Summary
Whether classic isometric affairs, big budget blockbusters, orintimate text-based titles, RPGs are some of the most popular and valued games available on the shelves today. With this popularity and value, however, comes demand. And with demand comes producers insisting on tight timeframes for a game’s development so that it can coincide with an upcoming holiday or a console release.
Even some of thebest RPGs of modernityhave been put under the pressure of a strict timeframe, though players can see the effects of developers taking their time with titles likeBaldur’s Gate 3. These RPGs in particular could have used a few more months or even a year being developed before release, even if, through the power of patching, mods, or sheer magic, they’re all still great titles by today’s standards.
The story of theElder Scrollsgames, especiallyMorrowindandOblivion, are storied in myth these days.Morrowindwas a desperate gambit to keep Bethesda afloat and stop it from sinking into obscurity for good.
The often bizarreOblivionwas the next step, putting the company on the map for good. Unfortunately, its release was rushed to meet the Xbox 360 launch date. Even if it did great things for the company’s visibility, this leftOblivionin a somewhat unfinished state with some insubstantial factions and half-baked ideas.
Bethesda might know the perils of a time crunch, but that didn’t stop them from putting a similar one onNew Vegas. There’s no doubt that this is one of the best RPGs of all time, but hearing about what could have been would make even the most die-hard fan disappointed.
As one ofthe best post-apocalyptic gamesof all time, this game has unparalleled customization. There are a few hints at what this game might have looked like with a little longer to develop, but players are still satisfied with the excellent game they have today.
The immensely popularPokemonfranchise has had a bit of a stumble heading into the Switch era. The less intensive 3DS titles gave way to some difficulties on the technical side of things that were exacerbated by the need to meet a Christmas launch.
Scarlet & Violetat least exists in an era where all the bugs, glitches, and oversights can be digitally patched over with ease, a luxury not all games on this list have. However, it still could have used a bit longer to polish the great title that existed under the issues all along.
Obsidian, once again under the pump, ended up putting out one of thebestStar Warstitlesof all time. The game offered a deeply subversive and interesting spin on the often binary nature of the force, and an excellent villain.
Unfortunately, this game is essentially held together with duct tape and dreams by its final act. The ending practically has the game collapsing at the finish line, but all that is just so much fluff for a truly unique game.
Cyberpunk 2077is a unique title in that a delay might have been feasible had the game not been so hyped. Instead, after several delays, fans, shareholders, andeven the Polish governmentwere all bearing down on CD Projekt Red to put something, anything, out onto the shelves.
In retrospect, it’s easy to see how a few more months to rework the skills, fix up some of the bugs, and maybe a time machine to avoid promising compatibility with older consoles would have done this game some good. But by 2024, this game has shaped up to be one of the best in the genre.
Games with rushed development times or poor launches tend to split between two different eras of gaming. Older titles did not have the luxury of patches, DLC, hotfixes, or any other means to flesh out content, or else had such fundamental flaws that nothing could have fixed them.
Today, players who dive intoFinal Fantasy 14might not know that this game was so heavily rushed that, after a cataclysmic launch,the director of the gameissued a public apology. But such is the nature of online games, being constantly updated at the best of times, that this is still one of the best and most polished MMOs out there today.
Theoften underratedDragon Age 2has many merits that a retrospective playthrough reveals, especially for those who enjoy complex, multi-faceted companions. There are, however, some lingering issues that were too big to fix post-launch. The rushed development of this game meant that asset reuse was heavy and prevalent, and the central conflict of the Third Act hastily strung together. This is still an excellent RPG, but its one that bears the scars of its crunch-time development.
Square Enix’sBravely Default 2is an impressive title, and so players would be forgiven for thinking there was no crunch during the majority of its development. The game runs smoothly and keeps up much of what made the first title so good. The ending of the game, however, as with many rushed titles, bears the sins of a hasty development. It’s often considered one of the weaker parts to an otherwise strong narrative.
