My Top 5 most disappointing games of 2024

[@kansaskyle]

To really appreciate Slay the Spire, try two-handed solo or multi-player. The decision space changes dramatically in co-op play where you have to take area of effect (AoE) damage into consideration and how to help other players by focus firing enemies or giving players some defense. These are things you never see or consider in true solo.

[@seahawk8601]

I got rid of it and I’m happy with the video game

[@kurtoogle4576]

I still love the Heroes of Might and Magic III video game, because I love making & testing maps. The board game marketing made it tempting but I avoid video-game-inspired tabletop games. I can't think of one that measures up with a pleasurable experience.

[@seahawk8601]

There are a few but only a few

[@stowcreek1999]

Nice work… Appreciate your reviews.

[@seahawk8601]

Thank you sir!

[@WarhammerQuest]

I hope that Warhammer Quest custom material was a bright spot for you in 2024! Cursed Town expansion and Chaos Khorne expansion have been completed (basic rules)! Skaven expansion coming soon! More Warhammer Quest material coming in 2025!

[@seahawk8601]

It was the best part of 2024 to be honest

[@TabletopTurtle]

If my dad were still around I'm fairly certain he would have wrote an angry letter to the makers of Heroes 3 the board game as if they were a local representative in government and gave them a solid thrashing. It just didn't capture the game at all and it just felt so shallow; however, perhaps it's impossible to really capture that game and expecting a board game to be able to handle the amount of overhead required to really do Heroes justice is a fools errand.

[@seahawk8601]

I agree I think a lot of this is just cashing in on the name/IP but I’m with your dad on this one

[@DumahAtreides]

Slay the Spire is by far the best coop deck builder out. For solo, I can understand feeling underwhelmed though.

[@seahawk8601]

As long as it works for you my friend

[@nihlify]

@@seahawk8601 I works for the large majority of people. Have not met one that didn't like it. But as long as it don't for you lol

[@fingolfinfinwe]

@@nihlify Didn't gel for me either. But either way the mocking tone in your response is kind of lame. Are folks supposed to feel stupid because they don't share the same opinion with a majority?

[@Izathel1]

I don't agree at all. In particular it isn't really a deckbuilding game at all. Cards don't give you resources to improve your deck, gameplay doesn't really involve building your deck, and the cards basically all have the same "cost" and are made available completely randomly. Slay the Spire is more like a relatively light/medium weight dungeon crawl. Thunderstone Quest or Legendary Encounters are examples of great cooperative deckbuilding games.

[@DumahAtreides]

@Izathel1 Can't agree with your view of what constitutes a deck builder....at all. Deck building choices are HUGE in Slay the Spire. You are absolutely building your deck with each and every combat and you can easily translate the quantity of deck build choices to be more than in a pure deck building game across the acts. Also, the number of times you use each card in StS is higher than pure deck building games. It also gives something significanty nicer than those other ones - upgrading cards...which is ALSO deck building. I've been playing this kind of stuff for 13 years and I know this niche. So in short: Culling is deck building Adding cards is deck building Upgrading cards is deck building All are found in StS HOW you do the deck building doesn't make it deck building. Resource acquisition isn't a requirement. The effectiveness of your deck building choices does matter and in StS that's shown by not dieing on the bosses. Now if you want to say it's not a PURE deck builder...sure, but that's not your argument. My argument is that it beats all the alternatives for coop deck builders. Aeons End, Legendary, Harry Potter Hogwarts Battles, the new Mistborn DB, etc.

[@playtilithertz]

These games are just created to play on peoples nostalgia, and "Nostalgia" is really expensive

[@seahawk8601]

Lol

[@ramonosuke]

100% this.

[@1Dreamking]

I was really hoping for Worms - The Boardgame to be a fun and chaotic multiplayer skirmish game that's not to complicated and easy to get other players into the mindset of player elimination in a perhaps fun way. I am a Dudes on a map / Area Control / Majority kind of boardgamer that likes often games that are a tad bit to heavy for most of my friends and in a few cases thare is a touch of possible player elimination. And the nostalgia pull is strong on me as well... I will have to wait and see some other ppls thoughts on it as well. (With the risk of only getting the retail if I decide it will be worth me and my friends time.)

[@ericr5542]

Great video! Would love to hear what games surprised you the most this year.

[@seahawk8601]

Video will be live next week

[@robmarcjon]

Good morning Rob hope you are well. Skyrim and fallout made a good board game conversion

[@JevousGaming]

The Witcher Old World isn’t bad either.

[@seahawk8601]

I agree but both were open world a little more freedom to make the games different

[@hermanturnip3984]

Heroes of Might and Magic III was a HUGE disappointment for me as well. Under-cooked game with terrible battles and shoddy rule book. Unexplained iconography and descriptors forced me to research answers via online videos. Into the trash this game went.

[@seahawk8601]

I’m so sorry

[@larryosborne5141]

I like Slay the Spire on the pc, but when I saw the unboxing of the board game, I said the same thing you did. My Son was just telling me last night about how great Heroes 3 board game would be, again, I said basically the same thing you did. Besides, Heroes 2 in my opinion is the better game. Anyways, great video and I will see you in the next one.

[@seahawk8601]

Thank you my brother

[@fatprussian]

Hey Rob, your opinions are very valid, you know your games. I got HMM III and I know what you mean, it has a poorly put together rulebook that took a lot of effort to understand, but once you come to grips with the rules, the game is very good. Never played combat with the base system, went straight to resolving combat with the battlefield expansion which I actually love, has the feel of the computer game, but again here the rules were poorly written. I think it may come down to English not being their first language. They've since put a supplement on their website which explains the rules with a lot more clarity.

[@seahawk8601]

As long as you like it my friend just not good for me

[@trevor1645]

I’m love Slay the Spire on my PlayStation and initially I was excited for the kickstarter but the more I thought about the more the realized in a tabletop version it would be a ton of micromanaging the video game itself does for you. Sometimes, even if it looks/feels/plays like a board game, a video game version is just better.

[@1AngelAlita]

That's not really the case, the board game is done very smartly to avoid being fiddly and overly difficult to manage. I still like video game more for solo but the board game's appeal is cooperation. It's perfect as a coop deckbuilding game for 2 players.

[@seahawk8601]

I think it’s just not fun …..but hey that’s just me

[@ViscountCharles]

How many of the biggest disappointments were crowdfunded? That’s the problem right there. The games aren’t god enough because they lack development - a process that the long-established publishers understand and carry out, but which new teams publishing by KS have never heard of (they think it’s all about design, playtesting, and the sort of eye-candy that makes for a successful crowdfunding campaign).

[@antytrend]

I'm glad to see this video because these are games that could have hooked me for a money grab.

[@seahawk8601]

They got me

[@ramonosuke]

Great list Rob! always love your opinions, on things, and I find them valuable, good sir. To be honest the worst of/disappointing lists I'm usually more adamant to see. Cause a reviewer's BEST of is with some caveats. Would they have liked the game as much, if they paid for it themselves, and not just an opinion based on a sourced review copy? Is the RETAIL game just as good, without the nice shiny KS/Gamefound upgrades and piles of exclusivity nonsense? Not putting any shade on anyone reviewer at all, but I think reviewers should be more forthcoming on some of this things, which I feel is severely lacking nowadays. I know I don't have the money nor the space to get every game I think looks good, let alone anyone's top 10 of a certain year, and I'm okay with that. I backed a total of 3 games this year, and those were all the "NEW" games I bought this year, and anything else was either heavily discounted, secondhand, or older games that I missed out on.

[@seahawk8601]

Well said my friend

[@Spudkitty513]

The only game I've bought this year is Kreel Manor (thank you, Rob, for your recommendation). I just wasn't inspired or impresseed by the 2024 offerings.

[@Steve-im6jg]

So I bought halo flashpoint and haven’t gotten a chance to play it yet. I’ve never played dead zone so I would be interested to hear your thoughts on one vs the other.

[@seahawk8601]

Sure I can do that

[@AndreasRugtvedNeumann]

Both Deadzone and Halo: Flashpoint are fantastic games IMO. They are almost the same game with different skin. Deadzone has more depth and variation right now because of more options in units and factions, but that is just because Halo is so new. More unit and factions will come to Halo in the future. Deadzone is a real hobby game, were you need to assemble everything, while Flashpoint is more accessible to a broader audience who doesn't like the hobby aspect. It is so easy to get started with Flashpoint, and that is it's biggest strength. And it's respawn mechanic is just awesome for 2 vs. 2 team play. My board game group really enjoyed Flashpoint. Deadzone, like most wargames, also requires a bit more planning and some list building before you can start a game. In Flashpoint you just pick your Fireteam right out of the box, or use their fast drafting system to get started right away. But I could imagine, that some kind of list building will also arrive to Flashpoint, when more units gets available.

[@BLDTHEGAMER]

Wish these youtubers are clear about things like Slay the Spire. If it sucks solo, say it. If you need others to make work, say it. People were praising this game like it was the next coming of Christ. Man! Thanks for it 💯 Rob.

[@seahawk8601]

Your welcome my friend

[@JevousGaming]

Daniel from Dungeon Dive said the same about the solo play of StS.

[@richprice482]

A theme with a lot of these disappointments is obviously a video game into a board game. The problems comes from trying to shoehorn these into a BG. It’s very difficult to capture a video game experience. Better to create a unique BG in my opinion. Cheers Rob.

[@seahawk8601]

I agree my friend

[@Mikey_Vids]

4/5 adaptations of video games. Sounds like the automation of video games is challenging to recreate in board game form.

[@seahawk8601]

It sure is and I agree

[@WarGamePeace]

Thank You for warning us lol 😅! I was kinda interested in Halo, and Pathfinder Arena.

[@seahawk8601]

You are welcome but check other videos to make sure it’s not for you

[@xSean0607]

Having played StS for hundreds of hours I appreciate the differences the boardgame presents. Can't speak for the rest aside for the fact that I highly antecipated Worms but I sadly decided to not back it as it felt very underwhelming imo

[@seahawk8601]

To each there own

[@christophercharles904]

Thanks for pointing out why these games didn't work for you. I usually only see positive spin or nothing.

[@seahawk8601]

Thanks I really appreciate that

[@jimwhite2541]

Thank you for your honest opinion.

[@seahawk8601]

Your welcome my friend

[@shelfhelpgaming]

Dang, that is dissapointing. I backed Heroes onf Might and Magic III and Worms. I haven't played Worms yet, but I've played a few single player campaigns for HoMM and like it so far. I have not tried a multi-player scenario yet so we will see. Slay the spire intrigued me, but not at that price compared to the video game.

[@seahawk8601]

If you like it that’s all that matters

[@KabukiKid]

Yeah, I've heard split ideas on the Slay the Spire board game version... some love it, but others say it is just slow and they would prefer playing the video game. I haven't tried it yet, but I also didn't go crazy for the video game, so I'm not sure I will love it.

[@seahawk8601]

You won’t like it

[@DuraheLL]

I never understood why people need to state "it's just my opinion" when they say something. If people cannot understand that they are just not worth dealing with and should be ignored/banned etc. Just the most obnoxious people really

[@seahawk8601]

Well it is just my thoughts there are games people hated but I loved doesn’t make me right and then wrong

[@CountDewkeww]

I almost backed worms. I am a huge fan of the video game. Unfortunately what the designers missed was there is a big difference between chaotic and random. I took one look at the wind/direction dice and I was out.

[@seahawk8601]

You are dead on my friend

[@Zr0din]

Oh NO!!! @9:10 I was so sad to hear about this Pathfinder game was bad. I play the RolePlaying game and I was hoping this would be a good intro for D&D players to move over to a different system but clearly with this feedback... Holy Cow! So glad I didn't buy this. I'll check other people's opinions for confirmation, but yeah.

[@seahawk8601]

That is the best thing see what other people think and go from there

[@thomhenne]

I dont like the digital slay the spire, but i really love the board game!

[@seahawk8601]

Good for you

[@PaulMazzoni]

Yes! Thank you for saying it. I am getting tired of people stating this was a great year, like they are on automatic pilot. It was not a great year for games. Not to say there weren’t good ones. Just not a memorable year overall.

[@ramonosuke]

I feel like reviewers tend to always say so and so was a good year, because all the games they get to play, they didn't pay for, so it makes it that much easier. I'd like to point out I am not giving any reviewer guff, but it's just the way things are, and I feel like they never factor in price in any review. I think that's huge, and more should do it

[@seahawk8601]

You are on the money it is a business don’t let anyone tell you different and people are trying to make connections so they can make there channel more valuable so guess what you never get the truth

[@seahawk8601]

I think this was a bad year and might be worse next year

[@colinmacmillan2944]

@@seahawk8601 But on the plus side, maybe I'll get to my shelf of shame. :-)

[@alenkulic4648]

Kickstarter has gotten to the point , that now it is just a free loan without intrests or garanty.

[@seahawk8601]

I soooo agree

[@peterixon8708]

Rob, you are not alone. Agree with every one of your assessments. Thanks. You made me feel better about some of my dud purchases this year. But here is something that may make you feel better; here in Australia, add 40 per cent more to the cost of ANY game, compared to US dollar costs you pay; so a US $70 game is 40 per cent more, for us. But the joy does not end there. If you paid US $70 for a box, we pay that, PLUS we pay 50-60 per cent EXTRA of whatever you paid for the game, but this time the added cost is shipping costs. That 'free shipping' in the continental USA isn't 'free', because we are paying for all the free US shipping. Merry Christmas Rob.

[@seahawk8601]

I’m so sorry my brother

[@seahawk8601]

And Merry Christmas to you as well

[@colinmacmillan2944]

Oh yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that - here in New Zealand it can be like $60.00US for the game and $50 for postage. You really have to want it with those costs, and even then sometimes you still end up with a dud. It's definitely curbed my 'impulse buying' for sure.

[@Ribby00]

I'm at the beginning of this video and rob is doing his intro but I'm gonna guess worms is on the list

[@Ribby00]

Lol very first game 😅 it's one of the few really negative reviews of yours I was interested in cause I also got the Armageddon edition and yeah.... it's just not worth it

[@seahawk8601]

Damn right

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

Rob, honestly, if there is a game with so many "moving parts" as Slay the Spire, it is absolutely no surprise this one works much, much, much better on the PC - where it works very well.

[@arcaderunner2188]

Actually the board game streamlines away the math and rejigs all the cards. The board game is awesome (and I’ve played over 1000 hours of the video game).

[@seahawk8601]

I agree

[@paleblue8922]

❤

[@seahawk8601]

Thanks!

[@1AngelAlita]

Worms is good for quick fun in a pub. Sure it's a bit flat and I would never buy it but I'm not sure if anyone could have expected anything deeper here..

[@seahawk8601]

As long as you like it…,,

[@MrGreeneyes77]

Finally SOMEONE is saying the truth about HOMMIII!

[@seahawk8601]

I do try but it is only my opinion