Three Critic-Panned Games I Still Loved: Why Reviews Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Some games don’t win over critics, yet end up finding an audience anyway. A new opinion piece highlights three titles that were widely criticised but still proved engaging to the author—showing how technical issues, narrative expectations, and personal taste can shape the gap between reviews and enjoyment.
Three games widely criticised, but still worth finishing
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Mass Effect: Andromeda (2017): The author points to a period when BioWare was eager to revisit the Mass Effect universe after the end of the original Shepard trilogy. Instead of returning to that story, the studio launched a new setting in the Andromeda galaxy. Despite harsh criticism focused on unstable technical performance and a plot described as far removed from the trilogy’s tone, the author says the gameplay and world-building were compelling enough to complete the game.
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Assassin’s Creed Unity: Set in eighteenth-century France, the instalment arrived after Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag which had been praised heavily. In this case, the biggest complaint was an under-polished technical state at launch, with bugs, glitches, and stability problems making the experience “an ordeal” for many players. Still, the author argues that stepping past the technical flaws reveals a well-written adventure and, in particular, a standout recreation of revolutionary-era Paris.
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Days Gone (2019, PlayStation 4 exclusive): The piece notes that the game scored under expectations on Metacritic, landing at 72 points out of 100. Even so, the author says they found the story and overall feel especially memorable, citing Deacon’s relentless search for what was “left behind,” the relationships with travelling companions, the game’s moments of introspection, and “a wonderful motorcycle.”
The bigger point: reviews don’t always predict what you’ll enjoy
The article’s main takeaway is straightforward: critical reception—whether from specialists, creators, or YouTubers—can be useful, but it can also bury games that don’t match a particular reviewer’s preferences or expectations. In these three cases, the author claims the core gameplay, setting, or character moments were enough to turn a negative consensus into a personal “worth it” experience.
