While 2023 could shape to be a good year for gaming there are also these games that don't look too promising in terms of development and hype. There are a fair number of games I am NOT impressed with just from first trailer reveals alone. These are the biggest games that I am not looking forward to this year.
10: Tales of Symphonia Remaster
Developer: Bandai Namco
Okay don't me wrong, I am a big fan of the Tales Series and Tales of Symphonia is still pretty good and was one of the most popular and beloved entries that introduced the tales' franchise and one that introduced the series to a worldwide audience. Seeing that the game is going to be 20 years old this year Bandai Namco is going to celebrate with an upcoming remaster of the beloved Tales classic. So why am I not looking forward to this remaster? It's simple. The best way to play the original Tales of Symphonia is the original version on the Nintendo Gamecube. Bandai Namco released a version of the game for the PS2 which is Japan exclusive and then they released a version for the PS3 alongside the sequel based on the PS2 version. It wasn't a great port due to performance issues but brought the Japanese PS2 content that western audiences missed out on. Then they released the PC port which was an utter horrendous mess which was broken in so many ways not to mention it was seriously unoptimized. Now Bandai Namco announces a remaster for the PS4 and also the Xbox One and the Nintendo Switch. It might not seem bad because it will mean that the game will return to a Nintendo platform and it will get to be on an Xbox platform, however it feels more of a lazy port then a remaster because all they did was update the quality on the character models and also add the option of being able to skip events. Everything else looks untouched and worst off it is still going to run at 30 FPS and also not a constant 30 FPS at that. I understand that Bandai Namco doesn't have access to the original Gamecube version's design code but they couldn't bother to rework the code for this upcoming version and optimize it to make it a smoother experience the same way they handled the PS4 version of the Tales of Vesperia Remaster. Instead, we have a weak, poor running version that barely looks any better than the previous releases.
9: Hogwarts Legacy
Developer: Avalanche Software
Players have been waiting long enough to be able to enter the wizarding world of Hogwarts and be able to get sorted into a house, attend classes and fully explore the whole grounds of Hogwarts. These all seem fine but there are a lot of things that are undermining the game's ambitions. First that the game's story that is going to be focusing on which is the Goblin Rebellion era isn't all that good, considering that we are in the Fantastic Beasts timeline and not the Harry Potter timeline that most people grew up with it is not something to look forward to. Then there is all of the many controversies surrounding Rowling's Political Views and accusations, lead designer Troy Leavitt receiving enough widespread criticism that he had to leave the company. All this caused delays to a 2023 release and so far, not everything about this upcoming Hogwarts game to going to deliver well especially considering Harry Potter hasn't really got many good games in its history.
8: Alone in the Dark
Developer: Pieces Interactive
Alone in the Dark was seen as the pioneer for survival horror video games and games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill would follow and further popularize the genre. In recent years however the franchise hasn't fared very well, the 2008 reboot was a big disappointment with way too many ideas that didn't work out well and it was hard to get scared by all the bugs it had, then there was Alone in the Dark Illumination which was a massive embarrassment which doesn't even deserve recognition. Now Pieces Interactive is taking a stab at the franchise and so far, it does look to be another reboot of the series. The trailer shown for the game didn't quite look too great, combat didn't look too impressive and there weren't really any scares to create any tension. Pieces Interactive could do something to reclaim the franchise's spot as the pioneer of survival horror with its new story but it is withered or not, they can make it a better title compared to other modern horror games on the market.
7: Starfield
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda has been the company that worked on many open world games and their next big game is a space themed game. Todd Howard, however, has been talking non-stop about the game's potential including things like Microsoft support would help to improve the quality of the game. The game engine that it is running on feels outdated and looks like it is unoptimized. It could be a game that will have plenty of things that you could do like world building and combat but however this is a Bethesda game and you have to realize that everything about a Bethesda game is going to be broken and unfinished especially at launch. After the mess that was Fallout 76 hope for this game is getting more sceptical and also little to no hope that it will be good.
6: Skull & Bones
Developer: Ubisoft
Here is a pirate game that is stuck with delays, it promises to be a game where you can customize your own pirate ship and form your own pirate crew. A final release date has yet to be revealed but things don't seem to be going well for this game. This is the sixth time that the game has received a delay and the development changes that the game is getting are going to cause further problems with development. Will this game still get good? It might or it might not be considering the directions and changes it is currently going through. Plus, Microtransactions are going to be involved and everyone knows where that is going to go.
5: Dead Island 2
Developer: Dambuster Studios
Here is a game which is going through a case of development hell, after years of undergoing multiple development studio changes to now Dambuster Studios now working on the game. With the game being delayed further and further down the line it is skeptical about it at this point and hype is almost non-existent at this point. With better zombie survival games on the market Dead Island 2 is not looking too good right now.
4: Forspoken
Developer: Luminous Productions/Square Enix
And here is the first of Square Enix related projects that is not going so well. Forspoken is a game worked on by Luminous Productions which has members who worked on Final Fantasy XV involved. After numerous delays players did get a chance to check out the demo to give everyone a glimpse of what it was going to be and everything about the demo was incredibly underwhelming. The magic system is so overly complicated as you have over 100 different spells at your disposal, as well as suffering from annoying characters with terribly cringe level dialogue that gets irritating. Most of the time it is nothing more than wandering around in a empty lifeless environment with nothing in it. I know that it was a demo and things could improve but seriously it wasn't a good first impression and given Square Enix's history of bad games I'm not looking to get excited for Forspoken.
3: Diablo IV
Developer: Activision Blizzard
On top of facing multiple delays Diablo IV's hype is dwindling further and further. On one end it is a main Diablo game which could turn out good but on the other end Activision Blizzard released Diablo Immortal last year which had disgusting amounts of microtransactions that made it a pay-to-win abomination. Then you also have all of the controversies surrounding all of the harassment, misconduct and of course terrible business practices. Diablo IV could turn out better than how Diablo Immortal faired last year but giving Activision Blizzard's current reputation and situation right now any hope for it looking low.
2: The Texas Chain saw Massacre The Game
Developer: Sumo Digital
Okay, seriously we have had some asymmetrical online multiplayer games based on various old movies, you have Illfonic who did multiplayer games-based Friday the 13th, Predator and also most recently a multiplayer Ghostbusters game. They all have one thing in common, they didn't do very well and focusing on a multiplayer only aspect really left negative responses from both fans and critics for how poor they were. Then you have Sumo Digital who is doing an asymmetrical multiplayer game on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I mean come on really? Another asymmetrical multiplayer based on a classic movie from several decades ago? Will it be any better than any of the previous multiplayer games that have been released from Illfonic? Giving the state those games came out and how they fared it won't be long before the game becomes boring and people abandon it.
1: Final Fantasy The Franchise
Developer: Square Enix
And here it is yet again more Final Fantasy related garbage that I don't even want to bring up but here we go once again. I don't even want to know what is worse, Square Enix's ongoing manipulative company practices where they are supporting NFTs and blockchain titles or the fact that Final Fantasy has been going for over 35 years and is currently still causing disaster on the gaming scene. Yep, it has its share of live service trash that has failed before when Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy VII The First Solider, Babylon's Fall and also recently the company even announced that they are shutting down services for Bravely Default Brilliant Lights on mobile. Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is going to be yet another Final Fantasy VII Live Service game with Loot Boxes which means pay-to-win microtransactions. You have then Final Fantasy VII Rebirth the second chapter of the Final Fantasy VII Remake project, which will offer up no doubt bring more terribly written fanfiction alternate timeline rubbish. Lastly there is the big terrible storm that is Final Fantasy XVI with the trailers showing gameplay that is by the books Real Time Action Combat that in some ways feels like a Devil May Cry game and summon fights which look like a 1-on-1 fighting game. Seriously all of the previews shown for Final Fantasy XVI are so seriously underwhelming that it doesn't even know what it is trying to be. With Square Enix and the president managing to make themselves almost worse than EA and Konami combined there is very little hope for not only their company future but also for the future of Final Fantasy making it my number one for the games of 2023 that I am not looking forward to.
Written By Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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