope 2022 has more videos so I got new stuff to lull my kitty with.
I hear Jim say «steam early access games» and get hit with nostalgia. Ah the sweet innocent times with cottage industry incompetence and unadulterated idiocy, I miss it, tbh.
The low rent weirdos never inspired much nihilism compared to the AAA multinational variants.
....And the award for 'best lewd pun I've heard all year' goes to James Stephanie Sterling! Pube Goldberg was classic lmao
I love how i was like this remasters gonna be shitty(gta) and everyone hounded me and said i was wrong. I was like they have had years to make this a good game, and looks like they gave it to a studio to make into this within 5 months.
I hadn't even considered that Pokemon United was indeed marketed for children. The pokemon series has been going downhill sure, but the levels of greed in United really show their true colours. Sad and disgusting.
It’s honestly a pretty fun game, at its core. But that fun is buried in battle passes, micro transactions, and player and pokemon skins that functionally do nothing but look cool.
Impatient kids will cave and spend to unlock things, after which there’s little point to actually playing.
@@maxspecs Anything can be called a "pretty fun game" after you strip away the predatory practices lodged in it.
The problem, at minimum, is the predatory practices being present in the first place, especially in a game marketed toward kids.
The only thing you're accomplishing by running interference throughout the comments is telling people how bought in you are.
@@mechanomics2649 No, I actually think it speaks volumes that despite all the negative attention from bad practices at launch, it still managed to keep a huge audience due to being a very well-made moba without the toxicity many others tend to breed.
Star Wars Battlefront also got a ton of flack for terrible loot box mechanics at launch, but they fixed that after consumer outlash, and we were eventually left with a genuinely good shooter.
The complaint at launch wasn't that it was any more or less predatory than any other free-to-play game. It was that, as a moba, having pay-to-win elements completely defeated the purpose. They have since introduced items and rewards that almost completely undermine the pay-to-win aspects within maybe 2-3 days of casual playing.
@@mechanomics2649 I've been bought in on anything Pokemon since 1997, when I was 10 years old, this most recent thing is nothing new.
In all fairness the company literally started making two versions of their game so that neither of them was complete. Reasonably sure greed was baked into it from the start.
Your Skeletor voice absolutely cracks me up.
Jim, hope you had a great 2021 and are looking forward to 2022, I certainly look forward to your content in this coming year! Couple of notes: You're looking great, happy and proud, keep it going! Also, you've lost quite a bit of weight, congratulations! Not sure if you meant to, but you have, great job my friend! Thanks for all you do and everything you say... Thank God, for you!
Sorry Steph but, "Bone Marrow" is actually nutritious.
Yeah I wouldn't feed that shite game to my dog!
@@NyJoanzy Pffft,,,HA! A lot you know.
Im surprised age of empires 4 didn’t make the list with how bug filled and unplayable it is. The pvp in that game is a joke.
I am sad that pokemon unite was a huge cashgrab. The fact that it is pay to win was a huge problem for me. I was hoping it would replace heroes of the storm, but that MOBA is still superior, and not pay to win.
It really says a lot about 2021 when Balan Wonderworld, a game fully devoid of any joy and creativity, is only at the beginning at the list.
Can't wait for 2022 to suck even more!
"the moment [a year is done...] there's another one! You don't even get a break." And this is why we should try the french revolutionary calendar again. leap days? alternating months? eh, just have a variable length week between the end of a year and the beginning of the next that's all just one big holiday and not really part of the "year"
Call it Calibration.
8:38
Jim: "The sheer shitting *gall*"
Jonathan: "The Shitting Christmas Ghoul?"
The really shittiest games were the friends we made along the way
I'm so glad I do research before buying games. Not played a bad game all year.
It pays off for sure. It's been said many times - just don't pre-order.
While there might not have been as many blow out titles this year, the amount of piled off shit within the world gaming was sadly stacked high and wide. Here’s to looking forward to 2022 to do marginally better (although at this point, best to not hold your breath for too long).
Inshallah
Got my hopes high for Elden Ring, BOTW 2, and... that's about it
@@Herodegon technically God of War Ragnarok comes out next year too (others would say Horizon too, but I need to try and finish the first before I can dive into the second).
I waited a whole year for this. Thanks James Stephanie for keeping this important series alive.
I know I'm late to the picture but thanks very much for another great set of rollups for 2021!! In future rollups I'd love to see MSRP quoted like you did for Balan Wonderworld and the Popeye title
There was a time when having someone say the shittiest game of the year was from the [spoilers] series would've made me so mad, but now, honestly... fuck it, why not? They've earned it.
Garbage day is Thursday for me but thank you for this Jim.
For me it’s Wednesday but I wish someone would tell the garbage company that
Interestingly, Monday IS garbage day where I live.
I wake up to watch this video as garbage trucks enact Garbage Day. Perfect
I feel really bad for everyone that bought the Limited Run Games physical editions of Bloodrayne Re-vamped
I feel really bad for everyone that bought the Limited Run Games physical editions of anything at this point. Limited Run Games themselves are a fairly garbage company. From creating FOMO via multiple special editions with color or boxart variations, to having games they claim to be limited get a later physical release somewhere else, to releasing these physical games that are supposed to be feature complete with versions of the game that aren't feature complete and require patches, to releasing games that aren't physical at all but instead just include a download code, to even charging extra for a box so that your expensive collectible item doesn't get damaged during shipping.
Yes, this company that supposedly cares about creating collectibles doesn't even care enough to ship said collectibles in a box by default. If you don't pay extra, you get a crappy bubble mailer so your plastic cases can be broken and your cardboard boxes can be crushed.
Feeling bad for anyone dumb enough to buy limited run games nowadays is like feeling sorry for people that would still pre-order games 5 years ago. It's totally their own fault at this point.
Thank God for you, Jim Stephanie! Your work is a highlight of my week and is the best in the world 💓
I am so numb to your shenanigans by now that I didn't even flinch at the admittedly brilliant "Pube Goldberg Machine" line. I simply reflexively muttered "Shut the fuck up, Jim." XD
Man I wish I can go back to the early 2000s-10s, where games had actual effort put into them, and games were, y'know, games. I also wish companies would take more risks, everyone wants to take the easy way out.
Thank you, Jim Stephanie Sterling, for carefully placing the comical, fecal cherry on what has been an absolute shit year. I salute you!😁
Another shitty year full of games, another beautiful year with the Jim Stephanie Sterling. Can't wait to get my blood boiled again next year with new Jimquisition's. Best wishes to you Stephanie and all the other beautiful people here.
This list was just a never ending parade "Wait, that was *this* year?". God, this was not a good year for games.
It's slowly becoming apparent that "remaster" equals "lazy cash grab" and "remake" equals "actual efforts were put into it" in the AAA game industry in 2021. My wallet thanks you for the distinction, J.Steph. Thank god for you!
I keep getting depressed knowing that a lot of Rockstar fans will go back to oogling over every false promise this company makes.
Some believe if they keep buying microtransactions GTA 6 will be announced sooner.
Before watching this my only question is whether the GTA trilogy counts as one or three shitty shitty games.
I dont think you can buy them individually
Some of these games should be covered by the Geneva Conventions because they're so bad they should be considered crimes against humanity.
For what it's worth, there are at least four characters with unique movesets: old Mitsuhide Ackechi, Hattori Hanzo, Sandayu Momochi, and Hanbei. Quite why these four are unique I have no idea, but at least Hanbei's moveset slaps.
Pube Goldberg Machine is one of the best puns I've ever heard. Every moment of the script needed to craft it was time and effort well spent.
My favorite time of year. Let's dig in folks!
I loved watching let's players suffer with Balan Wonderworld! It's so broken that it's funny! Also, did you know Sonic creator made it? Yup.
The one good thing about bad games is that we get videos like these. Thank you for making this year a bit more tolerable.
watching this video is a repeated gut punch of "THAT CAME OUT IN 2021?"
I always enjoy these videos, i don't keep up to date with all the worst games of the year. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season!
#1 Best of 2021: James Stephanie Sterling!
I've seen things like "Hentai vs Evil" pass by on Steam, I generally ignore them for the same reasons mentioned above. But actually looking at the footage during the commentary got me to realize something: If those are all just prefab models purchased out of an asset store, then this has come a long way! I mean certainly everything would need more polish, testing, and an actual interesting gameplay loop or goal to be good, but these models way there. Good on the unnamed asset store and hopefully the paid creator of the models.
Every single game with "Hentai" in the title is asset-flip trash, made to scam a quick buck out of horny idiots. _Real_ porn games have more dignity than to call themselves "HentaI" anything.
Well OK, Hentai Asmodeus is at least playable, even if it was built on the Mirror engine. But it's not great either.
@@ArcaneAzmadi that sounds correct.
Must have been difficult to choose only 10. The games industry has rotted to the point where next year will have to be a Top 20!
You are doing the most important work that needs being done in the realm of video games at this point in time. And full support on all the personal stuff too; looking great!
Just watched your interview on Owen Jones. Just wanted to say well done. Your tuff as nails to go through and put up with all the bullshit thrown your way. Much love from Liverpool 👍