7 Biggest Video Game Flops of 2020

Godfall

It’s always strange when a developer known for one genre – in this case, Counterplay Games with Duelyst – suddenly veers into another. When Godfall was revealed last year at The Game Awards, it was the first official PS5 console exclusive to be announced. There wasn’t much to go off of but it promised a looter slasher with co-op support. Gearbox was also publishing it so maybe this transition from Counterplay was properly thought out.

As 2020 rolled on (and on, and on), there were still a lot of questions about Godfall’s mechanics and gameplay. More details emerged closer to launch but the game’s $70 price tag didn’t inspire confidence. Cut to launch and reviews began slowly trickling in, criticizing the game’s shallow story, problematic combat, performance and repetitive design. It was also always online but had no matchmaking for co-op. To be fair, Godfall did debut in seventh place for UK physical sales charts ending the week of November 21^st. But a week later, it was gone. In Japan, it sold a whopping 5,342 copies – just 10 copies behind Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which was two years older at that point.

While expectations may not have been super-high for Godfall, it was, for all intents and purposes, a major PS5 exclusive launch title from a well-known publisher. To see it fade away without so much as a whimper is at least somewhat surprising.