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00:00I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog, and you are?
00:05Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're looking at games that struggled with critics, but
00:10still earned passionate fanbases among players.
00:13I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wanted to help.
00:18But before we get into it, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe
00:23and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:27Days Gone
00:35Likely coming to mind for lots of you who've clicked on this video, Days Gone has a sizable
00:39following.
00:40Players loved the horde feature, riding their bike across a fairly well thought out recreation
00:45of Oregon, and Deacon St. John's tense journey to find his missing wife.
00:50However, when it comes to critics, Reception could be best described as lukewarm.
00:55Admittedly, its 71 Metacritic score isn't too low, but when news broke about a rejected
01:01sequel pitch, despite high sales, there was a huge outcry from players who wanted to see
01:06the series continue.
01:08Sony seemingly looked at the tepid Critical Reception, and felt it didn't fit in with
01:12its more prestigious output.
01:21SpongeBob SquarePants Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated
01:33The original Battle for Bikini Bottom remains a fan favorite among SpongeBob fans.
01:38While not the most original of 3D platformers, it was a fun enough romp through the show's
01:42setting.
01:43The game was remade in 2020, but there was a common hurdle most critics could not get
01:48over.
01:49While the visuals were excellent, some of the mechanics and gameplay had grown outdated
01:53in the nearly two decades since the original.
01:56Many compared it unfavorably to refreshes of other games, with GameSpot giving it an
02:01abysmal 2 out of 10.
02:03Fans, on the other hand, were more than happy to enjoy the nostalgia and forgive those shortcomings.
02:09Most versions scored in the high 60s on Metacritic, while the user score sits at an 8.8.
02:17Monster Hunter
02:31It's funny to look back on the first entry in the now massive Monster Hunter series,
02:36as it wasn't exactly a critical darling the way many of its sequels would be.
02:41Most complaints from critics centered on the small environments, clunky controls, troublesome
02:46camera, and problems that came from early online matchmaking of the era.
02:50This earned it a mediocre 68 on Metacritic, but the 7.5 user score shows players were
02:56a bit more open to it, probably because, despite these issues, you still got to take on awe-inspiring
03:02monsters in thrilling action combat.
03:06Even through a few subsequent entries, Monster Hunter struggled to score higher with critics
03:10while fans continued to support it until the series became a juggernaut.
03:25Urban Reign
03:33To a certain group of players, Urban Reign is one of the most underrated beat-em-ups
03:38of all time.
03:39Released on the PS2 by Bandai Namco, you play as hired muscle Brad Hawk, digging into the
03:44political ties to the criminal underworld.
03:47Many critics felt it needed polish in nearly every category, from its enemy AI, which they
03:53felt was unbalanced, to its mechanics, which they felt were tedious, leading to a 60 on
03:58Metacritic.
03:59However, with an 8.6 user score, you can tell there's a pretty big divide here.
04:04Many players felt the combat system was actually quite impressive, and that critics didn't
04:09dig deep enough.
04:11Difficulty could still get overwhelming, but knowing the mechanics made it a bit more fair.
04:23Postal 2
04:34The critic and player scores of the original Postal on Metacritic are actually fairly close,
04:39but the same can't be said of its sequel.
04:42When Postal 2 launched, most reviews slammed its humor as immature, and its violence against
04:47anyone you wanted as too over the top.
04:50It sits at a 50 on Metacritic because of this, but that's exactly what fans love about
04:56it.
04:57It remains the high point of the series in the eyes of many players, who praised its
05:00dark humor above everything else.
05:02And while yes, you could commit some pretty vile acts, the level of freedom was surprising
05:08in 2003.
05:09It currently holds an 8.1 on Metacritic, as well as an overwhelmingly positive ranking
05:14on Steam.
05:21Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Series
05:31Pokemon has an absurd amount of spinoff games.
05:34Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and some deserve more love than they will
05:39ever get.
05:40The Mystery Dungeon series is of the latter variety.
05:43Most games follow the same base premise, about a human turned Pokemon who must rely on the
05:47help of other creatures to solve this mystery.
05:50It blends the turn-based mechanics with procedurally generated dungeon crawling, a unique spin
05:55that has delighted hardcore Pokefans each time.
05:59Critics never really saw what the fuss was about, though.
06:02The biggest divide goes to 2009's Explorers of Sky, which holds a critical score of 54
06:08and a user score of 9.1.
06:18MediEvil
06:27MediEvil is in the same boat as Battle for Bikini Bottom.
06:31A remake of the PS1 action title, the game received an incredible visual overhaul that
06:36made its gothic horror locale shine.
06:39But once again, there weren't too many improvements to gameplay, and critics took aim at outdated
06:44features that made the overall experience more frustrating.
06:48Notably pointing towards combat as quote-unquote sloppy.
06:52This earned it a 67 on Metacritic.
06:54However, to fans, sticking too close to the original wasn't really an issue.
06:59The 8.0 user rating shows that they were happy to deal with a few old school hindrances if
07:04it meant revisiting a cult classic.
07:14Alpha Protocol
07:24Obsidian Entertainment's Alpha Protocol is regarded by its cult followers as being
07:28far ahead of its time.
07:30The biggest issue critics had with it was its gameplay.
07:33Most felt the shooting mechanics were mediocre and repetitive at best, and complete trash
07:39at worst.
07:40The visuals were also criticized, with the kindest of reviewers calling them bland.
07:44The console versions sit in the low 60s on Metacritic, but hold a 7.2 with players, along
07:50with a very positive ranking on Steam.
07:53While even its biggest defenders can recognize the significant amount of jank, they're
07:58willing to forgive it because the story is just that good.
08:01Not only that, but there's incredible wealth when it comes to your choices making a difference
08:06in the plot.
08:13Mad Max
08:22While it's unsurprising that this game would get overshadowed by Metal Gear Solid V, there
08:27is still a huge group of players who will defend it to the death.
08:31Some reviewers were a bit harsh when it came to the game's story, which they felt to
08:34be too small a focus for an expansive open world game.
08:39Others felt that the vehicular combat and overall quest design was too repetitive for
08:43such a big game, whose environments could become stale.
08:46It scored in the low 70s on Metacritic and underperformed in sales.
08:51Ask its defenders though, and they'll champion it as an underrated gem.
08:55Within the 7.9 user score on Metacritic and the very positive reviews on Steam, you'll
09:00find endless praise for its world, combat, and interesting NPCs.
09:14Kirby Air Ride
09:23There's a great deal of Kirby fans who still love Air Ride, his racer that was released
09:28on the GameCube.
09:30But when it came to critics, most felt the mechanics were overly simplistic, and negatively
09:35compared it to other Nintendo racers of the time, Mario Kart Double Dash, and F-Zero GX.
09:41Honestly, if you went into this expecting anything like F-Zero, that's on you.
09:46Kirby has always been simplistic in mechanics, but that has never been a bad thing.
09:51There's still a lot of joy to be had when racing through these courses, especially when
09:56playing with friends.
09:57Most critics, which collectively gave it a 61 on Metacritic, felt it was too shallow
10:02to recommend.
10:03Players felt the opposite, giving it a generous score of 8.2.
10:15Friday the 13th The Game
10:23This Friday the 13th tie-in was there at the onset of the modern asymmetrical horror boom
10:29we're all still enjoying.
10:30It placed most players in the shoes of camp counselors, and one other in the role of iconic
10:35film killer, Jason Voorhees.
10:38It was pretty obvious that the game could have used a bit more polish, with critics
10:42noting a plethora of bugs and some unbalanced gameplay issues.
10:47Fans though, were just happy to see Jason return, and many of them were more forgiving
10:51of the technical issues, as they added to the campy factor prominent in the film series.
10:56The developers worked to fix the problems, despite licensing issues that have plagued
11:00even its source material, leading to a more positive reception from players.
11:11Gauntlet Dark Legacy
11:19Gauntlet Dark Legacy did fairly well in arcades, but when it was ported to consoles, that's
11:26when many critics began airing their grievances.
11:29While the PS2 version reviewed okay, with a 73 on Metacritic, the GameCube and Xbox
11:35versions released a year later, did not, scoring a 60 and 54 respectively.
11:41Many of the negative reviews pointed to the graphics as outdated, but considering it was
11:45a 3 year old port of an arcade game, that shouldn't have been a major sticking point.
11:50Many also took issue with level design and gameplay, considering it boring, as well as
11:55technical issues and slowdown with large groups of enemies.
11:59Personally, I played and loved the GameCube version.
12:02The technical complaints were definitely overstated, and there was plenty of action and secrets
12:07to keep you entertained, especially in co-op.
12:16Pathologic 2
12:26The first Pathologic gained a cult following thanks to its spooky atmosphere and slow
12:31burn narrative.
12:32When it got a sequel much later, which drew a lot more attention, there were a lot of
12:37critics who simply didn't have time for what it was trying to do.
12:41While its setting was another point of praise, the high difficulty that came with its brutal
12:44survival mechanics certainly wasn't.
12:47Players, naturally having more time to spend with a game without rushing out a review,
12:52grew more used to this difficulty curve, especially those who had played the first.
12:56Post-launch, the developers also added customizable difficulty sliders, which most critic scores
13:02obviously don't reflect.
13:04It holds a 70 on Metacritic, while the user score is a fair bit higher at 8.8.
13:15Rainworld
13:29Rainworld is another game most reviewers found too frustratingly difficult to enjoy.
13:35You play as an animal called a slug cat, who must navigate and survive in increasingly
13:41more hostile biomes.
13:43To be fair, there's an insane amount of ways to die in this game, all of which are
13:47easy to get caught by, from the many one hit kill enemies to its disastrous weather system.
13:53Critics spoke with their scores, with the PS4 being the lowest rated at 59.
13:58However, survival players are gluttons for punishment, and many of them met the challenge
14:02head on.
14:03They loved the high difficulty and felt that surpassing it was extremely rewarding.
14:08The 8.8 Metacritic user score and very positive Steam ranking were also reached due to the
14:13developers issuing post-launch patches.
14:22Deadly Premonition
14:32One of the most famous cult classic games in existence, you don't earn such a title
14:37without either reviewing or selling poorly.
14:40Deadly Premonition did both.
14:42You play as an FBI agent investigating a series of murders, when a whole lot of weird things
14:48begin to occur.
14:49Some of the more common elements criticized were its gameplay, which some reviewers called
14:53horrible, and its visuals, which were considered low quality.
14:57However, the game was such an oddity that it eventually drew the attention of many players,
15:02earning its cult status.
15:05Fans loved the campy vibes, seeing some of the things that critics hated as part of the
15:09charm.
15:10The 360 and PS3 versions hold Metacritic scores of 68 and 70, respectively, while the user
15:16score sits at an 8.2.
15:18FBI Special Agent, Francis York Morgan, please just call me York.
15:23That's what everyone calls me.
15:24Terminator Resistance
15:35Movie tie-in games can be risky, hence why there's a running joke about them usually
15:39being bad.
15:41According to the critical reviews of Terminator Resistance, it's just another in a long line
15:46of that legacy.
15:47Many critics found it boring and unable to measure up to the many other FPS games on
15:52the market.
15:53The PS4 version earned the lowest score on Metacritic, a 47.
15:57But even the next-gen upgrades, which had better performance, didn't reach nearly as
16:02high ratings as players gave it.
16:04Overall, it holds a 7.6 on the site, as well as a very positive ranking on Steam.
16:10It seems Terminator fans were simply happy to get another game, and were willing to forgive
16:14its lack of originality.
16:16When I looked back, he was lying there, dead on the floor.
16:21I'm sorry, I don't think I'm ready for this.
16:23God Hand
16:25At a 73 on Metacritic, God Hand holds the highest score of any game on this list.
16:38But with an impressive 9.2 user score, there's still a sizable divide between critics and
16:44players.
16:45While most reviewers praised its unique spin on beat-em-up gameplay, they took issue with
16:50the controls that had you experience it.
16:52They also slammed the camera, visuals, and level design.
16:56IGN famously gave it a 3 out of 10, while a 5.5 review from 411mania considered it a
17:03sign as to why Clover Studio needed to shut down soon after release.
17:08Ouch.
17:09Players, though, still adore it today.
17:12They love the oddball sense of humor, and praise its combat encounters as some of the
17:16most distinct in its genre.
17:18Nier
17:34A precursor to the Nier universally beloved Automata, the original Nier didn't perform
17:39quite as well.
17:41The Xbox 360 version earned a 67 on Metacritic, and the PS3 version a 68.
17:47Many reviewers had problems with the same aspects.
17:50They felt its visuals and environments were bland and uninspired, its gameplay, which
17:54utilized several styles, was uneven, and its side quests were repetitive, mindless fluff.
18:00However, to players, who gave it an 8.5 user score, none of that detracted from what the
18:05game does best.
18:07They didn't care about subpar graphics when the story, voice acting, and music were all
18:11this superb.
18:13And the uneven gameplay that critics were bothered by, they saw as a varied way to continuously
18:18engage with the game.
18:28Sonic Unleashed
18:38In general, the Sonic fanbase is much more willing to forgive certain shortcomings that
18:42critics are not.
18:44But today, we're talking about Unleashed.
18:47When it was first released, most reviewers agreed that its visuals and soundtrack were
18:50a pretty big step forward.
18:52When it came to gameplay, that's when problems arose for many of them.
18:56They felt the Werehog sections completely derailed the traditional Sonic experience.
19:01That they were far too slow, and focused too heavily on clunky combat.
19:06Some outright hated them.
19:09Fans however, genuinely enjoyed them, and retroactive reception in more recent years
19:13has grown far more positive.
19:15The lowest the game scored with critics was a 54 on PS3, but it currently holds a user
19:20score of 8.5.
19:31Spider-Man Web of Shadows
19:42There were different versions of Web of Shadows for different platforms.
19:46But the one most of us played, on PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360, didn't get nearly as
19:52high of reviews as it should have.
19:55These all earned scores in the mid-60s on Metacritic, save for the PC's lower 52.
20:01Common complaints among reviewers were some technical issues, a problematic camera, and
20:05the way the story was told.
20:07In fact, while many agreed its combat was top notch, most everything else was disappointing.
20:13Not to players though, who have given those versions an overall user score of 8.4.
20:18They praised the storyline, which features some great crossover characters and different
20:22endings, and for the fact that it is simply damn fun to play.
20:36What's a game you feel critics judged too harshly?
20:39Share it with us in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great
20:43gaming videos every day!