There are reasons nobody mentions Anthem, Veilguard is an okay game if you don't focus on the forced wokeness, Andromeda is still decent yet, BW had a tight deadline so, we didn't get what they wanted to give us, and ToR is not meant to be played without a few good friends since it is an MMORPG like ESO an WoW. You can't call those games failures without going into the context on why they are failures. Veilguard sure has that woke stank, but it doesn't harm you. No. Why bother? Andromeda lacked a lot of what made the IP what it was. Why complain instead of giving proper feedback and point the finger on those rushing a project? ToR is a matter of taste, so if it's a bad game to you, you have the right to your opinion. Anthem is not even worth bothering. It was killed by both BW and EA rather swiftly, since both of them saw how bad it was. Then we have a good IP like Titanfall, even if I'm not much of a mech person. Gunplay was fun, the cooperative spirit of it was very wholesome as a community, Respawn wanted to give us a third one, but EA said no. Looking past the word failure, you have to think past the stuff that isn't necessary, nut acknowledge the spirit of the game. Nothing will be for everyone. Every opinion will always differ, even if a game is bad, some people will love it, for example Hatred. Bad game, bad writing, bad execution, still has a fun factor regarding those things and a community based on the Postal fanbase, even RWS added Not Important to Postal Redux as a skin for The Dude, with voice lines from Hatred. That's one of the games that Steam put of Greenlight and returned to it. If a game doesn't suit your palettes, you have the right to complain, but what is needed is actual feedback on improvements on how to make it better and being more suitable to others, rather than just being a Debbie Downer over the middle finger. Feedback is the main key to assisting studios. Not barking at them for their choices. I am not sitting here to defend games for being bad, but you have to put your reasoning in. That is part of communicating with the holders of an IP whatever it'd be from a book to a show. I hope we're on the same page on this comment.
"I completely agree with you, NemoTheBoop, and thank you for bringing this level of depth and nuance to the thread. You hit the nail on the head—evaluating these titles strictly under a blanket label of 'failure' without looking at the corporate context is completely missing the point.
Your breakdown on Andromeda is spot on. It is incredibly tragic because, as you mentioned, the remaining team was clearly fighting to give us a real treat and redeem the franchise by bridging the Milky Way and Andromeda stories together. EA cutting that progress short when they were finally trying to resolve massive lingering mysteries like the Quarian Ark is exactly what makes this corporate cancellation so devastating.
You're also entirely right about the difference between constructive feedback and just being a 'Debbie Downer.' Games like Star Wars: The Old Republic and even Titanfall prove that there is a deep, wholesome spirit in these communities when developers are actually given room to breathe. When corporate management constantly forces tight deadlines or mandates massive shifts behind the scenes (like they did with Anthem), it's the art and the fans that suffer.
Constructive communication and feedback are exactly what the actual developers deserved, rather than executives completely pulling the plug on a 30-year creative legacy just to clear immediate cash flow lines on a balance sheet. I’m really glad we are on the same page on this—thanks for standing up for the context and the spirit of what these games were meant to be!"
Gaming has been my entire life, I've played great to awful games, it will always be a part of what shapes us to feel like it is all part of us, like how Tali in Mass Effect is the quirky AuDHD chick who is more loving than you'd know or games like Duke Nukem Forever, which is just a game that aged like milk and wine at the same time, or the Fallout IP, which Bethesda saved and perfected until Fallout 4 and 76, which are mid, but not pure torment, or Hatred which I personally don't like, but can have fun with owning on Steam. I believe gaming is a mixed treat. It's not worth it if there's no risk.
"I love that perspective, NemoTheBoop, and you're spot on about Tali—as someone who has AuDHD myself, it’s exactly those deeply nuanced, authentic character connections that made the universe feel like a true safe haven.
Hearing your 25-year history makes me appreciate this discussion even more. I'm 45 and have been gaming since 1985, starting all the way back on the Atari. When you’ve watched the medium evolve from simple pixels into massive, branching space operas, you really learn to appreciate the pure creative risk and soul that goes into building these worlds.
You're exactly right: gaming is a mixed treat, and without risk, we don't get masterpieces like the original trilogy. It’s why watching a corporate entity abruptly strip away that art and history hurts so much to those of us who live and breathe this hobby. Thanks for an incredible, insightful conversation on this board—it's fans like you that keep the real spirit of the galaxy alive. Keelah se'lai."
