Buyer’s remorse – the worst full-price games players regret purchasing

We’ve all bought something and immediately regretted it, and the gaming world is no different. Players on Reddit are lamenting about their worst full-price investments, and there are some surprising AAA titles on the list.

In a Reddit thread on Oct. 6, players discussed games they bought on launch for full price and why they regretted spending the money. Big-budget releases like Evolve, Battlefield 2042, and Diablo 4 were among the worst purchases for many players. 

With the popular trend of developers releasing half-done games laden with DLCs, microtransactions, and pay-to-play features, it’s no wonder people are complaining more and more about the cost of being a gamer. You pay for a product that’s half-done for the price of a finished one, and your experience is completely ruined by the time the necessary patches, updates, or fixes are released.

Evolve was meant to be an engaging four-versus-one asymmetrical shooter with unique and interesting multiplayer gameplay. But immediately after its launch, the developers released a Day 1 DLC, one of the earliest examples of microtransactions before they became an industry standard.

This caused widespread outrage, as players had already paid for the entire game and weren’t used to being extorted for extra cash. Due to its negative reception and overwhelming criticism of its monetization, Evolve flopped, and its servers shut down shortly after.

Another developer that went rogue in recent years is Blizzard, whose most recent blunder was its Diablo 4 release. It launched as an unfinished game for a high price, and players are soon expected to pay more for its upcoming expansions. This was the last straw for many players who no longer recognize Blizzard as the purveyor of quality it once was.

I remember paying full price for Fallout 76, as I’m a big fan of Bethesda games. It was a catastrophe initially, with dozens of bugs that made the game almost unplayable. Plus, when you think about its story, it really didn’t add much to the Fallout franchise. So I got a refund, and I didn’t regret it.

We’re hoping this current trend of releasing unfinished games to “fix” them later will stop and that microtransactions won’t keep getting more pervasive and egregious. Sadly, we’re not optimistic, especially with the video game industry going the way it is now. But there’s always time to take a stand by boycotting unfinished releases and games made only to extract money from players. We collectively can impact producers and developers and make them listen to gamers’ needs.