Battleborn.
I signed up to play in the closed technical test in October 2015, and i had a lot of fun! I played the open beta and reached level 37 in ten days because I couldn't stop playing. I still stand by how fun it is.
I awaited with baited breath to see if everyone loved the game as much as me. To my surprise, it was getting mediocre to good reviews everywhere, not great. Battleborn is constantly compared to Overwatch (which I won't compare them here, there are to many blogs, articles and youtube videos out there explaining why they are different!) And I think that's unfair. It's apples and oranges.
Reviewers complained that there was too much going on the screen, that the narrative talking over everything was confusing, and that the melee was frustrating. I find the mayhem fun and refreshing, and the dumb humor is worth a chuckle or two. I think Battleborn gets taken too seriously, when really, it doesn't even take itself seriously!
I was disheartened that so many people were bashing the game I had been looking forward to for so long. I didn't enjoy Borderlands 1 & 2 at all so I was excited that Gearbox had tried something new and it worked for me.
So now what do I do? The player base has shrunk, I've bought the season pass, and friends are playing other games.
Here's what I've tried:
I always state on social media forums that I enjoy the game.
I thanked Gearbox for making a fun game that's taken up a lot of time.
I have stayed on top of news and see that they've already unveiled 2 new heroes included in my season pass, and I'm excited for them!
I've joined a PS4 Battleborn community in order to find fellow players who want to team up, eliminating long search times for teams.
And guess what? I'm still having fun, despite the mediocre reviews. I don't think I would have even thought of giving Overwatch a try if it weren't for the Battleborn beta. I haven't been into first person-shooters in years, so this is a groundbreaking game for me! It's opened me up to try other games that before I would have shot down before even thinking about giving it a try.
One last thing, I wanted to share something. During Battleborn's double xp week, I played a LOT. I was trying to master Reyna, and I was so close. I figured the only way to top off the experience I needed was to play the Algorithim on solo. I even got a warning (Reyna may be very difficult to play in the campaign! [She's a support.]) But I went ahead and did it anyway. It took over an hour, but I made it with 3 lives to spare. Right before I went to fight ISIC, he said something really funny. He said, "You realize that when you die in real life, you die in real life, right? I'm talking to you, yes you, the one holding the controller slash mouse. Hi, Emily! I hope you're really freaked out right now!"
I had to pause my game because my mouth was hanging open in surprise! ISIC said my name using my SHiFT account with Gearbox. The only other game I knew could do that is Fallout 4.
Then it dawned on me.
This is a game Gearbox poured a lot of love into. Their team worked tirelessly to support their families, only to have the game not well received and stomped on by the over-marketed, incredibly well funded, Overwatch. What if all the money in Gearbox's budget went into the game? And Blizzard did everything in it's power to make sure the world remembered Overwatch's name, including 12 foot tall action figures around the world.
....Was that necessary?
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is. If a game isn't well received, and you enjoy it, still find a way to play it. Don't give up on it. Good times are to by had by you, if not by everyone else.