The WORST and Most Disappointing Games of 2022

[@austineruption]

Use code ERUPTION60 to get 60% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3CLJyfa! What are some other disappointing and bad video games you played this year? I know some people like Pokemon, and I think it's got some good stuff going on. But like I says, that performance is killer. I was gonna have two more videos before the year was up but... Well, ya boi got the rona and was out of commission for nearly two weeks. We'll get Gotham Knights in January, but for now enjoy this!

[@leoultimaupgraded9914]

I mean most of the games ive played Ive had fun with, like Pokemon and Elden Ring and especially Strangers of Paradise, that game is super fun to me

[@vonpotatostein]

My biggest disappointment has been most of the big games Square Enixt has been releasing. The Enix side of the company has been producing tons of really fun and interesting games (DQ Builders 2, DQ XI, etc) On Square's side the smaller projects are actually what have been more interesting to me (Octopath Traveler as an example) Because as fun as FF 7 R is to play (gameplay wise) it is yet another Kingdom Hearts clone story T___T , same with Final Fantasy Stranger of Paradise :/ again repeating the same KH take and tropes on the FF SOP as much as I'm a fan of KH I'm really tired to see the same KH story blueprint over and over again being pasted in different Square Enix's franchises TBH. I'm REALLY looking forward to playing Final Fantasy XI final fantasy XVI because it will be a fresh take from Nomura's style. But my biggest disappointment was Chocobo GP, I was REALLY looking forward to get it on day 1 but the microstransactions and mobile like monetization on a paid game was a huge NONO for me.

[@regularspecial1]

what is the song used in the intro?

[@PuppetMasterIX]

Ironically, the discontinuation of Chocobo GP might actually make it a much better game. Unlike Babylon's Fall, the game isn't shutting down; instead, much of its online games-as-a-service fluff is being trimmed out and its progression is being streamlined. So in a way, Square no longer continuing support of Chocobo GP is probably the best thing that could have happened to it.

[@JohnDoe-wq5eu]

Hopefully, it can get back on track although I have to think anyone that's invested in it up to this point is going to be pretty pissed. Oh well I still think it's better this way.

[@Hugelag]

It pretty much shows that the microtransactions didn't need to be there in the first place.

[@victorteste5325]

@@Hugelag Amazing how anyone remotely interested in the title knew this, yet the business guys in SE didn't see it (they probably did, but oh well).

[@Hugelag]

@@victorteste5325 My guess is that they saw how it worked(?) Crash Team Racing and wanted to try it themselves. The problem is that everyone hated what Activision did.

[@Evilriku13]

I still dont get why it doesnt have more FF characters doing kart racing, like it's the perfect spot for it, abd they waste the option for such D:

[@toastythomas]

Mario striker's battle league was a major disappointment. Like every other Mario sports game on switch, it was severely lacking in content at launch and by the time those updates came out. Nobody cared.

[@Ihartwalrusguy]

I would rather have Nintendo lock those behind paid DLC like EA, at least those guys don’t do free updates.

[@toastythomas]

@@Ihartwalrusguy I mean free updates aren't a bad idea. As long as the base game has enough content to justify the price tag.

[@Kneevirus]

It also had obnoxiously complicated controls so no one will play mutiplayer with you and felt worse to play than the gamecube and wii strikers games

[@toastythomas]

@@Kneevirus I don't think they were that complicated.

[@jameslawrenson1208]

The personality is its only highlight. Here's hoping the models get used in a much better game.

[@yakumoyomi5765]

If it's any consolation: along with announcing the end of support for the game, they've essentially "killed" the microtransactions in Chocobo GP. As I understand it, the stuff from the previous Battle Passes have been added to the in-game shop (where you can buy stuff using only currency acquired in-game) and they give you enough Mithril when you first log in (after the recent update) to purchase the new Battle Pass. Still not great, but it's a step in the right direction. Chocobo GP still doesn't feel as good to play as MK8DX (or Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed), but at least now it feels less scummy than it did at release.

[@austineruption]

My whole section was written prior to these updates were announced, so I am glad to see that's the case! I still wish Chocobo GP was more than it was.

[@marcellosilva9286]

36:06 Here's a recommendation for you, Freedom Planet 2! Remember that video on Sonic Clones you did.......six years ago? That video contained Freedom Planet, and after seven years of waiting, the sequel finally came out! Don't miss out on it like Woolie did, it's my personal GOTY, surpassing even Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok, Splatoon 3, etc.

[@Gatorade69]

I still want to play the original.

[@GemakaiGaming]

Freedom Planet is so good. I highly recommend it and it's sequel

[@PuppetMasterIX]

Can confirm: Freedom Planet 2 is rad. Easily my second favorite indie of 2022 (first being TUNIC). Such a shame its release went bizarrely under the radar and mostly unnoticed by major publications.

[@victorteste5325]

There's also the "Spark the Electric Jester" games! The third one just released last year and it's been a great surprise for me. It's a Booster-formula Sonic clone, but that goes WAY beyond what previous Sonic games have achieved gameplay wise.

[@Evilriku13]

@@GemakaiGaming I jus wish the developer hadn't cut out scenes with every update they did for the game before continuing to support it with what was promised as the Torque and Spade DLCs.

[@MightyMurloc]

I can't imagine how much work they are, but your "I completed...100% so you don't have to videos" are honestly top tier! I hope that's a series you continue every so often (Don't feel pressured to give it too many uploads given the huge workload)

[@victorteste5325]

If you wanna have a look at how grueling that type of video can be to make, I recommend you check The Completionist. Dude's been 100%-ing games for over a decade now and, more often than not he pretty much kills the experience for him. I guess most games just weren't meant to be Platinum'd.

[@TheChronozoan]

​@Victor Teste I'm a bit late to the party, but I'd recommend Mortismal more than the team you referenced. He only reviews games he's completed PLUS some extra parameters of his own before he considers it truly 100%. While I don't always agree with his perception, it's the absolute best game reviews that I've seen since.. like early early EGM magazines.

[@robinmattheussen2395]

One thing I'm quite thankful for is that my taste in games has mostly prevented me from coming into contact with the most slimy parts of the industry. It's almost 2023 and I GENUINELY still don't know what a "Battle Pass" actually is.

[@tiagocosmos]

Dude same. I cannot understand why anyone puts themselves through these experiences.

[@mariokart8054]

Yep! Thankful I prefer games from 10+ years ago and have a backlog that is too long to ever exhaust fully

[@Azure9577]

Same lmao

[@4carhur1more]

Yup, I'm in the same boat! No battle passes or games as a service for me! If I see those words anywhere near a game, 100% will avoid and not worth my time.

[@victorteste5325]

I usually buy games I want after a year of its release (usually on sale), so that gives me time to discover new (and old) franchises while giving the game time for its eventual patches and content updates. Cyberpunk 2077 was a great game -- after they've patched the hell out of it -- so I'm a got to play it on a (somewhat) stable version instead of buying it on release.

[@JacktheLightningRipper]

Even if I agree that Scarlet and Violet is very rough presentation-wise and I do think Pokemon Company International should consider stretching out generations to four or five years or even more instead of just three like they've been doing ever since Gen 5, even if it means delaying stuff that coincides with it (anime, trading cards etc.), I think the core of the gameplay is fantastic.

[@AzureRoxe]

Of course the core is good, it's the same core that the games have always had since Gen 1.

[@bumibomber]

@@AzureRoxe Gen 9 genuinely does make a lot of innovations and changes that do make it interesting and different from the previous Generations though. It's a pokemon game that has soul in the same way black and white did, though unfortunately it's also a game that barely even functions properly because of how much it tried to innovate in such a short time with such a small staff for the AAA industry.

[@R3in_Ch]

@@AzureRoxe exactly. They never change. And yet they screw up the technical issues.

[@bumibomber]

@gebi Those are both issues with the industry and the insane crunch put on an admittedly should be larger small team. It's clear on the creative end people care with the battle systems, story, character and pokemon design, and major gameplay innovation, etc. Attributing to rush and soullessness is an often made mistake, and both result in a bad game, but they have very distinctions

[@bumibomber]

@gebi Im not excusing any of the performance issues, you just want to paint me as your enemy cause you're angry the game came out the way it did. I'm saying if it didn't have those issues it absolutely is a great pokemon game especially compared to soulless entries like xy and sword and shield. Comparing it to the best pokemon generation vaguely doesnt prove anything.

[@pridefulmaster1390]

28:14 Apparently that wasn't the reason Square sold Eidos/Crystal-D. The reason they gave is that their western games cost too much to produce & didn't make nearly enough back, that they were "cannibalizing" the sales of other games. They later cited wanting to reconsolidate development in Japan overall while appealing globally. Looking at how quickly games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider went on sale and how big of a flop Avengers was, I think it makes sense for them to see those studios as not worth the effort. Plus, this means Eidos Montreal is free to finally make a new Deus Ex title. I think we can all be happy with that. The NFT money is coming from somewhere else, which will hopefully dry up once Symbiogenesis (their NFT project) inevitably crashes & burns because who the hell will care about NFTs in 2023???

[@mbern4530]

People often cite the low price they were sold for, but they forget that Embracer took on over 2 billion in debt with that purchase. Square sold them because they just weren't making any money. Square just wanted to get rid of the debt.

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

But the tomb raider reboots were a pretty big success

[@LordArikado]

@@thatitalianlameguy2235 The Tomb Raider reboots sold millions of copies, but Square still considered them failures because they didn't sell enough to offset their stupidly high production costs. Hell, the whole reason the first one was remastered on next-gen platforms shortly after the original version's release was so they could potentially break even on it. Boneheaded decisions from Square later down the line like making the second game a timed exclusive on the least successful Xbox console didn't help matters either.

[@wazzer912]

The fact that they released a ton of games this year supports this theory.

[@AzureRoxe]

And yet a good chunk of the money was, by their own admittion, going to be used for NFT garbage, so they're wasting it entirely.

[@jmporkbob]

I used to be disappointed by Square a lot, too. But then I got into the Trails series of JRPGs and was finally able to not really care about them at all anymore, because my itch was being scratched in ways I previously didn't think was possible.

[@tiagocosmos]

For everything they do right by my book (SaGa frontier remastered) they do ten things wrong or bad and I am constantly flabbergasted by their bad moves as a company. Truly baffling.

[@stovetopism]

Now if only the Sky games could get ported to console so I'd actually play them. Gonna end up playing everything but the beginning at this rate since I started with Col Steel. A potato can play them sure but I don't play games on pc

[@BrinIoca]

God yeah trails is so tight!! I haven’t played a lot of them but from what I’ve played it’s made me happy so far.

[@azuremk__3101]

I still respect Squares JRPGs and plan to play many of them in the future, but rn I'm playing a bunch of Atlus games and want to play Falcom games after I finish up the Atlus ones. Then maybe I'll get around to Square games.

[@Azure9577]

@@stovetopism you can emulate em on your phone

[@robinmattheussen2395]

Pretty sure these Garfield games manage to break even purely because youtubers buy them to meme on.

[@covereye5731]

Even my non KZbinr friends, think it's funny to farm hours in Garfield games.

[@GeminiTasiri]

Chocobo GP is one that hurt a lot. They announced it when me and my friends were hungry for a new kart racer... then, like, a month or two away from release they announced the battle pass and that Cloud and Squall were locked behind the Season 1 and our enthusiasm deflated And then Nintendo announced the new slew of DLC for Mario Kart 8, the first wave of which released THE SAME WEEK as Chocobo GP, delivering the knock-out punch

[@hazardrider8317]

On the AA games thing, I think it's crazy how Square is both obsessed with live service games and crypto shit but is also coming out with a ton of fantastic AA games now, they're one of the only big studios that had a very consistent schedule this year with a ton of great games, just that those great games were not focused on in their own marketing

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

Fantastic? The fuck are you talking about, they've milked ff7 to death including a lame remaster a la yakuza kiwami, and haven't made a universally well rated ff since the fucking 2000s

[@hazardrider8317]

@@thatitalianlameguy2235 …You know Square makes games that *aren’t* Final Fantasy, right? Star Ocean, Valkyrie Elysium, Voice of Cards, The Live A Live remake, The Centennial Case, Stranger of Paradise, being able to play Crisis Core, Harvestella, being able to play Tactics Ogre, Front Mission, 7 R being something different and not just a completely cynical cash grab that only does the exact same story, remasters of games we never got in America originally. If you ask me even with the insanely stupid decisions they’ve made this year, which is still a lot, they still made some fantastic games

[@AzureRoxe]

@@hazardrider8317 You do know that almost everything you mentioned did poorly or "didn't meet their expectations", right? So even their non-Final Fantasy titles are failing hard. And yes, 7R IS a gigantic cashgrab when the games are episodic, $70 AND get DLC, plus the many FFVII games designed at the same time to milk it further like Ever Crisis and First Soldier [which failed so hard that it's getting shut down].

[@hazardrider8317]

@@AzureRoxe Yeeeeeeah I don’t really care if they sold millions of units, I’m just saying they’re still actually making good games in between the awful decisions and it’s stupid to ignore that. It’s fine to be mad at them, even I am for Chocobo GP, but to make shit up like they don’t make any good games is dumb. I disagree on 7R, I rather have new takes in shorter bursts than the devs crunching to make a single 200 hour 300 GB single game

[@goranisacson2502]

@@hazardrider8317 Quite agreed, and from what I've seen Live A Live, Harvestella, Triangle Strategy and Voice of Cards sold well enough to satisfy Square Enix. And honestly, I don't even think these games NEED to sell Final Fantasy numbers, considering their low budgets.

[@COCONABEOFFICIAL]

Just saying, Puy Du Fou is a theme park made by a big representative of the current far-right movement in France. And I heard about historical inacuracies regarding the stories they depict that tend to relate more to the founder's political opinions :/ Parc Astérix or Futuroscope would be better choices imo

[@machineapenser493]

Isn't the guy a known royalist Also yes, Futuroscope for the win!

[@shards-of-glass-man]

Eidos / Crystal Dynamics escaping Square Enix has probably been the happiest gaming announcement for me this year

[@Gatorade69]

A new Deus Ex game is reportedly in very very early development. That puts a smile on my face. Hopefully we will get an end to Adam's story.

[@morkgin2459]

@@Gatorade69 what about JC denton?

[@Gatorade69]

@@morkgin2459 I love the original Deus Ex but I feel JC's story already got a start and an end in the first game. They even continued what happened to him in Invisible War (which also deserves a redo). Personally while I still love it I also feel like the first game deserves a remake. So yeah I would like to see more JC. For Deus Ex I would say wrap up Adam's story and then remake the original Deus Ex.

[@goranisacson2502]

After years under a company who pretty much just wanted an in into the "western market", and threw FAR too much money on games that could never recoup the costs so things just got worse and worse... yeah. Being free of SquareEnix is probably the best thing for them, even if it means they have to perform on their own, no safety nets.

[@martinde-serres8724]

at least Eidos and Crystal Dynamics are still around though not the case for Square-Enix Montreal, then rebranded as Onoma after Embracer bought them and spent ''a lot of money'' on the rebranding itself... only for the latter to shut them down months later those Go games they made with the Hitman, Tomb Raider and Deus Ex IPs were pretty solid I actually worked on Lara Croft Go for a few months before it launched and the people over there were very talented and friendly to work with the only bad thing about my experience is working on Microsoft's Windows Phone devices, which were garbage for mobile gaming as a whole lol, but otherwise I had a great time over there so I was heartbroken when they shut down, but at least most of them have joined Eidos and other studios in such a short notice

[@FOREVERCraigYT]

It's sad that most of the Bad Games this year are essentially Pay to Pay, buy our game to buy all the other content separately in a year where the cost of living has been getting more expensive, it really does feel like they are trying to wring every penny out of their players they can and it sucks, I fully agree though with you, the Indy games the last few years have stepped up their game a lot to fill the void, games like Unpacking from Last year and Vampire Survivor, Grapple Dog, Cult of the Lamb this year have been really good games that you can enjoy for a decent chunk of time rather than what these live service pay to pay games try and do which have the "Play this and only this for the rest of your life, you need nothing in life except this game" mindset, anywhoooo, TLDR great video and I agree with your points 100% Austin

[@SakuraAvalon]

It's because with the introduction of all these predatory practices, the gaming industry grew at a very unhealthy rate. The problem with companies, is the investors need you to be constantly growing. And when you make such an absurd amount of money in a small amount of time, you start to see a decline, not a growth. So, they become more egregious with the anti consumer shit they pull, to make sure those profits are constantly higher with each year that passes.

[@tivvy2vs21]

The worst thing about Sonic origins is the delisting of the Genesis roms gets rid of the only legal way to play romhacks through workshop

[@Artista_Frustrado]

eh, not really. Sonic 3 & K has been delisted for years (because of the MJ rights finally getting solved) & people was still able to add Sonic 3 Complete...

[@sonickhable]

Let's be real, the switch's power ain't the reason why Pokemon was janky lol

[@brycecartwright2403]

Literally look at all 3 xenoblade games on switch, which are bigger, have voice acting, are pretty well optimized and polished, etc in comparison, it’s not the switch lmao

[@ataridc]

@@brycecartwright2403 no joke brosefina

[@streetmagik3105]

Yeah, SquareEnix has been making baffling decisions. Randomly opening pre-orders for Final Fantasy pixel remaster, extremely limited edition physical, at 2am on the US east coast?! Sold out in 30 minutes!! I woke up at 6am to the realization that if I actually want it, I'll have to pay three times on eBay... nah, not doing that. SquareEnix taking the piss out of it's loyal fans, great job!👍

[@Silphiroth]

Physical is dying out, its plastic waste. Got for them to go with only a limited amount of copies

[@zfrometa8316]

Happy to see a Shout out for Blue Reflection more people need to play that

[@SakuraAvalon]

Kat!

[@thelegendmusashi9479]

i think it's cool that square funds all these random double a games. reminds me of the ps1 days. yeah there was no masterpiece among them but i dig it.

[@GeminiTasiri]

I agree, it's cool to have them but man do I wish they didn't shotgun blast the last quarter of 2022 with it. Haven't picked up Diofield, Harvestella, Valkyrie Elysium, Front Mission Evolved or Tactics Ogre Remastered just because they all came out so close together and to other games, despite looking interesting. (Also, minor aside but if they're really considering them AA games they shouldn't release them at the $60 price point like their AAA lineup)

[@gebs123]

Honestly, the Terra statue was the most disappointing thing square did this year for me. I have mostly given up on their new games, but I still have fond nostalgia for their old stuff. The statue is a little bit larger then their previous most expensive statue, but it's almost 5 times the price. To compare: 2B, 9S, and A2 (Nier); W 21.7" x D 22.9" x H 24.5"; $2,849 Terra and Armor (FF6); W 22.8" x D 26" x H 30.7"; $13,800

[@austineruption]

You can literally buy a vehicle for that.

[@victorteste5325]

Hell, with a fraction of that price you could commission a sculptor artist yourself to make a similar (or even better) looking peace. You could even learn how to make one yourself while you're at it and sell whatever you make for half of Square's prices and still make bank.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

How are such high prices not down-right illegal?

[@destebangm11216]

Kudos for including the gravity rush OST ngl

[@twilightverdict]

Dartigan summarised this year's Square output the best: "Are you okay Square-Enix? Do you need anyone to hold your hair back while you vomit into the restroom toilet and maybe call you a cab?"

[@krimsonkatt]

Yeah Square released WAY too many games this year and 2023 seems even more insane. Some of them were good but most of them were extremely mid. Then in 2023 we're getting Octopath 2, Forspoken, Pixel Remaster ports, and probably FFXVI? Will they ever stop?

[@bootsthecat6718]

Okay, that quest for Excalibur game looks awful but now I really want to go to France

[@SireRed13]

As a French viewer, just a small heads-up about the Puy-du-Fou park, that’s basically a huuuuge scam, riddled with historical misinformation because it’s owned by an old aristocratic millionaire who decided to build a park to share his own version of French history rather than the truth (and also the guy’s a royalist) x) The park’s still quite popular, despite historians being sued for trying to get the truth out and, fortunately, the game bombed pretty hard, though Microids kinda shout themselves in the foot by supporting the park in such a way…

[@CHECKthisvid]

Since the G4 Reboot didn't live long enough for a Golden Mullet Award reboot on Xplay, you will have to do this year. I'd argue that they had a PERFECT OPPORTUNITY to bring it back in January of THIS YEAR, since 2021 also had some stinkers.

[@Jeppo1457]

I know it wasn't made in 2022 but I highly recommend Bug Fables its basically indie Paper Mario and it's better than Sticker Star

[@jacobmonks3722]

It's better than most Paper Mario games in general.

[@Arclight104]

Triple A games are just pretty lacking this year, which seems to be an increasingly trend along with the move toward everything being a games as a service model. Thing is there are few triple A games per year and when they are bad or mediocre its noticable. There are a truck load of terrible indie games but the sheer volume of indie releases means that there are also a correspondingly higher number of great titles as well to compensate and they are generally cheap. Its possible to buy 4 or 5 cheap excellent indie games for the price of one mediocre AAA title so it seems Indie titles are just the better value overall at the moment

[@kennydarmawan13]

31:42 Imagine HAL making Kirby Air Ride 2 with a humongous roster for Star Allies' level of free and it became a huge success.

[@GenesHand]

Damn Japanese developers really need to do some quality control with their localization teams. I keep seeing stuff like this more and more, and censoring a game like that is just stupid. And the Chocobo GP situation reminds me of Dissidia NT (You just can't make a fighter without local versus... even the most cheaply made Anime licenced arena fighter knows that...) , another amazing oportunity trown to the garbage by doing weird monetization and content delivery practices.

[@kinshred1222]

You mentioned Triangle Strategy briefly, I would recommend it, it is way better than its generic title would imply

[@HybridAngelZero]

I don't really have a problem with Square releasing so many titles, I will gladly take that over the massive droughts of the seventh generation. Besides, almost all of the single-A, single player titles they've brought out this year have been winners, especially Star Ocean 6. I absolutely will not defend their handling of Babylon's Fall, Chocobo GP or the physical Pixel Remaster releases, though

[@martinde-serres8724]

I was actually hyped AF for Chocobo GP when it was first announced. After so many years and a LOT of teasing, we finally got a follow up to the PS1 Chocobo Racing... only for that hype to get down the drain because OF COURSE they had to make it as a Games-as-a-Service crap. I bought nothing that Square released in 2022 (yet lol), but I do have reservations for the AA side of them like Voice of Cards, Valkyrie Elysium and more.

[@Azzman2049]

Despite all the issues with pokemon violet, there is a lot. The story and new concepts made it worthwhile for me

[@Turbo_Waitress]

Loved hearing the Keterburg theme from Tales of the Abyss. Perfect wintry music.

[@ryanhowse9266]

Its a little old at this point, but Ara Fell is a gorgeous little throwback RPG and was one of my favourite games in the last couple years that caught me completely by surprise. As a fellow Squeenix fan who hasn't been getting anything from them lately, it was nice to be blown away by something out of left field.

[@Muffinpurplegurk]

Hope you have great 2023 Austin

[@jacobmonks3722]

Switch Sports could have been great but it launched with not a lot of variety, and for some reason they decided GOLF was the game that would have to be added later, the game that was put in Wii Sports by default, a game from 16 years ago. Nintendo has had a bad habit this generation of not finishing games before they release. They're almost always polished and glitch-free, but they're just missing things.

[@krimsonkatt]

It's mainly their multiplayer games that lack content compared to their GameCube/Wii era releases. They're single player games are great as always. Austin also really over-states how badly most Switch games run. Xenoblade 3 runs fantastically as well as BorW which was a launch title. I don't know what he's on about. But yeah it's about time the Switch gets an upgrade because it's clearly becoming too much for a lot of devs to optimize so much for a successful switch port. Scarlet and Violet only performed badly because it was rushed. Outside of it's poor performance it's easily the best Pokemon game by far, even better than BW2. SV clearly needed an extra 6 months to fine tune things and fix the performance. Maybe Monolith could help since they finished XB3?

[@juliannocartagena2007]

But hey! I still liked it!

[@That1PissedOffBoomer]

@@juliannocartagena2007 And thats the thing yes some of Nintendo's sports games have been kinda light on content but they are also very fun to play almost always with solid mechanics. Like Mario Strykers, yes its lacking when it comes to content but gameplay wise, its a blast and has great solid mechanics.

[@ericfelux]

Thanks for keeping me entertained, Austin! You rule.

[@xxdesertstorm]

useless comment by a useless bot account

[@shawnheatherly]

Odds are you've heard of it, but I can't recommend Neon White enough.

[@salty3567]

One slight correction on the overwatch 2 heroes, you dont actually have to buy them. you can unlock them trough what they call "Hero challenges" (the most right tab in the challenges screen only visable when you have a challenge) Which is still annoying.

[@danwilliams1989]

Overwatch 2 is a big reason why I hate how publishers are treating games as a live monetary service first and an enjoyable game second.

[@otaking3582]

If they're gonna charge $14,000 for a Terra statue, they could've at least gotten her hair right.

[@gebs123]

Are you saying you don't want to spent the price of a used car on a lump of plastic?

[@austinparks7428]

@@gebs123 that's several decent used cars, which makes it even worse.

[@PretendingToListen]

4:55 austin not knowing the torture dance meme makes sense

[@MrSTVR]

Honestly I didn't even make the connection

[@dogearflopper7011]

0:10 Austin, I gotta know: what is that tiny "yeah!" sound bite you use so often? Where is it from? It's too cute not to know!!!

[@victorteste5325]

Like Josh Strife Hayes said once in his Diablo Immortal video: "Consumer goodwill is a currency companies use in order to make loads of profit". And I feel like Square's trying to use that "currency" right now. They undoubtedly wished live-services like Babylon's, Avengers and Chocobo GP became their own Diabo Immortal (highly criticized cash-grab that still makes HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in the end, despite the backlash), they hoped these games' microtransactions would compensate the backlash they would inevitably suffer. Too bad they didn't realize how niche their fanbase actually is. I still think the whole NFT debacle is them acting in this manner: let's use the goodwill we got from FFVII Remake and try to make some quick cash to appease the investors. So, while I'm happy that on one end they're trying to make a healthy lineup of AA titles (despite flooding the market with them), I can't help but feel that SE's STILL hasn't quite found their footing ever since the 360/ps3 times, making a mountain of mistakes every year yet still releasing some crown jewels every now and then. I just hope they don't go the Konami route.

[@vidvad]

My favorite game this year was Inscryption (technically a late-2021 release but I played it this year). If you haven't tried it, go ahead, it's a must (and try to go spoiler-free). I also liked an obscure 2D platformer called Grapple Dog, a very good 10-hour indie release inspired by early 90s platformer. As for my disappointment, Diablo Immortals. Not a big fan of the price model and I'm very scared for Diablo IV. Great video Austin, happy new year!

[@goldglovegrappler1382]

Considering the teaser trailer and it being the first game from Kenji Saito since Transformers Devastation, nothing will top Babylon's Fall in disappointment in a long time. I think it's even worse than Marvel Infinite (and I say that having a much stronger dislike of MvCi). I actually LOVED Stranger of Paradise though, it's tied with Kirby for GOTY personally.

[@andorius]

Happy 2023 Austin from the Netherlands!

[@isadorazuniga4734]

36:06 You said you want recommendations huh?, So there's this upcoming indie game called Pizza Tower and it's a 2D platformer based on the wario land series (Especifically wario land 4) but a whole lot faster and more high-score based,It is not out yet but keep an eye on it when it releases

[@bobafett4265]

This was a fun watch, maybe Austin Eruption could do a best games of 2022 and games you might've missed type video for the new year? Just thought I throw my hat in the ring.

[@josemariamonzon9809]

Happy new year Austin. Thanks for all!

[@lilithofthevoid4922]

I'd recommend Monster Hunter Rise/Sunbreak. You don't have to play it on Switch, there's a PC version that runs great from what I've heard (I play on Switch) and the game is just pure, amazing fun

[@KSabot]

Square bringing back the budget B games, praise be.

[@ROCKCHOMP380]

I feel called out, Blue Reflection is literally the next game on my to do list lol.

[@PloysMaw]

Has it's issues still love the game though, the second game in series is actually amazing. Nintendo Life gave it a 9/10 for example.

[@datuhhhh]

7:20 - 7:29 This is the type of writing mistake that you ONLY catch after publishing/submitting a piece and keeps you up at night.

[@planescaped]

I got utterly bored of Pokemon Violet after only 5 days. It too was the quickest I've tired of one of these game syet. I found Sword and Shield to be mediocre as well, but I still beat that one. Violet and Scarlett are just... pathetic. It is pathetic that _this_ is the mainline Pokemon game, the flagship for the biggest franchise in the world. It legitimately felt like an early access game made by 3 people..

[@mojotheaverage]

Honestly, anyone who buys shovelware just to get easy platinum trophies needs to reconsider their life choices. Literally no one cares about your psn trophies, no one

[@gaborsalamon3629]

I find it funny that Squareenix has been able to release the worst video game of the year every year for the last five years.

[@bwestacado9643]

"None of us expected Diablo to be full of micro transactions." This logic doesn't track. Not only do I expect them to gouge their players, but it makes no sense to not expect a mobile game to be full of micros. That's the only reason these big companies get into the mobile market in the 1st place. They can get huge profits for minimal effort and as shown with Diablo's mobile game, there is someone out there who will play and pay

[@kooljoshboy8210]

I loved Stranger of Paradise. What fumbled it for me was its DLC and how you accessed the new content.

[@jarrettervin7145]

I didn’t realize until you said it, but your absolutely right. Battle Passes are EVERYWHERE!!!

[@theguybrarian]

All capcom needs to do is listen to it's player base and release a new OUTBREAK game. it really isn't rocket science.

[@LordArikado]

The problem there is Capcom doesn't want to make a co-op multiplayer Resi game, they for some reason want to make an esports Resi game even though those two genres simply aren't compatible. It'd be like if From Soft randomly decided to make a competitive FPS out of Dark Souls.

[@hotlikewasabi25]

Played Cobra Kai 2 by Game Mill Entertainment this year, and I gotta say, game doesnt even work. The bad guys kept spawning on top of places I couldnt reach, and they wouldnt come down, so I kept getting stuck.

[@eb-the-gamer6287]

Mario + Rabbids had a pretty good release Atari 50th is an awesome look at the companies history There's a bunch of indies that got switch physical releases like Astronite, Outbound Ghost, and Demon Throttle. Bandai Namco has had a pretty decent release year, with games like the Made in Abyss: Binary Star, the Klonoa rereleases, Taiko no tatsujin, and so on.

[@ShadowBasch]

It's a shame square pooped out so many games in rapid succession this autumn/winter, alot of them drowned in the sea of their own releases. Few could've used a bit more time in the oven like Valkyrie Elysium and Star Ocean (both are very fun though.) Then again Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song and Tactics Ogre Reborn were absolutely fantastic experiences I'm so happy they got modern releases! Also even if it's a bare minimum port, warms my heart to finally play Valkyrie Profile on my PS4! I even got the platinum just yesterday

[@wellbeef]

Now I want to go at it and play monopoly and just have a good time for some reason?!. This really was a good year for trash and this way a great video Austin.

[@swapbloodcell]

15:40 love the Gravity Rush music in the background

[@FakeHeroFang]

Square is trying so hard to be the textbook definition of 'mixed bag', it seems.

[@winterv.4715]

Ironic how 2022 was the exact opposite of 2017 for sonic where the 2d game was the more disappointing offer compared to the 3D game

[@AnimatedAndrew]

As much as I love the Switch, I have to agree with you. The performance problems kinda do drag it down. I got Cult of the Lamb on Switch because I had no issues with games like Hades or Dead Cells, so I thought maybe the Switch would be my go-to for indie titles. After playing through that game with all the frame rate problems, it's making me think twice about getting other games for Switch outside of actual Nintendo titles. I hope Nintendo either makes a new Switch model or a next-gen console with better hardware... otherwise you might as well just get the Steam Deck, lol

[@guitarguyjones]

On the Square Enix point, I'd personally rather have a bunch of interesting mid-grade games like Voice of Cards, Valkyrie Elysium, and Harvestella than get one or two giant, predictable, designed-by-committee, lowest common denominator, DLC-bloated AAA games. EDIT: I wanna stress that Babylon's Fall and Chocobo GP are NOT on the list of "interesting mid-grade games." Fuck all that battlepass shit lol.

[@dabaconbringer]

Pokemon scarlet and violet is the first gen pokemon series i did not finish... and i feel that speaks volumes about the series

[@Gael32]

Square-Enix canceling two games that you pay money for... why would I ever buy a SE game?

[@0uttaS1TE]

4:52 ...I don't want to say it, I refuse to say it. I'm just annoyed they put that in

[@tigerfestivals5137]

Lost Ark is so dissapointing because of what you mentioned and all of the unnecessary localization changes and censorship. Not worth anyone's money or time.

[@sinisterdesign]

Square and I have been on the outs for some time; I thought FF15 was hot garbage, and I'm still mad that they marketed the glorified Infinity Engine battler DioField Chronicle as though it were some kind of innovative strategy RPG. With every year that passes, I find myself more and more interested in the indie space to the exclusion of AAA.

[@Gatorade69]

Yeah. I am so glad that Eidos/Crystal Dynamics were sold off. I loved Square back in the PS1 and PS2 days (even the SNES days). They tried so many cool stuff in the PS1 days, stuff like Einhander. I do like some of the stuff they released this year but it seems like a majority of their output was simply made by a council and shareholders.

[@LordArikado]

@@Gatorade69 I'm someone who discovered Square through Brave Fencer Musashi and never laid a finger on old-school Final Fantasy until last year. As much as I want to see Musashi return, I'm afraid of what modern-day Square would do with it given how their games recently are either absolute bangers or utter trash with no real in-between.

[@Gatorade69]

@@LordArikado Square tried so many different things back in the PS1 day. Brave Fencer Musashi was also a great game too. I never owned it but I loves the demo and later on borrowed it from my friend. They had so many bangers on the PS1 and weren't scared to try different genres like Ehrgeiz and Einhander while also releasing the best JRPGs. Square can still put out some good games but I'm weary of their bigger titles but stuff like LiveALive are pretty awesome.

[@WadeLife]

Ok, we need a GameMill doc. I've seen that name on a lot of games, but I haven't played one...

[@LordArikado]

GameMill has only really been relevant in the mainstream in the past few years thanks to their licensed Nickelodeon games, but they do pop up earlier in a monumental event in gaming history... They published Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing.

[@thean1men1ac92]

Have you ever played Etrian Odyssey? That’ll be my recommendation to anyone who likes JRPGs. If you like exploration, mapping a dungeon yourself, and a good turn based RPG, you’ll love the type of game that Etrian Odyssey is. It’s my favourite series of all time

[@Kultactivities]

I like JRPGS that have way too much shit going on the screen and hud but it’s super fast but you know what to do sorta

[@krimsonkatt]

I would love etrian odyssey of it had an automap as SMT Strange Journey is one of my favorite games. But since you have to map everything yourself the game is unplayable for me as I have severe short term memory. (I came out broken with countless neurological and physical issues)

[@Cuprite1024]

@@krimsonkatt I think some of the 3DS ones have an option for that. I can't remember which ones in particular, but I know some of them do (If not all of them, idk).

[@thean1men1ac92]

@@krimsonkatt Yeah, @Cuprite is right! I believe the latest ones (5 and Nexus at least) have auto-mapping. If auto-mapping will make things better for you, I recommend going for 5 if you want to give the games another chance. Nexus is great, but that one can be pretty overwhelming for new/new-ish players

[@cliffturbo2146]

There's even a sale right now, including other Atlus games on E-shop.

[@comog]

17:53 lol you said video games like hank hill. Loved it 😂. Videya games. My new favorite youtuber lol

[@comog]

I think scarlet and violet may be the last pokemon i buy unless it goes the legends route like arceuss

[@blakeapher2178]

Happy New Year!

[@HandheldGamer1991]

I get you thats why i dont buy ports but xenoblade 3 did t have that efect on me at all tbh

[@tiagocosmos]

lists of Best Game of the Year are always fine and dandy but why are lists of Bad and Most Disappointg so much more entertaining? Idk. I think it's my sense of schadenfreude watching the AAA side of the videogame industry collapse into itself out of sheer greed. Play indie games and you (mostly) will never be disappointed.

[@krimsonkatt]

Or Nintendo, specificly single player Nintendo games. The only multiplayer games you need anyways are Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Mario Party Superstars anyways. Performance on Switch really isn't that bad. Freaking NieR Automata, a PS4 game with high fidelity graphics, runs nearly perfectly on Switch with minimal to no slowdown. It also has the best exclusives by far. I only play Nintendo and Indies and occasionally dip my toes into other Japanese devs, (mainly Capcom, SEGA, and Square and a bit of Namco & Koei but I don't follow every release) so I haven't really felt "the collapse of gaming" as people call it. It's only really affected western studios like Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, EA, 2K, Sony, Microsoft, etc and only some parts of Square that are affected. The parts of Square developing the really big mainline titles (Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, etc) and the non-mobile focused ports are largely untouched by the corruption.

[@THE16THPHANTOM]

that wifu game with censored everything is a good example of not knowing what made you. that is what happens when you sell your soul.

[@borrellipatrick]

Samurai Maiden had a positive review from Nintendolife. So was surprised it showed up here. I haven't played it though

[@norinori6414]

The funny thing about Chocobo GP and Square stopping support for it is they also announced the real money currency is getting removed along with it too which has made me pretty curious to try it out.

[@mrterrychaos]

If you want a 2022 recommendation, Tinykin is one not to sleep on.

[@Ezemryt]

Darkspine Sonic from Sonic and the Secret Rings is what Sonic looks like without shoes. Sonic characters have no toes, just big ol' slappers.

[@hommefataltaemin]

I am very lucky that I only had two or three small issues in Scarlet & Violet. Because of that, i was able to enjoy the game as it was without them and I had such a fantastic time. Seriously was one of my favorites of the year. I’m so bummed that they couldn’t have just worked on the game for longer so that everyone else could of had the same experience, because there was so much heart and soul put into the project and sooo much changed for the better. I hope that they will take people’s concerns seriously, because if they are able to keep working and have more time on the games, it could shape up to be the best Pokémon game ever. But truly I enjoyed Violet way more than Brilliant Diamond or Sword(the versions I played were these). I am a HUGE Pokémon fan and these were prob my favorite games since Gen 5, or at least since the ruby & sapphire remakes.

[@chrismdb5686]

At least you can realize your experience was lucky and unique among players and don't shout us down for complaining about it. Props for that

[@misterknite]

The amount that I care about frame rate is a grain of sand compared to the desert that is how much Austin cares about frame rate.

[@CatalystOfFire]

There was a one-off in a Comedy Bang Bang joke commercial where they said that a laundry detergent was now available as a digital download and square fucking sold off Deus Ex and Tomb Raider to make that joke a reality.

[@shinyadino1926]

Seems like just yesterday I was watching the 2022 round up. Great videos this year, keep up the good work soy boy!!

[@Nate9-9]

27:00 you are saying you want new Nintendo hardware, and I'm not saying I disagree, but I don't think that is an excuse for the lack of poor performance of Scarlet and Violet. There are better-looking games on Swith that run significantly better. So the poor performance in the case of pokemon is on the developers, not a result of the hardware.

[@Soma_Shotgun]

OW 2 is a joke but you are wrong on one thing. You can actually unlock heroes for free once you miss your chance with the battlepass

[@naus6081]

Sorry think you shit the bed on this one Austin. Triangle strategy and Stranger of paradise are both amazing games. The switch titles are fine- it runs a bajillion tactics games and otherwise, even if it’s most recent ports don’t run amazingly they do run well enough on the go or laying on the couch- what a handheld is for.

[@austineruption]

I didn't say a single thing about Triangle Strategy other than it came out. The Switch has performance issues with a lot of games though that is an undeniable fact.

[@DexDexter0]

Sonic origins has been one title I see people having issues with that I never had

[@kyosefgofa]

“I was excited for Saint’s row” You were the only one

[@Hugelag]

Oh lord, Chocobo GP... I love racing games. I really like Final Fantasy spinoffs. I _adore_ the yellow bird. This should've been a free slam dunk. How hard is it to screw up a kart racer? Turns out, ridiculously easy. You don't even unlock some of the characters through story mode. _You still need to grind tickets to buy them from the store._ At least they've removed the microtransactions and are making everything cost tickets now. It really does show that the game didn't need them. The damage is already done though since there's not going to be any more large scale updates.

[@MukiMuki688]

Callisto Protocol: Disappointing, no. Mis-marketed, yes.

[@sinmenon4347]

Square never learns. They have been trying to break into online games since Dissidia NT

[@LordArikado]

Get Yoshi P on it, dude seems to know what he's doing with FFXIV.