The Games PS5 Fans Say They Regret Buying
When the PlayStation 5 hit the home console scene in November 2020, it took the gaming market by storm. The system was decked out with the most advanced graphics and solid-state drive technology ... but did the games that have come out for the PS5 since live up to the hype of the system?
Not necessarily. Many PS5 enthusiasts were not shy with their feedback on which games failed to meet their standards, and you might be surprised by some of the titles.
Some of the games simply aren't being created to take advantage of what the PS5 can offer. Sony's DualSense controller was a feature frequently highlighted by the company before release, and they weren't offering empty promises. Enhanced haptic feedback allows a player to feel a simulation of actions in-game through vibrations in the controller, and adaptive triggers can adjust your controller to make it easier or harder to press down on triggers in accordance with gameplay. Unfortunately, some game developers don't dedicate mechanics to those features.
Sony offers a subscription based game service in PlayStation Plus, giving players access to over 700 games to stream or download — including the PlayStation Plus Collection, which brings another extra 20 games for free. The PlayStation Plus Collection catalog was seemingly advertised as having a regular rotation of games coming in and out, but Sony is unfortunately closing the library down in 2023.
With any console, what people really want are the hot new releases. Unfortunately, that means spending a fair amount of money, which can lead to some regretful purchases.
Not sophisticated enough for the powerful PS5
Even when some games excel in one area, they can be a let down in others. While "The Callisto Protocol" has amazing sound design, some say that it lacks variation in the game environments. Players also take issue with the fact that all of the in-game battles are repetitive and, after some time spent playing the game, disappointing because of the lack of variance. One reddit user cited the game as being average, but not worth paying full price for. The abundance of negative reviews has left the game with a reputation that it can't escape.
Other games fall into this category, like "God of War: Ragnarok." The sequel to the 2018 game "God of War" is described as a decent game all around, but not specifically for the PS5. One review calls it a "PS4 game with some upgrades." There is little to no usage of features unique to the PS5.
The DualSense controllers and adaptive triggers are largely ignored in place of standard haptic feedback that can be found on most current systems. While gameplay and visuals are still great, it does not stand on the merit of being an exceptional game for this system.
Games that were released too early
When a game developer has spent months (or even years) hyping a game up, people don't want to hear about delays. The problem with that is that, sometimes, those delays are happening for a reason. The tense clashing of customer base expectations and the realistic technical issues can lead to frustration all around.
In some cases, the buyer's remorse is thanks to a sense of being falsely advertised to. Previews for "Cyberpunk 2077" before the game released made promises that the game itself could not keep. In a 48-minute demo, creators claimed the game would be a new benchmark for the gaming industry — assuming the full game matches the preview. Unfortunately, for people that pre-ordered the game or purchased early at full price, those promises were not always delivered on.
To a lesser extent, similar issues were had with "Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Earthblood." A frequent complaint was a lack of visual satisfaction with transformations, but a deeper issue came from the game's combat scenarios. Some claim that the game seems to operate on a quantity-over-quality basis, while some players say they would rather have had more dynamic combat visuals and fewer overall fights. The same applies to the game environment, which is described as dated and disappointing on Reddit. User u/mau_91 went as far as to say, "I cannot for the life of me recommend this to anyone."
The list includes many AAA titles
Other titles that left users wishing they'd waited for the game to hit PlayStation Plus or be discounted include "Biomutant," "Monster Hunter World," "Battlefield 2042," and "Godfall." There is a common thread of games that people regret buying for the PS5, and that thread is that most disappointing games don't take full advantage of the system's hardware to offer something new that can only be experienced on PS5.
Game development companies can be hesitant to invest money into those features for a game that isn't a system exclusive, and system exclusives are fewer and further between compared to cross-platform games. However, when a system exclusive does really live up to expectations, and is allowed enough time for the game to be developed and tested, people are still willing to pay the high price tag for the experience after its initial release.
Some PS5 players feel like they've been burned enough that they always wait for a game to be discounted before they purchase it, but there will always be temptation. Big titles come with a lot of hype and big marketing budgets designed to make the player salivate over the potential gameplay to immerse themselves in. Sometimes those promises are lived up to, but unfortunately, that's not always the case.