Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (on PC)

When the remastered duo launched for PS5 in January, it debuted in fifth place on Gfk’s UK physical sales charts. Pretty good, even if it didn’t hit the top 20 for The NPD Group’s best-selling games for the month. Its PC version is a completely different story, though, hitting a peak concurrent player count of only 10,851 on Steam when it was released in October. Either because there wasn’t much hype around it, or other big titles took all the attention, the collection just didn’t resonate.

CrossfireX

With a whopping 38 out of 100 Metascore and lacklustre marketing, it was somewhat expected that CrossfireX wouldn’t do great. Lo and behold, it didn’t chart anywhere in The NPD Group’s February 2022 sales rankings, nor did it warrant a mention in Gfk’s physical charts for the UK. However, given how popular Crossfire’s multiplayer is in China and South Korea (with over $1 billion in revenue each year since 2014), this won’t hurt Smilegate’s bottom line one bit.

Monark

You could call Monark another victim of Elden Ring’s overwhelming presence, especially in Europe, where it launched on the same day as the Souls-like. That’s probably why it wasn’t mentioned anywhere in Gfk’s physical sales charts for the week. It also had only 177 peak concurrent players on Steam in the West. Then again, when released last year in Japan, it barely hit 16,000 units sold on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Couple that with poor critical reception, and its failure is understandable.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Tango Gameworks’ Ghostwire Tokyo was one of the premiere PS5 console exclusives this year and sadly didn’t perform up to par. It debuted in 12th place for The NPD Group’s March 2022 charts, and in 11thth place for Gfk’s UK physical game charts. Not only that, but it sold 80 percent less than The Evil Within 2 in the UK, which was considered to have performed poorly at launch. Though it managed sixth place in its debut in Japan, it only sold 10,144 units in its first week. Even the Steam numbers were nothing to write home about, with a peak concurrent total of 14,086 players in its lifetime.

Shadow Warrior 3

Shadow Warrior 3 was intriguing in how it not only went with a super-linear approach to its levels but also stuck to previous-gen consoles and PC. Blame it on the lack of marketing buzz, the shadows of Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West, or something else, but when released on March 1st, 2022, it was nowhere to be seen in Gfk’s UK physical sales charts or GSD’s digital sales charts. Even the peak concurrent player count on Steam was a mere 1,651 players.

GRID Legends

Another game which likely suffered due to releasing too close to Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West is Codemasters’ GRID Legends. It debuted in 18th place in Gfk’s UK physical sales charts and was pretty much never heard from again after that. Yes, not even in The NPD Group’s best-selling titles for February and March 2022. SteamDB reveals a peak concurrent player count of just 455, which is just a few days after it launched.

Roller Champions

Roller Champions’ success is a bit harder to measure since, well, it’s a free-to-play title. That being said, its digital revenue hasn’t warranted any mention this year. It launched to very little reaction on PC, Xbox One, and PS4, and the Switch release did nothing to help this either. Lest anyone thinks the recent Steam release would aid in a resurgence, it has had a peak concurrent player total of 141. Such was the response that reports quickly circulated of the game being sunset, which Ubisoft denied.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

One of the big three releases of December, Marvel’s Midnight Suns has a lot going for it with the XCOM team involved, strong critical acclaim, and some well-known Marvel heroes. It even had 15,500 peak concurrent players on Steam. Sales-wise, the story is less positive, as it debuted in a mortifying 26th place in the UK physical sales charts. Granted, Firaxis is known more for its PC player base (as seen with the Steam user count), and the digital sales could help, but the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 numbers can’t be entirely discounted. Maybe it was just the victim of too many big releases on the same day, as evidenced by The Callisto Protocol performing way better.

Need for Speed Unbound

Due to its release timing, we won’t know how Need for Speed Unbound performed in the US until next month. As for the UK, its launch week physical sales were down a staggering 64 percent compared to Need for Speed Heat, earning it only 17th place. This may seem expected, but it’s the tenth-biggest IP in the region’s history. Things hardly improved the next week when it slipped to 19th place following a 19 percent sales drop. Steam player numbers aren’t so great either, with a peak concurrent total of only 14,063.

Star Ocean: The Divine Force

Compared to Valkyrie Elysium, Star Ocean: The Divine Force performed decently when it launched in Japan, with over 44,000 units sold on PS4 and PS5. The problem? It’s the weakest game launch in the series. The first Star Ocean in June 1996 sold over 81,000 copies on the Super Famicom, for crying out loud. The Divine Force failed to crack Gfk’s top 10 in the UK and debuted in 14th place for the US, according to The NPD Group, before quietly fading away.

Gungrave G.O.R.E.

Gungrave G.O.R.E. launched a few weeks after Sonic Frontiers and God of War Ragnarok, and days after Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Shock of shocks, it neither charted in the UK nor the US. On Steam, it has a peak concurrent player total of 138, which says it all.

Harvestella

This one hurts, simply because I loved Livewire’s Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. Sadly, Harvestella matched up in neither sales nor critical acclaim. It debuted in second place in Famitsu’s Japan sales charts with 26,644 units sold on Nintendo Switch, but only reached 38,704 sales before dropping out entirely. On PC, it had a measly 3,395 peak concurrent players via Steam.

The DioField Chronicle

Square Enix may have some heavy hitters coming in 2023, but this year has been rather disastrous for the publisher. It released a flurry of underwhelming titles and commercial flops, like The DioField Chronicle. The strategy RPG launched at 17th place in Gfk’s UK physical sales charts and sold about 12,068 units in its first week in Japan across Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PS5. SteamDB notes 1,272 peak concurrent players over its lifetime, which is pretty sad.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PC)

Considering how valuable the PC market has been for Sony with Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War (2018), and Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, it was expected that Sackboy would follow up on that success. Alas, it wasn’t to be. It recorded a meagre 610 peak concurrent players since launch, far less than even Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. Sony hasn’t revealed sales numbers, and maybe it’s unfair to expect much out of a lesser-known IP on PC. Nevertheless, it’s still disappointing.

New Tales from the Borderlands

Released on October 21st, 2022, you’d expect a new Borderlands title, much less the follow-up to Tales from the Borderlands, to get a decent response. But either due to the lack of marketing, Telltale not returning, the premise or a flurry of other releases, New Tales from the Borderlands came and went with very little response. It wasn’t mentioned by Gfk in its UK physical charts for the end of October and throughout November. Even worse, it didn’t even chart in The NPD Group’s US sales charts for October and November.

The Callisto Protocol

Arguably one of the more anticipated games of the year, The Callisto Protocol was talked up a fair amount by Striking Distance Studios. With talent like Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield involved, it seemed like a slam-dunk…until we played the game. And endured its awkward combat, lacklustre enemy variety, and lame final boss, all in a span of a few hours instead of the promised 12 to 14. Worst of all, performance was atrocious on PC with severe stuttering issues and crashes. The Callisto Protocol isn’t the worst game ever, but it ranked above average, which felt even worse.

Martha is Dead

LKA’s psychological horror looked special, and the setting of a German-occupied Italy during World War 2 could have presented something unique. Sadly, things fall apart after the opening, with the middle act suffering in pacing due to lots of meandering and wandering. Some controls don’t feel great, and the camera system also feels too complex for the amount used. Also, despite the handful of gruesome scenes, the real horror is reserved for the beginning and the end. Again, great ideas and an interesting setting with disturbing material, but the mishmash of other ideas and story elements dull the experience.

Salt and Sacrifice

Look, I’m not saying I expected another Souls-like Metroidvania that built on the first game and also had a large, interconnected world. Salt and Sacrifice kind of does that, but also inserts Monster Hunter-like elements when it comes to hunting Mages. The art style is polished, and the premise is intriguing. Yet, it doesn’t come together as well as its predecessor, either due to the progression, annoying combat aspects (like getting juggled in the air) or the controls.

Somerville

When you hear the story behind developer Jumpship, founded by former Playdead co-founder Dino Patti, you want to root for Somerville. Patti’s experience includes Inside and Limbo, and despite this not being a full side-scrolling platformer, the premise and aesthetics look great. However, the plot leaves much to be desired (especially with the “ending”), and the controls are not good. Having to deal with numerous issues and bugs doesn’t help either.

Trek to Yomi

Like Ghost of Tsushima, Trek to Yomi takes heavy inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s work, both in presentation and aesthetics. The monochrome art looks incredible, and the camera work is impeccable. The problem is the rest of the game, specifically the combat, which feels annoying and clunky. Add boring enemy variety and level design, and you have a beautiful-looking side-scroller without any heart or soul.

Rainbow Six Extraction

One didn’t expect much from Rainbow Six Extraction. After all, it had been delayed multiple times, and the prospect of taking a limited-time event and turning it into a paid game still felt scummy. However, as it turns out, Ubisoft went even lower than my lowest expectations. Terrible AI, damage-sponge bosses, awful objectives, a complete lack of tactical gameplay, bugs – the list goes on. Extraction’s biggest achievement is how it manages to be so disappointing and yet so forgettable, with many still expressing surprise that it even launched this year.

Roller Champions

When Roller Champions was first announced, it seemed stylish, even if the concept of a 3v3 Roller Derby-style multiplayer game didn’t sound so intriguing. Then it got delayed again and again. When it finally landed this year, Roller Champions was a complete dud. It wasn’t downright awful, but nothing was captivating about it. The lack of polish, mode variety, and features like stats or quick chat at launch ensured a plummet into irrelevance.

Resident Evil Village – The Winters’ Expansion

We all had hopes for The Winters’ Expansion, particularly Shadows of Rose, which took place several years after the base game. Alas, not only did it recycle environments and fail to advance the overarching story, but it was only a handful of hours long. That would be fine if the expansion were cheaper. But the Third-Person Mode for the base game felt too clunky and awkward, and the additional Mercenaries content was simply good without being worthwhile alone.

Scorn

Announced in 2014, Scorn has been in development for a long time, but the disgusting art style, inspired by H. R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński, made it stand out in the sea of graphically beautiful titles. Unfortunately, its annoying combat and checkpoints, not to mention the frustrating puzzles, hamper it tremendously. It feels like a conflict between the art design and gameplay, resulting in an underwhelming – and short – experience.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Weird as it sounds, I always felt there was something off about Marvel’s Midnight Suns. This is even after all the gameplay streams showcased the myriad of tactics available. On release, it revealed some pretty terrible writing, not to mention an excessive amount of padding and grinding for something as simple as card rerolls. The combat was still decent, but performance issues and shabby visual quality held it back.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

The first-ever seamless open-world title for Pokemon. Three paths to follow with the freedom to choose. The start of the ninth generation. All these promises and more were made for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and the results were…iffy. While the stories and gameplay felt good, the sheer range of technical and performance issues, shoddy presentation, and illusion of free choice made it feel like a severe downgrade from Pokemon Legends: Arceus and even Sword and Shield.

Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin

When rumors of a Final Fantasy Souls-like action RPG from Team Ninja, including the minds behind Nioh, first circulated, I was stoked. There’s no way Square Enix could mess this up, right? Unfortunately, they did, with a weird combat system, horribly optimized visuals, and some of the worst writing either company has put out (which is saying something). Subsequent updates and DLC improved it, but this is still a major disappointment considering what could have been.

FIFA 23

Since it’s the last title as part of EA Sports’ collaboration with FIFA, you would think FIFA 23 would be a worthwhile end to a long-running, mostly-controversial series. It’s not. New mechanics like the PowerShot, Active Touch and World Cup modes were nice additions. But it’s still microtransaction-heavy, as evidenced by the changes to chemistry in Squad-Building Challenges. The PC version still has several issues, and the Nintendo Switch version continues to be a joke. For those who enjoyed FIFA, it’s more FIFA and still sells millions, but it’s still lacklustre.

Rune Factory 5

Ever since the delay to its Western release, I had some decent hopes for Rune Factory 5. It’s fully 3D with a more impressive presentation and combat. Unfortunately, it also feels overtly grindy, while the premise and overall gameplay aren’t a big enough step up over its predecessor. The performance of Nintendo Switch left much to be desired (with the PC version faring better). Long story short, it’s not a terrible game but could have done much more. Those looking to discover what makes the series great are better off sticking to Rune Factory 4 Special.

Gotham Knights

Believe it or not, there were some expectations on Gotham Knights. Even for those who knew it was more of an action RPG than a brand-new Batman: Arkham, there was that promise of exploring Gotham City and beating up bad guys. Gotham Knights bungled this with bad dialogue, annoying combat mechanics (counters? What are those?), clunky stealth, and grinding for things that should be available by default. Worst of all? It completely wastes the Court of Owls as antagonists.

A spokesperson told Eurogamer, “We’re constantly evaluating how to bring our games to different audiences wherever they are while providing a consistent player ecosystem through Ubisoft Connect. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Anno 1800 and Roller Champions are among the Ubisoft titles that will be releasing on Steam.”

All three titles are currently exclusive to the Ubisoft Connect and Epic Games Store. Previously known as UPlay, the former has been Ubisoft’s dedicated storefront since November 2009. It would exclusively launch its PC titles on the platform, though some games like Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, Far Cry 6, and so on would also be available on the Epic Games Store. It remains to be seen if other Ubisoft Connect-exclusive titles will also be available on Steam, so stay tuned in the coming months.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will receive The Last Chapter on December 6th with Title Update 1.6.2 and concludes Eivor’s story (though you’ll need to have finished the main story among other things). The Steam version arrives on the same day, it may be the best opportunity for new players to jump in. For more details on the base game, check out our review here.

However, that might not be the case after all- or at least that’s what Ubisoft is saying. Taking recently to Twitter, the development team of Roller Champions issued a statement addressing the aforementioned reports. “Roller Champions isn’t getting cancelled, and Ubisoft fully supports it,” the developer writes.

That said, the ongoing first season of the multiplayer title, Disco Fever, is being extended. The development team says it wants to take time and focus on addressing feedback from players first before it pushes out any new content as part of new seasons. That will include an upcoming patch that’ll add a cross-invites feature to the game, as well as subsequent patches to work on other issues.

“As far as content is concerned, we can tell you that we’ve got exciting stuff planned for the next seasons,” the statement adds. “We strongly believe, however, that before we release new content, we’ve got to do right by our players, hence why we are taking the time needed before we do.”

Of course, there’s still a lot of questions that this statement doesn’t quite clear up, and players are still going to be left wondering how long it’ll be before the next season arrives, what the scope of future seasons will be, or how long Ubisoft plans to keep supporting the game. Hopefully, answers to those questions will arrive not long from now as well.

Roller Champions is available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Hello Champions! Let’s clear it out of the way first, Roller Champions isn’t getting cancelled, and Ubisoft fully supports it.

You can rest assured we’ll keep you updated as we roll forward.

Full statement: pic.twitter.com/U8mfQRZRoH

— Roller Champions (@RollerChampions) July 25, 2022

First announced in June 2019, Roller Champions has had a long development period. It’s currently in the midst of Season 1: Disco Fever which launched last month along with the Nintendo Switch version. If it follows the usual three-month cycle for seasons, then support will likely end in Q1 2023. Ubisoft hasn’t officially commented on the same though.

The underwhelming performance of Roller Champions is only one of the many issues the publisher has been facing lately. It delayed Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora to fiscal year 2023/24 and reports indicate that the gameplay is in “rough shape.” Splinter Cell VR and Ghost Recon Frontline were cancelled with two other unannounced titles. The rumored Assassin’s Creed Rift has reportedly been delayed to 2023 and is said to be far behind schedule.

The less said about Skull and Bones, which is out on November 8th, the better. Stay tuned for further updates in the meantime.

Earlier when the season first launched, Roller Champions got a similarly themed sunnier skating rink called Venice Beach Park. The season also includes quality-of-life, and the Arena 8 game mode. The kick off for the season coincided with the Nintendo Switch release of the game.

Roller Champions is a 3-on-3 sports game on the PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Set in 2032, Roller Champions features matches where players compete for possession of a ball. Players must skate a full lap around the arena and take a shot at the goal to get a point.

Roller Champions was originally released back in May. Its Disco Fever season brought along a battle pass alongside the new maps.

Diablo Immortal

The day it was announced, nearly everyone expected Diablo Immortal to be a pay-to-win shitshow. The final product somehow exceeded their wildest expectations with a battle pass, premium battle pass, empowered battle pass, materials, bundles, cosmetics – anything and everything was for sale. Let’s not even get into entire endgame mechanics – like Awakening – only accessible by spending money. The real tragedy is that even if that was all stripped away, you’re left with a middling, dumbed-down clone of Diablo 3 with a terrible UI and loot.

That’s now been confirmed. Taking to Twitter yesterday, Ubisoft officially confirmed that Roller Champions is out now on Nintendo Switch. At the same time, the game is also available on PC via the Epic Games Store, having previously been available exclusively via the Ubisoft Store.

Meanwhile, a new season, titled “Disco Fever”, has also gone live for the game, bringing a new Roller Pass with new disco-themed cosmetics and gear, new items, three new maps (Brooklyn, Venice Beach, and Staten Island), and a new game mode. Check out the trailer below.

Roller Champions is available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

https://twitter.com/Ubisoft/status/1538936524753993728

While Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed a release date for Switch, this could be a stealth drop of sorts. Maybe it’s part of the oft-rumored Nintendo Direct that’s supposed to happen this month. One could certainly dream, but otherwise, just check the eShop tomorrow when it presumably becomes available.

Roller Champions is currently playable on Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. It’s a futuristic 3v3 sports title with elements of Roller Derby thrown in. Players battle over a ball and upon possessing it must race a full lap around the arena while avoiding tackles. The first to score five points wins. For more details, check out our official review here.

"The redundant arenas, lack of strategic depth, and the sometimes very drawn-out matches going well into overtime started to drag on the experience immensely and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the game just had nothing left to show me after about an hour or so of playing it."

Soon my team was cooperating. Slip-streaming past each other, keeping the ball moving forward way ahead of our opponents, banking laps, and scoring big points. Sometimes I would even mix things up and start going the opposite way of my team to play a little defense by griefing the other team with head-on tackles. Before I knew it, I was having a blast. I was getting better at the game, managing my speed and momentum, taking shots at the other team when necessary, and evading them when they tried to do the same to me. Then, as quickly and mysteriously as the fun arrived, it was almost entirely gone. The redundant arenas, lack of strategic depth, and the sometimes very drawn-out matches going well into overtime started to drag on the experience immensely and I couldn’t shake the feeling that the game just had nothing left to show me after about an hour or so of playing it.

That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with games that are best enjoyed in short bursts. Perhaps, at the end of the day, that is what Roller Champions is; a game that will sort of connect with a lot of people for a short while, and only create long-term sparks for a somewhat niche audience, perhaps building upon that later with future expansions. Nothing wrong with that in theory, but given there’s about 50 other games that more-or-less do the same thing and are more-or-less fighting over the same sorts of gamers, I worry about Roller Champions’ odds.

The game is pretty simple – perhaps to a fault. You gain possession of the ball, run laps, score goals, and pass to other teammates and slip stream ahead of them as needed. The goal area isn’t horizontal like basketball, but rather, it resembles the vertical hoops of ancient Mesoamerican ballgame Ulama which is a pretty cool inspiration if that’s where it comes from. There is some depth to it too in that you don’t have to stick with your team, you can tackle and/or uppercut opponents to knock them out of the equation for a few seconds, and there is some simple momentum to manage as you veer around on the slopes of the arena. None of these elements are particularly open to interpretation though.

"Given there’s about 50 other games that more-or-less do the same thing and are more-or-less fighting over the same sorts of gamers, I worry about Roller Champions’ odds."

In fact, there’s only a couple different ways to approach any single part of Roller Champions’ gameplay. And you’re either on the team that does them the best or you’re not. There is one wild card factor that can flip the table at any time though, and it’s that the more laps of the arena you bank while in possession of the ball, the more points you earn if you do eventually score with it. This can theoretically lead to a stunning upset at the end of virtually any match as long as somebody can maneuver their way into doing it. The couple times I was able to take charge and flip a game at the last second in this way have easily been my most thrilling moments playing it so far – and for that thrill alone, I’d say Roller Champions is worth a shot. Especially for those who have found themselves enjoying Rocket League or Knockout City.

Unfortunately, though, unlike those two games, Roller Champions doesn’t have much left to offer you once you’ve seen the top of the mountain. The few arenas in the game only vary in appearance and offer basically no variety for the gameplay itself. The small handful of moves at your disposal can only be used in one or two ways, and the progression is a bit too slow and tedious for how fast its core gameplay can lose steam. Had I been unlocking new emotes and outfits at a quicker pace, that might have kept me enthusiastically engaged a little longer. For this particular game, earning more wheels to buy stuff feels more like a carrot dangling in front of a treadmill than it probably should. Rollerblading around in the arenas does feel pretty good most of the time all-in-all. While some inclines can deplete your momentum a bit faster than feels natural, when you do get going on a tear and blow past the crowd or evade a tackle attempt, it feels just right. Just speedy and rewarding enough to make me feel like I’m doing a good job, but not so much that I ever feel like I’m untouchable.

The visual tone and overall presentation of Roller Champions is one that you’ve almost certainly seen done exactly the same way plenty times this year, if not this month. It makes the game look more dime-a-dozen than it really is, and with an absurdly corny announcer and a predictable suite of licensed pop music the game gives off a pretty thick “Hello there, fellow kids” vibe that also isn’t doing it any favors. Still, there are reasons why this presentation is so popular. Game’s that carry themselves this way do grab your attention in those initial first impression moments, for better or for worse, and given its inherently simple design, it does run very well on the PS5 and I reckon it won’t have any issues running on whatever you end up playing it on.

"The visual tone and overall presentation of Roller Champions is one that you’ve almost certainly seen done exactly the same way plenty times this year, if not this month."

All in all, I think the foundation that the developer has created with Roller Champions is an above average one. I could definitely see a small hardcore audience forming around it. But the biggest crime it commits is that it stops short of doing much of anything else. Even for a free to play game, even for a new free to play game, this game just feels barebones. If it’s something you think looks interesting, you’ve got literally no reason to not give it a try, and if you’re interested in it enough to read this review, you’ll probably like what you find in it. But among such a vast array of similar games with already established communities, better selections of modes, more gameplay variety and more tactical depth, I don’t quite see where this game fits in yet – especially long term. Hopefully the developer can really give this game the variety it deserves to build a more compelling package on top of this well-laid foundation, but as it is, it’s a fair game, held back by being simply underdeveloped.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.