10 Games That COMPLETELY Redeemed Themselves

10 Games That Completely Redeemed Themselves

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at games that got off to a rocky start before finding their footing and earning back fans.

“Destiny” (2014)

There was a lot of hype behind “Destiny.” It was Bungie’s first game after saying goodbye to “Halo,” and it promised a huge shared world for FPS players. While it was fun to play, that experience didn’t last very long. The campaign was short and there wasn’t nearly enough post-game content, leading it to grow rather repetitive and stale. Plus, remember the original Ghost voice actor, Peter Dinklage? Not great. Thankfully, Bungie built “Destiny” with long-term support in mind. Not only did it receive numerous story expansions and new modes, but also fixes and updates to gameplay over its lifespan. More probably should’ve been included at launch, but at least the developer built it up to a significantly better state before preparing for “Destiny 2.”

“Fallout 76” (2018)

If there’s one word we’d use to describe the beginning of “Fallout 76’s” life, it would be ‘embarrassing.’ Sixteen times the detail? No NPCs? The money-hungry Power Armor edition, or Fallout 1st? Yeah, it was a disaster, both boring and frustrating to play due its utterly dull quest design and its many technical issues. However, belonging to a company as resource-rich as Bethesda has its perks. The studio has now gotten “Fallout 76” to a more fan-approved state thanks to a myriad of updates. NPCs now populate what was once a bare-bones world, bugs are mostly a thing of the past, or at least not that detrimental, and players have enjoyed multiple stories and quests that made the Wasteland far more worth exploring.

“Sea of Thieves” (2018)

Many players may have looked at “Sea of Thieves” as a possible return to Rare’s whacky, creative form prevalent in its work with Nintendo. Most of them were disappointed to find it relatively shallow, with simplistic mechanics, repetitive quests, and not enough content to justify the price tag. However, ‘free’ can fix just about anything. Rare quickly began work on not only improving the base game, but crafting story expansions that could suck in anyone craving adventure. And we didn’t have to pay for any of it. Each one, to different degrees, has hooked the imagination of its player base, with their positive word of mouth bringing more in. These days, it’s one of the biggest success stories on Xbox.

“Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” (2015)

Ubisoft’s multiplayer tactical shooter may have gotten decent reviews on release. But like many other games, a lack of content led to low sales and a small, albeit passionate, player base. What saved it from falling into obscurity was Ubisoft going the games as a service route. Mechanics were honed to perfection, while improvements to matchmaking and bugs made it much more enjoyable. More importantly, Ubisoft released a ton of updates and DLC, featuring new weapons, playable characters, and maps, all of which were positively received and led to its player count increasing dramatically. It became an Esports giant, and a beloved entry in its series, all due to how Ubisoft handled it post-launch.

“Star Wars Battlefront II” (2017)

It’s hard to think about EA’s “Battlefront II” without immediately remembering the loot box fiasco that surrounded its release. Its microtransactions were so ridiculously predatory that government bodies had to weigh in. While that is one of the biggest things it will be remembered for, those who stuck with it know it turned out to be a pretty solid game. Gameplay had always been fun, and the significant scale back of microtransactions made that easier to enjoy. It added a plethora of iconic characters and locations over the years, as well as new modes, ships, and skins that tied in with whatever “Star Wars” movie or show was releasing.

“Diablo III” (2012)

“Diablo” is one of Blizzard’s biggest franchises. Coupled with the fact that “Diablo II” is one of the best PC games ever released, excitement for its sequel was through the roof. When it comes to gameplay and level structure, the game undeniably delivered. It was just the unnecessary things tacked onto it that rubbed players the wrong way. A constant internet connection was required, even in single player. But Blizzard didn’t have nearly enough servers set up to handle how many people bought it. This caused connection issues and a lot of unhappy players. There was also the Auction House, where players could sell and buy any in-game items for real-world money, which was criticized for obvious reasons. Once the server issues were fixed, and the Auction House removed, “Diablo III” could be appreciated for everything it did great.

“Street Fighter V” (2016)

Since “Street Fighter IV” had thrust the franchise back into the fighting game limelight, players expected another strong release in its sequel. Sadly, that wasn’t what we got. “Street Fighter V” was extremely bare, with a smaller roster than its predecessor, only the most basic of features, no Arcade mode, and barely a story. Even just trying to enjoy the online multiplayer upon release was a hassle due to broken servers that producer Yoshinori Ono had to apologize for. Granted, a story mode was planned and released a few months after launch, but it’s weird it wasn’t there to begin with. Capcom would fix its servers, and release new modes and characters to make the game stronger. Two years later, the “Arcade Edition” was released, which was praised for being everything the first version should have been.

“Final Fantasy XIV” (2013)

Plenty of online multiplayer games crash and burn, though not many come back. Square Enix released an MMO installment for “Final Fantasy” in 2010, and it was an absolute nightmare. Among the many criticisms were its slew of bugs and messy user interface that simply made it unfun to play. Technically speaking, that version was never redeemed; Square Enix shut down its servers in 2012. But it then released a new version, subtitled “A Realm Reborn,” in 2013, and the difference was night and day. With a new creative team and engine, Square Enix took the failure to heart and produced an entry more than worthy of the name. From its gameplay to its story, everything about it was an improvement, a statement that has continued to be true for years through expansions.

“No Man’s Sky” (2016)

It’s one of the most famous tales in gaming, being both an underdog and comeback story. Indie developer Hello Games went big with “No Man’s Sky,” and that got a lot of people’s attention. Co-founder Sean Murray also promoted the Hell out of it, so there was a significant level of hype behind it. When the game launched, it was met by a wave of disappointment due to many promised features being absent. Many understandably felt lied to. This could’ve easily been the sad, bitter end. Instead, Hello Games got to work. Ever since launch, the studio has worked tirelessly at making the game better. Update after update, players have been treated to free expansions and gameplay additions that have grown “No Man’s Sky” past the point of what was promised.

“Cyberpunk 2077” (2020)

CD Projekt Red’s highly anticipated sci-fi action RPG had a disastrous launch that will never be forgotten. The broken state of console versions led to it being removed from the PlayStation store, and the studio being subjected to class action lawsuits. But they proved you can even come back from that. The team has released multiple updates, which fixed many of the bugs, allowing the incredible game beneath to shine through. These updates also came with improvements to mechanics, expanded lore, and some finetuning of dialogue, basically enhancing every strength and cutting out every weakness. That’s not to mention the fantastic “Phantom Liberty” DLC, which brought in new characters and a suspenseful new plot line. “Cyberpunk 2077” was a failure, but we’re grateful it didn’t stay that way.

Know any other games that completely redeemed themselves? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!