What Disappointed Me In 2023

 I can confirm that 2023 was a year and with it came some disappointments.

Starfield (game)

 Starfield is ending the year with "mostly negative" reviews on Steam and it 100% deserves them.  This loading screen infested mess of nothingness is an embarrassment to gaming.  I was so hyped when the original trailers came out, but they were misleading to the extreme.  The game in the trailer is not the game we got.

 With that said the game we got is what we should probably have expected. It is the same game engine behind their other games, like Skyrim, and performs exactly the same.  The challenge with Starfield is it's not a single terrestrial world and thus ends up with far more loading screens to get players between planets, ships, space, buildings, etc.

 Add onto the loading screens a combat system that is lackluster, a story that is nonsensical, and a myriad of systems that never make sense when brought together and you have the biggest gaming disappointment of 2023 and possibly the last decade.  How this game sold 10+ million copies is beyond me.  Had I not gotten my copy with my new graphics card purchase I'd of hit refund on Steam within the first hour. 

Rebel Moon (movie)

 If you told me Rebel Moon was a movie about Starfield I would believe it.  Story that makes no sense? Check. Every cliche under the sun (ha!)? Check. This movie doesn't deserve the words I've typed let alone more words.  Such a disappointment.  Do better Netflix.

New World (live service game)

 Some may find this surprising considering 91% of my game time this year has been spent playing New
World, but I can't help but admit that the end of year really soured my mood on the game.  We did get the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion which did bring amazing features like mounts, but it was very lacking in content.  The five extra levels (cap raised from 60 to 65) were laughable as far as effort-required and the new story + zone lasted all of an hour.  I hate to admit it but that was NOT enough to be worthy of the title "expansion".  I'd rather have had this delivered as a seasonal update.

 The lacking expansion would have been fine as it was coming right before a big set of new features that were listed on the road map.  Then the road map was updated -- and this is why New World is on my disappointment's list -- they literally canceled the majority of the road map and delivered almost nothing.  Instead of the expansion being a launching pad into the future it was a speed bump that most players were done with the first week it came out.  I am still a huge New World fan but find myself less interested each update.  

 To cap it off we did not get a 2024 road map yet and instead have been asked to come back in May for "something big" which is mind boggling considering the number of items that were good enough to put on a road map before and are now many don't even sound like they are being considered.  How does that happen?  I can get a one off feature being dropped but the majority!?  What the heck.

Green Bay Packers Defense (supposedly a football team)

 What can I say.  We entered the year worried about whether Jordan Love was the future QB of the Packers.  Little did we know the age-old Green Bay Packers "worst defense in the league.... again" was the real worry.  If we make the play offs... it will be a miracle.