Be it for technical reasons or otherwise, critics and players do not always agree when it comes to a game’s quality. There have been many instances when a title received a middling critical reception only to become a cult classic; conversely, some highly rated releases failed to amass the same type of universal praise from customers. Although both sides arguably look for similar things in their games, critics and players often analyze a title’s value using different criteria.
The PlayStation 4 has been a runaway success that has a library packed with great first and third-party titles. As shown by Metacritic’s average scores, critics have appreciated a lot of what Sony’s console has had to offer; however, these 10 games were a bit more polarizing with customers.
10 Star Wars Battlefront – 73/5.0
Gamers are passionate, and the same can be said for Star Wars fans. Star Wars Battlefront disappointed both groups, as EA’s title launched with practically no single-player content and a multiplayer that lacked the depth to make up for the game’s shortcomings in other areas.
It should be said that “73” is hardly an impressive score for an AAA game, which is generally regarded as a mediocre average. In some ways, the user and critic scores match each other, even if the former looks far worse on paper.
9 Street Fighter V – 77/3.6
All things considered, “77” is not a great critical score for the latest entry in arguably the definitive fighting game franchise, especially since Tekken 7, Injustice 2, and Mortal Kombat 10 would all outscore Capcom’s title. Street Fighter V’s core mechanics are fantastic, arguably the best in the franchise.
At launch, the rest of the game fell short of expectations. Street Fighter V hit shelves with barely any content, a small pool of fighters, and no arcade mode. That is absolutely unforgivable for such a major release, even if Capcom did not hide that Street Fighter V was prioritizing the competitive market.
8 Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – 77/3.9
With an annual release schedule, Call of Duty was always destined to eventually deliver diminishing returns. Activision’s franchise has remained popular and is arguably on an upswing following the release of 2019’s Modern Warfare, but there was a time when Call of Duty was actively booed at conventions.
Infinite Warfare took the franchise too far into the future, as the series lost any lingering traces of its historical roots. Critics mostly gave the game a tentative thumbs-up, but fans were not so forgiving. Infinite Warfare garnered such a negative reception, Call of Duty returned to World War II for its next release.
7 Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire – 77/4.3
While it is nice to have the option to play Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire on consoles, it is far from the ideal way to experience Obsidian Entertainment’s RPG. Compared to the gushing reviews garnered by the PC version, critics were less enamored by the PS4 alternative, although the game still earned a solid critical score.
Deadfire was hampered with excessively long and frequent loading times, a frustrating inventory system, and a myriad of technical issues that constantly dragged down the entire experience.
6 Borderlands 3 – 78/5.6
Borderlands 3 is an odd mix. On the one hand, it features the best gameplay in the franchise. The stylized visuals might not seem all that different from the earlier games, but they are far more detailed and retain the timelessness that defines Borderlands’ graphics.
Things fall apart when it comes to the story, which features annoying characters, terrible antagonists, and a few plot developments that are aggravating for long-time fans. A player’s opinion on the game will vary depending on their attachment to this universe, and fans are more likely to be angered by the story’s failings than critics.
5 Resident Evil 3 – 79/6.3
Following the brilliant Resident Evil 2 remake, expectations were extraordinarily high for its sequel. Resident Evil 3 was always a shorter experience than its predecessor, and the remake did nothing to change that. As fun as the game still is, Resident Evil 3 feels more like an expansion than a proper follow-up, one that does not offer the same value as the second entry.
The user score might not be remarkably lower than the critic score, but it does highlight that a decent amount of players found Resident Evil 3 to be a bit underwhelming. Just for a comparison, Resident Evil 2 has a user score of “8.8.”
4 FIFA 20 – 79/1.1
Serving as a representative for various sports titles, a notable discrepancy between critical and player receptions has become the norm for modern FIFA, NBA, and NHL games. At its core, FIFA 20 has solid gameplay, an impressive array of licensed teams, players, and competitions, and great graphics.
However, EA has been neglecting the single-player content for a number of years, opting instead to focus on the cash cow that is Ultimate Team. The gameplay has also barely changed, even if there are only so many ways that the basics of soccer can be revamped. More than anything, the extremely low user score is a result of years of frustration.
3 Middle-earth: Shadow of War – 80/4.2
Middle-earth: Shadow of War should have been a slam dunk. All it needed to do was expanding on Shadow of Mordor’s core mechanics, something the sequel generally accomplished to decent results. However, at launch, the entire experience was clouded by an excessively long final act that pushed players to spend real money to get through it in a fashion that did not entail dying from boredom.
A future update would fix this issue, but the damage to Shadow of War’s reputation was already done. The user score is a reflection of the game’s original greedy nature.
2 Mortal Kombat 11 – 82/3.4
The simplest way to guarantee a low user score is to waste the player’s time. Mortal Kombat 11 took a few risks that paid off, as NetherRealm Studios slowed down the combat to allow for more strategic gameplay. The story was also gloriously outlandish, befitting of the Mortal Kombat brand.
If it was not for the fact that Warner Bros.’s sequel launched with a terrible and grind-heavy progression system, Mortal Kombat 11 would have been a fan favorite.
1 Destiny 2 – 85/4.9
Destiny 2’s averages are not a reflection of the game’s current state, as Bungie’s first-person shooter has developed significantly since its launch. The base game even went free-to-play, while subsequent expansions altered and (usually) improved the endgame, which was quite lacking initially.
Destiny 2 received a lot of praise for delivering a story, something that was absent in its predecessor, while also maintaining the excellent core gameplay loop synonymous with Bungie’s titles. The user score highlighted the fact the story was quite cliché, the enemies offered little to no challenge, and the sequel took a step back in several areas compared to the original Destiny’s Taken King state.
NEXT: Destiny 2: The 10 Most Important Things To Get Before They Get Archived
