History FranchiseOriginalSin / VideoGames

[[/index]]


* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'':
** The Marvel side of the roster was heavily criticized for almost exclusively focusing on characters featured in [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Marvel's live-action films]], with ComicBook/{{Nova}}, ComicBook/GhostRider and ComicBook/{{Venom}} being the sole exceptions. What people tend to forget is that mainstream popularity and adaptations have ''always'' influenced which Marvel characters were included in the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' series, with the huge number of mutant characters in the earlier games largely owing to the massive popularity of the ''[[WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries X-Men]]'' cartoon that was airing at the time the series began. While there were more adventurous and obscure choices like Shuma-Gorath and [[Characters/MarvelComicsAIM M.O.D.O.K.]], those were always a relatively small portion of the overall cast. It's just that in the case of ''Infinite'', the favoritism shown to the MCU characters came across as far more blatant, since characters whose film rights were not held by Marvel at the time, such as the ComicBook/XMen and Characters/DoctorDoom, were mysteriously left out of the game and given, at best, confusing and nonsensical reasons for why (like the infamous "functions" comment, where they tried to argue that players don't care about the actual characters in a fighting game so much as what moves and abilities they have, while also making the [[WolverinePublicity patently-false claim]] that nobody remembers the X-Men anyway) because they weren't allowed to either use those characters ''or'' simply admit that they weren't allowed to use them (presumably because anyone paying attention would have been able to discern the real reason why). In fact, the MCU influence was there earlier but much, ''much'' more controlled and less prominent. ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' added [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}, ComicBook/DoctorStrange, ComicBook/IronFist, ComicBook/RocketRaccoon and ComicBook/{{Nova}}[[note]]Though Nova ultimately didn't appear in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', he was featured as one of the main characters in the original draft of the script.[[/note]] specifically because they all had planned projects in the works for the MCU. It also downplayed the presence of ''X-Men'', with ''2'' having ''X-Men'' reps make up a whopping 18 out of the 28 Marvel characters but ''3'' only having 7 out of 25. Only four returning ''X-Men'' characters from that game appeared (ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]], Sentinel) while the rest got cut in favor of three newcomers ([[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Phoenix]], ComicBook/{{X 23}}, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}). However, given that it gave more exposure to the general Marvel roster, still maintained the presence of non-MCU and {{Unexpected Character}}s, and the three newcomers being [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan-favorites]], this was something people ''liked''. Unfortunately, this only got worse when ''Infinite'' rolled out, removing almost all non-MCU characters just as a spite towards Fox and a blatant promotion of the movies, combined with massive ExecutiveMeddling and a lack of polish that made it feel like the cheap MCU plug that fans widely condemn it for.
** One of the biggest complaints about the game was the sheer amount of returning characters from ''[=MvC3=]'' and other previous games, with the only new characters in the launch roster being [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Captain Marvel]], VideoGame/MegaManX, [[Characters/MarvelComicsUltron Ultron]], [[Characters/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyModern Gamora]], and [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Jedah]]. While many fans and critics accused Creator/{{Capcom}} of being lazy, the entire ''Marvel vs Capcom'' series was practically built on reusing character models from older games like ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' and the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' series -- ''Darkstalkers''[='=] Morrigan in particular was infamous back around the ''[=MvC2=]'' days for reusing the exact same sprite set for several games across ''seven years'', long after her sprites had started to clash with the style and [[ArtEvolution quality]] of those for the other characters. Another notable example could be found in ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter'', which was mostly a reskin of ''VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter'' (even using slightly altered versions of the same stages and [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse the same boss]]) with a slightly different (and almost entirely recycled; even Cyber-Akuma was just an edit of Akuma's ''Street Fighter Alpha'' sprite) cast, and had several secret characters like [[Characters/CaptainAmericaHeroes U.S. Agent]] and Armored ComicBook/SpiderMan who were actually just quick {{Palette Swap}}s of existing sprites. The amount of brand new characters has ''always'' been quite small when compared to the sheer amount of recycled fighters. The main reason this proved so problematic for ''Infinite'' was that its immediate predecessor had far more newcomers (20 in the base roster, with an additional 11 in the UpdatedRerelease), as well as the fact that there were fan-favorite Marvel and Capcom characters fans were hoping for such as [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Ms. Marvel]] and [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 Nero]] who got left out in favor of less-popular returning characters who seemed like they were only included due to laziness (such as [[VideoGame/BionicCommando Spencer]], whose inclusion was met with widespread derision and bafflement). Not helping matters was the announcement that new characters like [[VideoGame/MegaManX Sigma]], ComicBook/BlackPanther and VideoGame/MonsterHunter would be available as DLC, which created the perception that Capcom had purposefully avoided including too many newcomers so that they could charge extra for them down the line.
** Additionally, the practice of recycling sprites, though still lazy, was understandable as quality sprite artwork, especially starting from MediaNotes/{{the fifth generation|OfConsoleVideoGames}} as in early ''[=MvC=]''[='=]s heyday, takes a long time to age. ''Infinite'', in an attempt to cut costs, had to recycle a lot of ''models'' from ''3'', but didn't accommodate for the fact that ''3'' had a different lighting engine and textures. You could instantly tell which characters were returning veterans because their models just looked so much worse than the newcomers--and as established, there were a ''lot'' of veterans.
** Also, while ''Infinite'''s "laziness" was one of the most criticized aspects, this is yet another aspect that was on full display in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'', the franchise's most popular entry ([[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff particularly in the west]]). Rather than using individual themes for each character, which is what the prior games in the series did, ''[=MvC2=]'' used a handful of jazz tracks that usually sounded like something you'd hear in an elevator or at a lounge, [[SoundtrackDissonance most of which clashed badly with their respective stages]]. Meanwhile, the stages themselves broke from the series tradition of representing specific Marvel and Capcom locations (such as the Blackbird, Avengers HQ, Dr. Wily's lab and Morrigan's demonic realm) in favor of weird 3D backgrounds that had nothing to do with the history of either company, such as a cave, an amusement park and a clocktower. This also meant that these stages lacked any of the cameos or easter eggs that could also be found in older installments. Additionally, ''[=MvC2=]'' did away with the individual Arcade Mode endings for each character, much like ''Infinite'' would be heavily criticized for doing years later. However, thanks to the large roster, fun gameplay and a pretty large dose of NostalgiaGoggles, many fans tend to overlook this, with some [[NarmCharm even liking the bizarre soundtrack]] (which was later VindicatedByHistory not only on its own merits but also because the use of jazz in {{Fighting Game}}s really wasn't ''that'' bizarre; many titles both before and after ''[=MvC2=]'' featured jazz-heavy soundtracks, including those made by Capcom).
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' divided fans over its darker tone, abandoning the HeroicBloodshed elements, and the treatment of Max as a FailureHero who drunkenly charges into situations and ends up making things even worse through CutsceneIncompetence. But the seeds for these complaints were already planted in [[VideoGame/MaxPayne2TheFallOfMaxPayne the second game]], which was praised where ''3'' was criticized. The gameplay of ''2'' presents Max as an nigh-unstoppable force who can kill rooms full of gunmen with ease, but in cutscenes he loses these abilities and is stopped in situations where he would have succeeded in gameplay. The tone is also significantly darker and more dramatic than the first game, with the story playing out as a {{Tragedy}} with Max repeatedly failing to stop the plans of the BigBad. However, fans didn't see these as problems thanks to Sam Lake draping the story in metaphor and the many bits of meta-humor peppered through the game. The writing in ''3'' ditched the metaphor and subtext of Lake's writing, and combined with the caustic edge to the story and Max's character, it made for a far more divisive reception.
* ''VideoGame/MechWarrior''[='=]s signature [=MechLab=], a form of DesignItYourselfEquipment for your HumongousMecha, was never very well balanced to begin with, but as the series went on and more mechanics were added and the games were tweaked, it became more and more broken resulting in massive GameplayDerailment. Its first incarnation in ''[=MechWarrior=] 2'' was bare-bones, and the game's many coding oddities resulted in it being balanced if only because of the byzantine design. ''Mech 3'' is where it started to go crazy, with heavy ComplacentGamingSyndrome of identical loadouts on identical mechs. ''Mech 4'' attempted to fix it, but introduced a slew of unforeseen gameplay consequences. In ''Online'', the game has multiple painfully ObviousRulePatch mechanics to limit the [=MechLab=]'s silliness and still fails spectacularly, resulting in players with OneHitKill-capable or [[CycleOfHurting infinite screen shake]] autocannon spam mechs. ''Living Legends'' avoided implementing the [=MechLab=] until the game was feature complete and balanced ("version 1.0"), specifically because the lab [[GameBreaker fundamentally broke]] the competitive multiplayer of every previous game, though it was never implemented due to the game being ScrewedByTheLawyers in version 0.7.
* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'':
** As discussed in [[https://www.escapistmagazine.com/the-medal-of-honor-curse/ this article,]] the game contained early versions of many of the things that later military shooters would be criticized for -- most notably, its desaturated color palette and how that style [[RealIsBrown became associated with "realism"]]. Much like Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'', the first ''Medal of Honor'' game deliberately went with a desaturated color palette and shaky cam effects as a subversion of newsreel propaganda movies. While this style worked initially a shout-out to Spielberg's war movies, it became less acceptable in later World War 2 games-especially those set in the Pacific theater where the grayish colors clash with the realistically colorful setting.
** Like its later sister series ''Battlefield'', ''Medal of Honor'' gradually shifted towards more dramatic events that aren't grounded in any real historical basis. Much of this stems from the series' [[AmericaWonWorldWarII America-centric]] look at the war, as the player character is an American soldier who takes part in operations that historically only involved members of groups like the British SAS or French Resistance. That said, events in the initial games were faithful to real life events and lacked the blatant propagandistic views of later entries. In fact, a study in contrasts can be made with ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorFrontline Frontline]]'' from 2002 and ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne Airborne]]'' from 2007. While both include missions set in Operation Market Garden, ''Frontline'' presents the campaign accurately as a failure with the player character spending most of the missions set during it accomplishing largely inconsequential objectives or simply trying to get out alive, whereas in ''Airborne'', the player succeeds at every objective and the operation in general is presented as a great victory. This is also easily visible in their climaxes: ''Frontline'' ends with the player giving coordinates for a bomb strike to prevent the completion of a prototype jet, which is {{acceptable|BreaksFromReality}} since the jet in question never entered service in reality, the game simply giving a more dramatic reason for why, and there really was a bombing mission in that area on that date; conversely, ''Airborne'' ends with the 17th Airborne Division assaulting one of Germany's flak towers, a mission that never happened (only the Soviets ever actually attacked any of the flak towers) in a location where a flak tower was never even built (none were planned for Essen; all the completed flak towers were in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna), not to mention that the tower in question is guarded by {{super soldier}}s carrying around belt-fed machine guns.
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'' was the first game in [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic the Classic series]] to not make any substantial change to the series formula (''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' had items and eight bosses, ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' had Rush and sliding, and ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' had the [[ChargedAttack charged buster shot]] and the DiscOneFinalDungeon). The series became notorious for repetition not long after. It was also the first game to repeat the 'twist reveal' that the BigBad was [[HijackedByGanon Dr. Wily all along]] and make it completely unsurprising; ''4'' had the element of Wily supposedly dying in the previous game while introducing a completely new antagonist in Dr. Cossack, making the twist somewhat surprising. For ''5'' to suggest that Proto Man had suddenly undergone a complete FaceHeelTurn for no real reason, most gamers could easily guess how it was going to turn out.
** On a related note, Wily always being the bad guy was a prominent joke about the original series, but it generally wasn't seen as a major problem -- partly because the designers eventually just started treating it as a RunningGag, and partly because the plots in the Classic games [[PlayTheGameSkipTheStory are generally pretty shallow to begin with]]. People tend to be much less forgiving of his SpiritualSuccessor Sigma always being the bad guy in ''VideoGame/MegaManX'', because the ''X'' series actually did try to have a story with lots of GreyAndGrayMorality, and an ObviouslyEvil villain who [[ConflictKiller constantly hijacks potentially interesting plots]] by making one side go mindlessly berserk [[TheCorrupter simply by his presence]] doesn't play ball with that. It's meant to be a joke when [[PaperThinDisguise "Mr. X"]] shows up in ''VideoGame/MegaMan6''; not so much when [[DiscOneFinalBoss the Repliforce General]] is discussing a potential rebellion with a perpetually-shadowed figure who clearly has Sigma's silhouette in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4''. What's more, ''VideoGame/MegaManX6 never mentioned Sigma once until the final stage'' (outside of the intro). Fans were far more forgiving with ''VideoGame/MegaManV'' only mentioning Wily in the intro until the final stages, in part because by that point fans accepted it as pretty much a given that Dr. Wily would be the main bad guy, and the surprise would be more in learning [[TheManBehindTheMan how he obfuscated it]]. This might be why ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX8 X8]]'' changed up the formula by having [[spoiler:Sigma be the DiscOneFinalBoss and new face Lumine be the true BigBad and TrueFinalBoss]]. The ContinuityReboot, ''VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX'', also addressed this issue by means of AdaptationExpansion: Despite [[AdaptationalVillainy being portrayed as even more villainous than he was in the SNES games]], Sigma's characterization was tweaked to be more consistent with later appearances and avoid MotiveDecay, downplaying his original goal of KillAllHumans in favor of backporting his plan in ''X8'' to "evolve" Reploidkind, which was inspired by seeing X's limitless potential in action in the ''MHX'' continuity.
** One of the most common gripes about later games, especially ''5'', ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan8 8]]'', and nearly every ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' game after the first, is their [[ScrappyWeapon lackluster boss weapons]]. Dud weapons are a thing that goes back to the very first game, with the Super Arm and Hyper Bomb being extremely situational and slow to the point of uselessness, respectively. The difference was that the earlier games had enough standout options to ignore the bad stuff; even ''2'', generally seen as having some of the worst weapons otherwise, had the [[GameBreaker Metal Blade and Quick Boomerangs]] to make up for it. The later games tended to either lack standout options (the closest thing in ''5'', for instance, is probably the Gyro Attack), or repeat archetypes from the older games (how many times do you need to see a shield, a screen-nuke, a time stopper, and something that crawls on the ground?). On top of that, the increasing buffs to the Mega Buster made the other weapons a lot less viable in comparison, to the point of outdamaging boss weaknesses in some games (likely a factor in ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' just removing the charged buster, which led to many boss weapons being significantly better). As a result, boss weapons became an increasingly less relevant feature, only being used to resolve TacticalRockPaperScissors.
** One of the bigger complaints about ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'' was that X, the protagonist of the series, was downgraded to an unlockable character who has little relevance to the story and CantCatchUp when he does become available -- indeed, by some accounts, he wasn't going to be in the game at all at one point in development. But when you look at the other games in the series, X had always been something of TheUnfavorite compared to Zero[[note]]in fact, ''Zero'' was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally intended to be the series' main protagonist]] before it was changed to X due to how radically different he was compared to the previous Mega Man, and one could argue [[WriterRevolt Zero was pushed as the "real" protagonist as much as possible in response]][[/note]], being usually depicted as weaker,[[note]]Even in [[VideoGame/MegaManX1 the first game]], Vile in a Ride Armor presented a HopelessBossFight for X and a minor nuisance that could have its arm shot off in one blast for Zero[[/note]] given less interesting gameplay,[[note]]Other than replacing the slide with a dash and the additions of wall-jumping and armor parts to enhance some of his abilities, X is more or less a carbon copy of the Classic gameplay style, while Zero gets [[DivergentCharacterEvolution a more varied style]] with weapons activated by specific button combinations and a focus on melee -- he doesn't even have his Z-Buster for his first fully playable appearance in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX4 X4]]'', despite having it in almost every other game before and since[[/note]] and having less to do in the plot, especially as the games went on.[[note]]At least as early as ''X4'', X's plot gave him no connection to the villains save for the two explicitly identified as traitors to the Maverick Hunters, and had all of the rest act mindlessly aggressive when they talked before a fight; Zero's gave him a vested interest in stopping the conflict peacefully, due to a love interest (Iris) whose brother was among the enemy (Colonel), and actual attempts at rational, peaceful discussion were made as a result[[/note]] X's protagonist status had increasingly become a formality, among both the fandom and the developers -- but simply dropping him, and unceremoniously adding an unheard-of ReplacementScrappy, was going too far.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** The series has always had problems with its female characters, like holding onto TheSmurfettePrinciple with an iron grip, many of them being MsFanservice, with MaleGaze out the wazoo and often [[CollateralAngst killing them off to give a male character angst]], but the earlier games always gave them interesting characterisation as well as at least some vital importance to the plot to make them decent characters in their own right, with a heaping helping of MrFanservice and FemaleGaze to go on top of that and act as something of a balance. However, in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Guns of the Patriots]]'', the female villains barely act as characters at all, having their backstories told to us by another character after their fight and barely even speaking, other than [[PokemonSpeak reminding us]] of their [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry primary emotion]] every few seconds during their fights. In the next game released, ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker Peace Walker]]'', a boss battle starts with numerous lingering chest and butt shots of a woman in her underwear, and the same character [[spoiler:is killed off in the most gratuitously sexual manner possible]] in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes Ground Zeroes]]'' to establish the villain as especially bad. This eventually leads to ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain The Phantom Pain]]'', where the only prominent female character [[TheVoiceless almost never speaks]], has minimal plot importance, spends her entire screen time in a bikini top and ripped tights unless you go out of your way to unlock more reasonable outfits, is given a ridiculous justification for that outfit, and has multiple scenes that come [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment completely out of nowhere]] and serve as nothing but excuses for her to make sensual poses in front of the camera.
** The series has always had issues with its KudzuPlot, full of AssPull after Ass Pull, numerous {{Retcon}}s, and [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Heel–Face Revolving Doors]]. Creator Creator/HideoKojima, a massive fan of Hollywood films, loved to emulate the movies he loved as much as possible and add as many [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] and nods as he could, even if [[RuleOfCool it didn't make sense story-wise]]. Early on, this was considered intriguing--during the 8-bit era, players were lucky if [[ExcusePlot games had any sort of plot whatsoever]], and even in the [=PS1=] era, it was considered a major innovation that games could emulate film ''at all'', so these quirks merely added to the series' charm. However, repeatedly relying on RuleOfCool within a complex narrative inevitably takes its toll, and fans became much, ''much'' less tolerant of these issues in later games as the series became bogged down by ContinuityCreep. The lowest point is typically agreed to be Act 3 of ''Guns of the Patriots'', where the true identities of the original Patriots are revealed to be Naked Snake and his radio support from ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater MGS3]]''. This one revelation brought all of the series' worst excesses to light in the eyes of its fans; it had become so obsessed with its own continuity that [[OneDegreeOfSeparation every single minor detail had to be connected]], and many minor (but likable) characters had to be thrown under the bus to provide lots of [[CallBack Call-Backs]] to previous games. The ContinuityPorn continued with things like Naomi Hunter making ridiculous decisions that require her to [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor change sides once per act]], revealing herself to have cancer [[PlotHole despite the technology present being clearly capable of making that a non-issue]], and killing herself, despite her plan in no way requiring her to die, [[CartwrightCurse just so that Otacon could cry over another woman]] like in previous games. Rose and Colonel Campbell pretend to be a happy married couple so that Raiden can go through another emotional character arc similar to the one in ''2'', become yet ''another'' cyber ninja, and then wind up in the same BelatedHappyEnding. The game even ends with Big Boss himself (a character dead since ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', 18 years earlier in reality and 15 in-universe) [[BackFromTheDead returning]] to explain the last few plot threads. In addition to introducing even more twists which may [[VoodooShark raise more questions than answers]], these twists also have the effect of making [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything the entire universe revolve around a small cast of characters]] that can perfectly manipulate worldwide events across half a century. Many of these problems can be attributed to the fact that Kojima never really intended to continue the series beyond ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and, as one of the translators from that game stated, Kojima's writing style is too heavily influenced by wanting to create big set pieces and emulate cool things he likes from his favorite movies.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** After eight years in rest since ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', the series was revived with two well-received games, one of them being ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. Despite the positive reception, a point of criticism from fans was its stronger focus on a story; it was even the first time Samus verbally interacted with another character. This was seen as a turning point for the entire series to shift towards more plot-driven games, like ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption''. ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' brought the debate on whether or not this is a good idea to a {{flame war}}-stricken head, particularly due to how it characterized Samus Aran.
** Samus has also become more and more gratuitously sexualized as the series has gone on. The series has always rewarded good gameplay with an image of Samus out of her armor and in skimpy clothing, but in the earlier games it was much more about the TomatoSurprise than {{Fanservice}} (which was kind of hard to do with the pixelated graphics of the time), and most players wouldn't even see it because it required a very good performance. ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' introduced a [[LatexSpacesuit skintight undersuit]] for her, which just ''barely'' skated by with the fanbase (while it was the first time players were guaranteed to see Samus out of armor, it still got a pass because the entire point was that [[UnbuiltTrope her Power Suit was destroyed, and she was more vulnerable as a result]]). Ever since then, suitless Samus has become just a thing that happens for fanservice, at times in contexts some fans consider inappropriate and/or degrading. The prominence of Zero Suit Samus in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' starting from [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl the third game]] did not help things either.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** The series only completely entered its AudienceAlienatingEra when it made its VideoGame3DLeap, but [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 the third game]] shows at least some of the weaknesses of later installments: over-reliance on dial-a-kombo,[[note]]a term in the fandom referring to cheap combos that only require ButtonMashing, without any stick movement[[/note]] the complete shattering of the Eastern-[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign ish]] theme (which resulted in people realizing how ridiculous some of the characters looked), and the bosses [[SNKBoss suddenly]] [[PerfectPlayAI getting]] [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cheaper]]. Yet there's still a lot of fans and defenders of this one because it was the conclusion of the "Outworld Trilogy" and the stakes and tone of the original game were still there.
** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' introduced many fan-favorite characters, such as Kitana, Mileena, and Jax, but it also conspicuously took Sonya and Kano out for no real reason other than to have a DamselInDistress and [[TheWorfEffect establish how badass Shao Khan is]], respectively. However, as the developers admitted, Sonya and Kano were the least popular characters, and the real fan favorites (Liu Kang, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Raiden, etc.) remained, so Kano and Sonya's losses were deemed acceptable. The ''third'' game, however, is when the absences started getting out of hand. After the departure of Dan Pesina and Katalin Zamiar, who portrayed all of the male and female ninja characters, Midway decided to drop almost ''all'' of the characters they portrayed from their lineup. Johnny Cage was killed off, Raiden said ScrewThisImOuttaHere, and neither Kitana nor Mileena returned in the initial version of ''3''. Even worse, Scorpion, ''the most popular character in the series'', was left out as well. The team quickly rectified most of these mistakes with the UpdatedRerelease, ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'', but within the casual market, the damage was done. This problem continued on throughout the rest of the series, as many fan-favorite characters were arbitrarily included or dropped from each installment. Sometimes they're killed off, sometimes they switch sides, sometimes they turn into completely new characters. This has become so ingrained within the fanbase that a common question when a new game is announced is "Will [insert favorite character here] be in it?"
** Related to absentee fan-favorites (and possibly the cause of it) is the bloated roster, which consists not just of {{Joke Character}}s and [[PromotedToPlayable hidden bosses]], but ''almost every single character that is vaguely referenced'', even as a [[AscendedMeme meme]]. Examples of this include [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 Ermac]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 Scarlet]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Blaze]], and [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX Tremor]], just to name a few. There are also many bland and forgettable entries with tangential connections to more popular characters, like [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance Mavado, Hsu Hao]], [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception Kobra]], and so on. Traces of this started all the way from ''Mortal Kombat II'', where [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 the first game's]] hidden boss character (Reptile) made his playable debut, and characters with tangential connections to older ones like Kung Lao and Jax also made an appearance. The difference is that the series was small enough back then that new characters were a welcome sight, and felt like genuine expansions of the lore. By the time of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'', however, several new characters such as Fujin, Jarek and Kai felt like poor replacements for the ones missing (indeed, in some cases, the new faces were actually meant to be older characters who were then reskinned, such as swapping out Kano for his underling Jarek). This continued all the way up to ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon Armageddon]]'', where ''every single character'' -- even the superfluous ones like [[VideoGame/MortalKombat4 Meat]] or ones [[CreatorsPest they went on-record as hating]] like Hsu Hao -- [[DreamMatchGame was part of the roster]], in a deliberate attempt to TorchTheFranchiseAndRun. [[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 The 2009 reboot]] dialed down on this, with almost every character included being a fan-favorite. ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatX X]]'' followed suit, but experimented with a few new faces, as well as a few of the old darkhorses like Tremor.
** The ''MK'' series is known for {{retcon}}ning and {{revisi|on}}ng characters and plot points, starting with the second game--which retconned Raiden into a wise MentorArchetype instead of an arrogant god, and revised Shang Tsung into a servant of Shao Kahn (amongst many other changes). From that point on, almost every single game in the series has revealed, revised or rescinded some plot detail -- especially after [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie the feature film proved popular]], and [[RetCanon plot elements from it were folded into the games]]. This became rather confusing for fans of the lore, but it wasn't minded too much because there was genuine interest in seeing where things would go from there. The first decision that truly [[BrokenBase split the fanbase]] was the CosmicRetcon that occurred in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9''; here, not only are the retcons obvious,[[note]]such as Mileena being a recent creation of Shang Tsung instead of being raised as Kitana's sister[[/note]] but the fact that the game was a SoftReboot meant that the story didn't really move forward in any meaningful way. This, again, was forgiven come ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' because that game introduced a TimeSkip that took the story in new and fresh directions never seen before and allowed for several new characters alongside the existing cast... but fans were ''not'' so forgiving when ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' pulled off ''another'' CosmicRetcon that completely wiped out ''[[TheMultiverse all timelines everywhere]]'', meaning that not only were the events of [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 every]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatII single]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat3 previous]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombat4 game]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance in]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception the]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon series]] completely wiped clean, but so was the ''new'' timeline, all the various comic books, cartoons, TV and film adaptations, and offshoot games like ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' -- with no indication of how [[spoiler:Fire God Liu Kang and Kitana would remake things]]. Fans, even those who liked ''11'', were NOT pleased with this direction, and the problem was compounded by the ''Aftermath'' expansion, which added ''more'' retcons[[note]]Such as Sindel being evil the whole time, and Mileena and Kitana having again been raised as "sisters".[[/note]] and retconned the previous ending of ''11'', leaving ''every'' character except either [[spoiler:Liu Kang or Shang Tsung dead, with no indication which of the two endings will be canon going forward]].
** The character-focused story chapters of the Creator/NetherrealmStudios games have been heavily criticized due to things like how characters usually only win fights if they are the chapter's main character, [[StrongAsTheyNeedToBe causing inconsistent displays of power]], some characters not doing anything or just vanishing for large chunks of the story, some fights occurring [[LetsYouAndHimFight just for the sake of padding out the story]], or causing the villains to look weak because they lose every fight they are in gameplay-wise, and never get to display their powers. These issues can be traced back to before Netherrealm took over the series with ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'', which started the trend by having two story modes, one each for the ''MK'' and DC characters, and only allowed for a small number of characters to fight each other. However, the game was pragmatic in addressing these issues and created an InUniverse explanation for the reasons characters would randomly fight each other, or seemed to be stronger if they were the player character, the first being a "Kombat Rage" that caused someone to go berserk and attack anyone nearby, while the second was a power fluctuation, which caused people to rise and fall in power randomly. Once Netherrealm moved on to ''Mortal Kombat'', though, games afterwards kept using these story beats without trying to address them at all, causing all the previously mentioned issues to become more noticeable as each game went on and the series tried to make more complex stories. This led to things like in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', where the new "Kombat Kids" are beaten by relatively strong characters like Sub-Zero, but are later on somehow able to fight several Revenants like Sindel without too much trouble despite no story hints that they got stronger, while ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'' had things like a ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII''-era Kitana somehow defeating Shao Kahn.
* Creator/{{Nintendo}}:
** The company's censorship policies have existed since the beginning of their involvement in console gaming. It was an intentional move and justified during the 1980s, as many infamous games that helped [[MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 crash the industry]] (such as ''Custer's Revenge'' and ''Beat Em and Eat Em'') were glorified porn. Nintendo's family-friendly approach (to the point of calling their first console a ''[[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Family Computer (Famicom)]]'' in Japan) was viewed positively back then, since combined with the "Seal of Quality" it gave customers the assurance that they were buying games by developers who were putting actual effort into making games. However, their continued adherence to censorship guidelines during the releases of subsequent consoles has [[NeverLiveItDown followed them in two ways]]. In the first case, it was what led to Nintendo having the negative reputation of being "kiddie games" at a time when games and the people who played them gradually started to mature in better ways than just making literal porn. The censorship of the original ''VideoGame/{{Mortal Kombat|1992}}'' was especially infamous, since the Platform/SegaGenesis version was released with the gore intact (albeit hidden behind a cheat code), and was much better received by fans despite otherwise being technically inferior to the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super NES]] version, resulting in Nintendo putting a ContentWarning on the box for [[VideoGame/MortalKombatII the second game]] just so they could sell it uncensored. On the other end, Nintendo's censorship practices also showed the early signs of their strenuous relationship with third-party developers. By the time the [[MediaNotes/TheFifthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames fifth generation of gaming]] came, Nintendo's censorship combined with their refusal to adopt CD technology caused developers like Square to get fed up with their practices and jump ship to [[Platform/PlayStation Sony's new console]]. Nintendo's lack of strong third-party support has been a reoccurring flaw in all of their consoles since, most visible in the Nintendo 64 having under 400 games published for it, less than half of the Platform/SegaSaturn's one thousand and less than a ''tenth'' of the [=PlayStation=]'s four thousand. Not helping is that censorship (especially when sexual objectification is involved) started becoming more politicized during the 2010s, meaning that reaction to any change that could be seen as censorship went from merely "Nintendo doesn't take its older fanbase seriously" to more intense backlash (leading to boycotts in some cases). With the release of the [[Platform/NintendoSwitch Switch]], this began changing drastically, especially in regards to Sony's eventual censorship policies, which is by itself nothing short of [[{{Irony}} ironic]].
** Nintendo's consoles past the SNES have often been criticised for being underpowered in comparison to the competition, with many accusing Nintendo of cutting corners on technology in order to save money. This flaw could be traced back to the original Platform/GameBoy. It was designed with Creator/GunpeiYokoi's philosophy of "lateral thinking with withered technology", which refers to using technology that is older, cheaper, and well-understood in a new and innovative way, instead of using the most advanced technology available at the time. In the case of the Game Boy, this was accomplished by programming games for what was essentially an LCD calculator with a CPU whose design dated back to 1976; this meant it had primitive hardware and a screen with only four shades of a single color, but this also gave it a low price point (no variation of the Game Boy ever sold for more than US$100) and long battery life (15 hours minimum with four AA batteries) that gave it the edge over the Platform/AtariLynx and the Sega Platform/GameGear, both of which were full-color, backlit, and more powerful than the Game Boy but were noticeably more expensive and shared the FatalFlaw of draining six batteries in a few hours.[[note]]To compare, the Game Boy only got a full-color display in 1998 and backlighting with the GBA SP in 2003, by which point Nintendo was able to implement them without noticeably impacting battery life.[[/note]] Though this garnered some complaints, mostly around the Game Boy Advance not getting a backlit screen until the release of the SP revision in 2003, it was when that same philosophy was applied to their home consoles that people really started to notice a problem. It first showed up on the Platform/{{Nintendo 64}}, where, in spite of it being a legitimately 64-bit system at a time where games were nowhere close to breaking the limits of even 32-bit hardware and other 64-bit consoles were only such because their marketing misinterpreted how bit counting works, Nintendo was criticized for continuing to use cartridges in an era where [=CD-ROMs=] were taking over the market,[[note]]The Nintendo 64 had a planned add-on called the 64 Disk Drive that ''did'' have the ability to use disks, but it was delayed so much that it only came out in Japan, underperformed, and was scrapped after only nine games were released, many of which were repurposed for cartridges[[/note]] as well as the [[Platform/NintendoGameCube GameCube]], which used proprietary, lower-capacity optical discs instead of [=DVDs=] in order to save money (namely, to prevent piracy and so that Nintendo wouldn't have to pay licensing fees to the DVD Forum), and it continued on the Platform/{{Wii}}, which was initially seen as the big winner of MediaNotes/{{the seventh generation|OfConsoleVideoGames}} by catering to more casual consumers but whose main innovation, [[DancingBear motion controls]], showed its limitations early in the console's life cycle. The problem culminated in the Platform/WiiU, which ended up a commercial failure and Nintendo's worst-selling home console. A number of people blamed the "lateral thinking" design philosophy for the Wii U's downfall, considering that it got trounced by two consoles, the Platform/PlayStation4 and Platform/XboxOne, that were both considerably more powerful yet barely more expensive on release due to the Wii U's main gimmick, the tablet controller, significantly driving the price up (in contrast, the Wii was the cheapest home console of its generation ''because'' of its noticeably lower graphical prowess than its competitors, giving it an extra point of appeal even towards people who didn't care much about the motion controls). When Nintendo scrapped the Wii U and released the [[Platform/NintendoSwitch Switch]] (to considerably more acclaim), they made sure that it had enough power to be competitive with its rivals, if not as a home console[[note]]It's really not competitive with its rivals in terms of raw horsepower, in fact it's not really even competitive with the rivals' preceding consoles, falling somewhere between the [[MediaNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames seventh]] and [[MediaNotes/TheEighthGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames eighth]] generation consoles, though in fairness none of those other consoles are also portable. This isn't really a problem with first party titles as Nintendo has always done a great job at getting the most out of limited hardware, but third party games that are ported to all three current consoles (of which there aren't many, mainly for this reason) are often stripped down and/or perform noticeably worse on the Switch, and usually get pretty lousy reviews from critics[[/note]] then most certainly in comparison to handhelds and tablets.
** Nintendo has often had problems reinventing the wheel with their controllers, but their controllers have ''always'' been unique. One of the NES's main selling points was its four-button controls (Start, Select, A and B), which simplified gameplay compared to the 12+-button number pads and joysticks of other consoles. Nintendo added four more buttons to the SNES controller (two more face buttons, X and Y, and two shoulder buttons, L and R) and in the process, codified what many consider to be the ''perfect'' controller layout. To this day, the [=PlayStation=], Xbox, Nintendo DS, Switch and Valve Steam Deck control layouts ''all'' mimic the basics of the SNES controller.[[note]]D-pad on the left, four face buttons in a diamond formation on the right, Select/Start in the center and shoulder buttons at the top.[[/note]] Other than small tweaks, like the [=PlayStation=]'s addition of a second set of shoulder buttons and later two analog sticks or the Xbox 360 adding a Home button between Start and Select, the SNES layout is still the apex of design. After this, however, Nintendo ''kept'' making radical controller "innovations" which have been far more problematic. The Nintendo 64 controller required switching hand positions between the analog stick and D-pad (most games thus either disregard one or the other or have the D-pad do the same things as the C-buttons), had a center trigger in addition to shoulder buttons, and also had four "directional" C-buttons in addition to the A and B buttons. The [=GameCube=] had another confusing button layout,[[note]]An enormous A button surrounded by a tiny B button and bean-shaped X and Y buttons, with an extremely small and limited "C-stick" for a second analog and a shrunken D-pad that was just out of the way enough to be uncomfortable to use.[[/note]] and the Wii, of course, used "nunchuck" controllers that completely eschewed ''any'' form of traditional control layout.[[note]]Even using only the "Wiimote" without the attachable nunchuck reduced controls to almost the same amount of buttons as an NES controller.[[/note]] Fortunately for Nintendo, each of those consoles were still successful, but even then, third-party developers often cited Nintendo's controllers as a reason they avoided making Nintendo ports or exclusives, and popular genres like fighting games were usually more successful on other consoles because of the familiar controls. The Wii U tablet controller was just the ''last'' straw, evoking cries of "What the hell are we supposed to do with ''this?!''" from casual gamers, hardcore gamers, ''and'' developers alike.
** Nintendo [[DolledUpInstallment reworking initially different games]] to serve as part of one of its own properties goes back to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', and served them well enough in titles like ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros''. In those cases, the original game was either already very similar to the franchise it was trying to blend in with, or so radically different that it could be declared a spinoff. However, this completely backfired in the case of ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', where they tried to rework the fantastical Zelda clone ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet'' into part of a space shooter series; not only was ''Adventures'' too significant and too far distant from the last game in the series to be dismissed as a spinoff, but it was incredibly apparent that it'd once been its own game and any attempts to the contrary (a handful of token Arwing sections, a nonsensical HandWave for why Fox can't use a gun) were hilariously obviously tacked-on.
** The Platform/NintendoSwitch's online play gets criticism for connection quality issues, as it turns out that Switch games use peer-to-peer connections to other consoles instead of dedicated servers. However, using [=P2P=] connections dates as far back as the Platform/NintendoDS (the online services of which are now defunct, along with the Wii's). It was more acceptable on the DS due to it being a dedicated handheld that is much less powerful than contemporary consoles, so top-quality connections were not expected. When this same format of netplay extended to Nintendo's consoles, it made them stick out like a sore thumb compared to Microsoft's and Sony's consoles, which both use dedicated servers. The criticism for Switch netplay only deepened when Nintendo began charging for it when netplay on their previous consoles was free, with many players feeling like they're having to pay money for what appears to be no improvement in Switch netplay. Granted, the fee is considerably cheaper than that of other console makers, at 20 USD a year for an individual plan and 35 USD a year for a "family" plan of up to 8 users, as opposed to 60 USD a year for Microsoft's and Sony's online services, but whether Nintendo's online services are worth even that is a [[BrokenBase base-breaking]] topic.
* ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'' did not include any means to defend yourself against enemies. This trend continues in ''VideoGame/OutlastII'', but many fans think that the lack of a way for the player to defend themselves here makes no sense, as there are plenty of weapons lying around: hammers, scythes, crowbars, etc. and the enemies aren't genetically altered super-strong patients like in the previous game, but disease-ridden and weakened rednecks. Similarly, there's the player character's refusal to use flashlights when there are many available.
* There has always been an element of sex appeal to Aya Brea, the protagonist of the ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' games, with her design deliberately being made to be strong ''and'' sexy. The illustrations showed this aspect of her quite a lot, and the beginning of the first game famously had her chasing after Mitochondria Eve in a rather revealing black dress. However, while Aya was a sex symbol, she was always depicted as [[ActionGirl a strong-willed and determined woman]] who had full control over her life and didn't take crap from anyone. However, the series' third game ''VideoGame/The3rdBirthday'' not only heavily cranked up her sex appeal to the point that it came off as simply leering and distracting, it also hit her with a very strong dose of {{chickification}} and depicted her as insecure and frequently taking orders from authority figures with little initiative of her own. [[spoiler:The twist that you were actually playing as Eve, a girl with little control over her situation, possessing Aya's body for most of the game didn't do anything to help, especially once you added the ickiness of Eve being a much younger girl in an adult woman's body.]]
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** One complaint about the series from the Platform/PlayStation2 onward is its overuse of ProlongedPrologue, particularly with its [[VideoGame/Persona4 fourth]] and [[VideoGame/Persona5 fifth]] installments, where the first several hours of the game are made up almost entirely of cutscenes before one is given the full control of freetime that the series is known for. The roots of this problem can be found as early as ''[[VideoGame/Persona2 Persona 2: Innocent Sin]]''. The start of that game begins with the player forced to walk around their high school talking to [=NPCs=] looking for one specific NPC, watch a lengthy cutscene where the third party member is introduced and the gang has their first incident with the Joker, travel to the mall, learn how the rumor spreading mechanic works, return to the mall, and then finally get back to the high school where they started, which serves as the first dungeon. All told, it's about 30-45 minutes from starting the game to the first time the player is given actual control in combat encounters, and while that may not be as long as the prologues of later games in the franchise, it was still far from the norm for a roughly 40-hour [=PlayStation=] RPG. It seemed as though as the games got longer, so did their prologues.
** One of the biggest complaints about ''VideoGame/Persona5'' is that Morgana stops you from going out and doing whatever you want at night, making you go to sleep, such as when you get home from a day of dungeon crawling, a story event takes place earlier that day, or when you have plans the next day. Except this is not new for the series, just the first time another character is preventing you from going out. Even in ''VideoGame/Persona4'', you are told that you can't go out at night numerous times, such as when you have to check the Midnight Channel (two or three nights in a row per dungeon, plus one time on the night of the deadline). ''VideoGame/Persona3'' had this problem less often, but the player was prohibited from going to Tartarus at night if both Mitsuru and Akihiko were unavailable that evening. The difference is that Morgana plays the same role as the fourth game's narrator, so he's easier to blame for this ScrappyMechanic. ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' [[AuthorsSavingThrow addresses this problem]], since you can usually do nighttime activities at Leblanc[[note]]Making coffee or curry, cleaning, studying, reading, crafting infiltration tools[[/note]] even if you're not able to leave.
** When the announcement came that the UpdatedRerelease ''Persona 5 Royal'' would be released as a Platform/PlayStation4 exclusive, more than a handful of fans and critics decried what they saw as Atlus' attempt to get people to pay for the same game again on the same console three years after release. What these people tend to forget is that this is, in fact, the second time that Atlus has done something like this. ''[[VideoGame/Persona3 Persona 3 FES]]'', an updated rerelease of ''Persona 3'', was released in Japan in 2007 and in the US in 2008 for the Platform/PlayStation2, only a little more than a year after (or the same year as, in other territories like the EU and Australia) its initial release on that same console, and with less substantial changes than the ones announced for ''Royal''. This is also to say nothing of the OneGameForThePriceOfTwo treatment of ''VideoGame/Persona2'' for both the Platform/PlayStation release and Platform/PlayStationPortable remakes. The rise of DLC/expansion packs and the fact that its two predecessors had both been remade for a mobile device changed what people had come to expect for an UpdatedRerelease for the series.
** ''Persona 3'' introduced the running gag of the male characters being in a bathhouse when the female cast came in, causing the girls to go into PervertRevengeMode in response. Later games like ''4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' brought it back to much criticism from fans. ''3'' got away with it at the time because you could avoid it in a mini game, and the party consisted of two well known perverts, so if you did get caught, it made sense for the girls to freak out and get angry (especially with Yukari and Mitsuru being the way they are). ''4'' and ''Strikers'' feature only one character who could be called a pervert, and in both cases the girls' reactions are far less justified because the player has no way of avoiding the issue. ''4'' in particular is criticized because the girls are the ones who made the mistake, [[NeverMyFault and yet never apologize for it]]. In addition, the bathhouse scene in ''Persona 3'' was (at least in intention) a comic relief scene in an otherwise very dark, serious-toned game. The games that followed, ''Persona 4'' in particular, are far more lighter in tone than ''Persona 3'', making these scenes not just mean-spirited but needless as well.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' receives a lot of controversy for its treatment of Ryuji as the ButtMonkey. This type of character was always a staple of the series, but both [[VideoGame/Persona3 Junpei]] and [[VideoGame/Persona4 Yosuke]]'s treatment was far less contentious with the fanbase because of the story context surrounding it. Junpei was intentionally written as unlikable initially, but gradually develops into a more thoughtful, mature character, at which point his comic elements are heavily downplayed outside of spinoffs. His early ButtMonkey moments make his later CharacterDevelopment all the sweeter. Meanwhile, when Yosuke is the butt of a joke, he's usually [[KarmicButtMonkey done something to deserve it]], such as being forcibly entered into a drag pageant after he signed the girls up to a beauty contest without their consent. By contrast Ryuji is one of the catalysts of the Phantom Thieves' formation, remains a likable character through the whole story, and was a victim of physical abuse in his past, making his treatment [[DesignatedMonkey a lot harder to swallow]] for many fans.
* For the ''VideoGame/{{Postal}}'' series, a major complaint fans have with ''VideoGame/Postal3'' and ''VideoGame/Postal4NoRegerts'' is the amount of bugs the two games have, with the former being a [[ObviousBeta complete mess of a game]] while the latter didn't take advantage of its early access phase to fix issues as well as having horrible optimization, even on stronger computers. Thing is, this can also apply to ''VideoGame/Postal2'', as the game launched with a lot of glitches and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading loading times]], not to mention the engine crashing under fairly innocuous (for this game, at least) circumstances, and its ExpansionPack ''Apocalypse Weekend'' was even worse, becoming infamous among the game's early fanbase for it because of its most famous mods requiring the expansion. However, this was all the way back in 2003, where Running With Scissors was not as well-known and the Unreal Engine 2 it runs on was brand-new and thus not well-understood, and the game offered features not seen before, such as a combination of open-world and FPS gameplay, as well as surprisingly good liquid (blood and vomit) and limb dismemberment, the latter of which was improved upon by ''Apocalypse Weekend'' for all its other faults. What helps is that the Steam release would be much more optimized and fixed up thanks to the benefit of a decade of hindsight, with even the formerly-very-crash-happy ''Apocalypse Weekend'' being more stable nowadays. The issue with the successors is that ''Postal 3'' was on the Source engine seven years after it was introduced and thus should've allowed for more stable gameplay, which didn't happen, mostly because of the game being outsourced to a Russian developer who almost immediately had to lay off their A-team. ''Postal 4: No Regerts'' continued to have bugs and bad optimization even after multiple updates while in early access, without the excuse of a TroubledProduction since this time it was an in-house development again, and many felt like it left early access way too early due to bugs and crashes still being plentiful, despite having had two and a half years in early access to fix these issues as they came up.
* What initially helped ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' step out of the pack was the way it {{satir|e}}ized the nature of consumerism -- [[MegaCorp Mega-Corps]] supplied most of the series staples such as high-powered weapons and arena challenges, the {{Big Bad}}s were often {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s, [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts people out to make a quick buck were a frequent obstacle,]] enemies were hired goons and mass-produced MechaMooks -- these elements made the series' famous use of destructive ordinance and snarky sense of humor fit well, and so it stands to reason why many fans attribute the franchise's faltering in later years to later installments dropping that angle in favor of a more cinematic, FamilyFriendly style. However, this refocus started as far back as the third game, ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal'', which had the duo joining the Galactic Rangers to thwart the machinations of a {{cartoonish|Supervillainy}} [[EvilIsHammy super-villain]], and had Captain Qwark, previously a [[DirtyCoward cowardly]] [[FakeUltimateHero fraud]] out to make a comeback through EngineeredHeroics, pull a HeelFaceTurn at the end. Of course, the humor remained on-point, the characters were well-written, and the gameplay was polished, allowing the game to be a classic despite focusing away from the satirical tone of its predecessors.\\
Then came the ''Ratchet & Clank Future'' sub-series, which fully shifted the series in a more cinematic direction, revolving around the duo discovering their origins and coming into their role as heroes. While the ''Future'' series was well-received overall, it ultimately left the franchise without much of a direction to continue on from there, and it struggled to stay relevant ever since. The [[WesternAnimation/RatchetAndClank2016 cinematic re-imagining]] of [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2016 the first game]] was where it became clear that the series was missing much of what gave it its charm in the first place -- characters like Ratchet and Captain Qwark ironically ended up constrained by the more heroic characterizations they would grow into in the original continuity, the sense of humor was watered down, and series staples were a part of the game [[TheArtifact simply because they were staples]], which ended up clashing with the more whimsical, light-hearted, and some would say [[ClicheStorm generic]] tone the re-imagining had established. Because of this, many fans are accusing the series of trying to be the kind of {{Big Budget|BeefUp}} CashCowFranchise that earlier games would have mocked.
* 2010's ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' was Rockstar Games' first open-world game with actual mid-level checkpoints[[note]]''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIVTheBalladOfGayTony'' had an attempt at one that let players replay the latter half of a mission depending on how late they failed -- to say it was rather primitive would be an understatement[[/note]], which allowed the game to have missions that not only were much longer and complex than those found in their earlier games, but also allowed better storytelling in the progress. In three years, their next big open-world game, ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', would bring this type of level design to the ''GTA'' series, but despite the improved narrative aspects, many players and critics started noticing that the game had a habit of {{Railroading}} the player. Then five years after that, ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionII'' was openly criticized for its overly-strict mission design that started to feel immersion-breaking; moments such as players being told to remount their horse if they stopped it 3 feet before a waypoint where they were supposed to get off their horse, [[NoSidePathsNoExplorationNoFreedom missions failing instantly if the player wandered off the exact path]][[note]]This includes moments of trying to go back to get more ammo from bodies killed earlier in the same mission[[/note]], [[ContinueYourMissionDammit their allies complaining if the player stops to clean their weapon]], and some plot elements that would have been easily preventable if the player [[CutsceneIncompetence was not tied to the aggressive scripting]][[labelnote:Examples (Spoilers)]]The first bounty target is failed if the player "[[InsaneTrollLogic spooks him]]" by [[ViolationOfCommonSense trying to take him in without revealing they're a bounty hunter]], and Lenny only dies because his killers (who are on-screen for a second before shooting -- remember that the game's gimmick is BulletTime) are marked invisible before they take their shots[[/labelnote]]. Effectively, the system designed to improve the narrative was now getting so aggressive it started harming it.
* [[https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/2018/11/10/leveling-systems-are-the-gateway-to-microtransactions/ This article]] by Grey Carter for ''Website/TheEscapist'' argues that RPGElements are this for action games as a whole, having been the Trojan horse that allowed {{microtransactions}} to proliferate in singleplayer-focused games while also allowing developers to get away with sloppier [[CompetitiveBalance balancing]] of enemies and combat. The thing was, in the [=RPGs=] that popularized [[LevelGrinding leveling systems]] and [[ItemDropMechanic loot]], those mechanics ''were'' the combat gameplay. Many [=RPGs=] revolved around constantly pushing players to make their characters stronger by improving their stats and figuring out the best loadouts, the growing power being the goal in and of itself rather than the means to an end, with the actual task of fighting enemies often boiled down to simply clicking on them or going through a menu. When RPG mechanics were combined with other forms of combat gameplay, however, they threw even the most careful balancing out of whack by allowing players to grind their way to a point where they could just [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp every enemy in their path]] without actually learning the gameplay mechanics and getting better at the game. Worse, the clear-cut stats provided with level and loot systems allowed developers to introduce microtransactions to full-price, single-player games by [[BribingYourWayToVictory selling powerful weapons and stat boosters for real money]].
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'', as a series that underwent a major evolution in style through each installment, is bound to have a few examples of this:
** The ''Saints Row'' games started out as TheRival to the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, focusing on a more ridiculous and over-the-top experience that leaned into the PowerFantasy side of its WideOpenSandbox setting, a design formula that many fans felt peaked with [[VideoGame/SaintsRow2 the second game]]. However (as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fompZfI-G-E noted]] by Tyler J. of Cleanprincegaming), given that the first two games had both been overshadowed by [[DuelingWorks competing entries]] in the ''GTA'' series (''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA IV]]'', respectively), Volition decided to go the DenserAndWackier route with [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird the third game]] in order to more effectively distinguish it from the competition. This move was met with a mixed reception from fans and critics, who felt that the game world was less cohesive and more scattershot than before, though the resulting game still retained enough of the ''Saints Row'' series' DNA to meet a positive reception. This problem grew much harder to ignore when [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV the fourth game]] added aliens and superpowers and turned into more of a clone of ''VideoGame/{{Crackdown}}'' or ''VideoGame/InFamous'' than anything, such that many classic gameplay elements now felt entirely pointless. After all, when your character can run faster than a speeding bullet and leap tall buildings with a single bound, there's no point in saddling yourself with a car outside of [[{{Railroading}} missions where you have to]]. The game's TroubledProduction didn't help matters at all.
** Johnny Gat is a prime example of how a BreakoutCharacter can become a BaseBreakingCharacter if not handled carefully. Traces of his status as TheAce go back to the very first game, where he was by far the most competent [[BloodKnight and psychotic]] member of the Third Street Saints, but what is often forgotten is that he was very much a [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstruction]] of stoic action heroes. When not in combat, he was devoted to Aisha, [[spoiler:and her death in the second game sends Johnny into emotional turmoil]]. ''Saints Row 2'' was also the game where his reputation began to be played up, but he still wasn't a perfect, undefeatable badass as that reputation would have suggested - a significant portion of his involvement in both games involves him being laid out by an injury relatively early on and having to rely on the player character to help him while he recovers. Johnny's death at the start of ''The Third'' solidified his popularity in the fanbase, but his [[BackFromTheDead return]] in ''IV'' would be controversial for a variety of reasons. The HeartbrokenBadass traits from before would be played down, [[spoiler:including having him move on from Aisha]]. The story and every character also treats Gat as a legendary figure, including the villain who saw Gat as more of a threat than the Boss, despite them and other gang members having similar levels of competence and screentime. After ''IV'', Johnny Gat also became [[WolverinePublicity the go-to character to represent the franchise]], being the main focus of ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell Gat out of Hell]]'' and a GuestFighter in both ''VideoGame/{{Divekick}}'' and ''VideoGame/AgentsOfMayhem''. Overall, by this point many fans who had liked him earlier had gotten sick of the disproportionate amount of focus he would receive, especially as his character became shallower with time.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' introduced DownloadableContent to the series, including demons that could only be unlocked through DLC. However, the demons were either [[BraggingRightsReward rewards for defeating]] the {{Superboss}}es of brutally-difficult DLC quests, or were just {{Palette Swap}}s of pre-existing demons. The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games also introduced DLC Personas, but they were just cameos of Personas from previous games. The practice would only start getting noticeable complaints once ''VideoGame/SoulHackers2'' announced that iconic demons like Mara and Satan would be locked behind a DLC purchase.
* Creator/{{Sierra}}:
** One of the most ''hated'' characters created by the company is [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder Cedric the Owl]], who is viewed as little more than TheScrappy because of how completely and utterly ''useless'' he is as King Graham's companion. In some ways this is a bit unfair -- Sierra had quite a number of useless companions in older games forcing you to do [[ItsUpToYou everything by yourself]]. For example, Keith Robinson, Sonny's partner in ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest2TheVengeance'', only occasionally runs back to the squad car to get on the radio for you and otherwise does nothing at any point to help you, whether you're scouring for clues at a murder site, getting shot at, or dealing with a plane being hijacked by terrorists. Pat Morales in [[VideoGame/PoliceQuest3TheKindred the third game]] is even ''worse'': aside from being little more than TheMillstone for Sonny by having him backtrack to assist her in even the simplest of situations, at the last segment of the game, [[spoiler:she will [[EvilAllAlong reveal herself as one of the villains]] and ''kill'' Sonny unless he successfully got an investigation going with Internal Affairs, and if you miss it, [[UnwinnableByDesign you get no chance to backtrack]]]]. Yet neither of them received the hate Cedric got, largely because Cedric, unlike the others, was voiced -- not only was he voiced by a complete amateur (one of Sierra's programming staff, releasing back in the days when game developers didn't even consider hiring professional voice actors, much less have the budget to do so), but spoke some of the more [[{{Narm}} narmful]] and hammy lines in the game (like the iconic ''"Graham, watch out! A [=POOOIIIsonous=] snake!"'').
** Many of their games include [[MoonLogicPuzzle oddball puzzles]] (e.g. an incident in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIIRomancingTheThrone'' where you must ''throw a bridle at a snake and turn it into a Pegasus'', or guessing the gnome's name in the [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIQuestForTheCrown first game]], both of which make little sense even today) as well as {{unwinnable}} situations (e.g. losing one of the three treasures in the first game). Most of these are heavily criticized many years later, as the senselessness of the situations were much more exposed to more players. The early games were more open-world (allowing backtracking) and made it obvious you were at a dead end (compare to the [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder fifth game]] where something you missed much earlier, like failing to save a rat from a cat, or overlooking a fishhook on a distant island, or missing the ''one'' shot at getting a moldy piece of cheese, will make it impossible to win, and you ''cannot go back'' except by having a separate save file from before you missed whatever you need), and that there are often alternate solutions in earlier games that will only penalize your score, such as, well, ''killing the snake'' in the second game. You get fewer points and a harder puzzle later on, but can venture onwards.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', while still remembered as one of the best games in the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series, held the origin of a number of trends that plagued the series in the long term.
** The first was with its monsters. ''[=SH2=]'' was acclaimed for its creative enemy design, the two monsters most heavily identified with the game being the chilling figure known as Pyramid Head, an ImplacableMan wearing [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a pyramid-shaped helmet]], and the sexy, faceless nurses in the hospital. They weren't the main villains, but they were both incredibly popular, and became unofficial mascots of the series. However, they served a very specific purpose in that game, acting as metaphorical representations of the protagonist James Sunderland's guilt and sexual anxiety. This didn't stop the nurses from reappearing in later games (and in [[Film/SilentHill the film adaptations]]), growing increasingly sexualized in the process, nor did it stop several attempts to try and copy Pyramid Head, be it with similar "icon" monsters (like the Butcher in ''[[VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins Origins]]'' and the Bogeyman in ''[[VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour Downpour]]'') who felt shoehorned in more often than not, or by simply bringing him back straight-up (as in ''[[VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming Homecoming]]'', the films, and some of the comics). However, the symbolism of what they represented no longer applied in these new stories. While ''[=SH2=]'' remembered to give its creepy, cool monsters a purpose beyond just the RuleOfScary, later games took only those monsters' most superficial elements in the name of {{fanservice}}.
** Secondly, ''[=SH2=]'' laid the groundwork for the series' BrokenBase. Whereas [[VideoGame/SilentHill1 the first game]] was about a battle with a {{cult}} known as the Order that's trying to bring about the birth of their god, the second game's story, about a man who had lost his wife only to receive a mysterious letter from her, was much smaller and more personal in scope. Outside of the setting, the style, and a few {{Continuity Nod}}s, it had little in common with the original game, and fans were divided between the original and the sequel almost from the get-go. The divide grew wider when [[VideoGame/SilentHill3 the third game]] went back to having the Order as the villains and acted as a direct sequel to the first, with later games alternating between continuing the story of the Order and telling stories separate from it. Today, the ''Silent Hill'' fandom is split into two sects, one that prefers the MythArc about the Order and the other preferring the standalone stories.
** Finally, the game introduced the concept of the protagonist having to [[TragicHero own up to a tragic past]] upon entering the town, a plot point that would not only become increasingly controversial in later installments such as ''Homecoming'' and ''Downpour'', but became an Original Sin for the SurvivalHorror genre as a whole. It's common now for horror games to copy the idea of the horror coming from a [[MyGreatestFailure dark secret in the protagonist's backstory]] that turns out to be [[SelfInflictedHell the reason he or she is being tormented]], such that it can be [[TheUnTwist predictable]] and hard to relate, feeling less scary and more like the player is being BlamedForBeingRailroaded -- and that's if they even bothered to make the story make sense outside of trying to shock you. Even ''[=SH2=]'' wasn't immune to being a bit cheap with that horror, if the wide variety of theories about the actual symbolism of the enemies and whether any two characters were experiencing the same thing in the town are any indication. ''[=SH2=]'' managed to pull it off easier, however, partly because it was new and surprising at the time and partly because it focused less on James as a flawed man with a tragic backstory and more on him as an ordinary guy trying to survive against hordes of monsters, making his struggle feel suspenseful and the twist feel unique. [[https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3631426/silent-hill-wants-move-forward-needs-let-silent-hill-2-go/ This article]] by Kyle Campbell for ''Bloody Disgusting'' discusses it further, arguing that the back half of the ''Silent Hill'' series has consisted largely of attempts to recapture the magic of ''[=SH2=]''[='=]s twist, no matter how much FridgeLogic it produces or how much it [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot wastes perfectly good plots]].
* ''VideoGame/TheSims'':
** {{Expansion pack}}s have ''always'' been a part of ''The Sims'' going back to [[VideoGame/TheSims1 the very first game]], whose first expansion ''Livin' Large'' released just six months after the base game and mostly added new items as opposed to major gameplay features (a pack adding what it did for a more recent ''Sims'' game today would be called a minor "stuff pack"); ultimately, the first game wound up getting seven expansions. At the time, however, they were building on a truly unique base game, and after ''Livin' Large'' each expansion added new features that genuinely changed the game, such as parties, shopping, dating, vacations, pets, celebrities, and magic, while ''Livin' Large'' was packed with the original at some point after release to make up for not being all that special [[OnceOriginalNowCommon compared to what came later]]. It was only with later games when it started to get out of control. Many of these packs often retreaded content from previous games' expansions, with each game since the second having their own separate packs dedicated to college, nightlife, owning a business, pets, seasons, and vacations. This was forgiven with the [[VideoGame/TheSims2 second]] and (to a lesser extent) [[VideoGame/TheSims3 third]] games due to the genuinely new features added in the base games, but with the troubled launch of [[VideoGame/TheSims4 the fourth game]], many fans grew to suspect that Creator/ElectronicArts and Maxis were withholding features from the base games in order to sell them back to the player at a later date. To be fair, ''The Sims 4'' did later receive a lot of free content updates in order to WinBackTheCrowd, but the cycle of expansions continued at a higher pace than ever, to the point that as of 2022 ''The Sims 4'' has $1,000 worth of DLC, and is still receiving more beyond then. Even then, some long-time fans will point out that collecting the complete set of ''The Sims 3'' (including all micro content from The Sims 3 Store) would still set you back about ''ten times'' that much.
** ''The Sims 3'' and ''4'' were largely seen as a big downgrade from ''The Sims 2'' at launch simply because the base games barely incorporated any of the features from the previous games' expansions. However, this criticism is just as valid towards ''The Sims 2''. This was a point of contention at the time, but it was roughly accepted because the game was already pretty large at launch (it came on four discs) and, due to the change in engines, trying to incorporate ''everything'' the first game ended up with out of the gate would have left the game [[ObviousBeta buggier than a wetland summer]]. It would also be {{vindicated|ByHistory}} with its own expansions, which added all of the features ''The Sims 1'' got and then some.
** The Sims games are generally really, ''really'' huge, taking up multiple gigabytes of space on a hard drive, and could be rather taxing on computer resources. This was especially true with ''The Sims 3'', where due to the way how game data is stored, it can easily chug down 50 GB just on keeping track of its persistent world, and the top popularity mods are [=QoL=] changes that disable particularly memory-hungry features and clean up save files from no longer frequented locations. But those issues date back to the first game, which would take up over a gigabyte (not counting the extra space for saved games, mods, or custom content) of space on hard drives, at a time (early 2000) when most hard drives would only have a ''couple'' of GB worth of storage space. While the fourth game tried to take this into account, the sheer amounts of extra expansions and stuff packs added over the course of a full decade have added up yet again to a rather bulky presence on the hard drive.
** This is also how some feel about the inclusion of supernatural elements and other odd things in the game, with fans of ''The Sims 3'' and ''The Sims 4'' in particular complaining it's becoming more and more difficult to "ignore" them as they're increasingly incorporated into the game. But MagicRealism themes were around since the first game: though only the final expansion, "Makin' Magic", focused primarily on supernatural elements, ghosts were present from the beginning and the first expansion, "Livin' Large", added the Grim Reaper, alien abductions, and Frankenstein's monsters. The second game, meanwhile, debuted with ghosts and aliens both present and heavily featured in the base game, and every major expansion throughout its lifetime added a new creature type[[note]]zombies in ''University'', vampires in ''Nightlife'', Servo robots in ''Open For Business'', werewolves in ''Pets'', [=PlantSims=] in ''Seasons'', Bigfoot in ''Bon Voyage'', genies in ''[=FreeTime=]'', and witches in ''Apartment Life''[[/note]].
* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'': One of the biggest criticisms about ''[[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime Thieves in Time]]'' is that it ends on a clear SequelHook, despite there being no guarantee that a sequel will even be made. This can actually be traced back to the [[VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus first game]], which ends with a shot of [[BigBad Clockwerk's]] eyes glowing, hinting that he could return. At the time of its release, no one knew if there would be a sequel, much less three. Similarly, the other Creator/SuckerPunch games also had similar hooks, ''[[VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves Band of Thieves]]'' ends with Bentley injured, Murray in grief and Sly once again escaping from Carmelita, while ''[[VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves Honor Among Thieves]]'' ends with Bentley planning to build a time machine, despite Sucker Punch explicitly moving on from the series. However, these scenes happened after the main stories had been resolved, the Fiendish Five had been defeated and all pages of the Thievius Raccoonus were recovered, Clockwerk had been destroyed for good along with [[TheSyndicate the Klaww Gang]], and Dr. M went down with the Cooper Vault and Sly faked amnesia to be with Carmelita, meaning that there was still a sense of closure. The same can't be said for ''Thieves in Time'', which sees [[spoiler:Sly disappearing on Le Paradox's blimp and the rest of the cast desperately looking for him]]. With his fate unclear, this create a great sense of urgency and suspense, essentially demanding a sequel to be made. With no new installments planned, many people felt cheated by the ending.
* Creator/{{Sony|InteractiveEntertainment}}:
** Many of the problems that caused the Platform/PlayStation3 to struggle in its first few years of its existence were actually also present on the Platform/PlayStation2. Like the [=PS3=], the [=PS2=] had a complex and exotic UsefulNotes/CentralProcessingUnit that many developers struggled to understand and make the most out of, especially if they were used to developing on other platforms. Both consoles also had a UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit that was relatively underpowered and required the use of the CPU's more exotic features to make up for it. Last but not least, both consoles served as a showpiece for the latest and greatest optical disc format at the time. In hindsight, it looks like Sony was merely trying to replicate the success of the [=PS2=] with the [=PS3=]. So why didn't this work as planned? The first reason probably has to with game development in general during MediaNotes/TheSeventhGenerationOfConsoleVideoGames becoming more complex, difficult, and expensive, which gave developers all the more reason to balk at a non-standard system that added even more complexity on top. The second was that compared to the [=PS2=], the [=PS3=] was a far larger victim of Sony's love of exotic and/or brand new tech. DVD was already a few years old by the time the [=PS2=] came out (developed in 1995 and first starting to enter the consumer market in November 1996, about three and a half years before the [=PS2=] launched in March 2000), which meant that the technology and manufacturing was much more mature, allowing Sony to include it in the console and still sell it at a reasonable price - for a couple years, the [=PS2=] was infamously cheaper than many dedicated DVD players in some areas. The [=PS3=], however, came out mere months after the Blu-ray format itself (Blu-Ray entered the consumer market in June 2006, the [=PS3=] launched that November), which meant sky-high prices for it since the economies of scale had yet to kick in, producing the console's infamous [[MemeticMutation 599 US DOLLARS]] price point. All of this made the [=PS3=] an expensive console with no games in its early years, and though it would eventually WinBackTheCrowd and outsell its main competitor, the Xbox 360, it still would go on to be the lowest selling [=PlayStation=] home console to date. The [=PS2=] also got off easy due to it launching earlier than all of its competition save for the Dreamcast, which didn't pose much of a threat due to Sega's finances and reputation struggling in the wake of the Sega Saturn's poor sales, to say nothing of how well the first [=PlayStation=] had performed in the previous generation - it's been said that the last factor that killed the Dreamcast was the hype generated just by the announcement of the [=PS2=]. Unfortunately, the [=PS3=] was up against the Xbox 360, which launched a year earlier and was made by Microsoft, a huge MegaCorp who could and would spend whatever it took to ensure its product's success. With the Xbox 360's one-year head start allowing Microsoft's marketing machine to successfully sell its vision of next-gen gaming to both gamers and developers, the [=PS3=] looked unfavorable in comparison by the time it finally launched. Sony seems to have learned their lesson with the Platform/PlayStation4, which features a highly industry standard x86 CPU with a powerful AMD Radeon GPU.
** Its sister console, the Platform/PlayStationPortable, had problems in its own right--a high price, a focus on graphical power for a handheld, more features than needed, and a heavy focus on {{Eastern RPG}}s. But none of these things were truly dealbreakers, and though it was a distant second to the DS, it still carved out a niche. The Platform/PlayStationVita, its successor, doubled down on all these problems, resulting in it having enough graphical power to receive graphically-enhanced ports of [=PS3=] games but being expensive for both users to own and developers to make games on, burdened with unhelpful programs, and lacking much of anything outside of a handful of genres. On top of this, the Vita launched in a much less favorable market due to the encroachment of smartphones, and lacked the boost of pirates widening its install base, meaning its flaws shone far brighter. Despite the Vita's advantage of being the most powerful handheld on the market at the time, the Platform/NintendoSwitch would eventually steal its thunder, leading to its slow demise.
* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'':
** The use of {{Guest Fighter}}s that can annoy fans nowadays began with ''Soulcalibur II'', considered by many to be the best entry in the series. While back then it was considered a neat idea, today, virtually every game, especially fighting games, has at least one, which has made it a little harder to see the inclusion of guests as an "innovative" concept. Meanwhile, ''Soulcalibur'' has been front and center as the game where guest fighters are a staple of the series, much to the annoyance of some. Often, fans hold the sentiment that staple veterans, [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan]]-[[IconicSequelCharacter favorites]], and other highly requested characters get shafted in favor of a fighter that will [[OneShotCharacter only be there in one game]], [[BaseBreakingCharacter may not have universal appeal]], or [[FishOutOfWater looks jarringly dissimilar to the rest of the game]] in either aesthetics and/or gameplay, something that came to a head when ''Soulcalibur IV'' included ''Franchise/StarWars'' characters to hype up ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. It's understandable why you see fans who are adamant about the idea that there should be ''no'' guest characters, which would defy expectations, but that often falls on deaf ears. Although ''Soulcalibur V'' and ''VI'' did alleviate things somewhat by having their respective guests ([[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio]] and [[Franchise/TheWitcher Geralt]]) be more fitting with the series' aesthetic, the latter game then went back on it and threw in [[VideoGame/NierAutomata 2B]], a RobotGirl from a [[FishOutOfTemporalWater distant future/post-apocalyptic sci-fi game]], as part of its Season Pass. ''Then'' it would zig-zag it by introducing [[VideoGame/SamuraiShodown Haohmaru]] who, while admittedly from a later point in history, still manages to fit in with the aesthetic.
** The series had been fairly consistent with the roster until ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'', which was the first game directed by Daishi Odashima. Many complained about ''V'' [[TimeSkip jumping forward 17 years]] while [[PutOnABus removing]] fan-favorites such as Sophitia, Taki, and Xianghua, while replacing them with [[ReplacementScrappy considerably less-liked successors]]. However, a smaller-scale variation of this happened in the earlier games. Specifically Hwang and Li Long, who appeared in the original ''Soul Edge'' (''Soul Blade'' in North America, Europe, and Australia), were removed from subsequent games and replaced by Yun-seong and Maxi respectively. This caused considerable outcry back then, but had since subsided over time. Additionally, Cassandra was ''meant'' to replace Sophitia in ''II'', as she was the only one in the original arcade release. However, due to popular fan demand, Sophitia was brought back. Odashima would later leave Project Soul, being replaced by Masaki Hoshino and later Motohiro Okubo, who appear to have different views over the series. Hoshino's contributions (''Lost Swords'' and ''Unbreakable Soul''), though non-canon and largely deemed to be of middling quality, began to [[TheBusCameBack bring back]] several of the missing veterans (such as Sophitia, Cassandra, Taki, Seong Mi-na, and Amy), while Okubo doubled down by [[RevisitingTheRoots taking things back to basics]] and [[ContinuityReboot rebooting]] the series with ''[[VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI VI]]'' -- which rewound to the era of the original ''Soulcalibur'' and features a substantial portion of the first two games' rosters (though with a few faces from later installments also along for the ride). Only time will tell if these efforts can undo the damage caused by ''V''[='s=] SoftReboot. [[note]]So far, ''VI'' seems to be doing very well, ensuring that the series will continue on for now, though Okubo revealed that ''V'' was almost a FranchiseKiller, putting the series on ''very'' thin ice when he lobbied to revive it.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' created one of its own. Namco had done Day 1 DLC as a means to unlock characters before, with ''Soulcalibur V'' having Dampierre and ''VideoGame/Tekken7'' having Eliza (who debuted in the [=F2P=] installment between ''Tag 2'' and ''7'', ''Tekken Revolution''). Those times, there was practically no backlash (or at least, it was very minimal), mainly because they were niche characters who had their own fans but not a super prominent fanbase, and were not highly popular, highly requested series staples. When ''VI'' did their go-around at this, they used ''Tira'', considered ''the'' iconic DarkActionGirl of the ''Soul'' series and a BreakoutCharacter from ''III'' who is likely the most recognizable character created post-''II''. For many, it felt like using a character as well-liked, requested and iconic to the series as Tira for an incentive to increase revenue was a low blow.
** Also, as the series went on, it began attracting more and more criticism for its increasingly {{Stripperiffic}} female character designs and focus on JigglePhysics (particularly for Ivy and Taki) reducing what had been a serious historical fantasy to borderline sleaze like ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive,'' without the benefit of that series' [[AtLeastIAdmitIt tongue-in-cheek self-acknowledgement.]] However even as far back as the original ''Soul Blade'' there was an EasterEgg you could employ to cause [[MsFanservice Sophitia's]] skirt to disappear, or even have her fight in an actual swimsuit.
* ''VideoGame/Splatoon1'''s massive success started a trend of Nintendo releasing multiplayer games and then adding free DLC updates afterwards in something akin to a "live service" model. With the first ''Splatoon'', it was a new thing for Nintendo to do and the game was already packed with plenty of content in the vanilla version, ensuring it would play host to a lively player base for a long time. ''Splatoon'' being a brand new series at the time, players had no idea what to expect from it, so the "live service" model was accepted as simply being part of its identity. It became a problem for fans when later Nintendo games used this model to lesser returns. The ''Mario'' sports series (especially ''[[VideoGame/MarioTennis Mario Tennis Aces]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MarioGolf Mario Golf: Super Rush]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/MarioStrikers Mario Strikers: Battle League]]'') stand out in this regard, since they have installments that predate the live service model, so they ended up feeling barren compared to their predecessors at launch. To many people, this comes across more as Nintendo putting in cut content that should have been in the base game, rather than adding in completely new material to reward longtime players and keep the community thriving.
* Creator/SquareEnix's [[UpdatedRerelease updated re-releases and ports]] of some of their older games once got a great deal of excitement from many RPG fans, especially those in the US and Europe. It gave many people the chance to play some of Square's classic catalog but with far less of the NoExportForYou, BlindIdiotTranslation, [[{{Bowdlerise}} Bowdlerisation]], and financial difficulties of hunting down certain SNES cartridges that RPG fans dealt with before the very end of The90s. In some cases, Square even [[RemadeForTheExport remade entire games for the purposes of re-releasing them]]. However, during the later half of the 2000s, many of these same consumers started complaining about this practice. It became viewed as oversaturation, partially due to the huge numbers of systems that these games were playable on. Between 2005 and 2011, Square Enix re-released ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' alone ''four times'', for example. The TroubledProduction of both ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' and the lack of a game to really fill that gap did not help either.
* Some of the problems fans have with the later ''Franchise/StarFox'' games, primarily ''VideoGame/StarFoxCommand'' and ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' can be found in the earlier entries.
** ''Command'' and ''Zero'' were criticized for their gimmicky gameplay and being considered nothing more than glorified tech demos. This was the case of [[VideoGame/StarFox1 the first game on the SNES]]. The game was made to show off the graphics possible with the Super FX chip, which were revolutionary for games at that time. This wasn't an issue as its gimmick was mainly in the graphics, and the game was still well-regarded for its gameplay, which was simple yet fun and engaging. ''Command'' however used the DS features for its gameplay, primarily the stylus and touch screen, and the game was wildly criticized for its finicky and repetitive gameplay. ''Zero'' used the Wii U Pad for a lot of its functions and also came to be regarded as frustrating to use as well for some people. The fact that there's no way to use traditional controls for either of these games also didn't help.
** Krystal's sudden change in character was also one of the biggest criticisms in ''Command''. This wasn't the first time it happened. Before her debut in ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', she went from a modestly dressed courageous heroine in ''VideoGame/DinosaurPlanet'' to a telepathic NubileSavage MsFanservice who gets captured in the prologue as we know her today. Fox also received a shift in personality towards being more of a NominalHero as Saber's personality and lines were transferred to Fox when the former was axed. While Krystal being reduced to a DamselInDistress was and is still criticized, it was softened due to Creator/{{Rare}} intending Krystal to retain her {{deuteragonist}} role only for a ChristmasRushed TroubledProduction forcing them to cut out her playable sections, and she ditches that aspect in ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxAssault Assault]]'', while Fox's changes didn't detract that much from the plot. However, Krystal becomes a WomanScorned with almost none of her positive traits in ''Command'' after Fox removed her from the team for her safety, despite having no similar issues with the rest of the team, creating romantic drama between her and him, which ended up [[RomanticPlotTumor consuming nearly the entirety of the game's plot]]. While she can get together with Fox again and go back to her original self, it only happens if you choose the best possible path in an ending that's considered non-canon anyway, and to make matters worse this is currently the last ''Star Fox'' game she's appeared in, so she hasn't had any chance to return to her prior characterization.
** The main complaint of ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' is that it's a rehash of ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' and yet another ContinuityReboot. This can be traced back to ''64'' itself, as that game was more or less a remake and a reboot of the first ''Star Fox'' game. Aside from a few fans, it wasn't that much of an issue as the first timeline barely had any lore to it at all (with [[VideoGame/StarFox2 an intended sequel]] not seeing release until more than two decades later) and ''64'' improved on every aspect of the original game. ''Zero'', on the other hand, was [[ContestedSequel polarizing]] for its control system and retconning the ''64'' timeline which had several defenders despite the controversial sequels to it, particularly fans of Krystal and Panther who were not happy that they were written out. It didn't help that a remake of ''64'' was made for the Platform/Nintendo3DS five years earlier. ''Zero'' is often held as proof that Nintendo can't get the ''Star Fox'' series out of ''64'''s shadow.
* The ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' franchise had long been considered to have fairly standard JRPG storytelling that was nothing to write home about, but was made up for by having good gameplay. When ''VideoGame/StarOceanIntegrityAndFaithlessness'' was criticized for its gameplay, it brought the fact of it having a fairly weak story as well to the forefront.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter''
** At the time of its release, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' proved controversial with both longtime fans and more casual players for dropping nearly the entire cast of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' in favor of a bunch of new combatants, with Ryu and Ken as the lone returning veterans. If Creator/{{Capcom}} seriously thought fans would accept that, it's probably because the studio actually ''had'' successfully pulled off a similar transition with the aforementioned ''Street Fighter II'', which dropped everyone from [[VideoGame/StreetFighterI the first game]] except for Ryu, Ken and Sagat, and replaced them with new characters. The main difference was that the original ''Street Fighter'' had been, at best, a SleeperHit, while ''II'' went on to become a bonafide global phenomenon, meaning the cast of the latter game garnered far more popularity. As such, while very few people cared when characters like Joe, Retsu, Eagle and Adon didn't return for ''Street Fighter II'', a great deal did when now-iconic favorites like Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy and Dhalsim were left out of ''Street Fighter III''. Capcom seemed to quickly realize this was an error, as Akuma and Chun-Li were added to the subsequent updates of ''III'', but by then the damage had already been done. Tellingly, all subsequent ''Street Fighter'' sequels have made a point of striking a balance between new characters and returning favorites, seemingly having learned from the backlash to ''III''.
** ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' fans became rather burned out on the series after ''[[CapcomSequelStagnation Ultra]] VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' came out, adding yet ''more'' characters to an already-overcrowded roster and making the combo system even more complicated with Red Focus. Casual fans complained because now they were being asked to spend even ''more'' money on a single game that cost roughly $100 in total (even more if you purchased all the DLC) and had now become so ''incredibly'' difficult to play that getting started now would take ''months'' of training just to learn the ''basics''. Fans of ''Street Fighter'' since 1991 can tell you that this sounds ''very'' familiar. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' went through the same problems -- although the competitive scene reveres the ''Super Turbo'' edition as the series' best, by the time it came out, the casual fans had tuned out. Further sub-series in the franchise (such as ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII III]]'') increased the complexity of the fighting system, making it nigh-inaccessible for casual players, and by the time the console version of ''Alpha 3'' hit shelves, the roster had expanded to ''thirty-six''. These problems are why the series took such a long hiatus between ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterEX EX3]]'' and ''SFIV''. Creator/{{Capcom}} decided to take a "back to basics" approach with ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' in terms of gameplay, focusing on fundamentals and accessibility, and starting off "small" much like many of the other sub-series' initial iterations (16 characters in the base roster + 6 DLC characters for Year 1) [[AuthorsSavingThrow in response to these complaints]]. Unfortunately, this led to [[BrokenBase fandom infighting]] whenever "new" fighters, be they former [=NPCs=] PromotedToPlayable or actual new faces, were unveiled beginning in Season 2 after the return of [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Akuma]], as many complained about the "missing" characters who were mainstays in previous entries or wanted to see more characters who had been on a LongBusTrip since their last sightings (in the vein of [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Karin, R. Mika]], [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Alex, and Urien]]). Capcom was able to strike a finer, less "controversial" balance starting with Season 3; only two of the six characters were newcomers, and the first S3 fighter to be revealed was none other than perennial fan-favorite [[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Sakura]]. Similarly, the fifth and final wave of DLC was mostly comprised of returning characters ([[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Dan, Rose]], [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Oro]]), with one character hailing from another corner of the ''SF'' SharedUniverse ([[VideoGame/RivalSchools Akira]]) and another being the only legimitately new addition to the roster (Luke).
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
** The problem with the games relying on DLC over in-game rewards all started with the UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', which had costumes that could only be obtained by preorders, and then more that could only be obtained by paying with real money. While this upset some fans, the game overall was still very meaty and had easily the most in-game costumes in the series before or since. The very next game, ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', had no more than ''two'' in-game costumes per character (to compare, everyone in the rerelease of ''Vesperia'' had ''at least'' five, with Yuri and Karol having well over that), with the rest only available through DLC. The game after that, ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'', had four, not even one for each character, and two of them were for the female lead. Games after ''Xillia'' only worsened in this regard, to the point where ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' only offered recolors of the characters' main outfits, unless you bought the DLC for it. This reached a tipping point with ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'', which had only a few in-game costumes that weren't recolors of existing outfits, but also had DLC costumes that had gameplay benefits due to each costume giving a title that included skills and Artes, resulting in a lot of criticism of the game for it.
** From ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' to ''Tales of Zestiria'' complaints arose of the series suffering a SeasonalRot thanks to the stories suffering from a ClicheStorm, where the game's plot and characters were seen as boring or weak. The series has always had cliché storm issues, but what made the games before this point fine was the intense DeconstructorFleet each game had. For example: ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' heavily deconstructed TheChosenOne from start to end, ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' deconstructed FateAndProphecyTropes, and ''Tales of Vesperia'' deconstructed ProtagonistCenteredMorality and the concept of vigilantism vs following laws. All of them used the cliché storm to create unique stories that used the nature of those clichés to [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome highlight how realistic they would be]]. ''Graces'' onward though played the clichés too straight, such as ''Graces''[='=] themes of ThePowerOfFriendship without deconstructing any of it, with only ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' seen as doing a good job of returning to deconstructing themes and characters.
** ''Tales of Zestiria'' received criticism for its use of GuestStarPartyMember in the form of Alisha, who was an AdvertisedExtra and left the party after only a quarter of the game had been explored, only returning as playable for one small section and the optional DLC. The series always had characters who only joined once or briefly, dating back to the second title in the series with [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Leon]]. In particular, later titles like ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' had a major plot character join you for a brief section despite being still present in the game. The difference between past titles was that the character in question was always still important, and they either were a recurring character, or they were some kind of antagonist. At the very least, past characters usually had a justification in the story for being only around for a short time or leaving for the rest of the game. Alisha, however, rather suddenly leaves the party after only a few hours with a weak justification, and is quickly replaced by someone else who plays entirely differently for the rest of the game. Furthermore, other guest characters were portrayed as important characters, but had their full role kept a mystery until release, so it wasn't very jarring for them to leave; Alisha, meanwhile, had her departure come off as very strange after the game spent her screentime playing her up as a main character, and the trailers and information leading to release focused around her gameplay.
* Creator/TelltaleGames always had a problem with providing players merely [[MortonsFork the illusion of choice]], as seemingly plot-critical decisions only left an impact for a few moments or affected how a subplot would be resolved before the main story simply progressed with little deviation. This problem goes all the way back to their BreakthroughHit, ''VideoGame/{{The Walking Dead|Telltale}}: Season One'', where, no matter what you did over the course of the story, the BroadStrokes of the ending were the same. The difference was that not only was Telltale's style of games still very new and fresh, but your choices ''did'' affect the ''tone'' of the ending as it confronted you with all the decisions you made up to that point, judging whether or not the protagonist Lee was a good person. As Telltale [[RecycledScript recycled the formula]] with subsequent games, however, the seams in the storytelling and branching paths grew easier to spot as players caught on.
* One of the biggest complaints about the ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' roster is that the roster has become increasingly unbelievable as the years went on, focusing less on actual martial arts and artists and more on made-up styles that look cool with blatant {{anime}} influences. It reached a sort of critical mass in ''VideoGame/Tekken7'', when Lucky Chloe, an extremely UsefulNotes/{{kawai|sa}}i pop-idol with GratuitousEnglish who fights by [[DanceBattler dancing]], was made into an official character, leading to unbridled ''rage'' [[AmericansHateTingle in the West]]. While Harada said that he would replace her with a muscular skinhead in the US, it was confirmed he was only [[TrollingCreator trolling]], and so Western gamers shared a CollectiveGroan over having to deal with her. That's not with mentioning other unrealistic characters, such as Kazumi, Claudio, Gigas, [[GuestFighter and]] [[Franchise/StreetFighter Akuma]]. However, this type of unbelievability was there from the beginning. The original ''Tekken'' featured Yoshimitsu, a cyborg ninja that seemed completely out of place amongst a roster of mostly martial arts-based fighters. There was also Kuma, a ''bear'' as a playable character, which was also out of place. The sequel even added a BoxingKangaroo and a freaking ''utahraptor''. The primary difference here is the fact that these characters were few and far between, instead of being shoved in as the stars of the game and taking up a sizable portion of the roster.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': [[https://youtu.be/JTLoN_SgUQ4 As pointed out by lister]], in Mann Vs. Machine, there was originally no refund button, because most of the harder missions involving sending one wave consisting of an enemy dealing exclusively one type of damage, and sending another dealing a different type of damage, so that players who were spending their currency had to carefully consider what are the most important upgrades, and made sure they used the same loadouts and character, since switching meant losing the upgrades and money. However, Valve likely recognized how it unintentionally caused EarlyGameHell at a [[FakeDifficulty ridiculous rate]], and added an AntiFrustrationFeature in the form of refund tokens, which were earned by earning enough money so that players can refund their upgrades to spend it on other classes. However, there was also a major GoodBadBug involving a way to get infinite tokens by going into spectator and then get automatically assigned. This was so popular that Valve later made it [[AscendedGlitch official]], allowing players to refund anytime. While this decision was respected at first, the introduction of the notorious GameBreaker, the Pyro's Gas Passer resulted in many players feeling that it [[ItsEasySoItSucks felt like it took too much difficulty away from the game]] and made it feel less challenging as a result, creating a BrokenBase whether players should play [=MvM=] for the loot or the challenge.
* A ScrappyMechanic in ''VideoGame/Thief2014'' is that [[TrickArrow rope arrows]] can only be used at very specific spots, taking away a lot of player freedom. But as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPqwDGXxLhU this video mentions]], this was also present in the first two ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' games, albeit in a more subtle way - rope arrows only work if they hit a wooden surface (or metal grills for the sequel's upgraded version, vine arrows), so if there's no wood or grillwork nearby, you cannot climb here, which makes sense in-universe. Contrast with the 2014 game, where you can't use rope arrows for the more arbitrary reason that there isn't a convenient "use rope arrow" marker nearby.
* ''Franchise/TombRaider'' took a lot of beating from fandom for overemphasis on shooting with human combatants, with greatly simplified platforming bits and removal of puzzles by the time Creator/SquareEnix took over. Lara almost literally ploughs through a small army in the [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 last]] [[VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider three]] [[VideoGame/ShadowOfTheTombRaider games]]. However, the much bigger scope on combat was present already back in the ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderII second game]], all the way back in 1997'', with introduction of a wider plethora of weapons and numerous humans enemies that were just {{Mooks}} instead of plot-sensitive characters. But back in times when Creator/CoreDesign was still making the games, it was still first and foremost a DungeonCrawling series, putting puzzles and exploration first, second and third, throwing in more combat simply to make the difficulty spike even more steep. When Creator/CrystalDynamics took over, they expanded on combat, while simplifying puzzles and automating a lot of platforming already, but they still tried to strike at least a balance between those and keeping it "true" to the roots. It was only that the 2013 reboot reduced exploration and tomb-raiding to ''side activities'' (despite having much better engine and technical capabilities), instead putting full focus on cover-shooting, elaborate combat against a seemingly endless army of mooks and clumsily trying to put focus on characterisation, reinventing Lara[[note]]who went from '''the''' ActionGirl to just a clueless graduate, giving the [[OriginsEpisode planned origins trilogy]] lukewarm reception from long-time fans before the trilogy was even finished[[/note]] as a character and turning the title into TheArtifact.
* ''American Wasteland'' may have marked the exact moment when the ''VideoGame/{{Tony Hawk|sProSkater}}'' series' {{franchise zombi|e}}fication became [[JumpingTheShark irreversible]], but as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBkKvTfw-7Q this episode]] of ''WebVideo/ErrantSignal'' makes clear, the things that sent it and later games off the rails can be seen as far back as the original ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater'' games, when the series was still on top of the world.
** Even in the very first game, the way combos are scored (powerful multipliers awarded for each little trick, losing everything for bailing) helped elevate rail-slides, which created tons of opportunities to perform little stunts, above everything else. The addition of manuals in ''Pro Skater 2'' only added to the combo focus by allowing players to string together different lines, though the game design didn't suffer for it. The kicker, though, was the introduction of reverts in ''Pro Skater 3''. Now you can do air on a quarter-pipe and link it into a manual, making the expected combos longer (and riskier, since bailing cancels out the whole thing) even for relatively casual players who didn't make as much use of the long grind and manual chains in the earlier games.\\\
Increasingly, gameplay grew more dependent on over-the-top stunt chains than anything resembling real skateboarding, while the intricate level design of the first game, designed to get the player to hunt for the best line, was replaced with a greater focus on level exploration and creating monster combos anywhere. When ''[[VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderground Underground]]'' added the ability to walk around on foot and drive around in vehicles, it was acknowledging this growing shift in focus -- and in doing so, it started the series' trend towards over-reliance on gimmicks like ''Project 8''[='=]s "Nail the Trick" feature and ''[[FranchiseKiller Ride]]''[='=]s use of an expensive skateboard peripheral. Every new feature made the games less focused on actual skateboarding -- something that was made readily apparent when ''VideoGame/{{Skate}}'' came out without any of these gimmicks and proved that they were unnecessary. Indeed, when the VideoGameRemake ''Pro Skater 1 + 2'' came out in 2020, it offered the ability to turn off the more recent gameplay innovations of the later games and play them with the classic controls, in recognition of the fact that the new tricks like manuals, reverts, and spine transfers could make the original levels (all faithfully recreated) far easier.
** Likewise, the juvenile humor and pop culture references that were criticized in later games have always been with the series. The games are rooted in skateboarding culture, which has always had a streak of countercultural irreverence, so it stood to reason that the series would reflect that. It was only around ''Pro Skater 4'' and the ''Underground'' games that they really started to take over and, more importantly, degenerate into {{fratbro}} idiocy, with the final straw probably being the inclusion of the cast of ''Series/{{Jackass}}'' in ''Underground 2''.
* Many of the problems found in later entries in the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' have their origins in the earlier games in the franchise.
** The CluelessChickMagnet protagonist. In the ''Sky'' games, while Joshua was prone to comically misunderstanding what his female companions are talking about and gets a fair amount of admirers, it was never the focus of his interactions. He genuinely does not have feelings for anyone but Estelle, their romance is heavily integrated into the plot, and he can't understand why he's so often flirted with. Most importantly, Estelle was the main viewpoint character, and Joshua's girl troubles were secondary to their development. In later arcs, both Lloyd and Rean are heavily flirted with by any and all available romantic partners, who will invariably confess a hidden infatuation with the protagonist if you dig deep enough. Lloyd had it bad enough with three, maybe four, potential suitors, but then Rean had to top him with at least ''eleven''. What's more, the many potential options have [[ShipToShipCombat divided]] fans on which, if any, should be picked, and who got the most development among them.
** The ''Cold Steel'' games got a lot of flak for how EasilyForgiven Crow was by the rest of Class VII. Despite being the leader of the terrorist group responsible for starting a civil war, Rean and the rest of Class VII were willing to forgive him and welcome him back to Class VII. However, this willingness to forgive villains applied to both the ''Sky'' trilogy and Crossbell duology. Estelle was willing to forgive Renne and Joshua for their actions as Enforcers of Ouroboros, while Lloyd was willing to forgive [[spoiler:Ian for the murder of his brother Guy and conspiring with the Crois family]]. However, the different circumstances of these villains has made them less controversial than Crow. Estelle was willing to forgive Joshua and Renne because they were both mentally broken ChildSoldiers, not to mention that Joshua was also brainwashed by Weissman into doing his bidding so he wasn't in full control of his actions. And while Lloyd did forgive [[spoiler:Ian for killing his brother]], the perpetrator was still arrested and sent to prison, so Lloyd's forgiveness wasn't an easy get-out-of-jail-free card. Thus, Rean and the rest of Class VII going on and on about bringing Crow back so he can graduate seems naive at best, considering they barely bring up any atonement or punishment for his actions [[spoiler:even though Crow does eventually end up paying for his sins and doesn't get off scot-free either]].
** The ending to ''Trails in the Sky FC'' began a trend in the series by ending on a WhamEpisode cliffhanger: [[spoiler:Professor Alba reveals himself to be Weissmann, a high ranking member of Ouroboros and [[TheDogWasTheMastermind the real instigator of the game's events]], and also reveals that Joshua was an Ouroboros Enforcer. Joshua knocks out Estelle and leaves her to try and take down Weissmann himself.]] When the series would attempt a similar cliffhanger in the ending of ''Cold Steel 1'', [[spoiler:Crow assassinates the chancellor, Noblist forces seize Heimdallr and attempt to take Thors, and Rean is forced to flee and leave his classmates,]] the move was more contentious. Much of this is due to the nature of everything leading up to the endings in both games. While ''Sky FC's'' ending reveal is sudden, it comes after the main driving forces for the plot (Estelle and Joshua becoming bracers and the Liberl Army Coup) have been resolved enough to give the player some feeling of accomplishment, and making the ending cliffhanger more of a SequelHook setting up the story of the next installment. ''Cold Steel 1''[='s=] ending, on the other hand, comes at a point when so many plot threads are either still left dangling or have been barely resolved and the player having accomplished so little that it feels as though the plot is ''just starting'', and thus making the cliffhanger feel not so much a tease of the next installment as much as [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo demanding the player pay for a full other game to get the rest of the story]].
%%* ''VideoGame/UltimaIX'' was criticised for many reasons -- a lot of which had more to do with gameplay and polish -- but one particular reason it was criticised was due to the {{Retcon}}s to the lore, especially when ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'' went on his notable rant. Surprisingly? The retcons happened before - ''VideoGame/UltimaVI'' surprisingly had quite a bit, as detailed [[https://lparchive.org/Ultima-4-5-and-6/Update%2055/ in a Let's Play of it]], with the retcons beginning even earlier when the Avatar was given a "Canon" appearance.
* ''VideoGame/{{X}}'':
** The ''X-Universe'' series of games had fundamentally flawed gameplay design -- in the developer's own opinion -- due to the Singularity Engine Time Accelerator, [[YearOutsideHourInside a device which makes the game run faster]] to make the long travel times bearable. It wasn't too bad with the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness simplistic]] gameplay of ''VideoGame/XBeyondTheFrontier'', but as the games went on, it became more and more obvious to Egosoft that they had built up the entire game around the abuse of SETA. If they were to speed up the slow item production rate at factories[[note]]players would park their ship somewhere, engage SETA, and watch a show while their factories made goods[[/note]], the economy would implode when the player traveled across a sector with SETA. If they were to make ships faster to reduce travel time, the A.I. would break (well, [[ArtificialStupidity break harder than normal]]), battles would turn into [[AirJousting jousting matches]], and the economy would implode from traders instantly grabbing every deal. They attempted to rectify the flaw in ''VideoGame/XRebirth'' by introducing a completely different travel system and were somewhat successful, though the [[ObviousBeta nigh-unplayable state of affairs at release]] brought up a whole slew of new issues.
** Ironically, SETA was re-added to ''Rebirth'' in one of the many WinBackTheCrowd patches, albeit not as something ''necessary'' to play the game without losing one's mind like it was in the previous games. SETA returns out-of-the-box in ''X4: Foundations'', but the rest of the game has been reworked so extensively that it is mostly a quality-of-life feature for fleet and production management; ships now have an innate fast-travel mode on their thrusters, and the player can unlock the ability to teleport between ships.
* The most common criticism of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' was the overt anime influence, largely because of the large amount of fanservice present and the more overt Shonen influence to the cast and story. The ''Xeno'' titles had always been anime-like or been influenced by anime; ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' was inspired by ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'', while ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' had fanservice in many areas and several anime adaptations. Since both titles were older and didn't sell particularly well enough to become mainstream, people were unaware they even existed, and those who did likely only knew them for the complex story--thus, the anime feeling (which tended to homage a lot of {{Seinen}} works that were also not as well-known in the West at the time) was largely not very noticeable. It was ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' that largely went against the anime influence, due to it having what some saw as a more Western approach to designs, characters, and presentation, which helped give it a unique feeling of maturity to newcomers, a view reinforced by ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', which while more anime like, still seemed Western in design. When ''2'' came out with fanservice and more {{Shonen|Demographic}} anime-like visuals, characters, designs, and writing, many people, especially those who had gotten in with the previous ''Xenoblade'' games, were not happy about the new direction, feeling it was hard to ignore said elements.
* A major problem fans had with the second entry of the ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' series, ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', was the inclusion of Alice and the lack of her role in the story. Major spoiler for the first game, ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', follows: [[spoiler:In that game, the characters discussed an urban legend about a mummy named All-Ice who was hinted at being the unaccounted person who may or may not be behind the murders. No mummy was discovered but in the epilogue, the cast is shocked when they see a woman wearing stereotypical Egyptian clothes in the middle of the desert. It should be noted that [[DramaticIrony nobody actually knew what All-Ice was supposed to look like]].]] The first game was originally intended to be standalone, but since it became a surprise hit with western fans, a sequel was greenlit which forced the main writer to figure out how to make sense of the GainaxEnding.
----

!!Other games:
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
** One recurring complaint about the games are their recurring use of the "{{Filler}} Case"; typically the third case,[[note]]Although Case 2 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'' ("The Monstrous Turnabout") and Case 4 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'' ("Turnabout Storyteller") and ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney Adventures'' ("The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro") better fit the bill for their respective games[[/note]] they're not only the weakest case in their respective game in terms of story or writing, but they are largely irrelevant to the main storyline. ''Turnabout Samurai'', the third case of [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the first game]], mostly avoids this, though. It serves as a BreatherEpisode between the tragic second case, which involves Mia's death, and the climactic fourth case, in which Phoenix tries to save his old friend Edgeworth. It also involves some CharacterDevelopment, as it helps establish the Phoenix-Maya partnership, and Edgeworth starts to become a better person after Phoenix broke his perfect win record, even helping break an obviously guilty witness on the stand. Other third trials don't have nearly as much significance to the narrative, making them come across as {{Filler}} that kills the pacing of the overall story arc; the most that can be said of ''Turnabout Big Top'' from ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll Justice for All]]'' is that it hangs a few [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Guns]] and sets up a few character dynamics for the new cast members that play into the finale. ''Turnabout Storyteller'' from ''Spirit of Justice'' can't even boast ''that''!
** Since the second game, the franchise had an established tradition of [[RememberTheNewGuy tying new characters and plot points into the backstory of the established cast]] to add weight, depth, and drama to the game's story. This has largely been well-received (''Trials and Tribulations'' is widely seen as the height of the franchise despite doing so ''very'' extensively), even when it causes the odd [[HandWave minor writing inconsistency that needs to be politely overlooked]]. But many think ''Spirit of Justice'' revealing that [[spoiler:Apollo is from Khura'in, and Dhurke's adopted son]] is a step too far, since in one fell swoop it begs the question of why such an important part of a character's life has never been brought up before and reshapes almost everything we used to know about him in the name of adding personal stakes to the final case of the game.
** One complaint leveled towards the series was that the witnesses and side characters introduced began to become harder to take seriously, most of whom had designs and personalities that were over the top and/or just seemed unrealistic and distracting. These types of characters were a thing in the first few games, with characters like the Berry Big Circus being silly and a bit out of place compared to the rest of the game, or the entire concept of [=Mask=]☆[=DeMasque=]. However, what made these fine for fans was the context around them usually justified it; most of the silly or over the top characters were in positions where that made sense like clowns, actors, or were based off common jokes or stereotypes, like Sal Manella in the first game being a FatIdiot {{Otaku}}. The original trilogy also generally kept characters to a more realistic level in design or personality, which made characters like Matt Engarde and Shelly de Killer stand out because of how different they were. Starting with ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' though, characters began to become so over the top and hard to believe that it made it eye rolling for some, like the witnesses were some kind of spectacle rather than characters. This lead to things like robots, or characters like Aristotle Means looking like a living statue, which greatly distracted from the stories of each case.
** The franchise has long used {{Punny Name}}s to convey hidden meanings in character names found in the original Japanese, and some puns translated less gracefully. For example, the main joke in Kaoru Ohba's name[[note]]Her name, when spelled in the Japanese order, also has "Baka" or "Idiot" in it, although this may not be the main joke, since she isn't as outrageously stupid as some characters[[/note]] - that her surname, when pronounced, sounds like "ObaSan" - is harder to convey in English, which is why she's called "Wendy Oldbag" in the localization. That said, most of the names in the earlier installments actually sounded semi-normal; when [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice the sixth game]] took Phoenix to the fictional Kingdom of Khur'ain, the names stopped sounding like actual names and were mostly just common phrases written in a funny way, making some of them sound forced rather than clever. For example, the first case has a young tour guide called Ahlbi Urgaid (which at least sounds "foreign", but made up) and a monk called Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin (which doesn't even try to sound like a name). By the final case things have reached the point of self-parody, with a major antagonist's full name being a pun on "How could this name be any longer or more pompous than it already is?" And almost all of these were ''even worse'' in the original Japanese, which barely even bothered to try to spell them differently!
** Some people criticize the fourth through sixth games for juggling multiple playable characters, but ''Trials and Tribulations'' was the first time players could play as people besides Phoenix- the first and fourth cases had Mia as the player character, while Edgeworth became playable in the first investigation and trial days of the final trial. This was better received back then because Phoenix was still indisputably the protagonist, while playing as Mia helped flesh out events that took place before Phoenix became a lawyer and playing as Edgeworth was a fun bonus that gave both he and Franziska something to do in a GrandFinale that would've felt incomplete without them. ''Spirit of Justice'' makes Apollo the protagonist at the start of the final case despite only having been playable in the second case before then, which took place outside the region where the finale happens, causing complaints about his relevance to the Khur'ain plot failing to justify being the final protagonist, while Athena's case is considered filler. Similarly, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' received criticism for having Phoenix be a SpotlightStealingSquad in Apollo's game, while ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' was criticized for having to juggle Phoenix making his grand return and Athena making her debut as the protagonist, with Apollo left in the lurch, [[spoiler: contriving to have him serve as a surprise ''antagonist'' in the final case just so he'd have something to do, on top of writing in an old friend who died in the case a la an earlier entry]].
** The later games have also received complaints for not following up on the plot points from previous games. However, the series has always avoided talking about specific plot points from previous titles; they've been doing it since the second game in the original trilogy was pretty vague about a lot of important things that happened there so as not to alienate new players picking the series up with the second installment. It only became noticeable when the plots became much bigger in scope than they were before, and the marks they should've left on the characters and the setting so much more important, like Phoenix [[spoiler:reuniting with the supposed love of his life at the end of the third game, only for her never to be seen or even ''mentioned'' again]] or Apollo and Trucy [[spoiler:never finding out that they're half-siblings, despite them both being main characters with lots of screen-time together in two full games ''after'' Phoenix finds this out and agrees with their mother that someone needs to tell them their family history]].
** Phoenix's AntiHero characterization and the actions he committed in ''Apollo Justice'' (such as [[spoiler:forging evidence]]) have received a ton of criticism for how out of place it is with the characterization he had in the trilogy. However, while Phoenix in the original games was undeniably a good guy and wasn't an AmoralAttorney, he wasn't entirely straight-laced and would easily bend the rules for his sake if he felt the need to do so, which includes doing some legally shady actions, such as [[spoiler:breaking into Damon Gant's office illegally and concealing illegal evidence against him until the last minute]] in "Rise from the Ashes", potentially telling Larry to lie like a dog in his first trial, accusing several people of murder mid-case (often just as a delaying tactic that famously almost gets an innocent woman charged with the crime in the second game), and outright lying to someone just to have him slip up. But this tends to receive a pass compared to his actions in ''Apollo Justice'' because, first, the player is experiencing these things from Phoenix's perspective in the trilogy, and so has greater understanding for and sympathy with his mindset when he does them, as opposed to ''Apollo Justice'', where the player is seeing him from an outsider's perspective for most of it (since Apollo is the main character), and thus isn't able to get into his head and understand his motives as well; and, second, it's usually done as a [[GodzillaThreshold last resort]] and/or for a very justified reason, actively defending an innocent person from being convicted of a serious crime, whereas Phoenix's actions in ''Apollo Justice'' don't really have that same justification behind them (even if they are understandable).
** One common gripe people had with ''Dual Destinies'' was that it's hard to care about [[spoiler: Clay Terran]]'s death since we never got to know him while he was still alive. He's certainly not alone in that regard; most victims in the series are introduced posthumously, and the few who aren't [[WeHardlyKnewYe rarely have enough screentime for the audience to get attached to them]]. This generally isn't seen as a problem when the victims are people the player characters didn't know too well, but [[spoiler: Clay was supposed to be Apollo's closest friend, and his death is an integral part of Apollo's character arc, so it's strange that [[RememberTheNewGuy he never appeared and was only vaguely mentioned]] before he died, and we never learn much about his personality beyond him being a NiceGuy]].
* ''Franchise/AngryBirds'':
** One of the most common complaints about modern ''Angry Birds'' is the series going [[AllegedlyFreeGame free-to-play]]. ''Angry Birds'' is no stranger to {{Microtransactions}}, with the earliest example being the Mighty Eagle in 2011. Some other early examples include [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Danger Zone]] in ''Angry Birds Space'' and the [[PowerUp Power-Ups]] in ''Angry Birds Friends'' (although the latter can be purchased with in-game currency). The series went fully Freemium in 2013, when Power-Ups were added to the main games (''Classic'', ''Seasons'' and ''Rio''), but fans didn't see it as a major issue. It wasn't until late 2014, when they were already many games that came out as free-to-play where this become a problem. In particular, fans disliked ''Angry Birds 2'' for using a lives system like many other free-to-play games, which many felt took much of the fun out of the game.
** The series' main art style using ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBirdsMovie'' character designs is another common complaint, [[BrokenBase especially among fans who dislike the movies]]. Creator/RovioEntertainment did the same thing with ''WesternAnimation/AngryBirdsToons'' back in the day, with ''VideoGame/AngryBirdsGo'' becoming the first game to completely abandon the ''Classic'' art style in favor of the ''Toons'' art style. The ''Toons'' art style slowly began to incorporate into the main games (most notably the ''WesternAnimation/Rio2'' update in ''Angry Birds Rio'') and merchandise, and ''VideoGame/AngryBirds2'' become an ArtShiftedSequel. The thing is that the ''Toons'' designs are not as divisive as the movie designs, in part because they mostly improved on the original characters, explaining why many fans didn't notice or didn't care about the change.
* ''Franchise/AnimalCrossing'':
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'', like some other 3DS games, incorporates the system's Play Coins as currency for certain features. Among these is for the fortune cookies, which contain unique furniture if the player gets the corresponding fortune. As tedious as [[{{Exergaming}} the process of grinding the Play Coins is]] (100 steps on the system's built-in pedometer gives one Play Coin, with a limit of 10 per day) and the fact that the items obtained are random (possibly duplicates), this is still considered fine for the fanbase, as there is nothing else that keeps the player from trying to get them all. And then comes ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingPocketCamp'' and its own take on fortune cookies. To match its elusiveness with the ''New Leaf'' ones, only two that can be bought with Bells appear on the shop per day, but the option of [[BribingYourWayToVictory using premium currency]] is also available. This proceeded to annoy a lot of fans, as [[LootBoxes the fortune cookie mechanics]] (RandomDrop, RareRandomDrop, possible duplicates) became more detrimental for players who want to complete the Catalog and unlock Memories. Why? The '''event''' fortune cookies appear only temporarily and show up ''very'' rarely at the shop, leaving only the premium currency as a way to purchase, which is considered by fans to be way too expensive (a dollar equals 20 Leaf Tickets) thanks to how stingy the game is when it comes to free Leaf Tickets.
** ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' has a fair amount of controversial developments that originated from earlier titles:
*** SaveGameLimits have always been a staple in the series, and at times seen as a ScrappyMechanic even in earlier games as save files had to share one town. However, in previous entries it was excusable by factors like Controller Paks/Memory Cards being cheap to collect, the DS/[=3DS=] being single-person handhelds, and the limitations of the Wii's save system. However, with ''New Horizons'', save data is shared between Switch accounts, despite them normally having unique data attached to them. As a result, the only way to get a brand new Island for a friend or family member is to buy a new Switch altogether.
*** After the SaveGameLimits, the most controversial thing about ''New Horizons'' is the concept of the Resident Representative, which grants the very first player special privileges, including all main forms of progression. This started in ''New Leaf'', where the first player would be elected mayor and be responsible for building up the town. Once again, ''New Leaf'' being on a traditional handheld meant that players were much more open to owning multiple systems and game copies per household.
*** Another common criticism of ''New Horizons'', even among those who consider the game a step up from ''New Leaf'', is that villager dialogue is noticeably limited and one-note, with characters feeling static and saccharine as a result of their small interaction pools (with more variable dialogue being locked behind the game's RelationshipValues). The limited amount of possible interactions is actually a trend that stretches all the way back to the first game. However, in earlier cases it was excusable due to the technical limitations of the respective systems; while the Switch is also limited, it's considerably more powerful than previous systems.
* Before ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins Origins]]'' heavily [[WinBackTheCrowd shook up the formula]], the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series received a lot of complaints about the fact that the core gameplay of social stealth and combat had barely changed since the first game, with [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/14964-When-Will-Assassins-Creed-End later games merely adding a bunch of features]] to pass things off as new.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' is cited as the point where this became a problem, as many felt that the game's main missions were glorified scripted events, even the Assassination missions, which should be stealthy and open-ended. It was also seen as being overstuffed with side activities and additional features. However, this was an ongoing trend since the well-liked ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', and its follow-ups ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'', which had moved away from the stealthy original and were filled with additional features and content. What made them acceptable was that ''Brotherhood'' and ''Revelations'' were {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s, and as such, the additional features were condoned and seen as part of the appeal of the touristy cities with exotic architecture. The fact that the New World setting of ''ACIII'' lacked the tall buildings, fancy architecture, and recognizable landmarks in favor of forests and colonial outposts only brought these problems to the forefront.
** ''III'' was also criticized for its BeenThereShapedHistory tendencies, with Connor interacting on a first-name basis with many of America's Founding Fathers and participating in several key events of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution, which to many beggared belief. Yet this was always part of the franchise's appeal. Altair in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' conversed on even terms with the very Christian King Richard the Lionheart and later fought Genghis Khan, Ezio counted Leonardo da Vinci and Machiavelli among his best friends and interacted with a "who's who" of the Renaissance, and the later ''Black Flag'' had Edward interact with every famous English pirate of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy. In the case of ''III'', the American Founding Fathers and the events of the Revolution were perhaps ''too'' prominent, known to every schoolboy, with the setting seen by foreign gamers as {{Eagleland}}. The other historical figures and settings, while somewhat well-known, aren't held in nearly the same reverence, nor are their memories part of current political discourse.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' is an inversion, an example of the franchise returning to its roots as a result of the divisive reaction to ''III'' -- greater focus on stealth, less focus on side activities, more assassination missions, toning down the BeenThereShapedHistory aspect -- and getting thoroughly trashed for repeating its original sins. ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' was criticized in its time for repetitive side activities, lack of additional interaction with the open world, and endless collectibles. ''Unity'' returned with repetitive Side Story quests and endless collectibles that dotted out the map, to the extent that people became nostalgic for the much-reviled flags of ''I''. Where ''III'' was criticized for Connor being too central to the Revolution, ''Unity'' was criticized for [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin the hero being too marginal]] to the events, with the game being highly criticized for its shallow representation of history. The game which followed, ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedSyndicate Syndicate]]'', [[HereWeGoAgain received praise]] for making more diverse side missions, a fairer look at the historical events, and having additional features missing in ''Unity''.
** Many of the recurring elements that have been critiqued for being out of place, such as a modern day framing story, the silhouette of the Assassin outfit, and the overt nature of the Assassin vs. Templar conflict, have been there from the beginning. The difference was, the framing story started out as a major reveal (and could not be said to have overstayed its welcome yet), the outfit was chosen for a reason (it highly resembled the monks of the region, allowing for social stealth), and the Assassin vs. Templar conflict was rooted in the actual history of those organizations. At some point, the developers began to treat these as too iconic of the franchise and kept them around even as they [[TheArtifact became divorced]] from their original contexts. The modern day framing story remains even after its original plot has long since been resolved, the Assassins continue to wear similar outfits despite how [[HighlyVisibleNinja incredibly conspicuous]] a hooded outfit is in most contexts (plus the increasingly [[ConspiracyPlacement prominent logos]]), and the central conflict is increasingly overt and now predates the historical organizations (the fact that the Assassins and Templars [[TheConspiracy secretly existed]] outside of the Crusades at all, let alone into the modern day, was the ''other'' big twist, and was part of the concept that this was the truth of our own history being revealed through GeneticMemory TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture).
** [[CrowsNestCartography Map synchronization]] is one that became a problem with Creator/{{Ubisoft}}'s WideOpenSandbox games in general, to the point where even series creator Patrice Désilets [[https://www.destructoid.com/creator-of-assassin-s-creed-patrice-d-silets-i-m-sorry-for-radio-towers-570009.phtml apologized]] for popularizing the much-maligned "radio tower" gameplay structure. In the first ''Assassin's Creed'' game, synchronization serves an in-story purpose of allowing the protagonist to get the lay of the land from a high vantage point, and was necessary to figure out where your targets were and how to reach them. It also wasn't used to find collectibles (which only came in with the sequels); those remained genuinely hidden. In later games, however, mechanics like synchronization, radio towers (in the ''Franchise/FarCry'' sequels), [=ctOS=] towers (in ''VideoGame/WatchDogs''), and the like were used to uncover hidden items, side missions, and other collectibles. Fans of open-world games often blame the "Ubisoft formula" for detracting from the exploration aspect of open worlds, making them feel less like places filled with secrets to discover and more like maps with a checklist of things to do.
** Some people have commented being uncomfortable with ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'' glamorizing the Vikings, owing to their RapePillageAndBurn activities in real life, which the game mostly justifies as "everyone was doing it back then", with the Saxons and Picts being portrayed as just as bad, and portraying Eivor and Raven Clan as exceptionally 'good' Vikings while putting more focus on their belief systems and honor culture. But the series is a franchise ''built'' on HistoricalHeroUpgrade, going back to the first game turning the Assassin Brotherhood into a group of heroic freedom fighters; meanwhile, ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'', one of the most popular installments in the franchise, is about pirates, who are about as guilty of RapePillageAndBurn as the Vikings were (in fact, the concepts of pirate and viking are more-or-less the same thing, just different time periods). The argument that the game supports the Viking's brutal actions also brings to mind the "Whaling" controversy from ''Black Flag'', where [=PETA=] argued that the ability to hunt whales in-game was supportive towards the [[ValuesDissonance now-frowned-upon]] practice of whaling.
** One of the most controversial issues seems to be the matter of Viking colonialism, something that isn't typically associated with pirates and is more of a hot-button political argument than the traditional RapePillageAndBurn is. However, this too is somewhat reflective of earlier games as well, such as ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' where the settlement mechanic originates and does amount to fundamentally the same thing (TheHero aids and supports an invasive colony), and the aforementioned ''Black Flag'' where a subplot during the game features the formation of the pirate colony Nassau, which amounted to seizing a port city and killing anyone who objected. Though the people they seize Nassau from are outside colonists themselves, so are the Saxons whom the Vikings are taking land from. However, while this does not necessarily justify such issues, in most previous games themes of colonialism are generally part of the historical background, limited to isolated incidents, or embodied in specific [=NPCs=]; in ''Valhalla'', the raiding and subjugation of a foreign land is a central narrative and gameplay theme in which the player is required to engage throughout the game.
* ''VideoGame/BalanWonderworld'' is an unusual case where the problems addressed by the player were present in the ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'' games, but were handled significantly worse in ''Balan'':
** One of the biggest complaints is that the plot is very hard to understand due to lack of dialogue and a clear understanding of what is going on. This was not a problem in the two ''[=NiGHTS=]'' games, however. The first game had very little plot aside from the final stage, but even then it was clear what was happening, and what little plot there was could clearly be understood in the manual. Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/NiGHTSJourneyOfDreams'' had dialogue and voice acting, which allowed the plot to be clearly understood. Unfortunately, ''Balan Wonderworld'' has neither an easy to understand plot (which requires [[AllThereInTheManual a separate novel]] to fully comprehend) nor any dialogue during crucial plot moments (apart from the opening cutscene and ending, and even then the dialogue is entirely spoken in a fictional language), rendering the game very confusing.
** Like in previous Creator/YujiNaka series ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'', a single action is tied to every button on the controller. While it did cause some issues in that series[[note]]''2'' and ''3 and Knuckles'' feature {{Super Mode}}s that can be activated after you collect 50 rings. To preserve the one-button gameplay, ''2'' forces you to activate the Super Mode after jumping once. ''3 and Knuckles'' is less bad about it, instead activating it if you press the jump button again in mid-air, so you can at least you can jump normally even if you can't use Sonic's insta-shield, Tails's flight or Knuckles's gliding without activating the Super Mode.[[/note]], it largely worked fine because the characters had simple movesets. ''Balan Wonderworld'', however, has 80 costumes (power-ups) with varying abilities. As the one button is already used to jump, the one-button scheme is now a much bigger problem: several costumes will either activate their powers when they feel like it or prevent you from jumping, both of which are awkward and frequently cause PowerUpLetdown.
** Still another issue is that Balan can only be played as during bonus levels, with fans bemoaning that the game would be more interesting if you were playing as him. This, too, is another issue brought on from the ''[=NiGHTS=]'' series. In the first game, players had very little to do when a level started other than to dualize with [=NiGHTS=], and even when they got to play as Elliot and Claris exclusively in the final level, it was still more of the same gameplay. The same also occurred in ''Journey of Dreams'', but there were also a few levels in which the player exclusively controlled Will and Helen, including one in all three of Helen's Nightopias. Sadly, this issue was taken too far in ''Balan Wonderworld'', where, as noted, players primarily control Leo and Emma, and Balan is reduced to being playable in bonus stages.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':
** [[HijackedByGanon One of the biggest criticisms]] aimed toward ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' was present in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', where, despite Hugo Strange being marketed and presented as the main villain in the beginning of the game, you'll spend so much of it [[spoiler:curing ComicBook/TheJoker from his disease]] (all but one or two hours in the entire game) that the game needs to remind you that Strange exists from time to time. Making him the BigBad of [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum the first game]] was quite sensible because - well, it was the first game in the series. The second game was intended to be Creator/{{Mark Hamill}}'s swansong for the character, which nobody would have wanted pushed to a side mission. But ''Origins'' had Black Mask (a relatively unknown villain) presented as the BigBad, only to get upstaged by [[spoiler:Joker]]. By ''Knight'', the promoted main villain Scarecrow (considered one of the most memorable villains in the original game, and who had only made a full appearance there) is overshadowed by [[spoiler:the Joker hallucination, who ends up being the final encounter while Scarecrow is defeated in a cutscene]], and certain other villains who hadn't been utilized very much (such as Two-Face) are either not present or encountered only in side missions.
** The ''City'' PC port was decent but sub-optimized and came a month after the console versions, ''Origins''[='=] was filled with bugs and then the ''Knight'' port [[PortingDisaster happened]]. It was forgiven for ''City'' because the port was still good enough to be playable, and ''Origins'' was tolerated because the game itself was seen as a quick cash-in rush job by WB and was still pretty terrible on consoles anyway.
** Riddler Trophies. ''Arkham Knight'' had people complaining that some of them were out in the open without needing to do anything special to get them. In truth, this was the case all the way back in ''Asylum''. The difference is that ''Asylum'' was on a much smaller scale and the Riddler trophy collecting was new.
* ''VideoGame/Battlefield1'' has a PoliticallyCorrectHistory approach that would later be panned far more harshly in its immediate sequel ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV''. In ''1'', non-white soldiers are dramatically overrepresented in multiplayer among the American, British, French and German armies; the ''In the Name of the Tsar'' DLC depicts the Russian Women's Battalion of Death as an active combat unit instead of a ceremonial one; and Zara Ghufran, the female Bedouin warrior protagonist of the War Story "Nothing is Written", plays a larger and more direct part in the Arab Revolt than any real Arab women are known to have done. While these decisions caused some controversy, they weren't nearly as widely or deeply criticized as the liberties taken in ''V''. The difference is that in ''1'', there was a greater historical basis for creative choices,[[note]]All female and non-white figures in-game are based on real historical women and people of color who served in the conflict, like the African-American Harlem Hellfighters and Afro-French ''troupes coloniales''.[[/note]] which when combined with the game's polished performance, authentic aesthetics and an in-game codex that provided historical context, creates a verisimilitude that made these particular characters feel organic to the setting. Moreover, the real actions of male historical figures were still generally credited to those people, such as the aforementioned "Nothing is Written" War Story heavily featuring [[UsefulNotes/TELawrence Lawrence of Arabia]] as Zara's mentor and the BigGood. In contrast, ''V'' had [[MildlyMilitary wacky customizable uniforms]] and playable women in historically male-only factions like the Special Air Service, meaning that there isn't the historical facsimile that would prevent this revisionism from sticking out like a sore thumb (and the immersion-breaking bugs certainly didn't help). Also not helping matters is how the campaign of ''V'' falsely attributes the actions of historical figures to completely fictional women and minorities; most notably, the real-life sabotage of a heavy water plant in occupied Norway, historically carried out by an all-male team of SOE commandos, is performed in ''V'' by a mother-daughter duo, and the level itself doesn't even attempt to be historically accurate in terms of how the operation was handled, the aforementioned mother-daughter duo sabotaging both the plant and a ferry trying to salvage its product in [[HeroicSacrifice a dramatic manner]] whereas the two were handled by entirely different groups of people, all of whom survived their respective operations.
* ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' was the game that birthed the term "{{ludonarrative dissonance}}" due to the contradictions between the narrative told through its story and the one told through its gameplay, especially after TheReveal. [[spoiler:In a game ostensibly built around player freedom and choice, the big twist concerns the fact that you actually have [[NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom none]], since you had been {{brainwashed}} by [[BigBad Frank Fontaine]] the whole time. The problem really comes in when you're freed from Fontaine's brainwashing, yet you're still {{railroad|ing}}ed through the game, this time taking orders from Tenenbaum ostensibly under your own free will.]] However, the twist, when taken on its own, was a stunning {{deconstruction|Game}} of tropes that were taken for granted in video games up to that point. Furthermore, not only did the game still have MultipleEndings that depended on decisions that players made throughout the game and (in the fashion of the {{Immersive Sim}}s it was modeled after) afforded them multiple ways to approach every problem put in front of them, but the fact that it was in fact far more linear than it initially presented itself as was the entire point of the twist, such that even a DisappointingLastLevel couldn't stop it from being acclaimed as one of the greatest video game stories of all time. ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' was not only far more linear but had no such metanarrative justification, and as such it was often criticized for leading players through its story and world rather than letting them interact with such.
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'':
** ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' has been criticized by some reviews and fans for having tedious backtracking and tiresome quest design. While some of these problems have existed since the first entry in the franchise, ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' did mitigate some of the excessive backtracking and offered vastly improved gameplay and writing that helped distract from some of the sluggish pacing problems. However, as noted in [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/13/borderlands-the-pre-sequel-review this IGN review]], ''The Pre-Sequel'' did not correct the pacing problems despite being the 3rd main installment in the series, thus making it more difficult to ignore these issues.
** ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'' was criticized for having humor too reliant on shock value and shallow pop-culture references. Granted, the franchise's comedy has always been divisive since the first game with some deriding it as obnoxious and cringey. However, at the time, the game's wackiness was appreciated for making it stand out from other more serious shooters. ''Borderlands 2'' built on the first game's comedy with memorable characters like [[CuteAndPsycho Tiny Tina]] and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Handsome Jack]], the latter of whom was highly praised with his hilariously BadBoss antics and cartoonishly genocidal plans making him a biting satire of neo-colonialist corporations. Creator/TelltaleGames' spin-off AdventureGame, ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', was also praised for improving on the humor with more wit and new likable characters. However, fans became less accepting of the humor in ''Borderlands 3'' because of how it recycled the writing style of the previous games without elevating it, saying anything meaningful or offering interesting characters. Not only was the comedy beginning to lose its charm, but the game's characters also failed to impress with the villainous [[BigBadDuumvirate Calypso siblings]] being obnoxious {{shallow parod|y}}ies of [=YouTubers=] and social media influencers whose comical ForTheEvulz moments come off as weak attempts to recreate the success of Handsome Jack.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'':
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare''[='=]s SignatureScene is, by the opinions of most players and gaming outlets, the nuke from the level "Shock and Awe". It's about as big of a DownerEnding as could possibly happen for the American side of the campaign: shocking, visceral, and tragic. It's very likely responsible for lifting the series from merely a well-rated game series to a CashCowFranchise. Later games, however, would try to top the nuke scene over and over, with AssPull after Ass Pull, moments that exist seemingly ''just'' for shock value (the airport massacre of "No Russian" in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2 Modern Warfare 2]]'', which at least has a story link to the rest of the game, and the death of a little girl and her family in a bombing in "Davis Family Vacation" in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3 Modern Warfare 3]]'', which... really does not), and a few sequences that just plain repeat the nuke sequence verbatim (respectively the EMP over Washington, D.C. in ''2'' and the gas attacks across Europe in ''3''). By ''Modern Warfare 3'', the audience had come to expect these events, and [[ShockFatigue they'd stopped being shocking and started feeling manufactured and trite]].\\\
Furthermore, the nuke scene also foreshadowed the series' reliance on linear set-pieces that restricted the player's agency. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwxKOcteZlw This video]] pegs ''Modern Warfare 2'' as the point where this problem got out of hand, arguing that it tried to create something like the nuke scene every forty-five minutes. It works in the first ''Modern Warfare'' because it's an ''ending'' to that side of the campaign, and one explicitly designed to make the player feel powerless at that, but later games use similar highly-scripted moments as {{power fantas|y}}ies instead, which goes against legacy game mechanics that were designed to disempower the player back when the series was still focused on storming the beaches of Normandy as part of a team.
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts''[='=] multiplayer started the trend of nerfing kill/score/pointstreaks for future games. While the developers' intent was so that there would be less offensive streak-spamming and spawn-killing by offensive streaks, this had the unfortunate side-effect of making high offensive-streaks almost useless to go after. In ''Ghosts''[='=] case, most players just ran either the Support or Specialist Strike Packages instead of the Assault Strike Package due to many items in the Assault Package being too weak to run with (this also contributed to ''Ghosts''[='=] criticism for encouraging camping-style play in multiplayer).
** One of the biggest complaints you will see about the series' multiplayer is that the time it takes to kill seems to get quicker with each installment, resulting in a devolution into RocketTagGameplay. This can be traced back to ''Modern Warfare'', which had a few annoying OneHitKill weapons (primarily one sniper rifle that was bugged to deal slightly better damage with a specific sight attached), but were few in number and most players stuck with more BoringButPractical weapons. The game also included the Stopping Power perk that gives a 40% damage boost to all ballistic weapons. When ''Black Ops'' came out, it removed Stopping Power but didn't adjust damage values to compensate. A common criticism of that game's multiplayer was that it now took too long to kill. [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor From this point onwards]], the damage of weapons were increasingly ramped up (by ''Black Ops II'', even the pistols, at close range, rival the strongest of the assault rifles in damage) and many one-shot kill weapons became more prominent, leading to the oft-dreaded gameplay style used today.
** One of the most derided parts of the series among critics and fans alike was the increasing shift to a futuristic sci-fi setting, beginning with ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]'' and reaching a nadir with ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyInfiniteWarfare Infinite Warfare]]'', the backlash from which lead to the series RevisitingTheRoots with ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII WWII]]''. However, this trend can be found as far back as the first ''Modern Warfare'', which took place NextSundayAD and had multiple segments seemingly designed to show off cutting edge technology, from night-vision goggles to the capabilities of modern tanks. This can be forgiven, however, as said technology was genuinely novel at the time (not many games let you fire the guns of an AC-130 gunship before ''[=CoD4=]'' featured it). The aforementioned ''Black Ops II'' was the first to shift into TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture territory, but balanced things out with levels taking place in the 1980s, and having many of the futuristic elements be based on current emerging technologies (e.g. its heavy reliance on unmanned drones and one level giving you a sniper rifle that can [[ArmorPiercingAttack penetrate deeper surfaces]] by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Storm superposing multiple rounds to all be fired with one trigger pull]]) to keep things plausible. But by the time ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare Advanced Warfare]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII Black Ops III]]'' gave us two different CyberPunk settings and ''Infinite Warfare'' sent the series into outer space, it was agreed that the series had completely lost its grip on the realism that it was originally renowned for.
** ''Call of Duty'' gained an infamous reputation as xenophobic and [[WarIsGlorious jingoistic]] following the breakout success of the ''Modern Warfare'' sub-series, to the point of inspiring several {{Deconstruction Game}}s that specifically aimed to criticize it, the most famous one being ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. However, the ''Modern Warfare'' trilogy--which kickstarted the modern military shooter genre--can be interpreted as [[GenreDeconstruction a deconstruction]] of [[UnbuiltTrope exactly that type of propaganda game]]. In the first two entries, America ''[[AvertedTrope doesn't]]'' [[AmericaSavesTheDay save the day]] and its actions end in failure, whether it be a nuclear blast which kills thousands of American soldiers (looking for a warlord who turns out to [[AllForNothing not even be on the same continent]]), or a CIA agent participating in a civilian massacre which gives Russia the perfect excuse to [[InvadedStatesOfAmerica invade the US]] when said agent is killed and left to take the fall for everything. Furthermore, the overarching conflict of all three games is later revealed to be [[spoiler: an elaborate ploy on the part of [[RenegadeRussian Russian ultranationalists]] collaborating ''with an American military general'' to trick their two nations into declaring war on each other as part of a jingoistic power fantasy]]. Unfortunately, this commentary was [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing lost on a lot of players due to the exciting gunplay]] (particularly in multiplayer) and the series' growing reliance on RuleOfCool. Meanwhile, the breakout success of ''Call of Duty'' with both ''Modern Warfare 1'' and ''2'' led the franchise to amass a large MisaimedFandom whose PatrioticFervor would then be capitalized on by subsequent games in the hopes of escalating the franchise's sales numbers. While ''Modern Warfare 3'' deliberately indulged its blockbuster power fantasy by taking on a more generic AmericaSavesTheDay tone, it still retained some of the WarIsHell commentary of its predecessors (as the story ends with [[spoiler: moderates on both sides renouncing the war, Europe and Russia in disarray, countless civilian lives being lost, and nearly every player character and fellow soldier dead]]). Likewise, ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]'' drew criticism for portraying its American leads as heroes while the villains were mostly lower-class minorities led by a Nicaraguan freedom fighter, though the game still showed said villains in a sympathetic light and didn't shy away from depicting the damage that America's actions during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar had inflicted on them (and the fact that said villains' actions fell ''hard'' into DisproportionateRetribution may have also helped in this regard). ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' however, depicted its American heroes as uniformly righteous figures [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality even as they commit war crimes roughly once every two missions]], whilst the Latin American-based Federation was portrayed as an AlwaysChaoticEvil horde with no redeeming qualities or even ''named characters'' other than a [[FaceHeelTurn traitorous American]] (who also fell short of being likeable due to being an InvincibleVillain with a [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil generically boring motivation]] and ridiculous amounts of PlotArmor), in a plot that had discomforting parallels to [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything real-world debates over immigration to the US]]. Not helping matters was that publisher Activision deliberately marketed the games as power fantasies and [[BackedByThePentagon brought on US military advisers to endorse the series]], including controversial figures like Oliver North (infamous for his role in the Iran-Contra affair) advising on and [[AsHimself voicing himself]] in ''Black Ops II''. Come another few years, and [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 2019's reboot]] of ''Modern Warfare'' would take this sin to its logical zenith by including real life war crimes committed by American forces in the Middle East and then ''blaming Russia'' for them (most infamously the "Highway of Death" from the 1991 Gulf War, which ''[=MW2019=]'' turns from a legal but morally-questionable attack on retreating enemy forces into an outright massacre on fleeing civilians). ''Call of Duty'' fell victim to its own success and [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis became the type of military propaganda that it once sought to condemn]].
** The Gunsmith system in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyVanguard Vanguard]]'' is criticized for robbing the game of any sense of realism by letting players slap random attachments onto the weapons. The system was introduced in ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 Modern Warfare (2019)]]'' and was lauded for its innovative take on gun customization by allowing players to put tons of custom attachments on any given weapon, some combinations of which can completely alter a weapon's identity and role (for instance, one could turn the basic M4 assault rifle into either a long-range marksman's weapon with a longer barrel and fixed stock, or a close-range submachine gun with a shorter barrel and a conversion to pistol rounds). It worked there because the attachments all exist in reality, are frequently used by actual militaries for different mission profiles and were designed to fit the weapons in question (e.g. every stock, barrel and ammo option for the M4 is based on a real stock, barrel and handguard, or ammo conversion made for AR-15 rifles). ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar Black Ops: Cold War]]'' skirted by on the same system because the game focused on special operations troops who historically had access to customized weapons in The80s. Furthermore, even modified guns that clearly didn't exist at the time, like the version of the FAMAS present, were accepted mostly because the ''Black Ops'' subseries had anachronisms, almost all of which involved the exact same weapons, that [[GrandfatherClause already existed]] since the first ''Black Ops'', and the game still took care to make sure attachments fit the time period (e.g. optics simply look more primitive than the ones from ''[=MW2019=]'', like much bulkier and squared-off red dot sights, to reflect being manufactured thirty years earlier) and, in the case of unique attachments, their parent firearm (barrels and stocks are still universally based on ones made for the specific weapon or very closely-related weapons). ''Vanguard'', however, went all-out on offering options for the player without as much care for whether they actually fit their parent weapon or the time period. As such, for every option based in reality (e.g. parts to convert the [=M1A1=] Thompson into a mostly-correct M1928, a wooden stock for the MP 40 used on a real unlicensed copy, detachable magazines for the M1 Garand that were actually tested at the time, or an underfolding stock for the [=StG=] 44 based on one tested for tank crews) there are at least as many options which have no precedent for existing in the 1940s, like red dot sights made by arbitrarily scaling down aircraft-mounted reflector sights (the results looking at least as streamlined and advanced as what was available in ''Call of Duty 4'', released and set ''60 years after'' the war; tellingly, a few red dot models from the game are reused for ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIII Modern Warfare III]]'', and fit right in with all the other modern sight options), mounting them at an offset as a close-range backup to a long-range scope (a technique which didn't come into common use until about the TurnOfTheMillennium), fitting drum magazines to weapons that could not take them (including a version of the Thompson that was specifically designed to eliminate compatibility with them, or several pump-action tube-fed shotguns), and offering stocks that are taken from weapons which didn't even exist at the time (like the Uzi, produced starting in 1950, or the Romanian version of the AK-47, from 1963) or alternate ammo types which have nothing to do with their parent firearms (like completely fictional conversions of the .30-06 BAR or 7.62x54mm Mosin-Nagant to use .50 BMG) or which, again, didn't exist until well after the war ended (like being able to rechamber the Thompson for 5.7x28mm, a bullet designed in The80s). Not helping matters either is that ''[=MW2019=]'' and ''BOCW'' limit you to at most five attachments at a time on any one gun while ''Vanguard'' lets you put something in all ten slots at once, which opens up even more and greater possibilities for immersion-breaking custom guns.
** On that subject, ''Vanguard'' is not the first historical-set ''Call of Duty'' to fudge historical accuracy for the purposes of gameplay or story, as every game from the first one has had some wonky history. The difference is that ''Vanguard'' is simply the most obvious case, suffering in part due to its decision to include more women and people of color, [[PoliticallyCorrectHistory even in situations where it would make more sense for them to not be present]]. Earlier games also at least had a dedication to historical ''authenticity'', a dedication ''Vanguard'' noticeably lacks, even in comparison to [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII Sledgehammer's previous game]] (where the devs admitted that player choice took precedence over historical accuracy in multiplayer - allowing, somewhat memetically, the ability to play as a black female German soldier - but kept things as authentic as possible for the campaign), and its errors tend to only be on the same level as those of previous games. A German rifle showing up one year early,[[note]]Most games with the [=StG=] 44 in it, which get a pass since superficially-similar weapons were in development since at least '42[[/note]] a mission taking place a few days after the historical operation it's part of had already happened,[[note]]The third British mission of ''United Offensive'', set July 12 1943, is stated to be a preliminary operation for the Allied invasion of Italy, which started July 9th[[/note]] Marine Raiders wearing the wrong color uniform for a night operation[[note]]''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar World at War]]''[='=]s first mission gives its Marine Raiders the same camo outfits they wear across the rest of the game, rather than the all-black uniforms they wore for the real raid on Makin island[[/note]] or Russian weapons showing up in German hands on the Western front[[note]]''WWII'' includes the [=PPSh=] among the German arsenal despite not featuring the Russian front of the war where these would really be prevalent, but Germany did in fact [[TheEnemyWeaponsAreBetter make extensive use of stolen weapons]], especially if they fit into their existing logistics, like the large amount of European rifles using 8mm Mauser - or, conveniently, Russian submachine guns, which could use 7.62mm Tokarev and 7.63mm Mauser interchangeably[[/note]] is much easier to overlook than the war itself being won almost singlehandedly by a special forces group made up of a disproportionate number of women,[[note]]who would not pass selection for any special forces group until the '80s[[/note]] people of color,[[note]]who were still in segregated units in WWII[[/note]] and defectors from Axis countries[[note]]who simply would not be trusted so easily with such sensitive operations - remember that America interned its own citizens descended from Axis countries, particularly the Japanese, simply for ''being'' descended from those countries[[/note]] to say nothing of its multiplayer - you can tell a WWII-set game doesn't particularly want to be a WWII-set game when you can play as Music/SnoopDogg (born 1971) and use an F2000 (entered full production 2001) on the set of ''Film/{{Godzilla|1954}}'' (released 1954) while the game differentiates sides as "My Team" and "Enemy Team" instead of Allies and Axis.
* Creator/ChrisAvellone is well-known for consistently [[DeconstructorFleet deconstructing whatever genre, medium, or world he's working with]], often through the use of [[AuthorAvatar mouthpiece characters]]. In the case of ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'', this led to a massively-acclaimed examination of DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist, OrderVersusChaos, and other core tropes of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'' was also well-liked, but his mouthpiece for that game, Kreia, is a major BaseBreakingCharacter because she provides him an opportunity to [[AuthorFilibuster rant on everything he hates]] about ''Star Wars'', and a lot of players considered Kreia to be almost as annoying as [[ObviousBeta the buggy and unfinished state of the game]]. However, things finally collapsed in the DLC for ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', when his author avatar, Ulysses, became a CreatorsPet of unimaginable proportions; not only is he a mouthpiece for Avellone, everyone else who talks about him is constantly [[CharacterShilling shilling him as an epic badass]], he always knows exactly what to do or say to influence massive events, the DLC about him is portrayed as a fated confrontation, and it's spent fighting through an army of tough monsters while listening to him rant about how he hates the setting and wants to nuke everything again (because Avellone dislikes how ''Fallout'' has rebuilt itself from the post-apocalyptic setting of the first game).
* One of the most criticized aspects of ''VideoGame/ClayFighter 63⅓'' was featuring several characters [[EthnicScrappy leaning heavily into racist stereotypes and thus negatively received]], such as [[HollywoodNatives the Zappa Yow Yow Boyz]], [[WitchDoctor Houngan]], and ''especially'' [[AllAsiansKnowMartialArts Kung Pow]]. The thing is, the series has been prone to having characters playing up ethnic stereotypes, such as the Nordic stereotypes of Helga and the Jamaican stereotypes of Nanaman from its predecessors -- but seeing as Helga was obviously based more on the pre-existing BrawnHilda joke about opera singers, and that Nanaman was a relatively normal-looking anthropomorphic banana (the most obviously Jamaican aspect of his being his voice), it was thus much easier to separate them from the stereotypes they represented. All offending characters in ''63⅓'', resembling caricatured humans, were far more blatantly obvious.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex'' was roundly criticised on release for an over-saturation of vehicle-based levels; of thirty levels, only ''six'' are the classic on-foot Crash platforming levels that made the game popular to begin with, and the rest are either played with pre-RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap Coco, or in a vehicle of some kind. Vehicles aren't anything new to ''Crash''; [[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996 the very first game]] has the two hog levels, while ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'' replaced the hog with [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Polar]], and added in the jetboard and jetpack. ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot3Warped'' is where this started to shine through a lot more, with a Polar replacement in Pura, a jet ski, an airplane, scuba diving, a baby ''T. rex'' and a motorcycle (which has ''four'' levels dedicated to it), but even in that game, roughly half of the levels were still classic ''Crash'' platforming, while ''[=TWoC's=]'' platforming levels are only a ''fifth'' of the game.
* Although still considered a great game, ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' received some criticism regarding the whopping forty-five playable characters available to make up a party of three, of which at most ten have any plot relevance, and five make sense as playable characters. Having so many characters join such a small party made the experience of meeting a new character feel much less special, and didn't leave much space in the game itself or the player's interest for unique personalities and storylines (mostly, each minor character an unique sentence upon beating the final boss, otherwise just all had the same dialog with different silly accents). The bloat of characters was already present, to a certain extent, in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'''s seven playable characters, some of which ended up OverratedAndUnderleveled during the later parts of the game, especially after reaching a HubLevel made changing party members easy regardless of plot reason. The ''Chrono Trigger'' characters are still memorable and beloved, though, while a lot of ''Chrono Cross''s characters are based on design gimmicks that make them look more like ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'' (alien, dog, plant man, mushroom, cyborg, strawman, wrestler...)
* Upon its release, ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' was heavily criticized for a laundry list of issues, regardless of whether it was the PC or [[ObviousBeta PS4/Xbox One]] versions. In truth, many of the complaints can be traced back to the previous game Creator/CDProjektRed put out, the acclaimed ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt''.
** Much like ''2077'', ''Witcher 3'' also launched in a rather buggy state, requiring several patches for it to become stable, alongside visuals that were noticeably downgraded from the trailers. However, with ''Witcher 3'', it was far more excusable, as CDPR was still a relative unknown in the gaming industry, so some bugs were to be expected. By the time ''Cyberpunk'' launched though, CDPR had become renowed as one of the most beloved development houses in the entire industry thanks to the blockbuster success of their previous title, alongside having a much bigger budget and team, so it was much less forgivable.
** A common complaint of ''2077'' is the lack of interactivity despite its immense size and detail, with some even noting that games released over a decade ago like the earlier 3D ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' titles featured more to do and interact with than this 2020 release. A similar case can be said for ''The Witcher 3''; despite its size, the world isn't terribly deep, and you'll spend most of your time exploring stumbling upon enemy outposts and high-level monsters or gear. But ''Witcher 3'' more than made up for the shallowness of its world by including multiple story and lore-related elements that the player ''can'' change, with the main areas noticeably changing throughout the main quest due to the player's actions (such as who rules over them and whatnot). Furthermore, the story is mainly focused on Geralt and Ciri's quests, so the world being effectively window dressing wasn't an issue -- and there were still mini-games, like Gwent, that one [[SidetrackedByTheGoldenSaucer could conceivably spend hours playing]]. The same can't really be said for ''Cyberpunk'', which not only has even less interactivity with the world, it also has far less in terms of narrative changes in the story, and no interesting mini-games to partake in. Night City is also a far more integral element to the game as a whole, not unlike ''Grand Theft Auto'', so the lack of interactive features is all the more jarring.
** On the note of the quest design, ''Witcher 3'' featured a rather samey formula for its side-quests. Nearly all of them involve talking to an NPC, accepting their task, following the "Witcher-sense" to the main target, killing the enemy, return to claim your reward, and repeat. However, it more than made up for this by making sure to give each quest-giver and mission its own storyline and characterization, thus making each of them still feel unique from one another regardless of the similar feeling gameplay they all shared. Furthermore, this formula is also justified by the character of Geralt, whose profession is specifically geared towards taking these sorts of jobs. By contrast, ''Cyberpunk 2077'' not only has an even more formulaic design for its quests (most of them just involve killing enemies, with no real deviation beyond one's combat style), but even less in the amount of storyline variations, making the repetitive quest-design stand out even more. The main character of ''Cyberpunk'', V, is also far more of a player avatar than Geralt is, making this lack of variety not mesh as well character-wise.
** Speaking of the main characters, some have also been critical of how in ''Cyberpunk'', the main character, V, ultimately ends up taking a backseat to Johnny Silverhand in the latter half of the story, with several suggesting that it was due to CDPR wanting to take advantage of the popularity of actor Creator/KeanuReeves. A similar case can also be made for ''The Witcher 3'', where despite playing as Geralt, much of the story ultimately ends up revolving around Ciri's quest, with multiple sections where the player plays as her, and by the final fourth, she ends up supplanting him in terms of importance (she is the one, not Geralt, who saves the world at the end). However, the key difference is that not only does Ciri have a personal connection to Geralt, being his surrogate daughter, but the player is still ultimately the one who decides her fate and overall connection to him, even determining whether or not she lives at the end. By contrast, V has Johnny thrust into his/her story without much build-up, and there is far less for the player to determine how the latter ends up aside from the very end. V being the player stand-in makes Johnny's increased importance also stand out much more negatively, as while Geralt and Ciri were established to have a relationship and characters entirely their own, with V and Johnny, it makes the player have far less stake in their personal narrative. Not helping matters is that while Ciri is shown as an overall NiceGirl, Johnny is characterized as a complete {{Jerkass}}, making it far less easy to stomach the latter's story hijacking.
* One of the criticisms of ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}burst Another Chronicle'' (''EX''(''+'')) Chronicle Mode and ''Chronicle Saviours''[='=]s CS Mode is that [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments they reuse the same level designs over and over]]. However, level cosmetic reuse dates as far back as the very first ''Darius'' game, where many later Zones are just earlier zones with different colors,, and ''Darius II'' and ''Twin'' tend to use the same tilesets for zones of the same tier. That said, they didn't cause a lot of criticism since those games have a fewer number of Zones, and in ''II'' and ''Twin'', Zones with the same environments can be thought of as easier/harder variants of one another. The problem with ''Another Chronicle'' and ''Chronicle Saviours'' is that they to give the impression of a galactic-scale quest for liberation by reusing the same levels many times, especially in ''AC'' where it looks like there are 3,000+ levels. In fact, in ''AC'' some levels are exact copies of other levels, just with different loadout options.
* [[Creator/QuanticDream David Cage]] has always had great ''moments'' in his games, but even back in ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'', it was noted that the overriding plotline was just ''weird'', and didn't fit with the previous scenes. At the time, this could be forgiven due to ExecutiveMeddling forcing the developers to rush the game out the door before they came up with a proper ending, leading to the GainaxEnding that it ultimately had. However, ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' had all manner of strange foreshadowing with no payoff, the plot of ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls'' is in a chopped-up order and doesn't fit together at all, and ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'', an attempt at a sci-fi parable for American race relations, despite being widely considered better as a whole, was widely criticized as tone-deaf despite its good intentions. Cage plots by imagining cool, individual scenes, but doesn't seem to know how to put them together in a sensible fashion.
** An examination of ''VideoGame/OmikronTheNomadSoul'', Cage's first game, shows many of the common tropes that would typify his later works, particularly the constantly-changing KudzuPlot, a confusing [[CyberPunk mish]]-[[LowFantasy mash]] of setting genres, and a reliance on FateAndProphecyTropes. Of course, this was not seen as a problem at the time considering that ''Omikron'' was the debut of a then-new and unproven Quantic Dream; when the same tropes were applied to future games, [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks that was when Cage began to face accusations of being an one-trick pony]].
* Many ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' fans disliked how [[VideoGame/DeadRising4 the fourth game]] felt [[LowestCommonDenominator "dumbed down"]] compared to past entries, scrubbing away many of the series' more unique touches in an effort to reach a wider audience, to the point where Creator/{{Capcom}} released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2oUVadCy-I a free patch]] to go with the GameOfTheYearEdition that made several changes in order to WinBackTheCrowd. In truth, many of the most criticized elements of that game could be found in the [[VideoGame/DeadRising2 second]] and [[VideoGame/DeadRising3 third]] games.
** The strict time limit placed on the player was always [[BrokenBase one of the most controversial gameplay mechanics in the series]], with about half the fans calling it a ScrappyMechanic that gravely restricted the player's freedom and the other half arguing that it was one of the ''best'' things about the series, as it forced players to memorize the map and think about their next move. As such, when the third game made the timer far more lenient, extending it to six days instead of three, the reaction was decidedly mixed, though even those who didn't like the change didn't mind ''too'' much. Plus, there was an optional difficulty to make it more like the previous games. Then the fourth game dropped the timer completely, and one of the most common complaints about the resulting game was that, without the timer, it had lost a key part of what made the series unique, turning into a cookie-cutter WideOpenSandbox game.
** The second game, meanwhile, introduced combo weapons, letting the player {{MacGyver|ing}} dozens of unique, powerful zombie-slaying tools out of the various other items around them. While the resulting game heavily emphasized the use of these combo weapons, they were treated very much as special items. The player had to visit workbenches in order to build them, meaning that the standard arsenal of "whatever isn't nailed down" was still very useful. The third game got rid of the workbenches and allowed players to build combo weapons anywhere provided that they had the two items required for it, which made them far easier to acquire -- and the regular weapons far less useful as a result. The fourth game streamlined things even further, to the point where the only use for most of the various items lying around was to build special weapons. As such, one of the main concepts of the first two games, the creativity of being able to use anything you can get your hands on as a weapon, fell by the wayside. The reasoning behind doing so got weaker as well. While both Chuck Greene from the second game and Nick Ramos from the third had backstories as, respectively, [[GadgeteerGenius motorcycle and auto mechanics]] to justify their creation abilities, and ''[[VideoGame/DeadRising2OffTheRecord Off the Record]]'' was a silly WhatIf game that has no place in canon, Frank West could pull off all the same skills in the fourth game with nothing but a HandWave on how he took a shop class to meet girls[[note]]''Case West'' allows Frank to combine items, but conversely, he was with Chuck, someone who knows what he's doing and could catch mistakes[[/note]].
** Speaking of weapons, there's the first game's gimmick of "anything and everything is a weapon", which was ultimately just that: a gimmick. Right from the first game, [[JokeWeapon the majority of weapons were worthless]], too hard to find to get continued use out of them, or just plain impractical. Out of the hundreds of potential weapons, [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome most of them were ignored]] in favour of guns, the easy-to-find katana, the mini-chainsaws, and the Mega Buster or Laser Sword if you [[NewGamePlus unlocked them]]. Exceptions were made for the western sword, battleaxe, machette, and mannequin torso, but for the most part, that's about it unless you were ignoring the listed weapons, either for fun or a [[SelfImposedChallenge challenge]]. While it's fun to put Servbot heads on everything, or beat zombies to death with a giant stuffed teddy bear, it wasn't ''practical'' to do so. And on that note...
** A major point of contention in the fourth game is its [[DenserAndWackier heavy emphasis on humor]], which fans not only felt was a jarring departure from previous entries, but also didn't fit the mood the game itself was going for. Humor had its place in the series from the start: the first game let you go wild with [[JokeItem joke weapons]] and wear silly costumes that would carry over into cutscenes, and you could meet multiple survivors and psychopaths that were at least partially played for laughs. The key difference was that it knew the difference between pure comedy and levity: the game's main story is still a stone-faced drama that every character takes seriously, most of its item-based physical comedy remained either out-of-the-way or optional, and the sillier characters often had a tragic side that justified their behaviour - if anything, this gave the series ''more'' comedic appeal, since many enjoyed the natural absurdity of the plot and side content [[TheComicallySerious being played dead serious]]. After the third game was criticised for being too dark, ''Dead Rising 4'' course-corrected to an extreme. Frank has endless quips for everything, which bleeds into serious story moments and undermines some of its darker elements. Neither survivors nor maniacs are given enough development to balance out their quirks. Weapons that are joke-y or even just blatantly impossible are also given even greater prominence than before: the LaserBlade went from being an InfinityPlusOneSword in the first game, to an oddball combo weapon in the second, to feeling downright tame in the fourth game when almost every combo weapon has some kind of [[ElementalWeapon elemental power]]. All these elements combine to make the fourth game feel like it cannot decide if it wants to fully commit to being a comedy or not, and the game's atmosphere suffers for it.
** The fourth game's removal of the Psychopaths, people who had snapped and gone AxCrazy due to the terror of being caught in a zombie outbreak and served as {{boss battle}}s, was widely criticized, with their replacement, the Maniacs, being [[ReplacementScrappy broadly unpopular]] for lacking the distinctive personalities and introductory cutscenes that the Psychopaths had. (One of the big changes made in the aforementioned patch was to beef up the Maniacs, giving them more health, new attacks, and unique [[{{Leitmotif}} boss themes]].) The third game had already begun toning down the Psychopaths, with most of the fights required to progress through the story being with conventionally evil military figures or gang leaders, and only six optional Psychopaths along the side. While the concept of having seven different Psychopaths based on the SevenDeadlySins (the six optional Psychos, plus the story-critical Albert the [[OrganTheft sleazy surgeon]], who represented {{Greed}}) was applauded by some fans for providing a theme to the boss fights, others found themselves wishing that there were more of them scattered throughout the game, especially in a setting that served as a pastiche of the ripe-for-satire UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. Dropping and replacing them altogether in the fourth game wasn't a big leap.
** Finally, the {{Flanderization}} of Frank West into a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] {{jerkass}} started with ''Off the Record'', in which Frank became much more cocky and wise-cracking than he was back in the first game. It was forgivable in ''Off the Record'', as it was intended to be a DenserAndWackier version of ''2'' that starred Frank as a way of PanderingToTheBase, and what's more, it was a non-canon side-story that largely amounted to Frank imagining what ''he'' would've done if he were in Chuck Greene's shoes. It was less forgivable in the live-action film ''Film/DeadRisingWatchtower'', which was a canon entry in the series, and it was a ''lot'' less forgivable in ''4'', which was meant to be a RevisitingTheRoots entry that paid homage to the first game.
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2'' was an ActionizedSequel that set the ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series on the road to abandoning the SurvivalHorror gameplay of the first game in favor of becoming a ThirdPersonShooter. ''Dead Space 2''[='=]s SequelEscalation, however, saw it ramp up the horror set pieces in tandem with making the gameplay smoother and adding multiplayer, such that some fans hailed it as an EvenBetterSequel. Then ''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'', in response to the sales of the last game (four million units, which was decently profitable yet not enough to satisfy shareholder and executives), scrubbed away the horror almost entirely in order to play FollowTheLeader with the shooter trends of the time (CoOpMultiplayer, the addition of human enemies that use guns and die to headshots instead of requiring the series's signature dismemberment, [[TakeCover cover-based shooting]], a weapon customization system that [[DiscOneNuke gave players overpowered weaponry very early on]]), yielding a direction with [[FranchiseKiller disastrous results]].
* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'' has the Power Level system. In [[VideoGame/{{Destiny}} the first game]], the "Light Level" mechanic from year one of the game was a major ScrappyMechanic among players. How it worked was that you had a stat called "Light" on every piece of gear that would grant you extra levels above the normal LevelCap of 20. Players hated this system for a variety of reasons (the main reasons being how RNG-driven it was to hit Max Light Level and how being more than 1 or 2 levels below enemies left you at a significant disadvantage). When the first DLC, ''The Taken King'', launched, the Light Level system received a major overhaul. Now, Light Level was a weighted average of the Attack and Defense stats of your gear. The new system was widely-praised for making the game substantially better and was carried over to the sequel unchanged. However, as the years went on, the system became more and more criticized. Partially because of a lack of depth, but mostly due to how often the Power Level increased and by how much it increased. In ''Destiny 1'', Max Light was 320 when ''The Taken King'' launched, and after six months, it was raised to 335. Then, ''Rise of Iron'' came out six months later, and the Light Level cap was raised to 385, and then was raised to 400 a short while later, and it stayed at 400 until ''Destiny 2'' launched. Contrast that to ''Destiny 2'', where Max Power level was 300 on launch, then 330 after the first expansion, then 380 (later 400) when the second expansion came out. Then it was raised to a whopping ''600'' when ''Forsaken'' launched, after which the max Light Level was raised by 50 every three months, resulting in a cap of 750 by the time ''Shadowkeep'' launched, at which point it was raised even further to 950 (960 with Pinnacle Power). Then it seemed to slow down a bit, with the next two expansions raising the cap to 960/970 and 970/980 respectively. But then Bungie returned to raising the cap by 50 every 3 months. As of the Season of Plunder starting in August 2022, the Power Cap is 1580. Compounding this issue is the shift to a focus on weekly rewards as the main way to power up your character. After reaching a certain Power Level, normal loot drops stop dropping at power levels above your character, and you're almost wholly dependent on weekly "Powerful Gear" milestones to raise your Power Level. This wasn't the case in the first game, which offered a variety of means to raise your Light Level that weren't on a weekly lockout.
* The later ''VideoGame/DonPachi'' games are a bit controversial due to the introduction of protagonist characters who aren't just {{Featureless Protagonist}}s (the Element Dolls in particular), and shmup fans often approach games with a PlayTheGameSkipTheStory mindset and as such don't care for the increased focus on cute character designs. However, ''[=DoDonPachi=] II: Bee Storm'' toyed with the concept of actual protagonist characters about a year before ''[=DoDonPachi=] dai ou jou'' introduced the Element Dolls. While it does have characters with {{Fanservice}} designs, fans tend not to complain due to the game not being as in-your-face about them as later games, and the characters are clearly adults and two of them are male, as opposed to the later Creator/{{CAVE}} trend of having sexualized female characters whose adult status are questionable (although another part of it is that most series fans don't even acknowledge ''Bee Storm'' anyway, as it was outsourced to IGS for the purpose of [[TechDemoGame testing out new arcade hardware]]).
* ''Franchise/{{Doom}}'':
** The recurring issue of mid-'90s pseudo-3D shooters using highly dangerous {{hitscan}}ners as basic enemies can be traced back to their primary inspiration in ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', whose most basic enemies were zombies armed with rifles or shotguns. ''Doom'' got away with it because [[TheGoomba they were the most basic of basic enemies]]: they move slowly, they attack rarely, their accuracy and damage are relatively low, and even your weakest weapons regularly kill them in two or three shots. Even though the FinalBoss is also a hitscanner that actually holds still and [[MoreDakka empties its gun at you]], it wasn't as much of a threat as that would imply - at further ranges (like that which you invariably alert it from in its first appearance) its accuracy is pathetic, and you can easily find something to hide behind to break line of sight; at closer ranges, the {{BFG}} can potentially [[FakeUltimateMook kill it in one shot]], and even if you're not using that against it, it can easily be stunlocked to death with a chaingun or plasma gun because of its high pain chance flinching it out of ever retaliating. ''VideoGame/DoomII'' put itself in position to make this a problem with its introduction of the chaingun zombie, who has slightly higher health than the other zombie types and holds still to fire continuously at you, but it still wasn't a problem because the developers knew exactly what they were adding to the game and were conservative in using that enemy type as a result. ''VideoGame/FinalDoom'', however, would go exactly where it never should have by making zombies far more common and in places where they're much more dangerous. [=MAP10=] of ''Doom II'' is infamous for having almost 300 enemies on the highest difficulties, over 100 of which are hitscan zombies, but many are in either wide-open spaces where their accuracy is hindered by distance or areas where it's easy to take cover and deal with them two or three at a time, and of those hundred zombies only four are chaingunners; [=MAP09=] of ''TNT: Evilution'' is even more infamous for having about as many enemies, but ''200'' of them are zombies, all of them bunched together in tiny arenas where hits are more assured and you can't take on one without exposing yourself to fire from every one of them, and one full third of those 200 zombies are chaingunners. That's not to mention other shooters inspired by ''Doom'' that also use hitscanners as basic enemies but make them a bigger threat with faster reaction times, quicker movement, higher damage and/or some other gimmick (e.g. ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' letting its basic cultists surprise you with sticks of highly-damaging TNT on higher difficulties) that makes them far more dangerous than they should be given how common they are.
** A common complaint about ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' is that its campaign becomes homogenous and by the end stops being able to provide new and unique challenges. The original game faced this same issue: it only had 8 non-boss enemy types (compared to 19 in the 2016 game), all of them have been introduced by the first half of episode 2, and a lot of them have little to mechanically differentiate them beyond health and damage dealt - there are two zombies with hitscan guns, three demons that can only bite in melee (one of which is identical to the first save for being invisible and another which flies), and three demons that throw projectiles or scratch you depending on distance (again, one of which flies), alongside two boss monsters, one of which launches rockets in salvoes of three at a time and the other which holds still to empty its gun at you. When ''Doom'' was new, however, this was an amazing amount of enemy variety compared to ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', which had about the same number of regular enemy types but far less variety - ''four'' hitscanners differentiated only in fire rate, dogs that can only bite in melee, and fake Hitlers throwing fireballs at you that only show up in ''one'' level, to say nothing of the bosses that all have the same amount of health and fall into one of three types (ones that attack you with machine guns, ones that attack you with rocket launchers or some mechanically-identical projectile, or ones that attack you [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs with both a machine gun and a rocket launcher]]) - and this is before ''Doom II'' added things to cover gaps in the original bestiary like a [[MoreDakka faster-firing]] hitscan zombie, a faster combined projectile/melee demon with homing projectiles, a version of an existing demon with [[GlassCannon all the power but half the health]], a projectile-only demon that fires in patterns to hit strafing players, and a spellcaster that can revive other demons and [[AlwaysAccurateAttack never misses when it attacks]] unless you put a solid wall between yourself and it. Even then, the original game also has measures to keep its combat from getting too repetitive, such as that you restart each episode with just a pistol, which leaves the need to find ways to deal with higher-tier enemies with few tools as part of the challenge of later episodes while you regather your gear, something which every later game in the series dropped as an artifact of the original game's {{shareware}} origins. What also helps is that sequels/addons/what have you for classic ''Doom'' simply added more things; both ''Doom'' (with ''Doom II'' and ''Final Doom'') and ''Wolfenstein 3D'' (between its ''Nocturnal Missions'', ''Spear of Destiny'' and the mission packs for that) ended up with over a hundred and twenty official levels each, but whereas ''Doom'' is still introducing new things well into its second game, ''[=Wolf3D=]'' has already shown you basically everything it can do only one quarter of the way into the full experience.
** The Spider Mastermind, originally the final boss of the first game, became infamous for the circumstances of a fight offering little middle ground between her being stupidly easy to deal with or completely unfair, and the devs have more or less treated her as [[JokeCharacter a running joke]] from the moment ''Doom II'' released, using her in four maps of that game and setting all but one of those appearances to make her a non-threat - putting her under a crusher that can kill her with no effort on the player's part, setting her up for a duel with a Cyberdemon she will most assuredly lose, or placing her within a swarm of Arachnotrons which can infight with her and will probably kill her if they do. Her first appearance could actually be surprisingly fair to her, especially if the player pistol-starts the level, since in that case you're forced to collect rockets from far ends of the arena, during which time she has plenty of time to pelt you with her chaingun. Playing the entire episode and keeping weapons found across it, however, makes her a joke, as you can simply pelt her from afar with the plasma gun, likely stunlocking her out of ever retaliating, or get in close with the BFG and take her out in one or two shots. The final level of the later ''Ultimate Doom'' pushed her status firmly into the realm of a joke character by bringing all of her issues to light: you're inevitably forced to confront her in a close-in area, which means she ''could'' theoretically shred you very quickly if she gets a chance to start shooting, if the arena design didn't also mean that there's plenty of cover for you to hide from her while she can't really maneuver, plenty of enemies to get her to infight with, and secret weapons set up in the map, including a BFG, meaning even a player that pistol-starts the level can simply one-shot her and be done with it.
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'':
** One of the biggest criticisms of the game was the character of Duke himself, who many reviewers described as a [[JerkAss repulsively unlikable person]]. Back in the days of ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'', though, Duke had still been a pretty unlikeable person, but he was lauded for the fact that he had a personality ''at all'', compared to [[HeroicMime non]]-[[FlatCharacter characters]] like the VideoGame/{{Doom}}guy or [[VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D BJ Blazkowicz]]. Furthermore, Duke was intended as a ''[[TestosteronePoisoning parody]]'' of the HollywoodActionHero archetype; his one-liners were taken from popular action films of The80s, and his character flaws were blown up to comical proportions. In the following [[DevelopmentHell fifteen years]], however, many shooter games had been released featuring extremely fleshed-out and likable protagonists, and Duke hadn't evolved at all. If anything, he'd become more unlikable, with the elements that had been played for parody in ''Duke Nukem 3D'' being played straight in ''Forever''.
** Other criticized elements of ''DNF''[='=]s humor, the {{Take That}}s to other franchises and the pop culture references, also hail from ''3D''. The Take Thats worked back then because ''3D'' was a genuinely innovative game that improved on ''Doom''[='=]s formula (and would go on to inspire several more games in the same way ''Doom'' did), so a bit of gloating didn't feel undeserved. ''DNF'', however, tried to deliver Take Thats [[HypocriticalHumor to games that it]] was [[IndecisiveParody outright copying]], while bringing very little new to the table gameplay-wise. For example, there is a gag involving Duke insulting the [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Master Chief]], proudly proclaiming that "power armor is for pussies". This joke probably would have been a lot funnier if ''Forever'' didn't also use the RegeneratingHealth and LimitedLoadout systems that ''Halo'' popularised, much less having that joke lead into a level that just needs a couple splashes of orange and one vehicle section to look and play almost exactly like the New Mombasa levels from ''VideoGame/Halo2''. Also, in terms of pop culture, ''3D''[='=]s jokes were either very topical or referencing sources [[ParodyDisplacement obscure enough that people thought they were original jokes]], while ''DNF''[='=]s infamously long development cycle meant that many of its jokes or references had long since become {{Discredited Meme}}s. One particular joke about hunting for keycards is dated not only in that keycards had already fallen by the wayside even when the game was ''supposed'' to come out around 2001, but that by the time it actually ''did'' come out a decade later, its "unique and original" manner of circumventing the door (by having Duke tear it open manually via [[PressXToNotDie quick-time event]]) had long since established itself as an ''even '''bigger''''' cliché than keycards could have ever dreamed of being.
** The hive level, where Duke ventures around an alien hive filled with traumatized women that have been [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong raped and impregnated with alien larvae]] and beg for death, has been widely criticized for being utterly tasteless, not to mention tonally out of place with the rest of the game, which is mostly a goofy action romp. But there was a very similar hive level in ''3D'', sobbing violated women and all. The difference came down to a few factors. The much greater tech and graphics ''Forever'' was working with[[note]]''Forever'' runs on a version of the original VideoGame/{{Unreal}} engine with a decade's worth of graphical improvements, whereas ''Duke 3D'' is on a [[TwoAndAHalfD fake-3D]] engine developed in the days when 480x360 was considered to be high-resolution and textures were invariably still half of that at largest[[/note]] showed that this was clearly a horrifying and screwed-up situation, made even more evident by the color palette being incredibly dark and grimy for the whole sequence. More than that, though, ''Forever'' made the very unwise decision to try and keep going with the raunchy sex jokes and pop-culture references [[MoodWhiplash even in an environment that did not call for them]]: when you can open a door by fingering it, slap some disembodied boobs on a wall for an ego boost, and proceed past the corpse of [[VideoGame/DeadSpace Isaac Clarke]] to find a rape victim who alternates between sobbing as aliens chew through her stomach and making whimsical double entendres about date rape, the game probably isn't treating the whole thing with the weight it warrants. And most importantly, ''3D'' didn't have a scene where Duke, whose one humanizing trait is supposed to be a genuine love for women, [[NoSympathy nonchalantly]] tells two women whom he personally knows and who are about to die after being forcibly impregnated by aliens "looks like you're... ''fucked.''"
** The games have always treated Duke as the coolest man alive, but it wasn't until ''Forever'' that they became criticized for doing so. Not only has it always been treated as a given that Duke is the only man bad enough to fight off whatever the current threat is, but Duke's dialogue is about one-third comprised of some form of bragging, and he's shown to be on some level of celebrity. The thing was, in the older games, there was little room to emphasize this: Duke was the only character who regularly spoke, and his bragging was over-the-top enough to be endearing and funny (as far back as the second game, he was naming his autobiography ''Why I'm So Great''), leaving most of the game to be comprised of [[EscapistCharacter Duke's badass escapades on the part of the player]]. In ''Forever'', suddenly every character can talk, which means every female character talking about how much she wants to have sex with Duke, and every male character talking about what a badass he is (barring the President, who is treated as self-evidently wrong for doing so), turning it from braggadocio to active CharacterShilling. Additionally, rather than Duke's coolness speaking for itself, a large chunk of the first half-hour of the game consists of wandering around Duke's palatial estate filled with people fawning over him before he's really done anything to deserve it, turning "Duke is awesome" from meaning he's a guy who does cool things to meaning he has the whole world eating out of his hand for an adventure he had fifteen years ago.
* ''Franchise/FarCry'':
** ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' started the process of streamlining many of the more unique gameplay mechanics of the first two games, downplaying the survival aspects in favor of emphasizing the WideOpenSandbox. The thing was, some of the gameplay mechanics from ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' that its successor abandoned, such as malaria and [[BreakableWeapons weapon degradation]], were seen by many players as {{Scrappy Mechanic}}s due to being [[StylisticSuck intentionally annoying for immersion's sake]], and so their departure was welcomed by a significant cohort of the fanbase. It's not for nothing that ''Far Cry 3'' is sometimes held up as the series' creative high point. When this trend continued with the [[VideoGame/FarCry4 fourth]] and [[VideoGame/FarCry5 fifth]] games, however, fans started to bemoan the continuing simplification of the gameplay, especially as elements of its formula started to creep into other open-world Creator/{{Ubisoft}} titles like ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' and ''VideoGame/WatchDogs''.
** ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' was a MissionPackSequel built around recycled content from the third game, foreshadowing how ''VideoGame/FarCryPrimal'' and ''VideoGame/FarCryNewDawn'' would do the same with the fourth and fifth games, respectively. The difference was, it only cost $15, it was marketed as the standalone ExpansionPack it was rather than a full game, and moreover, it converted the game into an '80s sci-fi action GenreThrowback that felt radically different from the base game, with a new map, almost entirely new weapons, and a protagonist who played noticeably differently from his base-game counterpart. ''Primal'' and ''New Dawn'', on the other hand, were the usual ''Far Cry'' formula, just set in prehistoric times and [[AfterTheEnd the post-apocalypse]], respectively, utilizing as many recycled weapons as possible, the exact same map layouts with a slightly different coat of paint, and protagonists who played exactly like their counterparts, and treated as full games with price points to match. Strangely, ''Far Cry 5 already'' had DLC addons that hewed closer to ''Blood Dragon'' in terms of tonal shifts from the base game, new maps and weapons (albeit also adding them to the base game if you owned the DLC in question, an improvement over ''Blood Dragon''), and price point compared to the base game, which makes ''New Dawn''[='=]s status as a game that costs so much more for what feels like much ''less'' new content even more apparent. Ubisoft would notice and respond for ''VideoGame/FarCry6'', whose "big" DLC packs are actually sold as DLC packs and include new maps based on those of prior games instead of repainting that of ''6''.
** Another key issue fans have had with the series is the increasingly bleaker {{Downer Ending}}s. However, observation reveals that this, too, was handled well at first before going downhill. [[VideoGame/FarCry1 The first game]] is the sole exception to this rule, as the ending for it is a rather typical happy ending (although the game is very much EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as demonstrated by the fact it only has the one ending), but from there, endings began to get worse and worse. ''2'' ends on your character either sacrificing or just plain shooting himself, potentially after killing off all of his other friends depending on which option you take for the final mission, but it was accepted because the actual purpose of the ending (helping refugees escape the war-torn country when the warring factions declare a truce for the purpose of killing those refugees, either by blocking off the road to get out after they've passed or bribing the border guards with diamonds to let the refugees leave) took a game that was already mostly bleak and depressing and [[BittersweetEnding let it end on a ray of hope]]. ''3'' had an ending where Jason fully gives himself to the ways of the Rakyat by killing his friends, which was considered bad, but players would outright have to make a bad choice to take it, and the other ending is significantly better, to say nothing that the way the game works means you get to continue playing and exploring the world no matter which ending you take. ''4'', however, had rather downer endings no matter which one was obtained (whether you kill Pagan Min or not), but they were, at least, both isolated to the game's country and could be rectified after the game was over or during the ending. Then came ''5'', where all of the endings were bleak, [[spoiler:as none of them actually allowed the player to bring Joseph Seed to justice, and one ended with a [[NukeEm nuclear war breaking out]], largely caused by factors that were both [[AssPull poorly foreshadowed]] and [[DiabolusExMachina completely out of the player's control]]]], leaving fans to assume that this might happen for the other endings as well and leading to major controversy, so much so that [[spoiler:''New Dawn'' was created in part to alleviate the problems created by the aforementioned nuke ending, and then outright claimed the ending was nothing more than a hallucination, and that Joseph was properly arrested.]] This is also a problem exclusive to the mainline games, as the spin-offs end with generally satisfying and less sad endings. The problem has been resolved by ''6'', which ends without a DownerEnding, instead ending on a more hopeful BittersweetEnding where [[spoiler:the Castillo regime is totally defeated, but many likable characters die along the way, and Yara is left in a state of leaderlessness.]]
*** [[spoiler:Another key flaw with the "Resist/Nuke" ending is that it is a CruelTwistEnding, and thus renders everything the player did irrelevant. Part of the reason it failed so badly was that the previous two games ran on GreyAndGrayMorality, with both sides having flaws that meant neither one had the moral high ground, from the Rook Islanders' BloodKnight mentality versus Vaas and Hoyt's immoral torture and business practices, to the Golden Path's leaders' fanaticism in their beliefs versus Pagan's flagrant crimes and cruelty. However, ''5'' runs on BlackAndWhiteMorality - the residents of Hope County are all portrayed as righteous heroes, while the Project at Eden's Gate cult is portrayed as extremely evil in every single thing they do, and the Seeds' constantly advising you not to use violence is hypocritical, since the cultists always try to kill you on sight. So when the ending revealed that the cult was correct about the end of the world and [[AllForNothing nothing you did to stop them made any difference]], it felt unbelievably unfair to the player.]]
*** [[spoiler:A similar issue applies to the game's secret "do nothing at the start" ending, taken from the fourth game. In that instance, much of the ending was meant to be a happier conclusion (or at least as happy as you can get in a game like this), with Ajay following Pagan's instructions to wait and the ensuing cutscene allowing him to spread his mother's ashes like he came to do, with the added bonus of Pagan explaining everything [[PoorCommunicationKills Ajay's mother refused to]] and exactly what would have happened had he gone along with the Golden Path. By comparison, if the player waits and does not arrest Joseph at the start of ''5'', the team sent merely leaves the compound and the game ends there, without any scenes of the National Guard being called in, indicating that the cult was left alone to continue to ruin the lives of everyone in Hope County. On top of this, the game encourages the player to do this in the opening cutscene and then never to play the game again, telling the player not to play a game they paid money for; this is in contrast to ''Far Cry 4''[='=]s secret ending, where Pagan's dialogue ends with him [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall all but directly telling you]] that now that you've discovered this EasterEgg you're free to start over and actually play the game normally.]]
* ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'':
** While William Afton is fairly beloved as a BigBad, there are also a fair few who want to see him retired. Earlier games established that he was a SerialKiller who worked at the titular SuckECheeses restaurant, and whose ''modus operandi'' consisted of dressing as a beloved rabbit character from the very first restaurant in the chain to lure children into the backroom. The third game added a supernatural element to his character, which reveals that he died [[HoistByHisOwnPetard inside the same animatronic/mascot suit hybrid he used for his murders]] and became Springtrap, the game's primary antagonist. Then ''Sister Location'' came along and marked the point where Afton's skillset became borderline cartoonish, showing that not only was he the co-owner of the Freddy's chain, but was also a MadScientist and master roboticist who created advanced animatronics ''specifically'' [[CutLexLuthorACheck for the purpose of murder]]. By the time ''Help Wanted'' was released, Afton now has full-blown JokerImmunity; after dying in a springlock accident and being burned alive ''twice'', he now returns as a VirtualGhost capable of GrandTheftMe and brainwashing, which culminates in ''[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach Security Breach]]'' with [[spoiler:one ending showing him returning to his corpse and being able to directly control other animatronics by hacking them]]. Some fans now feel he has worn out his welcome due to the escalation of his capabilities and repeated deaths, with [[DaddysLittleVillain Elizabeth]], [[JackTheRipoff Vanny]], and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Fazbear Entertainment itself]] being popular candidates for his replacement. ''Security Breach'''s DLC campaign ''Ruin'' would ultimately bring in [[spoiler:[[Literature/FazbearFrights the Mimic]] and implicitly render "Burntrap" CanonDiscontinuity]], addressing this complaint for those sick of William Afton.
** When the first game was released, it was praised for its subtle storytelling about the animatronics' true nature as HauntedTechnology and the origins of how they became that way. Details were often revealed through random events, symbolism or paying close attention to plot points, and the [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane perfectly plausible in-universe]] explanation: the animatronics were left in free-roaming mode at night to keep their servos from locking up, and were programmed to insert a metal endoskeleton into a suit on sight. Meaning at night they would likely mistake the security guard for an endoskeleton and (fatally) shove him into a costume. While ''all'' of these issues could be solved by basic common sense, it worked since it was in-line with the [[IncompetenceInc darkly hilarious irreverence]] of the people who ran the restaurant, and it takes a keen eye to notice the one detail that confirms the mundane explanation is ''not'' the case [[labelnote:Specifically]]The fact that [[HairRaisingHare Bonnie]], the only animatronic who enters the Backstage room, ignores the actual metal endoskeleton in said room.[[/labelnote]] This was ripe soil for EpilepticTrees, which formed a significant part of the fanbase. As the franchise has gone on, the same storytelling method has continued to be used, which makes figuring out what actually ''happens'' more difficult, to the point where some fans just wish more things were stated outright.
** The Withered animatronics (and Mangle) are the first set of animatronics to be heavily damaged and decrepit (though Foxy was rather worse for wear in the original). They were accepted for being a unique way to bring the first game's antagonists back, but a criticism some have of the animatronics from ''3'' and ''4'' is that their damage and exposed metal makes them look too much like generic horror monsters, as opposed to the charm of mundane SuckECheeses animatronics that invoke the UncannyValley to be scary. While ''3'' and ''4'' were still well-received, the sin was addressed in later games, as ''Sister Location'', ''Pizzeria Simulator'', ''VR: Help Wanted'', and ''Security Breach'' introduce new animatronics that utilized the UncannyValley to an extent rivaling the classic and Toy animatronics (and the later withered designs that Scott conceived were still given details that allowed them to fall into the valley, such as Scrap Baby's realistic-looking hair).
** A [[BrokenBase controversial]] aspect of the franchise is its unique mix of science-fiction and paranormal horror. While it does play into the franchise's charm, it also leads to arguments whenever it leans [[DoingInTheWizard one way]] or [[DoingInTheScientist the other]]. As early as the first game it was implied that the animatronics were both [[HauntedTechnology haunted]] ''and'' advanced technology, which created [[AmbiguousSituation ambiguity]] about how much of the animatronics' behavior was the result of possession or malfunctioning. The second game explicitly had the Toys capable of facial recognition and connecting to a criminal database, which helped to obscure the game's plot twist of being a prequel. ''3'' created the concept of springlock suits, an animatronic-mascot suit hybrid prone to malfunctioning which was crucial to the plot. Controversy started around the time of ''Sister Location'', ''Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator'', and the novella trilogy, all of which introduced plot points such as animatronics made specifically for murder, BrownNote technology, remnant[[note]]An odd type of tangible material that can be used to bind souls to items[[/note]], and, in the books, a human character being revealed [[RoboticReveal as a robot]]. The ''Fazbear Frights'' anthology series leans more into the paranormal, such as confirming in-text that strong emotions can lead to objects gaining life[[note]]with agony being the strongest[[/note]] and more overtly supernatural events occurring in-story. However, this in itself has been iffy, with some fans feeling that "agony" is a [[AWizardDidIt catch-all explanation]] for everything in the books and the series as a whole that can't immediately be explained. This, combined with ''[=FNAF=]'''s JigsawPuzzlePlot, also frequently leads to heated debates about whether specific animatronics (such as [[TokenHeroicOrc Glamrock Freddy]]) are possessed by a human spirit, gained sentience due to strong emotions, or just have advanced A.I.
** Despite the aforementioned controversial aspects, it's easy to forget that William spends the first two games, as well as ''Sister Location'', as a backstory villain rather than a direct threat. Likewise, Circus Baby was TheVoice in ''Sister Location'', with her only being outright confirmed as a villain at the very end. However, William only appearing in minigames or random events established him as a GreaterScopeVillain responsible for the games' story, and Circus Baby was established as a ManipulativeBitch with [[TragicVillain some tragic aspects]], making her come off as a NonActionBigBad. While neither of these were problems by themselves, it foreshadowed a common criticism of ''Security Breach'': Vanny/Vanessa, the game's BigBad, being OutOfFocus. Vanny is significantly built up in both ''Help Wanted'' and ''Special Delivery'', the former [[RogueProtagonist as the player character]] and the latter detailing her SanitySlippage in the 'unintended emails.' Vanny is also unique among [=FNAF=] enemies in that she's a [[DemonicPossession possessed]] TokenHuman, rather than an animatronic, which, combined with her established TragicVillain traits, helped to make her extremely popular before ''Security Breach'' was released. However, despite this, she doesn't make too many appearances in-game and feels [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter underutilized]], which isn't helped by ContinuityLockout and cut content. While the game's DLC does [[AuthorsSavingThrow address]] other criticisms it received, it also notably doesn't give more character focus to Vanny.
** The games pulling aspects of the books to use for their own canon. The first use was an important one, confirming William Afton's name as his true one. But that's all it did, and it was contained to only one person and didn't really matter much for the game's story. Then in ''Pizzeria Simulator'', the Cassette Man is ''heavily'' hinted to be Henry Emily, the previous owner of the pizzeria, father of Charlie/The Puppet, and Afton's own partner. However it still wasn't that glaring, as there are enough hints in his speech at the end of the game to hint at what his connections to these characters are. It was also (supposed to be) the final game, so no one minded a bit of fanservice. But by ''Ruin'', the main antagonist ([[spoiler:the Mimic]]) is pulled directly from the books, meaning that people unfamiliar with them have no idea who he is or why he's so dangerous, and further muddying which aspects of the books are canon or not.
* As acclaimed as ''VideoGame/GoldenEye1997'' is, it is responsible for codifying Franchise/JamesBond video games as action-packed romps lacking the kind of social espionage that the character is perhaps more famous for. With ''[=GoldenEye=]'', it was accepted for a variety of reasons. For one, [[Film/GoldenEye its source material]] had multiple memorable action scenes that easily translated into fun gameplay, along with several off-screen events that made for easy AdaptationExpansion. In addition, that gameplay was incredibly novel for the time, in particular its emphasis on completing a variety of objectives like protecting noncombatants, locating information, and destroying specific infrastructure, sometimes with an explicit time limit attached, instead of simply going from point A to point B, finding keycards along the way to open the exit, as was the hallmark of early- to mid-'90s FPS games.[[note]]Tellingly, when ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''[='=]s fan-made source ports added enough new features that it was possible for ''Doom'' to emulate this style of gameplay, one of the first noteworthy mods to do so was given a distinct ''Bond'' flavor.[[/note]] It also helped that the game let the player use an array of gadgets to give it that Bond flavor, with everything from a laser built into Bond's watch for emergencies to a covert modem meant to be attached to an enemy computer and steal sensitive info. Future games based on the franchise, however, would continue to indulge deeper into the action side of the formula, especially once Creator/PierceBrosnan's on-camera stint as the character ended and adaptations of the movies gave way for entirely new adventures, and felt significantly less innovative, as rather than being innovators these games were often [[FollowTheLeader indebted to whatever style of shooter was popular]] when they were made with only a token Bond flavor, typically stuffing a few rarely-used functions and gadgets into Bond's watch (EA's ''Bond'' games) or [[MagicalComputer a do-everything smartphone]] (Activision's ''Bond'' games) while the rest of the game focuses much more heavily on simply sneaking up on individual enemies and shooting them in the head with your silenced P99. The [[FranchiseKiller final straw]] was ''VideoGame/DoubleOhSevenLegends'', which suffered from trying to fit less action-packed films like ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' or ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' into the ''Call of Duty'' mold like ''[=GoldenEye=]''[='=]s [[VideoGame/GoldenEye2010 2010 remake]] had done for that film, and then had [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames the typical licensed-game problem]] of [[ChristmasRushed needing to be rushed]] to meet the release date of [[Film/{{Skyfall}} an upcoming film]] on top of it - it did so poorly that Activision pulled it from stores and dropped the ''Bond'' license entirely only a few months later, with other publishers refusing to pick it up for almost a decade afterwards.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} IV'' was extensively criticized for [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks recycling level archetypes from previous games]], with particular derision being directed at the first level simply being a rehash of ''Gradius II''[='=]s opening stage with the flames being replaced with a liquid metal effect. To some extent, ''Gradius'', like many of Konami's action game franchises, has always been a heavily self-referential series: the previous numbered ''Gradius'' games shared many of the same biomes and one of the big setpieces in ''Gradius II'' was a BossRush mostly made up of recycled bosses from the original game and its spin-off ''Salamander''. The difference was that the previous ''Gradius'' games made sure to mix up the familiar sights with new level themes, while ''IV'' was the first major release in the series to feature no new stage themes (the closest being the magma flow section in the Volcano stage, which perhaps not coincidentally is usually cited as the level design highlight of the game). Not helping ''IV'''s case was that the previous major ''Gradius'' game, ''Gradius Gaiden'' had some very bold takes on familiar ''Gradius'' levels, or that the game's conservative nature extended to its base mechanics, with ''IV'' not adding any major gameplay feature and actively axing features added in the previous games like Edit Mode: the lack of new mechanics made the "safe" stage selection stand out all that much more.
* The ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' series, along with its successor/rival ''VideoGame/RockBand'', both found themselves plagued with [[MissionPackSequel Mission-Pack Sequels]], a problem that only became acute late in both series' lifespans but was noticeable much earlier on.\\
The Original Sin was ''Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s'', a poorly-received sequel to the excellent ''Guitar Hero II'', made by Harmonix under contract after Creator/{{Activision}} bought the series. Neversoft (under Activision) made ''Guitar Hero III'' and onward, with ''Guitar Hero: Aerosmith'', ''Guitar Hero: Metallica'', ''Guitar Hero: Smash Hits'', ''Guitar Hero: Van Halen'', ''Guitar Hero: On Tour -- Decades'', ''Guitar Hero: On Tour -- Modern Hits'', and two different versions of ''Band Hero'' (one for DS and one for consoles).\\
Harmonix themselves would continue this trend on their own with ''Rock Band'' Track Packs (bare-bones game discs with songs taken from the game's vast DLC library, for players stuck on [[DaddySystem consoles with no DLC]] or who want to get the songs for slightly cheaper), a VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame, and band-specific sequels. The Track Packs were tolerated due to being explicitly marketed as handy DLC bundles rather than full games, and their game based on Music/TheBeatles was critically acclaimed thanks to The Beatles' [[SacredCow legendary status]] (it helps that the game's tracklist could ''not'' be exported to the main games, helping it stand as its own game rather than a MissionPackSequel), but their next game, focused on Music/GreenDay, was seen as SoOkayItsAverage at best.\\
Other (poorly-received) [[FollowTheLeader imitators]] such as ''VideoGame/RockRevolution'' and ''VideoGame/PowerGigRiseOfTheSixString'' only worsened the situation. Eventually, both series, and the entire genre of peripheral-based {{Rhythm Game}}s, drowned in a flood of {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
** Many fans criticized the stories in ''VideoGame/Halo4'' and especially ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' for [[AllThereInTheManual being too dependent]] on material from the ExpandedUniverse, leaving many crucial, plot-relevant details unexplained the games. For example, ''Halo 5'' would not make much sense without having seen ''ComicBook/HaloEscalation'', the Spartan Ops from ''4'', ''Film/HaloNightfall'', ''Literature/HaloNewBlood'', etc. This reliance on the expanded universe for backstory goes back to the franchise's first two entries: ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' and its tie-in novel ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach''. Without ''The Fall of Reach'', the player had no clue about where [[TheHero Master Chief]] came from, why [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Covenant]] were at war with humanity, where [[SpaceshipGirl Cortana]] came from, what the ''[[CoolStarship Pillar of Autumn]]'' was evacuating from, and so on. But the difference was that the plot of ''Combat Evolved'' was largely self-contained to the events on the eponymous Halo ring with none of the aforementioned backstory and lore directly impacting the plot much. The missing backstory simply gave the impression that you were taking part in a much larger and ongoing story without feeling like the plot expected you to know the lore. This pattern of keeping the games' and books' plots separate was largely the same until Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took over the series, making the EU more prominent but with mixed results on its games.
** Additionally, the complaints about ''Halo'' devolving into a ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' ripoff after [=343i=] took over. Many complained about the focus on gimmicks such as Armor/Spartan Abilities, the addition of sprinting, the removal of Elites as a playable model, increasing the pace of the game, blatantly mimicking ''Call of Duty''[='=]s class system, and finally, the addition of ADS (Aiming Down Sights) which sparked the most controversy. Many of these things, beside the ADS, were present in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', the last ''Halo'' game Creator/{{Bungie}} created. ''Reach'' added Armor Abilities, including the ability to sprint as the basic one, reduced playing as Elites to exclusive modes, and added loadouts for each match for differentiation. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAwRp7Il4LY Sprinting was even considered]] for ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' at one point during its development, just before ''Call of Duty'' even introduced it with its expansion pack. The difference is that Bungie knew when to draw the line, making sure that it was its own original game. Specifically, the loadouts were pre-determined and could not be customized in matchmaking (making them more in common with the class-based system of ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942'', where your loadout determines your current role on the team rather than just what gun you want to use), the gameplay still felt like ''Halo'' despite the Armor Abilities as opposed to being blatantly influenced by ''Call of Duty'', and the emphasis on balanced, map-oriented gameplay was still there (just not as much as before). 343, on the other hand, took it to another level and turned ''Halo'' into something that's barely recognizable from the older games, all by doing what Bungie did, but going even further with it than they dared to go. That said, 343i did completely remove the loadout system in ''Halo 5''[='=]s classic-style multiplayer mode, and the ADS system turned out to be mechanically identical to the scopes of previous games (with the only non-cosmetic difference being that ''every'' weapon could be fired from a zoom).
** Many of things that made ''Halo 5'' so negatively received were not too different from what happened with ''Halo 2''; trailers that didn't match the final product, controversial story choices, Master Chief being a DecoyProtagonist, and gameplay changes that were contentious, among other issues. The difference was that ''Halo 2'' felt like a step forward for the series, with the new inclusions being good enough for most people to offset any major issues, and stuff like the perspective flip by playing as an Elite, introducing online multiplayer, and general improvements, made it successful inspite of the issues. Plus the developers admitted they had a TroubledProduction, which considering it was the second game in the series, tempered people's anger a bit. ''Halo 5'' by comparison felt like it was a regression compared to the prior game (itself also a polarizing game), and introduced things that for most players outweighed any improvements, making it harder to ignore these disliked elements compared to ''Halo 2''.
* ''Franchise/TheKingOfFighters'':
** Upon his debut in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001'', K9999 was met with a rather hostile reception for being [[CaptainErsatz a one-to-one copy]] of Tetsuo Shima from ''Manga/{{AKIRA}}'', enough to not only be [[ShooOutTheNewGuy quickly dropped from future games despite his rather pivotal role]], but also [[BuryYourArt suppressed at SNK's offices for 20 years]]. However, Creator/{{SNK}} had a long history of [[ShoutOut basing their characters on other, pre-existing characters]], most notably Benimaru Nikaido from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters94'' being almost identical appearance-wise to Jean-Pierre Polnareff from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. As to why Benimaru was tolerated and K9999 wasn't? Because Benimaru had a different powerset, demeanor and voice actor than Polnareff from the outset, whereas K9999 shared all of those traits with Tetsuo [[spoiler:and had to wait until ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'' to receive, as [[PaperThinDisguise Krohnen]], his own DerivativeDifferentiation]].
** ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'': After the game's release, many took issue with Isla [[BullyTurnedBuddy becoming Shun'ei's friend despite being introduced as absolutely despising him]], especially considering that she was hyped up as his saga's main rival. However, the same plotline had been done with Kula Diamond and Elisabeth Blanctorche in the two preceding arcs, with the mitigating factors of Kula's case being the first of its kind (Iori, her own predecessor as a saga rival, notably never became actual friends with Kyo), Elisabeth making amends with Ash took a backseat to the reveal that [[spoiler:Ash was GoodAllAlong and [[RetGone his ultimate sacrifice]]]], and both of them had two games worth of CharacterDevelopment so that their eventual change of opinion towards K' and Ash respectively didn't feel rushed. Isla, on the other hand, had her entire character arc shoved into one game, leaving fans to bemoan how both [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter her actual character]] and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot her rivalry with Shun'ei]] were underdeveloped.
* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' echoes many elements from [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUs the first game]], but is widely regarded to not do them nearly as well.
** While the first game was incredibly dark, it had enough of a sense of hope that players could care about the world without burning out on the dark tone, with a major part of that being Joel and Ellie's growing bond. ''Part II'', however, carries the same bleak tone, but lacks the first game's hopeful elements - [[spoiler:Joel is murdered early on, Ellie kills countless people during her RoaringRampageOfRevenge for Joel's death, Abby is playable for large portions of the game after the story has already given players a reason to dislike her by having her murder Joel, and both Abby and Ellie receive {{Downer Ending}}s]], causing many players to [[TooBleakStoppedCaring tune out]]. Not helping matters was the terrible timing -- ''Part II'' dropped shortly after the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 pandemic]] hit, a time when many players would not be interested in such an unrelentingly bleak game.
** While Abby is controversial, to say the least, her most evil action - [[spoiler:killing Joel early in the game]] - is not all that different from Joel [[spoiler:killing the doctor, who is revealed in the second game to be Abby's father,]] in the first game. However, while they both commit an amoral action for the sake of a loved one, Joel remains far more popular with fans. The primary difference is timing - while Joel's action comes late in the first game, after the player has gotten to know his positive traits and can understand his motivations, Abby's comes early, before the player really gets to know her, and thus her early act [[NeverLiveItDown hangs over her later sympathetic moments]]. Plus, Abby's actions border on ColdBloodedTorture, while Joel's are more pragmatic. The end result is that while Joel comes off as an AntiHero, Abby comes off as a straight-up villain that the game [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic inexplicably wants the player to side with]].
** Both games delve into GrayAndGreyMorality, but the first presents Joel and the Fireflies as [[BothSidesHaveAPoint both having valid arguments about whether or not to kill Ellie]] (with the latter group wanting to create a cure for the plague that decimated humanity in the backstory), and while Joel (who favors sparing her) wins out in the narrative, the game doesn't take a side. However, ''Part II'' isn't quite as careful, explicitly siding with [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic Abby]] over [[UnintentionallySympathetic Ellie]] when most players would do the opposite, ultimately leading to a BrokenAesop that fans heavily criticized.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Several of the later 3D games in the pre-''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' era, particularly ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', face criticism for several elements such as [[SlowPacedBeginning slow-paced beginnings]], mandatory {{Fetch Quest}}s that halt the pacing, and [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper over-tutorialization]]. However, elements of these criticisms appeared in earlier games, where they were little more than minor annoyances compared to the major criticisms they would become later on.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' foreshadows much of the criticism of later games [[UnderusedGameMechanic underusing their (later) tools]], as the three items obtained after the fifth dungeon see very little use in puzzles or combat. However, it's not very noticeable in this game, since the L-2 Power Bracelet and Mirror Shield are merely upgrades of existing items, while the Magical Rod is still a fairly powerful if redundant weapon. It became far more noticeable when later games like ''Twilight Princess'' and ''Skyward Sword'' had very unique and interesting items like the Spinner, Dominion Rod, Gust Bellows, and Whip that didn't see much use other than their pre-made targets.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'':
*** One major complaint about post-''Ocarina of Time'' games is being [[FakeLongevity forced to run around previous areas to unlock the next]]. In hindsight, the trip back to the Lost Woods to learn Saria's Song foreshadows this issue, as there is no real reason as to why Saria couldn't teach Link her song right when they said their supposed "goodbye." This issue is mitigated by putting a shortcut to the Lost Woods in Death Mountain, which is the area which triggers the quest in which you learn her song. Also, nearly every dungeon in the Adult arc involves revisiting some previous area, but this sort of {{Backtracking}} is largely tolerated since these revisits largely do not involve any lengthy quest required to open the next dungeon, and the seven-year TimeSkip where Ganondorf has ruled Hyrule means many of these locations are [[DualWorldGameplay very different from how they were the first time players visited them]], even if just in atmosphere.
*** Many of the later [=3D=] ''Zelda'' games are criticized for having an empty overworld with little to see, do and fight. However, ''Ocarina of Time'' also suffers from this issue compared to some of its 2D predecessors. Hyrule Field's enemies are limited solely to Stalchildren and Peahats in the past and Poes and Big Poes in the future, and the only places to use items in the field are a few spots where hidden grottoes could be found. The empty field tends to be excused as ''Ocarina of Time'' was one of the first [=3D=] games with as much polish as it had, and the other overworld areas such as the Kakariko-Death Mountain area, Zora's Domain, and Gerudo Valley still had a wide variety of things to do.
*** Navi is something of a retroactive example. She was originally the butt of many jokes regarding [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper insistent assistance in video games]] and was seen as TheScrappy for many. In the years following ''Ocarina of Time's'' release, the games that came out after and until ''Breath of the Wild'' had what were considered far worse examples of assistant characters when it comes to handholding. Navi is typically seen in a much better light nowadays, especially when compared to the worst example, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Fi]]. While she is still thought of as mildly annoying, her advice is never truly overbearing and her interruptions are generally limited to rooms containing Wallmasters, which even then is considered a very helpful interruption.
*** This was the game that started the timeline debates and eventual canonization of the series splitting into multiple timelines from this game. It was meant to be a prequel to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' yet contradicted the backstory and events leading up to that game,[[note]]Namely that Ganon only had the Triforce of Power when he got sealed away, in contrast to ''A Link to the Past'' which depicted Ganon having the whole Triforce at hand.[[/note]] and its enduring popularity with fans meant that Nintendo started making sequels to ''Ocarina of Time''... [[ContinuitySnarl during a time when they were starting to take continuity seriously]], meaning they had to come up with a whole deal of multiple timelines, one each for the game's two time periods and a third for if TheHeroDies to lead to all the games that came out before ''[=OoT=]''. Many fans feel such an explanation is unnecessary and would be perfectly happy to accept each game and its specific sequels as their own story, rather than trying to tie them all together in a confusing way.
*** Both ''Ocarina of Time'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' feature major supporting characters that follow a FarmersDaughter archetype while receiving lots of ShipTease with Link. While Malon is a widely-loved EnsembleDarkhorse however, Ilia is a significant BaseBreakingCharacter, with about half of the game's fans liking her for her realistic GirlNextDoor charms standing out in a cast of big personalities, and the other half thinking that she is UnintentionallyUnsympathetic for her treatment of Epona and Link, along with her amnesia subplot being a distraction in the game's main story. These traits can perhaps be traced back to Malon, who also gets a significant sub-plot revolving around her ranch that isn't essential to the main story, and is also the most grounded character in a cast of fantasy races and heroes destined to fight evil. The key difference appears to be that Malon's presence as a normal side-character served as a welcome bit of levity to the story, with her side-quest being a charming BreatherLevel that doesn't distract from the main plot but does give players a chance to reorient themselves after the timeskip. By contrast, Ilia being worked much more directly into the main plot means that she is now directly competing for screentime with other characters that Link ultimately spends more time with, which means that her normality compared to them goes from an asset to a flaw.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'':
*** Several of this game's 3D successors get heavily criticized for having long, drawn-out intros that involve fetch quests, various tutorials, and an [[NoobCave overly simplistic tutorial mini-dungeon]] at best, but many of these problems can be traced back to ''Majora's Mask''. The game starts out in a very simplistic mini-dungeon introducing Deku Link's mechanics, but once you leave said mini-dungeon, the game doesn't exactly start there. You are required to do many fetch quests in order to retrieve the Ocarina of Time, including rescuing a Stray Fairy, joining the Bombers, and retrieving the Moon Tear. Unlike later 3D ''Zelda'' games, this sequence of events is generally not considered a SlowPacedBeginning since the three intro quests are done quite briskly, the player isn't [[AnnoyingVideoGameHelper handheld]] through the intro, and the game's tutorialization is limited to the introductory mini-dungeon.
*** As a remake, ''Majora's Mask [[Platform/Nintendo3DS 3D]]'' is highly contested for most of its changes feeling like downgrades to what was in the original game. Many of these complaints existed in ''Ocarina of Time 3D'' in a more understandable form: changes to gameplay and control schemes, and a difference in art direction that changed the visual composition and tone of several scenes. The difference is that ''Ocarina of Time 3D'' was still a very faithful remake where most of these gameplay edits were small quality-of-life improvements, while the new art direction was still largely faithful to that of artwork for the [=N64=] original. ''Majora's Mask 3D'', on the other hand, was far more liberal with its edits, significantly changing gameplay mechanics such as the Zora swimming controls and remaking most of its boss fights to force the use of specific items. Making use of the same bright art direction as [=OoT 3D=] instead of reflecting the darker colors seen in official ''Majora's Mask'' artwork also clashes with the darker tone and atmosphere that the game tries to present.
*** AmericansHateTingle because he's a weird, creepy ManChild, but the vast majority of that hate stems from his appearance in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' rather than his debut in ''Majora's Mask'', despite his character being the same in both games. Why was he tolerated in one game and vilified in the next? For the most part, it's because he's TheArtifact in later games. His weird creepiness was acceptable in ''Majora's Mask'' because [[SurrealHorror almost everything in the game is similarly weird and creepy]], so he fit in perfectly. Moreover, his primary purpose of selling you maps was both reasonably priced and completely optional. He was then imported into ''Wind Waker'', where he didn't fit in with the brighter, less surreal tone of the game, with the only modification to his character being [[{{Flanderization}} blowing out his traits to ridiculous proportions]] - now he sells maps that you ''have'' to buy to complete the game, and he charges exorbitant amounts for them, on top of the game halting the plot on other occasions to focus on him for things like getting arrested for petty theft and requiring you to break him out.
*** Many of the criticisms aimed at ''Twilight Princess''[='=] finale revolve around Zant behaving like a deranged maniac, most notably moving and acting very erratically in his boss fight, making it hard for many players to take him seriously. This isn't too different from the way Majora acts when it's fought at the end of ''Majora's Mask'', perhaps most notably the second phase where it dances around while making what sounds like chicken noises. The difference is that this sort of behavior is in line with Majora having already been established as [[PsychopathicManchild immature and psychotic]], lining up with the game's themes of maturity and [[ContrastingSequelAntagonist noticeably contrasting]] with the far more dignified, patient and cunning Ganondorf of ''Ocarina of Time''. Zant, meanwhile, spends all of his previous scenes as a composed and subtle villain, whose worst flaws are {{ambition|IsEvil}} and {{pride}}, which makes it just appear laughable when he decides completely out of left field [[VillainDecay to start acting like a complete lunatic during the final fight]]. What also contrasts them is that Majora was the main antagonist from beginning to end (even if the Skull Kid was its puppet for most of the game), while Zant would end up revealed as a puppet of [[HijackedByGanon Ganondorf]] near the end of the game, effectively demoting him as a threat.
* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'':
** The original game and its prequel ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'' both caught some flack for requiring the player to go along with some morally iffy and occasionally outright illegal actions in order to get the game's central same-sex romances off the ground (respectively, Max/Chloe and Chloe/Rachel). However, this was largely forgiven due to the positive and rounded representation of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships, coupled with the fact that the male romantic options in both games were little more than {{Satellite Love Interest}}s, while the female options were main characters; so it felt justified that pursuing Warren or Eliot was less dramatic and more incidental to the main plot. Not so in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange2'', however, when getting Sean into a same-sex romance with Finn hinges entirely on agreeing to one ''hugely'' criminal and stupid suggestion of his; ''as well'' as being a more traditional GayOption in that his romance route is much more easily missable than that of Sean's potential female love interest Cassidy. The (presumably unintentional) message went from the already questionable "the happiness of the person you love is more important than ''anything else''" to "you need to be willing to commit crimes if you want someone of the same sex to date you".
** ''Life Is Strange 2'' also gets criticised for the fact that the playable protagonist didn't have a superpower of his own. However, it wasn't the first ''Life Is Strange'' game where this is the case: ''Before the Storm'' also featured an "ordinary" protagonist, and in fact only hints at the existence of superpowers in its world, due to being a prequel. In fact, of the four main games in the series, only the original and ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeTrueColors'' have you directly control a powered protagonist, while all three side-stories (''Farewell'', ''VideoGame/TheAwesomeAdventuresOfCaptainSpirit'', and ''Wavelengths'') focus on a character who either has no powers or hasn't developed them yet.

-->'''[=GameSpy=]''', ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20040818132132/http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/june03/dumbestmoments/readers/index4.shtml The 25 Dumbest Moments in Gaming]]''

* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'':

*** Many of the criticisms aimed at ''Twilight Princess''[='=] finale revolve around Zant behaving like a deranged maniac, most notably moving and acting very erratically in his boss fight, making it hard for many players to take him seriously. This isn't too different from the way Majora acts when it's fought at the end of ''Majora's Mask'', perhaps most notably the second phase where it dances around while making what sounds like chicken noises. The difference is that this sort of behavior is in line with Majora having already been established as [[PsychopathicManchild immature and psychotic]], lining up with the game's themes of maturity and [[ContrastingSequelAntagonist noticeably contrasting]] with the far more dignified, patient and cunning Ganondorf of ''Ocarina of Time''. Zant, meanwhile, spends all of his previous scenes as a composed and subtle villain, whose worst flaws are {{ambition|IsEvil}} and {{pride}}, which makes it just appear laughable when he decides completely out of left field [[VillainDecay to start acting like a complete lunatic during the final fight]]. What also contrasts them is that Majora was the main antagonist from beginning to end (even if the Skull Kid was its puppet for most of the game), while Zant would end up revealed as a puppet of [[[HijackedByGanon Ganondorf]] near the end of the game, effectively demoting him as a threat.

*** Many of the criticisms aimed at ''Twilight Princess''[='=] finale revolve around Zant behaving like a deranged maniac, most notably moving and acting very erratically in his boss fight, making it hard for many players to take him seriously. This isn't too different from the way Majora acts when it's fought at the end of ''Majora's Mask'', perhaps most notably the second phase where it dances around while making what sounds like chicken noises. The difference is that this sort of behavior is in line with Majora having already been established as [[PsychopathicManchild immature and psychotic]], lining up with the game's themes of maturity and [[ContrastingSequelAntagonist noticeably contrasting]] with the far more dignified, patient and cunning Ganondorf of ''Ocarina of Time''. Zant, meanwhile, spends all of his previous scenes as a composed and subtle villain, whose worst flaws are {{ambition|IsEvil}} and {{pride}}, which makes it just appear laughable when he decides completely out of left field [[VillainDecay to start acting like a complete lunatic during the final fight]].

** One of the bigger complaints about ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'' was that X, the protagonist of the series, was downgraded to an unlockable character who has little relevance to the story and CantCatchUp when he does become available -- indeed, by some accounts, he wasn't going to be in the game at all at one point in development. But when you look at the other games in the series, X had always been something of TheUnfavorite compared to Zero[[note]]in fact, ''Zero'' was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen originally intended to be the series' main protagonist]] before it was changed to X due to how radically different he was compared to the previous Mega Man, and one could argue [[WriterRevolt Zero was pushed as the "real" protagonist as much as possible in response]][[/note]], being usually depicted as weaker,[[note]]Even in [[VideoGame/MegaManX1 the first game]], Vile in a Ride Armor presented a HopelessBossFight for X and a minor nuisance that could have its arm shot off in one blast for Zero[[/note]] given less interesting gameplay,[[note]]Other than replacing the slide with a dash and the addition of wall-jumping, X is more or less a carbon copy of the Classic gameplay style, while Zero gets [[DivergentCharacterEvolution a more varied style]] with weapons activated by specific button combinations and a focus on melee -- he doesn't even have his Z-Buster for his first fully playable appearance in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX4 X4]]'', despite having it in almost every other game before and since[[/note]] and having less to do in the plot, especially as the games went on.[[note]]At least as early as ''X4'', X's plot gave him no connection to the villains save for the two explicitly identified as traitors to the Maverick Hunters, and had all of the rest act mindlessly aggressive when they talked before a fight; Zero's gave him a vested interest in stopping the conflict peacefully, due to a love interest (Iris) whose brother was among the enemy (Colonel), and actual attempts at rational, peaceful discussion were made as a result[[/note]] X's protagonist status had increasingly become a formality, among both the fandom and the developers -- but simply dropping him, and unceremoniously adding an unheard-of ReplacementScrappy, was going too far.

** The series has always had issues with its KudzuPlot, full of AssPull after Ass Pull, numerous {{Retcon}}s, and [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Heel–Face Revolving Doors]]. Creator Creator/HideoKojima, a massive fan of Hollywood films, loved to emulate the movies he loved as much as possible and add as many [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] and nods as he could, even if [[RuleOfCool it didn't make sense story-wise]]. Early on, this was considered intriguing--during the 8-bit era, players were lucky if [[ExcusePlot games had any sort of plot whatsoever]], and even in the [=PS1=] era, it was considered a major innovation that games could emulate film ''at all'', so these quirks merely added to the series' charm. However, repeatedly relying on RuleOfCool within a complex narrative inevitably takes its toll, and fans became much, ''much'' less tolerant of these issues in later games as the series became bogged down by ContinuityCreep. The lowest point is typically agreed to be Act 3 of ''Guns of the Patriots'', where the true identities of the Patriots are revealed to be Naked Snake and his radio support from ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater MGS3]]''. This one revelation brought all of the series' worst excesses to light in the eyes of its fans; it had become so obsessed with its own continuity that [[OneDegreeOfSeparation every single minor detail had to be connected]], and many minor (but likable) characters had to be thrown under the bus to provide lots of [[CallBack Call-Backs]] to previous games. The ContinuityPorn continued with things like Naomi Hunter making ridiculous decisions that require her to [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor change sides once per act]], revealing herself to have cancer [[PlotHole despite the technology present being clearly capable of making that a non-issue]], and killing herself, despite her plan in no way requiring her to die, [[CartwrightCurse just so that Otacon could cry over another woman]] like in previous games. Rose and Colonel Campbell pretend to be a happy married couple so that Raiden can go through another emotional character arc similar to the one in ''2'', become yet ''another'' cyber ninja, and then wind up in the same BelatedHappyEnding. The game even ends with Big Boss himself (a character dead since ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'', 18 years earlier in reality and 15 in-universe) returning to explain the last few plot threads. In addition to introducing even more twists which may [[VoodooShark raise more questions than answers]], these twists also have the effect of making [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything the entire universe revolve around a small cast of characters]] that can perfectly manipulate worldwide events across half a century. Many of these problems can be attributed to the fact that Kojima never really intended to continue the series beyond ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' and, as one of the translators from that game stated, Kojima's writing style is too heavily influenced by wanting to create big set pieces and emulate cool things he likes from his favorite movies.

** ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' has been criticized by some reviews and fans of having tedious backtracking and tiresome quest design. While some of these problems have existed since the first entry in the franchise, ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' did mitigate some of the excessive backtracking and offered vastly improved gameplay and writing that helped distract from some of the sluggish pacing problems. However, as noted in [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/13/borderlands-the-pre-sequel-review this IGN review]], ''The Pre-Sequel'' did not correct the pacing problems despite being the 3rd main installment in the series, thus making it more difficult to ignore these issues.

*** Many of the criticisms aimed at ''Twilight Princess''[='=] finale revolve around Zant moving and acting very erratically in his boss fight. This isn't too different from the way Majora acts when it's fought at the end of ''Majora's Mask'', perhaps most notably the second phase where it dances around while making what sounds like chicken noises. The difference is that this sort of behavior is in line with Majora's previous scenes depicting it as immature and psychotic, lining up with the game's themes of maturity and [[ContrastingSequelAntagonist noticeably contrasting]] with the far more dignified, patient and cunning Ganondorf of ''Ocarina of Time''. Zant, meanwhile, spends all of his scenes as a composed and subtle villain, whose worst flaws are {{ambition|IsEvil}} and {{pride}}, which makes it just appear laughable when he decides completely out of left field [[VillainDecay to start acting like a complete lunatic during the final fight]].
* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' and its prequel ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'' both caught some flack for requiring the player to go along with some morally iffy and occasionally outright illegal actions in order to get the game's central same-sex romances off the ground (respectively, Max/Chloe and Chloe/Rachel). However, this was largely forgiven due to the positive and rounded representation of LGBTQ+ characters and relationships, coupled with the fact that the male romantic options in both games were little more than {{Satellite Love Interest}}s, while the female options were main characters; so it felt justified that pursuing Warren or Eliot was less dramatic and more incidental to the main plot. Not so in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange2'', however, when getting Sean into a same-sex romance with Finn hinges entirely on agreeing to one ''hugely'' criminal and stupid suggestion of his; ''as well'' as being a more traditional GayOption in that his romance route is much more easily missable than that of Sean's potential female love interest Cassidy. The (presumably unintentional) message went from the already questionable "the happiness of the person you love is more important than ''anything else''" to "you need to be willing to commit crimes if you want someone of the same sex to date you".

* ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor''

** While William Afton is fairly beloved as a BigBad, there are also a fair few who want to see him retired. Earlier games established that he was a SerialKiller who worked at the titular SuckECheeses restaurant, and whose ''modus operandi'' consisted of dressing as a beloved rabbit character from the very first restaurant in the chain to lure children into the backroom. The third game added a supernatural element to his character, which reveals that he died [[HoistByHisOwnPetard inside the same animatronic/mascot suit hybrid he used for his murders]] and became Springtrap, the game's primary antagonist. Then ''Sister Location'' came along and marked the point where Afton's skillset became borderline cartoonish, showing that not only was he the co-owner of the Freddy's chain, but was also a MadScientist and master roboticist who created advanced animatronics ''specifically'' [[CutLexLuthorACheck for the purpose of murder]]. By the time ''Help Wanted'' was released, Afton now has full-blown JokerImmunity; after dying in a springlock accident and being burned alive ''twice'', he now returns as a VirtualGhost capable of GrandTheftMe and brainwashing, which culminates in ''Security Breach'' with [[spoiler:one ending showing him returning to his corpse and being able to directly control other animatronics by hacking them]]. Some fans now feel he has worn out his welcome due to the escalation of his capabilities and repeated deaths, with [[DaddysLittleVillain Elizabeth]], [[JackTheRipoff Vanny]], and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Fazbear Entertainment itself]] being popular candidates for his replacement. ''Security Breach'''s DLC campaign ''Ruin'' would ultimately bring in [[spoiler:[[Literature/FazbearFrights the Mimic]] and implicitly render "Burntrap" CanonDiscontinuity]], addressing this complaint for those sick of William Afton.

** While Abby is controversial, to say the least, her most evil action - [[spoiler:killing Joel early in the game]] - is not all that different from Joel [[spoiler:killing the doctor]] in the first game. However, while they both commit an amoral action for the sake of a loved one, Joel remains far more popular with fans. The primary difference is timing - while Joel's action comes late in the first game, after the player has gotten to know his positive traits and can understand his motivations, Abby's comes early, before the player really gets to know her, and thus her early act [[NeverLiveItDown hangs over her later sympathetic moments]]. Plus, Abby's actions border on ColdBloodedTorture, while Joel's are more pragmatic. The end result is that while Joel comes off as an AntiHero, Abby comes off as a straight-up villain that the game [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic inexplicably wants the player to side with]].

** One recurring complaint about the games are their recurring use of the “{{Filler}} Case”; typically the third case,[[note]]Although Case 2 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'' ("The Monstrous Turnabout") and Case 4 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'' ("Turnabout Storyteller") and ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney Adventures'' ("The Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro") better fit the bill for their respective games[[/note]] they're not only the weakest case in their respective game in terms of story or writing, but they are largely irrelevant to the main storyline. ''Turnabout Samurai'', the third case of [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the first game]], mostly avoids this, though. It serves as a BreatherEpisode between the tragic second case, which involves Mia's death, and the climactic fourth case, in which Phoenix tries to save his old friend Edgeworth. It also involves some CharacterDevelopment, as it helps establish the Phoenix-Maya partnership, and Edgeworth starts to become a better person after Phoenix broke his perfect win record. Other third trials don't have nearly as much significance to the narrative, making them come across as {{Filler}} that kills the pacing of the overall story arc; the most that can be said of ''Turnabout Big Top'' from ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll Justice for All]]'' is that it hangs a few [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Guns]] and sets up a few character dynamics for the new cast members that play into the finale. ''Turnabout Storyteller'' from ''Spirit of Justice'' can't even boast ''that''!
** Since the second game, the franchise had an established tradition of [[RememberTheNewGuy tying new characters and plot points into the backstory of the established cast]] to add weight, depth, and drama to the game's story. This has largely been well-received (and ''Trials and Tribulations'' is seen as the height of the franchise despite doing so ''very'' extensively), even when it causes the odd [[HandWave minor writing inconsistency that needs to be politely overlooked]]. But many think ''Spirit of Justice'' revealing that [[spoiler:Apollo is from Khura'in, and Dhurke's adopted son]] is a step too far, since in one fell swoop it begs the question of why such an important part of a character's life has never been brought up before and reshapes almost everything we used to know about him.

** The franchise has long used {{Punny Name}}s to convey hidden meanings in character names found in the original Japanese, and some puns translated less gracefully. For example, the main joke in Kaoru Ohba's name[[note]]Her name, when spelled in the Japanese order, also has "Baka" or "Idiot" in it, although this may not be the main joke, since she isn't as outrageously stupid as some characters[[/note]] - that her surname, when pronounced, sounds like "ObaSan" - is harder to convey in English, which is why she's called "Wendy Oldbag" in the localization. That said, most of the names in the earlier installments actually sounded semi-normal; when [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice the sixth game]] took Phoenix to the fictional Kingdom of Khur'ain, the names stopped sounding like actual names and were mostly just common phrases written in a funny way, making some of them sound forced rather than clever. For example, the first case has a young tour guide called Ahlbi Urgaid (which at least sounds "foreign", but made up) and a monk called Pees'lubn Andistan'dhin (which doesn't even try to sound like a name). By the final case things have reached the point of self-parody, with a major antagonist's full name being a pun on "How could this name be any longer or more pompous than it already is?"
** Some people criticize the fourth through sixth games for juggling multiple playable characters, but ''Trials and Tribulations'' was the first time players could play as people besides Phoenix- the first and fourth cases had Mia as the player character, while Edgeworth became playable in the first investigation and trial days of the final trial. This was better received back then because Phoenix was still indisputably the protagonist, while playing as Mia helped flesh out events that took place before Phoenix became a lawyer and playing as Edgeworth was a fun bonus that gave both he and Franziska something to do in a GrandFinale that would've felt incomplete without them. ''Spirit of Justice'' makes Apollo the protagonist at the start of the final case despite only having been playable in the second case before then, which took place outside the region where the finale happens, causing complaints about his relevance to the Khur'ain plot failing to justify being the final protagonist, while Athena's case is considered filler. Similarly, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' received criticism for having Phoenix be a SpotlightStealingSquad in Apollo's game, while ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' was criticized for having to juggle Phoenix making his grand return or Athena making her debut as the protagonist, with Apollo left in the lurch.
** The later games have also received complaints for not following up on the plot points from previous games. However, the series has always avoided talking about specific plot points from previous titles, they've been doing it since the second game in the original trilogy was pretty vague about a lot of important things that happened there so as not to alienate new players picking the series up with the second installment. It only became noticeable when the plots became much bigger in scope than they were before, and the marks they should've left on the characters and the setting so much more important, like Phoenix [[spoiler:reuniting with the supposed love of his life at the end of the third game, only for her never to be seen or even ''mentioned'' again]] or Apollo and Trucy [[spoiler:never finding out that they're half-siblings, despite them both being main characters with lots of screen-time together in two full games ''after'' Phoenix finds this out and agrees with their mother that someone needs to tell them their family history]].
** Phoenix's AntiHero characterization and the actions he committed in ''Apollo Justice'' (such as [[spoiler:forging evidence]]) have received a ton of criticism for how out of place it is with the characterization he had in the trilogy. However, while Phoenix in the original games was undeniably a good guy and wasn't an AmoralAttorney, he wasn't entirely straight-laced and would easily bend the rules for his sake if he felt the need to do so, which includes doing some legally shady actions, such as [[spoiler:breaking into Damon Gant's office illegally and concealing illegal evidence against him until the last minute]] in "Rise from the Ashes", potentially telling Larry to lie like a dog in his first trial, accusing several people of murder mid-case, and outright lying to someone just to have him slip up. But this tends to receive a pass compared to his actions in ''Apollo Justice'' because, first, the player is experiencing these things from Phoenix's perspective in the trilogy, and so has greater understanding for and sympathy with his mindset when he does them, as opposed to ''Apollo Justice'', where the player is seeing him from an outsider's perspective for most of it (since Apollo is the main character), and thus isn't able to get into his head and understand his motives as well; and, second, it's usually done as a [[GodzillaThreshold last resort]] and/or for a very justified reason, whereas Phoenix's actions in ''Apollo Justice'' don't really have that same justification behind them (even if they are understandable).

*** [[spoiler:Another key flaw with the "Resist/Nuke" ending is that it is a CruelTwistEnding, and thus renders everything the player did irrelevant. Part of the reason it failed so badly was that the previous two games ran on GreyAndGrayMorality, with both sides having flaws that meant neither one had the moral high ground, from the Rook Islanders' BloodKnight mentality versus Vaas and Hoyt's immoral torture and business practices, to the Golden Path's leaders' fanaticism in their beliefs versus Pagan's flagrant crimes and cruelty. However, ''5'' runs on BlackAndWhiteMorality - the residents of Hope County are all portrayed as righteous heroes, while the Project at Eden's Gate cult is portrayed as evil in every single thing they do, and the Seeds' constantly advising you not to use violence is hypocritical, since the cultists always try to kill you on sight. So when the ending revealed that the cult was correct about the end of the world and [[AllForNothing nothing you did to stop them made any difference]], it felt unbelievably unfair to the player.]]

!!Games and companies with their own pages:

* FranchiseOriginalSin/BioWare

** Additionally, the complaints about ''Halo'' devolving into a ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' ripoff after [=343i=] took over. Many complained about the focus on gimmicks such as Armor/Spartan Abilities, the addition of sprinting, the removal of Elites as a playable model, increasing the pace of the game, blatantly mimicking ''Call of Duty''[='=]s class system, and finally, the addition of ADS (Aiming Down Sights) which sparked the most controversy. Many of these things, beside the ADS, were present in ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', the last ''Halo'' game Creator/{{Bungie}} created. ''Reach'' added Armor Abilities, including the ability to sprint as the basic one, reduced playing as Elites to exclusive modes, and added loadouts for each match for differentiation. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAwRp7Il4LY Sprinting was even considered]] for ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' at one point during its development, just before ''Call of Duty'' even introduced it with its expansion pack. The difference is that Bungie knew when to draw the line, making sure that it was its own original game. Specifically, the loadouts were pre-determined and could not be customized in matchmaking (giving them more in common with the class-based system of ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942''), the gameplay still felt like ''Halo'' despite the Armor Abilities as opposed to being blatantly influenced by ''Call of Duty'', and the emphasis on balanced, map-oriented gameplay was still there (just not as much as before). 343, on the other hand, took it to another level and turned ''Halo'' into something that's barely recognizable from the older games, all by doing what Bungie did, but going even further with it than they dared to go. That said, 343i did completely remove the loadout system in ''Halo 5''[='=]s classic-style multiplayer mode, and the ADS system turned out to be mechanically identical to the scopes of previous games (with the only non-cosmetic difference being that ''every'' weapon could be fired from a zoom).

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' foreshadows much of the criticism of later games [[UnderusedGameMechanic underusing their (later) tools]], as the three items obtained after the fifth dungeon see very little use in puzzles or combat. However, it's not very noticeable in this game, since the Powerful Bracelet and Mirror Shield are merely upgrades of existing items, while the Magical Rod is still a fairly powerful if redundant weapon. It became far more noticeable when later games like ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' had very unique and interesting items like the Spinner, Dominion Rod, Gust Bellows, and Whip that didn't see much use other than their pre-made targets.

*** One major complaint about post-''Ocarina of Time'' games is being [[FakeLongevity forced to run around previous areas to unlock the next]]. In hindsight, the trip back to the Lost Woods to learn Saria's Song foreshadows this issue, as there is no real reason as to why Saria couldn't teach Link her song right when they said their supposed "goodbye." This issue is mitigated by putting a shortcut to the Lost Woods in Death Mountain, which is the area which triggers the quest in which you learn her song. Also, nearly every dungeon in the Adult arc involves revisiting some previous area, but this sort of {{Backtracking}} is largely tolerated since these revisits largely do not involve any lengthy quest required to open the next dungeon, and the seven-year TimeSkip where Ganondorf has ruled Hyrule means many of these locations are very different from how they were the first time players visited them, even if just in atmosphere.

*** This was the game that started the timeline debates and eventual canonization of the series splitting into multiple timelines from this game. It was meant to be a prequel to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' yet contradicted the backstory and events leading up to that game,[[note]]Namely that Ganon only had the Triforce of Power when he got sealed away, in contrast to ''A Link to the Past'' which depicted Ganon having the whole Triforce at hand.[[/note]] and its enduring popularity with fans meant that Nintendo started making sequels to ''Ocarina of Time''... [[ContinuitySnarl during a time when they were starting to take continuity seriously]], meaning they had to come up with a whole deal of multiple timelines, one each for the game's two time periods and a third for if TheHeroDies. Many fans feel such an explanation is unnecessary and would be perfectly happy to accept each game and its specific sequels as their own story, rather than trying to tie them all together in a confusing way.

** This is also how some feel about the inclusion of supernatural elements and other odd things in the game, with fans of ''The Sims 3'' and ''The Sims 4'' in particular complaining it's becoming more and more difficult to "ignore" them as they're increasingly incorporated into the game. But MagicRealism themes were around since the first game: though only the final expansion, "Makin' Magic", focused primarily on supernatural elements, ghosts were present from the beginning and the first expansion, "Livin' Large", added the Grim Reaper, alien abductions, and Frankenstein's monsters (and ghosts had been present since the base game). The second game, meanwhile, debuted with ghosts and aliens both present and heavily featured in the base game, and every major expansion throughout its lifetime added a new creature type[[note]]zombies in ''University'', vampires in ''Nightlife'', Servo robots in ''Open For Business'', werewolves in ''Pets'', [=PlantSims=] in ''Seasons'', Bigfoot in ''Bon Voyage'', genies in ''[=FreeTime=]'', and witches in ''Apartment Life''[[/note]].