A few days ago, I was going through the posts on the True Gaming subreddit, when I came across a thread concerning the quality of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
After having completed and thoroughly enjoying the title, the creator of the thread asked the question of whether or not others felt that Breath of the Wild would remain as highly rated as it currently is in a few years’ time.
This question really got me thinking; not about Breath of the Wild, in particular, but rather about the games that were highly-lauded when they were first released, but then fell in social standing a few years later.
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The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. (Credit: Nintendo)
In these cases, you play the game, love it and then recommend it to anyone who will listen. Sometimes, however, as time progresses so does your opinion about the game, regardless of whether it is in a positive or negative manner.
I do, however, think it is somewhat more odd when it changes for the negative as opposed to the positive. I mean, what happened in order for you to begin feeling a little bit resentful towards a game you may have previously lauded as one of your favourites?
So, Why Exactly Do Some Games Lose Recognition Or Love Over Time?
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Some games never got any recognition to begin with. (No Man’s Sky. Credit: Hello Games)
In some cases, perhaps, you were blinded by the hype when the game was first released and were willing to overlook some faults that you were no longer willing to overlook after some time had passed.
Sometimes, you return to play an old favourite and find that you remember it being so much better than it is now – a prime reason I don’t really like buying remasters of games I love, but played several years ago.
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So much love. (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Credit: CD Projekt Red)
Perhaps, you were spreading your love for a certain game with the gaming community at large and somebody made you aware of a very annoying feature in the game that you had previously never noticed, but now this fault is, unfortunately, too obvious to ignore.
I’ve often found that sometimes playing newer games and comparing them to older loved titles can also have this effect.
Sometimes, It Seems To Be A Community-Based Decision…
There are certain titles that the gaming community as a whole seem to agree received too much recognition when first released and only received deserved criticism much later.
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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. (Credit: Konami)
In the Breath of the Wild Reddit thread that I previously mentioned, the one game that I saw many Redditors constantly bring up as an example of this fact was Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
…But, Other Times, It Seems To Be Based More On Personal Experience
The one game that I can say I lost a lot of love for as time progressed was definitely Dragon Age: Inquisition. DA: I was meant to be one of the game that showed me why I bought a next-gen console so early.
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Dragon Age: Inqusition. (Credit: Bioware)
Basically, I bought a PlayStation 4 soon after it was first released. Not only was it a very expensive decision, it also seemed to be a stupid one as there weren’t really any games within those first few months that I really wanted to play.
As more time passed after finishing it, however, I did begin to realise how repetitive the game really is and how unfulfilling the experience was. After a while, it really seemed that one of the prime reasons I really liked the game was that I was finally able to use my PS4; I can honestly say that it is no longer a title that I really recommend to anyone anymore.
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Dragon Age: Inquisition. (Credit: Bioware)
Although I did have a personal motivation to laud the title, a lot of the initial praise DA: I got when it was first released from others has also begun to fall away. Despite the fact that some may feel differently, it has become somewhat accepted in the gaming community that the game isn’t perhaps as good as initial reviews suggested, proving it to be another game that gamers only begun to see the faults of much later.
I guess sometimes it just takes a little longer to realise that something may not really be as great as what it seems.
My question to you is whether there are any games that you felt were great when you first played them and then later changed your mind? If so, why? Please share in the comments down below – maybe we can get a proper list going.
