games

Castlevania Lord of Shadow. I only played about 2 hours of 2 but it was such an awful departure from LoS. We’re due a new Castlevania…

World of Warcraft, everything after Legion. Not that some parts weren't bad before that.

FEAR 1 and Wolfenstein TNO were some of my favorite games of all time so it’s only natural their sequels fell short.

In FEAR 2’s case, while it’s a rock solid shooter in its own right, it’s so obvious just how much it was trying to fit in the mold of the “gritty modern military shooter” that was predominant at the time (especially MW2). Stripping the tactical shooter elements like leaning still irks me.

For Wolfenstein 2, they tried to shake up the gameplay formula of TNO/TOB but the end result was something I was never quite satisfied with. To list some issues, Stealth went from being hilariously too easy to being a convoluted mechanic that I rarely ever used after the first engagement. Them splitting the Assault Rifle of the first game into the SMG and StG took away the entire point of the AR being a reliable weapon that was competent in most situations and replaced it with a useless peashooter (on higher difficulties) and cheesable death cannon respectively.

Ratchet & Clank (2 had some atrocious levels, and 3 was rushed with a story only an amerikan could have written)

Trails in the Sky (I didn't like Trails from Zero that much, the game was easier, the quality of life was gone, and the steampunk qualities of the setting that I liked were gone as well. Also I thought the writing was weaker in general)

Blaster Master Zero

Azure Striker Gunvolt

Kingdom Hearts (2 has better combat for sure, but I can't stand the large number of cutscenes and the disney worlds)

Midtown madness 2 didn't feel the same as the original to me.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World had an absolutely infuriating story which was too bad since it had one of the most fun pet collection mechanics in any rpg game I've ever played.

Also obligatory Bioshock 2 good, Bioshock Infinite bad

For me, every single armored core game after last raven. Like there is just a lot lost when the series becomes designed around a regular twin stick control setup over the "bad" control scheme that the game was designed around before 4/FA.

Like it just feels much more rewarding to play and beat, and every time I play 4/FA or 6, I almost always want to go back and play 3 and Silent Line again.

I haven't played formula front, and I don't remember when that released.

Grow home. I loved and still adore that game but for whatever reason the sequel grow up doesn't feel the same. It feels like it has less soul than the first

The Sly Cooper series. I just didn't like Sly 4.

I was ok with them tweaking the gameplay a bit, as there was a huge change from sly 1 to sly 2. But some of it never sat well with me, like some of the art and UI seemed off (although I loved the animated cutscenes, they were very well-put-together and felt like I was watching an actual cartoon on TV).

But what really condemned it was the story, they left it on a cliffhanger and then decided to never touch it ever since and it's been more than a decade. They should have just made Sly 4 complete the entire story.

Darkest Dungeon

Rebel Galaxy. First was great while second was not only a different genre but also bad.

Every The Settlers game except first 2 and remake of 2.

Space Marine

Fantasy General

Diablo (probably unpopular opinion but i loved first Diablo but second bored me so much that i stopped plaing the entire hack & slash genre for 22 years)

Granted, I haven't played it myself yet, but Mega Man Star Force 2 is that for a lot of fans of that series. The first game already got a lukewarm reception because of how it was simultaneously "just more Battle Network" and "not simply more Battle Network", but it has a very heartfelt story and some people are turning around on it when they can judge it on its own merits instead of constant comparisons to Battle Network, which has better gameplay. It still sold a decent number of copies.

The second game basically killed whatever momentum the series had by then. The story got dumbed down significantly which made it feel even more like Battle Network (although it still has its moments), the space theme was lost to "lost civilisations" shenanigans that many fans weren't interested in, the gameplay changes were meh and you frequently had to navigate through a maze-like "Sky Wave" with a too high encounter rate. Sales numbers were well below expectations.

The third game has the best gameplay by far and a story close to or as good as the first game, but the damage was already done. It sold the least of the three games. But at least the series ended on a high note with very few loose ends.