Today we look back at some of the biggest flops from a traditionally remarkable publisher. Bethesda may have created the beloved Elder Scrolls and Fallout but they can’t all be as successful and great as those franchises. So let’s all take a good long look at how Bethesda can’t always be perfect.
2006 saw the release of Bethesda’s movie tie-in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, this was by far one of the worst receptions that they have ever received for a game. Upon its release it was bashed by critics and fans alike, it was mainly because the game was just not executed well.
Bethesda even had their hand in lowering the bar for Star Trek games. In 2006 Star Trek: Encounters was released by the gaming giant, it was met with universal criticism. The reason that it didn’t take off was because it really didn’t feel like a Star Trek game, and was more of a completely different game reskinned.
2006 also saw the release of Bethesda’s Star Trek: Legacy. This was another horrible Star Trek game, it was met with mostly negative reviews. It didn’t help that the graphics were borderline pathetic, at times your mouse would disappear, something that every gaming enthusiast loves. This was just the tip of the iceberg really, the controls were also substandard, the only thing that they really brought to the game was the ability to aggravate the player.
Bethesda’s Wet looked like it could have been an amazing game, its use of action was its only redeeming quality. Overall the game suffered from some serious graphics issues, they had been described as being rough and amateurish. They can’t all be Skyrim or Fallout 3 but it would be nice to see some thing good come from this publisher besides those two iconic franchises.
Wet may not have been an actual horrid game, it had its issues but at least it wasn’t Rogue Warrior. Rogue Warrior is a game that Bethesda wishes that it could forget, I’m sure that anyone that purchased the game feels the same way. This clunky shooter was considered by many to be an affront to gamers and humanity as a whole. It was considered to be one of the worst games of 2009, which is a nice little feat because some pretty horrid games were released that year.
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge was released by Bethesda in 2011. In a world where there are more than its fair share of fantasy games, Bethesda released its own fantasy game. The only issue with this is that Hunted didn’t do enough to set it apart from the other games in the genre, it did it’s best to blend into the crowd.
2011 saw Bethesda release The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the surprisingly good Rage. Those were amazing games, but in 2011 they also released the disappointing Brink. When Brink was release it received mixed reviews, some saying that it was several updates away from being a good game. Unfortunately for Bethesda this game was soon forgotten. Luckily for Bethesda it was overshadowed with their other offerings for the year.
The Elder Scrolls is one of Bethesda’s best performing franchises, heck it’s one of the best franchises in the history of gaming. The only issue is that The Elder Scrolls lends itself better to the single player. This was seen when The Elder Scrolls Online performed poorly upon its release. This game had quite a bit of potential, but that was taken away when they had to create an MMO. Their other mistake was making it a subscription service from the beginning. In a market swamped with free-to-play MMOs it’s hard to stand apart, especially when you want a monthly fee.
