A Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Didn't really play a whole lot of newer games last year. I think the only game I've seen a trailer for was "Open Roads", but then I forgot about it.
I like your channel because you talk about a lot of games I may have overlooked. Working 12 hour shifts as a 911 dispatcher I don't have time to find many of these games. Keep up the good work young lady.
"Witcher 1 is the best one" and "I wish games would let us do the detectiving" Yeah, I also remember the investigation with Marlowe part : it's pretty rare to have a game allowing both turning the tables on the bad guy's plan & having a plot twist, depending on if the player did a good job or half-assed it. I doubt we'll ever see that again in a game with a big budget.
I agree with you a lot about Hellblade 2. I feel the game suffered a lot from needing to leave things on the cutting room floor. The idea of the giants and their meaning was good, but the execution was all off compared to the first game. Plucky Squire I had more high hopes for, but it was more combat focused and less about the fun blending of 2D and 3D game play and using the creative tools they give you to make the puzzle sections worthwhile.
Hi Pam, if you were to give advice to point-and-click/adventure game developers, aside from common pitfalls like characters staying still after talking, poor dialogue, or overly lengthy conversations, what would you suggest they avoid? And what aspects would you encourage them to focus on? Since you’ve played so many point-and-click games, I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this!
Oh, Pam! I literally just started playing The Witcher Enhanced Edition the other day since it was on sale for a dollar and some change. I've gotten the impression that behind all the presentational jank is a fantastic roleplaying game, so far. I'm not in love with the combat. Obviously I decided to play it because of the third game's legacy but I just always feel compelled to go back to the start of a series, where I can.
Have you tried "1000xresist" which is basically a walk simulation ... kind of? I see it as a video novel. I normally don't get into these types of games (not much of a game) but the story had me guessing what will happen next it keep me playing it to the end. This story would be too long for a movie while the visuals of a game helps tell the story better than reading it in a book. This is a case where I think a game format was the best way to tell the story. I'm glad they didn't add too many game mechanics that would only slow the story down. The first two hours I was thinking about refunding the game on Steam as it takes time for the story to develop. Another chapter there were so many different scenes I couldn't make sense what exactly is going on only for the next chapter explaining everything from the last chapter(s). Also this is a Sci Fi novel and a very good one. It took me 14 hours to finish it.
probably leads to too many conclusions and not enough development resources. there is a game called lamplight city where you can give wrong answers and basically brick your game.
It would take an enormous amount of time and resources to create a game that supports every possible outcome. Maybe developers could use AI to handle this type of complexity and adapt to the player’s choices, though I imagine this would require the game to be played online.
@@bionicsidekick6604 Its not that hard to do actually. Just look at Return of Obra Dinn, Tangle Tower Case of the Golden Idol and the Sherlock series if you are looking for good detective games. Ace Attorney is a bit more streamlined and technically youre a lawyer but its also good fun.
There is a game called the Painscreek killings. It is a detective game that is incredibly tough. Check it out but be warned, it is the opposite of casual.
Moderately off topic, but have you tried any of the hybrid board game / app based detective games? Chronicles of Crime might be something worth trying. Solo works. Shut Up and Sit Down has a nice review of the original box, but the Millenium series titles are the best (1400, 1900. 2400 - those titles are also the centuries the games are set in, with mechanics to match). Some of the best detective gaming I've ever seen.
Absolutely agree with you on Hell blade 2. You summed up exactly how I felt. Looks beautiful but no gameplay at all. It was the longest trawl through a short game I can remember. For a game that had been in development for so long, this was a letter down - and I was so excited for it!
The style of Open Roads reminds me of Full Throttle. I know that was almost 30 years ago, but the animation looks so similar. But I'm impressed that they got Kerri Russell as one of the voice actors. I don't have any opinion about the second or third one, but yes, the term is "cry-sees." Don't worry, I have no idea how to spell it. 😄 But in conclusion... that is a cute green shade of eyelid shadow. Also, I quit gaming a few years ago, I just like watching your reviews to see if anything really matters. 😀
Like I said when it came out, the biggest mistake Frostpunk 2 made was calling it Frostpunk 2. The number one complaint by far on every space is "This isn't Frostpunk 1"
One of the most disappointing things of 2024 is we only managed to get you to 99.1k despite your consistent high-quality content. Definitely one of the most underrated and under-appreciated channels. Keep up the good work Pam.
Yeah, it's criminal that she still hasn't gotten to 100k subscribers. The algorithm prefers stupid drama over consistent quality content, but that's how gaming RUclips is in 2024.
@@psymagearcade Yeah. I can't stand the grifters always complaining about everything instead of being positive, but they're the ones who have high subscriber counts.
I love Hellblade and the talented team behind Ninja Theory. They accomplished something remarkable with the first game. Though most of the points you made regarding the sequel are valid. I enjoyed the puzzles, characters, soundtrack, Melina Juergens's performance...but the story felt less intimate and the internal voices lost their original strength. I enjoyed It but not as much as the first game.
without getting into spoilers, the big disappointment for me with "open roads" was the way the 2 characters reacted to the big reveal(s). it felt...so underwhelming - they react to the news as though it's just more of the mystery to unravel, rather than being the earth shattering revelation that it would be. that could have lead to some introspection and self examination by the characters, a chance for the writer(s) to show some real writing chops, but it just doesn't go there and feels ...hollow.
Hey Pam! I think you mentioned Castle Crashers way back if I recall. If you have, what did you think about the gameplay? If you haven’t played it, I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed!
I haven't been disappointed by any releases this year, but it is disappointing that the DLC for Eiyuden Chronicle hasn't been delivered as originally promised.
Too bad the Thaumaturge combat seems this shallow, since it's a game I really want to try. But with that in mind, I think I'll play it without that kind of engagement and still have a good time with it. The detective part is actually a relief to me, as I don't like detective games where I have to be the detective 😆 One game I played earlier this year that had good combat that required some and at times a lot of strategy, is Chained Echoes, have you played it? There's an expansion DLC coming, and I'm not sure if I will play it, it depends on whether I can do it without starting a new game or not, because I don't want to play it again, that's just the nature of the turn-based RPG genre, I just play once (there are exceptions, of course), the time investment is crazy, and I prefer to play a new game instead of replaying a 50 hour game (it always take me twice as much as the average, because I take my time; Persona 5 R took me more than 200 hours).
My big disappointment this year was The Coma 2B. The first two Coma games were really great 2D horror games. This one looked promising but fell flat right out of the gate. The game starts by having the main character break out of a time loop. Which you must play through, in its entirety, about five times before starting the game proper. During this time and throughout the game, the text is horribly translated, actually making it really hard to tell what's happening or what you're supposed to be doing. Add to that a lot of recycled assets from the last game and this one really let me down. The indie studio that made this game was recently bought out by another company and I guess this is the result.
Agreed on Hellblade 2. The voices basically changed from menacing, haunting, disturbing to your permanent cheering section, instantly telling you what to do and high fiving you. The first game was supposed to be Senua making some progress with her mental illness, but this seemed a bit extreme. Also, by decreasing the interactivity, they're moving the game more into a visual novel style direction, into competition with games like Detroit Become Human. And Hellblade 2 is not in the same league as Detroit. I missed the boss fights from the first game and I missed even the fire escape sections which they also removed for some reason.
There were still cool secrets to discover off the main path sometimes well off. To get the full 1000 score you need to find Everything which is cool. It is such an incredibly beautiful game and the only annoying part for me was the forest maze. It still had some pretty cool battles that you couldn’t just fudge. The best part for me though was discovering all of the hidden faces to get the trees and that beautiful voice that read the description. Most people watched too much negativity about the game and didn’t even realise it had things to actually find.
My biggest disappointment is Alone in the Dark. I was enjoying it until a game-breaking bug prevented me from progressing. Loading an old save didn't help. Rather restart from the beginning, I uninstalled it and never went back. Other than that, this has been a great year filled with games I enjoyed tremendously.
That’s such a shame, sorry you had a bad first experience with this one. I loved Alone in the Dark. I was lucky enough to have no major bugs in two consecutive games (except for floating furniture once; funny but not game breaking). Hopefully it’s patched and you feel like giving it another chance at some stage.
I couldn't agree more on Frostpunk 2 being SUCH as disappointment, I can't quite put my finger on it but it just didn't feel as good as the other one. It felt like too much of a divergence from the original game and they didn't include any of the elements I liked
I don't think I've actually bought a lot of games this year. I've been buying more older games, and that would include the remastered version of Soul Reaver and The Thing, whenever I get around to buying them. And also Clock Tower, which I do have, but still haven't played it. I've been playing Jedi Survivor the past week, and now am focusing on Immortals of Aveum and While the Iron's Hot. Both last year releases.
Played through Open Roads expecting a good story payoff but it just ends. It was on GamePass so I don't regret playing through it. It was a nice relaxing playthrough but it just felt like nothing happened and had any real consequences even the pretty big reveal. Hellblade 2 I just didn't like. Found everything about it from the gameplay to the story pretty boring and repetitive.
Cannot be Tanned! ;) I feel like it's been so long since I've seen one of your videos, I just realized I wasn't subscribed to your channel anymore. Re-subbed :)
Im glad its not just me that didnt like senua 2. I was completely disappointed with it. The first game was a masterpiece and i was expecting more of that isolation and horror and voices playing with my thoughts of what was happening just to have a boring time with the 2nd game and i didnt even finish it. Adding the other characters to the story is probably what delrailed the experience the most.
Not gonna lie, voice acting by Keri Russell would make me overlook a LOT of potential flaws, but man, Open Roads just sounds... monotonous. That's a damn shame.
Sad to hear The Thaumaturge is a little disappointing. Bought it around launch time as enjoyed the vibe of the demo, but haven't got round to playing it yet. As the developers are also currently making the remake of Witcher 1, hopefully that one turns out better overall.
Another disappointing year from Sony for me, I haven’t bought a single first party game. They are all open world 3rd person action games with crafting. I’ve played that game at least 10 times now in various different forms. Nintendo let me down the most though, Mario brotherhood and Zelda echos of wisdom were both extremely average. I’d definitely give them a miss.
Nice list. But I think Nintendo World Championship was a major disappointment for me, at least include the full version of the games. Or have players earn it by S rank 😊😊😊
I really want to know why you consider TW1 as the best of the three ! Can you explain your opinion one day ? I'm really interesting to know your reasons !
Shame that Senua had more limited combat than the original. Ni no Kuni 2 for me, I was enjoying it a lot until 10 hours in when the gameplay turned into repetitive fetch quests with little story. Felt like the game had a lower budget than the first and they resorted to filler content.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Fair enough. I'm not a hater, and I'm generally politically quite left. I tried to play it and found the 2024-colloquial guardians-of-the-galaxy quippy dialogue and hero-shooter monster/character models so offputting I just couldn't keep playing it. I do realize that younger generations might have much more patience for the writing and graphics, as they've spent much of their time playing Nintendo games (kiddy graphics) and using this same kind of 2020s language everywhere on social media. Personally it destroyed the vibe for me, when it comes to a dark fantasy title. Opinion, of course.
@@sub-jec-tiv It's wasn't a dark fantasy title. It's a opinion if someone like chocolate or not but it's not vanilla is not based on opinion. The same the writing was done by amateurs is not based on opinion. The original writers even commented that EA didn't think writers are important and think anyone can write. Vanguard is evidence that they are telling the truth.
A game I played on my channel recently which is basically a walking simulator is Fort Solis. I know its a little old, but I loved it honestly, the story was great. I havent actually heard of any of the games you mention here - some of them sound a little interesting, but taking agency away from players is a dick move, like in the last one.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Yeah, its a good one. The story is very prescient and it says a lot about how things could go if we get desperate enough. Interesting stuff. :)
Whew boy do i probably have a couple controversial games in "Most Disappointing" lol First it would have to be Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth and its mostly story reasons so if you dont want spoilers stop reading now. But yeah I feel Kiryu getting cancer was a pretty lame story beat (especially the way he got it). Why not instead of cancer just make him stubborn to let go of the Yakuza life but then when he sees the next generation of people (Ichiban and his crew) he decides to finally pass down the torch to ichiban? I think that woulda been far stronger and you can still have Kiryu reflecting back on all the games. And dont get me strated on Ichibans side of the story or lack there of lol. My second most disappointing is probably Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Big empty spaces, some reused bosses/enemies and the main contributing factor why i LOATHED the dlc was because of the shadowtree fragments or the way you level up in this dlc. It made exploration totally unfun because you had to look through every nook and cranny to hope to find a new piece of fragment. I was so fed up with it that i just looked up a guide to make sure i wouldnt miss any. I still beat the dlc even before the nerfs to some of the bosses but eh I was very underwhelmed. Frenzy Flame boss was really cool though.
I liked the original frostpunk from what I played but these days I play exclusively with a controller so both these games are dead to me. Hopefully the second gets controller support later but till then it can just sit on my wishlist
@@Cannotbetamed1 Oh awesome, cheers :) It didnt say anything about controller support on the Steam page so just assumed it didnt. Now that I think of it Xcom 2 is the same but it plays great, ended it recently. Installing Frostpunk now
I mean her negative review is just "the game is bad cause it is a walking sim", which if one likes walking sims will be a positive rather than a negative.
I think I'm most disappointed by The Thaumaturge. The world and the magic system seemed so cool, but I lost interest just watching you play. Also, disappointed that Space Marine 2 can't run on the Steamdeck.
Dear Lord Pam. The game is very much directed and easy. I made it through the game. However, my wife and I are both schizophrenic, and met in the hospital, and she hated it very much. Some people can handle life/psychosis better than others.
Frostpunk 2 was a MASSIVE disappointment, it was just too radically different from the first (brilliant) game for my liking. I gave up playing after about 6 hours of frustration and boredom.
Awesome, another Witcher 1 enthusiast! I 100% agree that it was the best, because it was tightly designed and focused. W2 and W3 were masterpieces, but tried to jump on the “more open is better” bandwagon which just isn’t for me. W1 has everything I want from The Witcher.
@@abnrmlmind why's it weird? it's literally just her other channel. fantastic cosmetic content, especially lots of eye shadow. she's kind of an eye shadow art genius tbh
Where do you get a ton of exciting new releases and a good year for gaming? I have not seen a year that's more content dry then this last one. I guess that it comes down to personal preferences.
Aw man, Hellblade 2 isn't coming to PS5! *reviews come out* Oh, I guess that's fine then. Biggest recent disappointment was Cookie Cutter - file under "Should have listened to Pam."
Witcher 1 the best one?? That's a hot take! I've never played it. I'm glad you covered Thaumaturge. I downloaded the demo and see some potential there, but they really did drop the ball on the whole detective thing.
I thought The last faith was my most disappointing game of the year. Not necessarily a bad game, more the developers. 4/5 years late to realise, over priced for the poor people that backed it and so on.
I'm not a fan of lots of cinematics, dialogue or politics in video games. Less is more and I'll watch a movie if I want those things. I like to press start begin kicking ass and let my imagination fill in the void. 😎
To be fair it's hard for find dissapointing game in 2024 because this year barring few titles was mostly discovering games from previous years. And those few i played most definetely delivered for me. If i had to pick i would have to cheat a little and pick Palword, which is in early access, but in my opinions it doesn't feel like survival game, more base managment/automation game with elements of adventure game, while you explore.
This game is probably in my top 5 of the year tbh. It turns from a survival game, into a Pokemon game and late game it's almost like Monster Hunter when you're taking down the late game bigger beasts/bosses. One thing I recommend to everyone is crank up the exp gain, material gain, etc to max because for my brother and I it still took us 50 or so hours to beat with everything at max.
Metaphor Refantazio disappointed me so much this year. I loved Persona 5, but only finished Metaphor because I'd already sunk so much time in it. It was a chore. I didn't like any of the characters, I thought they were so one note, by the end, some of the plot is nonsensical and/or seems thrown together to make it story relevant. The lack of Persona side activities were noticeable, as well as there being a ridiculous amount of unvoiced dialogue. Felt like none of the side characters mission chains were voiced until the last mission of their bond rank. And it was super noticeable in such a dense plot game. Even the combat, basically if you didn't have characters with the right equipped magic, to hit an enemies weakness, you might as well start over, you aren't going to win that battle. So battles just felt like test grounds for the 2nd time you'd fight the boss, as opposed to a puzzle to solve in the moment.
This is what I was going to say. I’m a new Atlus fan, discovered them and played most of their games in 2023-4, and when Metaphor was released I was excited to play. Finished the demo and didn’t care for it at all.
@@sonofwotan13 Sentinels Ageis rim is good, more of a visual novel but I enjoyed the complete and utter madness of the story. It’s good to play on switch in bed.
(Sorry this turned out so long) Hellblade 2, I'm with you, along with everything you said about it, except the conclusion. I loved Hellblade 1, I loved the combat, it felt very satisfying and cathartic. I loved the story, a Scottish Pict barbarian woman kicks down the gates of Viking hell to give the goddess of death a piece of her mind. It's like a Scottish version of Dante's Inferno, one of my faves. I was excited for Hellblade 2 and even broke my, "no day 1 purchases" rule for it. Hellblade 2 took out the combat and nearly everything I loved about the first game and by the end of the game- I found myself actually glad that they did. The developers advanced Senua's story in a very different way. They dared to be different, very different. I'm glad a company can make a sequel that is so radically different, and not completely beholden unto itself. Sometimes that can be good. Other times, like Megaman, I wouldn't want to see Megaman stray too far from its roots. I think when Hellbalde did it, it worked. In the first game, we learn about Senua's father, a religious leader, who burned Senua's mother at the stake, because of her 'curse' in order to protect everyone else. By the end, Senua vanquishes "the darkness" voice, which turned out to be her father's voice, reconciling with her other voices. In the second game, Senua is still furious and goes to meet the slavers at their source. Each "giant" is defeated using radical empathy and forgiveness. Maybe it's just me and my experiences, but that's not something I've seen very many examples of. Furious and rage-filled Senua was learning the power of forgiveness. She learned each giant's name and story. "Every monster was once a person." Senua meets a religious leader, someone in the same position as her father, but someone who turned out very different. Instead of sacrificing someone else, he went to deal with the giant's minions, himself. She saw someone in the same position, walking a different path. Then, after 'slaying' the giant, Senua becomes a leader of the survivors. She has that leadership position thrust upon her. She has the same responsibilities. "The Darkness" voice had returned, so she's in danger of actually becoming(!) her father. The final scene is left ambiguous, we never know what Senua does. This whole game was about Senua learning to see her father as a man, a pretty terrible man, but still a man, and not a monster. I wouldn't forgive him for what he did, but we see there was more to it than just blind religious hatred. Maybe Senua can heal from it. That's what I took from it. I missed the combat. It was a lot of walking. I often didn't know when I was walking or when the game was walking for me, and I'm sure I missed a few secrets. The puzzles were kind of fun and different. But the story just left me emotionally mind-blown with the story they dared to tell. Maybe it's my experience. I had a bad situation and ran away from home. Never looked back and have never been happier. So I appreciate a story about someone completely and utterly rejecting their birth family, and embracing a found-family, like the family she has thrust upon her shoulders. Even though Senua 2 took away everything I loved from the first one, I'm still psyched and jazzed for any kind of 3rd installment.
Merry Christmas Pam! I love your rich eye-shadow coloring. I don't feel it's used often enough among current make-up trends.
Thank you, Merry Christmas!
A Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Didn't really play a whole lot of newer games last year. I think the only game I've seen a trailer for was "Open Roads", but then I forgot about it.
I like your channel because you talk about a lot of games I may have overlooked. Working 12 hour shifts as a 911 dispatcher I don't have time to find many of these games. Keep up the good work young lady.
Always look forward to your end-of-year vids Pam. Here's to 100k subs in 2025!
Thank you!
Always love your end of year lists.
Thanks!
"Witcher 1 is the best one" and "I wish games would let us do the detectiving" Yeah, I also remember the investigation with Marlowe part : it's pretty rare to have a game allowing both turning the tables on the bad guy's plan & having a plot twist, depending on if the player did a good job or half-assed it. I doubt we'll ever see that again in a game with a big budget.
Witcher 1 would be the best one if it had a better story and better gameplay (which it doesn't have)
Dang Pam I love your shirt/eye shadow combo.
I know, right!? This look deserves a new Cosmetic DLC video.
Thanks!
I agree with you a lot about Hellblade 2. I feel the game suffered a lot from needing to leave things on the cutting room floor. The idea of the giants and their meaning was good, but the execution was all off compared to the first game. Plucky Squire I had more high hopes for, but it was more combat focused and less about the fun blending of 2D and 3D game play and using the creative tools they give you to make the puzzle sections worthwhile.
Hi Pam, if you were to give advice to point-and-click/adventure game developers, aside from common pitfalls like characters staying still after talking, poor dialogue, or overly lengthy conversations, what would you suggest they avoid? And what aspects would you encourage them to focus on? Since you’ve played so many point-and-click games, I’d really love to hear your thoughts on this!
Oh, Pam! I literally just started playing The Witcher Enhanced Edition the other day since it was on sale for a dollar and some change. I've gotten the impression that behind all the presentational jank is a fantastic roleplaying game, so far. I'm not in love with the combat. Obviously I decided to play it because of the third game's legacy but I just always feel compelled to go back to the start of a series, where I can.
That's awesome, I hope you have fun with it!
Have you tried "1000xresist" which is basically a walk simulation ... kind of? I see it as a video novel.
I normally don't get into these types of games (not much of a game) but the story had me guessing what will happen next it keep me playing it to the end.
This story would be too long for a movie while the visuals of a game helps tell the story better than reading it in a book. This is a case where I think a game format was the best way to tell the story. I'm glad they didn't add too many game mechanics that would only slow the story down.
The first two hours I was thinking about refunding the game on Steam as it takes time for the story to develop. Another chapter there were so many different scenes I couldn't make sense what exactly is going on only for the next chapter explaining everything from the last chapter(s).
Also this is a Sci Fi novel and a very good one. It took me 14 hours to finish it.
No, I haven't tried it. I've heard nothing but good things though.
Why oh why don't developers let us do the actual investigation and deducing ourselves?
probably leads to too many conclusions and not enough development resources. there is a game called lamplight city where you can give wrong answers and basically brick your game.
Does LA Noire? I remember it being great.
It would take an enormous amount of time and resources to create a game that supports every possible outcome. Maybe developers could use AI to handle this type of complexity and adapt to the player’s choices, though I imagine this would require the game to be played online.
@@bionicsidekick6604
Its not that hard to do actually. Just look at Return of Obra Dinn, Tangle Tower Case of the Golden Idol and the Sherlock series if you are looking for good detective games. Ace Attorney is a bit more streamlined and technically youre a lawyer but its also good fun.
There is a game called the Painscreek killings. It is a detective game that is incredibly tough.
Check it out but be warned, it is the opposite of casual.
Moderately off topic, but have you tried any of the hybrid board game / app based detective games? Chronicles of Crime might be something worth trying. Solo works. Shut Up and Sit Down has a nice review of the original box, but the Millenium series titles are the best (1400, 1900. 2400 - those titles are also the centuries the games are set in, with mechanics to match). Some of the best detective gaming I've ever seen.
I haven't tried any, but I am interested in them. I'll note down Chronicles of Crime, thanks!
Absolutely agree with you on Hell blade 2. You summed up exactly how I felt. Looks beautiful but no gameplay at all. It was the longest trawl through a short game I can remember. For a game that had been in development for so long, this was a letter down - and I was so excited for it!
Honestly, Reyantis and Zelda Echoes of Wisdom kinda let me down for me this year.
The style of Open Roads reminds me of Full Throttle. I know that was almost 30 years ago, but the animation looks so similar. But I'm impressed that they got Kerri Russell as one of the voice actors.
I don't have any opinion about the second or third one, but yes, the term is "cry-sees." Don't worry, I have no idea how to spell it. 😄
But in conclusion... that is a cute green shade of eyelid shadow. Also, I quit gaming a few years ago, I just like watching your reviews to see if anything really matters. 😀
Open Roads is great actually and a pretty easy 1000 gamer score. Pretty sure it is still on Gamepass.
I was looking forward to Senua 2 and Frostpunk too so it's a sad to hear they missed the mark
Like I said when it came out, the biggest mistake Frostpunk 2 made was calling it Frostpunk 2. The number one complaint by far on every space is "This isn't Frostpunk 1"
I love this: No TOP 12 oder TOP 10 or some Clickbait Format.
And not the "usual suspects" just very personal and smart presented
Thank you
One of the most disappointing things of 2024 is we only managed to get you to 99.1k despite your consistent high-quality content. Definitely one of the most underrated and under-appreciated channels. Keep up the good work Pam.
Yeah, it's criminal that she still hasn't gotten to 100k subscribers. The algorithm prefers stupid drama over consistent quality content, but that's how gaming RUclips is in 2024.
Yeah Pam and Davidvinc I can't believe they both are under 100K. Super quality channels
@@psymagearcade Yeah. I can't stand the grifters always complaining about everything instead of being positive, but they're the ones who have high subscriber counts.
Aww, thanks. I was hoping to get to 100k this year... next year for sure.
RUclips is becoming more and more unforgiving with the algorithm.
I love Hellblade and the talented team behind Ninja Theory. They accomplished something remarkable with the first game. Though most of the points you made regarding the sequel are valid. I enjoyed the puzzles, characters, soundtrack, Melina Juergens's performance...but the story felt less intimate and the internal voices lost their original strength. I enjoyed It but not as much as the first game.
without getting into spoilers, the big disappointment for me with "open roads" was the way the 2 characters reacted to the big reveal(s). it felt...so underwhelming - they react to the news as though it's just more of the mystery to unravel, rather than being the earth shattering revelation that it would be. that could have lead to some introspection and self examination by the characters, a chance for the writer(s) to show some real writing chops, but it just doesn't go there and feels ...hollow.
That's true. There wasn't much emotional weight to it.
Hey Pam! I think you mentioned Castle Crashers way back if I recall. If you have, what did you think about the gameplay? If you haven’t played it, I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed!
It's pretty fun co-op, though beat'em ups aren't my favourite games.
I haven't been disappointed by any releases this year, but it is disappointing that the DLC for Eiyuden Chronicle hasn't been delivered as originally promised.
I'm not so sure about disappointing games, but have you tried out the VTM:B Prelude II mod that just dropped from Wesp5?! I highly recommend!
No, I haven't tried it yet.
have you ever reviewed toonstruck and the broken sword series?
Nope
@@Cannotbetamed1 well i like your channel especially the point and click and classic games😃
So i think you should toonstruck is a gem that deserved more attention, brokensword has a huge fan base and even new releases
Too bad the Thaumaturge combat seems this shallow, since it's a game I really want to try. But with that in mind, I think I'll play it without that kind of engagement and still have a good time with it. The detective part is actually a relief to me, as I don't like detective games where I have to be the detective 😆 One game I played earlier this year that had good combat that required some and at times a lot of strategy, is Chained Echoes, have you played it? There's an expansion DLC coming, and I'm not sure if I will play it, it depends on whether I can do it without starting a new game or not, because I don't want to play it again, that's just the nature of the turn-based RPG genre, I just play once (there are exceptions, of course), the time investment is crazy, and I prefer to play a new game instead of replaying a 50 hour game (it always take me twice as much as the average, because I take my time; Persona 5 R took me more than 200 hours).
I have not played Chained Echoes.
great list and actually interesting..Open Roads was disappointing, maybe i expected too much
My big disappointment this year was The Coma 2B. The first two Coma games were really great 2D horror games. This one looked promising but fell flat right out of the gate. The game starts by having the main character break out of a time loop. Which you must play through, in its entirety, about five times before starting the game proper. During this time and throughout the game, the text is horribly translated, actually making it really hard to tell what's happening or what you're supposed to be doing. Add to that a lot of recycled assets from the last game and this one really let me down. The indie studio that made this game was recently bought out by another company and I guess this is the result.
Ah, that is disappointing.
Frostpunk 2 was so disappointing, i got to the end, tested all the new mechanics and kept saying to myself "is that it?"
I have the first Senua's and haven't gotten to it yet. I'll check it out!
Hello Pam, so is Open Roads a bit like Syberia, as a game type?
No, it's not a point and click adventure.
Ironically this made me wanna play Senua Hellblade 2 even more XD That sound like a good time!
Awesome, hope you have a good time with it!
It is an absolutely incredible experience.
Agreed on Hellblade 2. The voices basically changed from menacing, haunting, disturbing to your permanent cheering section, instantly telling you what to do and high fiving you. The first game was supposed to be Senua making some progress with her mental illness, but this seemed a bit extreme.
Also, by decreasing the interactivity, they're moving the game more into a visual novel style direction, into competition with games like Detroit Become Human. And Hellblade 2 is not in the same league as Detroit. I missed the boss fights from the first game and I missed even the fire escape sections which they also removed for some reason.
There were still cool secrets to discover off the main path sometimes well off. To get the full 1000 score you need to find
Everything which is cool.
It is such an incredibly beautiful game and the only annoying part for me was the forest maze.
It still had some pretty cool battles that you couldn’t just fudge.
The best part for me though was discovering all of the hidden faces to get the trees and that beautiful voice that read the description.
Most people watched too much negativity about the game and didn’t even realise it had things to actually find.
My biggest disappointment is Alone in the Dark. I was enjoying it until a game-breaking bug prevented me from progressing. Loading an old save didn't help. Rather restart from the beginning, I uninstalled it and never went back. Other than that, this has been a great year filled with games I enjoyed tremendously.
That’s such a shame, sorry you had a bad first experience with this one. I loved Alone in the Dark. I was lucky enough to have no major bugs in two consecutive games (except for floating furniture once; funny but not game breaking). Hopefully it’s patched and you feel like giving it another chance at some stage.
Aww, that's a shame. I hate when that happens.
I still want to play Senua 2, but the complete lack of anyone talking about it positively is such a shame
Do you rely on others to make your choices for everything you do?
@ I dunno, do you get this butthurt over every RUclips comment you see?
Its not bad. Its not as good as the first, but its ok. Beautiful to look at, very cinematic during battles.
My your Friday sparkle with joy and positivity ✨️ 💛 💖 💕
I couldn't agree more on Frostpunk 2 being SUCH as disappointment, I can't quite put my finger on it but it just didn't feel as good as the other one. It felt like too much of a divergence from the original game and they didn't include any of the elements I liked
Thanks for sharing all the disappointing games Pam!
I don't think I've actually bought a lot of games this year. I've been buying more older games, and that would include the remastered version of Soul Reaver and The Thing, whenever I get around to buying them. And also Clock Tower, which I do have, but still haven't played it. I've been playing Jedi Survivor the past week, and now am focusing on Immortals of Aveum and While the Iron's Hot. Both last year releases.
Only real disappointment for me was Dragons Dogma 2 and it wasn't even that bad only not as good as it could have been.
Such wasted potential with that game.
Agree on Hellblade 2. Not good when half of a 5-hour game feels like filler content. Didn't play the rest of these.
as a video game developer, I gotta say this review really provides a decent feedback...
well done.
Thanks!
@Cannotbetamed1
You are welcome and thank you for your review !
Happy to subscribe to your channel.
Played through Open Roads expecting a good story payoff but it just ends. It was on GamePass so I don't regret playing through it. It was a nice relaxing playthrough but it just felt like nothing happened and had any real consequences even the pretty big reveal.
Hellblade 2 I just didn't like. Found everything about it from the gameplay to the story pretty boring and repetitive.
The new haircut is amazing Pam!
Cannot be Tanned! ;)
I feel like it's been so long since I've seen one of your videos, I just realized I wasn't subscribed to your channel anymore. Re-subbed :)
Welcome back
I'm watching this video for a few minutes then I'm like why am I watching this.
Done
I fully support turning off games or videos you aren't enjoying.
I'm reading this comment for a few seconds then I'm like why did this person bother writing this. and why am I reading this.
Done
gone home soundtrack is 10/10. shame most of them went to campo santo and died
Im glad its not just me that didnt like senua 2. I was completely disappointed with it. The first game was a masterpiece and i was expecting more of that isolation and horror and voices playing with my thoughts of what was happening just to have a boring time with the 2nd game and i didnt even finish it. Adding the other characters to the story is probably what delrailed the experience the most.
Not gonna lie, voice acting by Keri Russell would make me overlook a LOT of potential flaws, but man, Open Roads just sounds... monotonous. That's a damn shame.
Sad to hear The Thaumaturge is a little disappointing. Bought it around launch time as enjoyed the vibe of the demo, but haven't got round to playing it yet. As the developers are also currently making the remake of Witcher 1, hopefully that one turns out better overall.
It was! It started very strong. The big problem for me was the terrible English translation.
Have you played Vampyr? That seems like a game you would enjoy.
Yes, I loved Vampyr.
I guess for me Dragon’s Dogma 2. Was expecting an interesting iteration on the first game and basically just got the first game again.
Another disappointing year from Sony for me, I haven’t bought a single first party game.
They are all open world 3rd person action games with crafting. I’ve played that game at least 10 times now in various different forms.
Nintendo let me down the most though, Mario brotherhood and Zelda echos of wisdom were both extremely average. I’d definitely give them a miss.
Nice list. But I think Nintendo World Championship was a major disappointment for me, at least include the full version of the games. Or have players earn it by S rank 😊😊😊
You’re right about The Witcher.
I really want to know why you consider TW1 as the best of the three ! Can you explain your opinion one day ? I'm really interesting to know your reasons !
I haven't played it, but one I've heard a lot of disappointment expressed about is Eiyuden Chronicle.
Pacific drive was my disappointment this year. It was enjoyable initially but i think the gameplay loop ended up pretty samey and disappointing.
Pam talking smack about games? *munches popcorn* I'm here for it!
Shame that Senua had more limited combat than the original. Ni no Kuni 2 for me, I was enjoying it a lot until 10 hours in when the gameplay turned into repetitive fetch quests with little story. Felt like the game had a lower budget than the first and they resorted to filler content.
The Veilguard should be on this list, for real. (Opinion)
I like Veilguard.
i disagree with putting hell blade two be disappointing just my opinion@@Cannotbetamed1
@@Cannotbetamed1 Fair enough. I'm not a hater, and I'm generally politically quite left. I tried to play it and found the 2024-colloquial guardians-of-the-galaxy quippy dialogue and hero-shooter monster/character models so offputting I just couldn't keep playing it. I do realize that younger generations might have much more patience for the writing and graphics, as they've spent much of their time playing Nintendo games (kiddy graphics) and using this same kind of 2020s language everywhere on social media. Personally it destroyed the vibe for me, when it comes to a dark fantasy title. Opinion, of course.
@@sub-jec-tiv It's wasn't a dark fantasy title. It's a opinion if someone like chocolate or not but it's not vanilla is not based on opinion. The same the writing was done by amateurs is not based on opinion. The original writers even commented that EA didn't think writers are important and think anyone can write. Vanguard is evidence that they are telling the truth.
The Most disappointing One for me was definitely Sandland. Toriyama deserved a far better send off than this
A game I played on my channel recently which is basically a walking simulator is Fort Solis. I know its a little old, but I loved it honestly, the story was great. I havent actually heard of any of the games you mention here - some of them sound a little interesting, but taking agency away from players is a dick move, like in the last one.
I remember seeing the trailer for that a few years ago, it looked interesting.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Yeah, its a good one. The story is very prescient and it says a lot about how things could go if we get desperate enough. Interesting stuff. :)
My God! what an absolutely gorgeous woman! but the best part is that the channel is pretty good.
Whew boy do i probably have a couple controversial games in "Most Disappointing" lol
First it would have to be Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth and its mostly story reasons so if you dont want spoilers stop reading now.
But yeah I feel Kiryu getting cancer was a pretty lame story beat (especially the way he got it). Why not instead of cancer just make him stubborn to let go of the Yakuza life but then when he sees the next generation of people (Ichiban and his crew) he decides to finally pass down the torch to ichiban? I think that woulda been far stronger and you can still have Kiryu reflecting back on all the games. And dont get me strated on Ichibans side of the story or lack there of lol.
My second most disappointing is probably Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Big empty spaces, some reused bosses/enemies and the main contributing factor why i LOATHED the dlc was because of the shadowtree fragments or the way you level up in this dlc. It made exploration totally unfun because you had to look through every nook and cranny to hope to find a new piece of fragment. I was so fed up with it that i just looked up a guide to make sure i wouldnt miss any. I still beat the dlc even before the nerfs to some of the bosses but eh I was very underwhelmed. Frenzy Flame boss was really cool though.
I liked the original frostpunk from what I played but these days I play exclusively with a controller so both these games are dead to me. Hopefully the second gets controller support later but till then it can just sit on my wishlist
Frostpunk 1 plays fine with a controller.
@@Cannotbetamed1 Oh awesome, cheers :) It didnt say anything about controller support on the Steam page so just assumed it didnt. Now that I think of it Xcom 2 is the same but it plays great, ended it recently. Installing Frostpunk now
Ironically, this made me wishlist Open Roads. 😛
I mean her negative review is just "the game is bad cause it is a walking sim", which if one likes walking sims will be a positive rather than a negative.
I think I'm most disappointed by The Thaumaturge. The world and the magic system seemed so cool, but I lost interest just watching you play.
Also, disappointed that Space Marine 2 can't run on the Steamdeck.
Dear Lord Pam. The game is very much directed and easy. I made it through the game. However, my wife and I are both schizophrenic, and met in the hospital, and she hated it very much. Some people can handle life/psychosis better than others.
Nice vid
I wonder if pam plays fighting games.
Nope, that's my least favorite genre.
What does a walking simulator need? Combat! 😂
Frostpunk 2 was a MASSIVE disappointment, it was just too radically different from the first (brilliant) game for my liking. I gave up playing after about 6 hours of frustration and boredom.
Happy Holidays! Witcher 1 rules
Agreed on Hellblade 2. I thought the first was p ok but 2 bored the crap out of me. I couldn't finish it.
Agree with everything, not so much with The Thaumaturge. I thought it was a great game. Combat was too easy, though.
Awesome, another Witcher 1 enthusiast! I 100% agree that it was the best, because it was tightly designed and focused. W2 and W3 were masterpieces, but tried to jump on the “more open is better” bandwagon which just isn’t for me. W1 has everything I want from The Witcher.
I wouldn't say it's the best game, but it had the best atmosphere by far. I'm both dreading and hyped about what they will "remake"
I really liked 2 as well. 3 was way too much game.
The first Witcher IS the best Witcher
Really like that eye shadow, you do have nice eyes..
truth. follow her Cosmetic DLC channel and try to get her to post there more.
@Swell_Simps_United that's a type weird im not willing to go to
Thanks!
@@abnrmlmind why's it weird? it's literally just her other channel. fantastic cosmetic content, especially lots of eye shadow. she's kind of an eye shadow art genius tbh
Where do you get a ton of exciting new releases and a good year for gaming?
I have not seen a year that's more content dry then this last one.
I guess that it comes down to personal preferences.
I played 40 games that came out this year. The majority of them were at least good, a few were great.
Aw man, Hellblade 2 isn't coming to PS5! *reviews come out* Oh, I guess that's fine then.
Biggest recent disappointment was Cookie Cutter - file under "Should have listened to Pam."
Witcher 1 the best one?? That's a hot take! I've never played it. I'm glad you covered Thaumaturge. I downloaded the demo and see some potential there, but they really did drop the ball on the whole detective thing.
I thought The last faith was my most disappointing game of the year. Not necessarily a bad game, more the developers. 4/5 years late to realise, over priced for the poor people that backed it and so on.
Ah, that's a shame. I loved Last Faith.
Dragon age veilguard, star wars outlaws, concord, unknown etc etc. Nintendo told me i played ff12 a lot and dragon quest 3 hd. And i like balatro.
Dishonorable mention: Concord. Crashed and burned faster than a Concorde airliner.
I want this top
Dragon age for me and im not even talking about the contemporary politicized content
I liked Dragon Age a lot.
@Cannotbetamed1 I didn't like the characters and the levels, from what was told to me each level was open world but a lot weren't not real open
I'm not a fan of lots of cinematics, dialogue or politics in video games. Less is more and I'll watch a movie if I want those things. I like to press start begin kicking ass and let my imagination fill in the void. 😎
I love you ❤
Be prepared to be disappointed with FP2
What's FP2?
Frost punk 2
To be fair it's hard for find dissapointing game in 2024 because this year barring few titles was mostly discovering games from previous years. And those few i played most definetely delivered for me. If i had to pick i would have to cheat a little and pick Palword, which is in early access, but in my opinions it doesn't feel like survival game, more base managment/automation game with elements of adventure game, while you explore.
This game is probably in my top 5 of the year tbh. It turns from a survival game, into a Pokemon game and late game it's almost like Monster Hunter when you're taking down the late game bigger beasts/bosses. One thing I recommend to everyone is crank up the exp gain, material gain, etc to max because for my brother and I it still took us 50 or so hours to beat with everything at max.
Pam, have you tried The Centennial Case : A Shijima Story ?
it's an FMV detective game. pretty good too!
This is the first I've heard of it.
@@Cannotbetamed1 well, be sure to tell us if you try it. i'm curious . i think you'd like it.
Oh stop it you
Metaphor Refantazio disappointed me so much this year. I loved Persona 5, but only finished Metaphor because I'd already sunk so much time in it. It was a chore. I didn't like any of the characters, I thought they were so one note, by the end, some of the plot is nonsensical and/or seems thrown together to make it story relevant. The lack of Persona side activities were noticeable, as well as there being a ridiculous amount of unvoiced dialogue. Felt like none of the side characters mission chains were voiced until the last mission of their bond rank. And it was super noticeable in such a dense plot game. Even the combat, basically if you didn't have characters with the right equipped magic, to hit an enemies weakness, you might as well start over, you aren't going to win that battle. So battles just felt like test grounds for the 2nd time you'd fight the boss, as opposed to a puzzle to solve in the moment.
I remember in Persona 3 how the combat just amounts to Target Weakness -> All Out Attack. Is it really still like that?
This is what I was going to say. I’m a new Atlus fan, discovered them and played most of their games in 2023-4, and when Metaphor was released I was excited to play. Finished the demo and didn’t care for it at all.
@@sonofwotan13 Sentinels Ageis rim is good, more of a visual novel but I enjoyed the complete and utter madness of the story.
It’s good to play on switch in bed.
@@mrmagoo-i2l Nice, had my eye on that one but wasn’t sure. Thanks for the recommendation.
Disappointing for the disappointing god!
I agree on Senua's Saga. I had to drop it because I really didn't feel as immersed or interested as I did the first game. Sad.
(Sorry this turned out so long)
Hellblade 2, I'm with you, along with everything you said about it, except the conclusion.
I loved Hellblade 1, I loved the combat, it felt very satisfying and cathartic. I loved the story, a Scottish Pict barbarian woman kicks down the gates of Viking hell to give the goddess of death a piece of her mind. It's like a Scottish version of Dante's Inferno, one of my faves. I was excited for Hellblade 2 and even broke my, "no day 1 purchases" rule for it.
Hellblade 2 took out the combat and nearly everything I loved about the first game and by the end of the game- I found myself actually glad that they did. The developers advanced Senua's story in a very different way. They dared to be different, very different. I'm glad a company can make a sequel that is so radically different, and not completely beholden unto itself. Sometimes that can be good. Other times, like Megaman, I wouldn't want to see Megaman stray too far from its roots. I think when Hellbalde did it, it worked.
In the first game, we learn about Senua's father, a religious leader, who burned Senua's mother at the stake, because of her 'curse' in order to protect everyone else. By the end, Senua vanquishes "the darkness" voice, which turned out to be her father's voice, reconciling with her other voices.
In the second game, Senua is still furious and goes to meet the slavers at their source. Each "giant" is defeated using radical empathy and forgiveness. Maybe it's just me and my experiences, but that's not something I've seen very many examples of. Furious and rage-filled Senua was learning the power of forgiveness. She learned each giant's name and story. "Every monster was once a person."
Senua meets a religious leader, someone in the same position as her father, but someone who turned out very different. Instead of sacrificing someone else, he went to deal with the giant's minions, himself. She saw someone in the same position, walking a different path. Then, after 'slaying' the giant, Senua becomes a leader of the survivors. She has that leadership position thrust upon her. She has the same responsibilities. "The Darkness" voice had returned, so she's in danger of actually becoming(!) her father. The final scene is left ambiguous, we never know what Senua does.
This whole game was about Senua learning to see her father as a man, a pretty terrible man, but still a man, and not a monster. I wouldn't forgive him for what he did, but we see there was more to it than just blind religious hatred. Maybe Senua can heal from it.
That's what I took from it. I missed the combat. It was a lot of walking. I often didn't know when I was walking or when the game was walking for me, and I'm sure I missed a few secrets. The puzzles were kind of fun and different. But the story just left me emotionally mind-blown with the story they dared to tell.
Maybe it's my experience. I had a bad situation and ran away from home. Never looked back and have never been happier. So I appreciate a story about someone completely and utterly rejecting their birth family, and embracing a found-family, like the family she has thrust upon her shoulders.
Even though Senua 2 took away everything I loved from the first one, I'm still psyched and jazzed for any kind of 3rd installment.
It's a nice message to the story.
Tough crowd to please in the comments section.
You are missing Dragon Age Veilguard on the list. That thing was pure trash and one of the worst written videogames of all time.
I thought it was great. The writing is decent for the most part.