The Most Controversial Video Games of 2021

COG: Some of 2021's biggest game releases were also the most controversial, dividing passionate gamers and critics alike.

[XbladeTeddy]

Nothing controversial about Deathloop, you either liked it or didn't I haven't completed it but quite far through and loved it so far. It takes risks and I like that.

[MadLad]

Reviews spoke for themselves. The only actual controversy had around the game was from tribalistic gamers who didn't know if they were supposed to appreciate the quality experience Deathloop provided, or downplay it because it was, realistically, the last multi-console release from a dev now under the MS banner.

[toxic-inferno]

I have to say, as a fan of Arkane since the first Dishonored, there was a bittersweet joy in my playthrough of Deathloop (which I platinumed a few days ago). I loved the game, and enjoyed every aspect of it. But I am extremely sad that it may well be the last of their games I play, at least for a while.

In my mind, Arkane was the biggest loss for PlayStation when MS bought Zenimax/Bethesda. As a studio, they've repeatedly shown that they can make quirky, engaging games with a great balance of humour and serious narrative.

[MadLad]

@toxic

I don't know. I mean, Arkane always struggled financially as a studio prior to their acquisition by Bethesda/Zenimax.

That said, they've been held down a lot by their management. When they were acquired, Bethesda wanted them to make another Arx Fatalis, but they wanted to make Dishonored; which Bethesda allowed them to.
Then they were actually ready to sit down and design a successor to Arx, but Bethesda forced their hand into Dishonored 2, being it was so financially successful.
They also forced them to use id's engine, despite not having much experience with it within the team, which resulted in weird performance issues with the title, yet only a marginal increase in fidelity.

Then they wanted to make what was essentially a love letter to Syatem Shock 2, though they were forced to label it as "Prey" which I think hurt it more than anything, because many gamers criticized it on name alone, being the huge thing with Prey 2 and Human Head Studios.

I mean, Bethesda forced their hand so much within Arkane as a studio, the studio head quit to go the small, indie route just to reclaim artistic and creative freedom.

If you purely only play through Playstation, I get it. Then you've lost a developer you really appreciated. At the end of the day though, I feel that the acquisition was good for Arkane as a whole.

A number of studios already stated that they're basically being written sizable checks and told to more or less do as they please at the moment, which I think is how it should be.

[toxic-inferno]

@ TheReadTedCruz

I definitely get what you're saying. It is surprising that a studio who seems to have been 'forced' in certain directions has managed to still stand out as a creatively and artistically respected developer.

Also, I'd never really thought about Prey in that way: primarily as a System Shock 2 successor, and secondarily as a "Prey" reboot. I always had those the other way around (Prey reboot first, that happened to take inspiration from System Shock 2). Shows how little I know, I guess!

Cheers!