Rush jobs are an unfortunate part of gaming, whether it’s due to corporate pressure, looming deadlines, or wildly ambitious visions colliding with budget limitations. No matter the reason, it’s never fun to play a game and feel in your bones that it was rushed out the door.
But what makes it worse is when that rushed game still manages to be great, because you can see the brilliance underneath. We’re not talking about something like No Man’s Sky or Cyberpunk 2077, where the redemption arc took years to come about, but rather games that dropped with great ideas, strong gameplay, and moments of brilliance — but still left us sighing, “If only they’d had just a little more time.”
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5
Spider-Man 2
Tangled in too small a web
Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2018 was the first game I’d ever pre-ordered, and playing the game, even on a failing TV screen, felt so surreal. I’m a true Spidey-head, and this game beautifully encapsulated everything that Spider-Man meant for me. As such, it was a no-brainer for me to pre-order the sequel as well, and I even borrowed a PS5 from a friend at the time to play the game.
While Spider-Man 2 nailed its core gameplay — the web-slinging, combat, and overall rhythm — it sadly fumbled the most important part: its story. For a Sony first-party title, especially a Spider-Man game, the story has to be the main course. And here, the third act’s pacing gave me whiplash — emotional payoffs came too quickly, plot points were glossed over, and the game wrapped up before it could breathe. I still remember finishing it and feeling rather empty. The world felt lifeless post-credits, and the lack of any story DLC didn’t help, either. I mean, they literally forgot to remove the debug screen — either QA went on vacation, or Insomniac hit “ship it” before lunch. Probably both.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
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4
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II — The Sith Lords
The Force was with them, the time… not so much
Knights of the Old Republic II is a classic that almost didn’t make it. I played it late in 2018, but it still managed to pull me in with its rich narrative and surprisingly modern design. But then, just like Mankind Divided, it pulled a magic trick and vanished. The game ended so abruptly, I thought I’d triggered a bad ending by mistake.
Turns out, I wasn’t alone. Obsidian, the studio behind it, was handed an impossible deadline — barely over a year to make a sequel to one of the most beloved Star Wars games ever. It was originally slated for more time, but was yanked forward to coincide with the holiday season. Combine that with an over-ambitious vision, and what you get is a third act that rushes you to the finish line with barely any closure.
It’s a tragic what-could-have-been scenario. The bones of greatness are all there — strong writing, nuanced characters, and rich lore — but they needed time to flesh it all out. Sadly, Obsidian never got another crack at the trilogy’s final act, with LucasArts shutting down. A missed opportunity if there ever was one.
STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords
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3
God of War Ragnarok
An unforgettable, epic journey that skipped a couple of beats
God of War Ragnarok is one of my all-time favorites — no question. It’s massive in scale, rich in world-building, and every realm is dripping with love and care. I remember taking in each realm and genuinely being bewildered at this feeling of being amazed at the game I was playing — the scale, quality, and polish of its open world are unparalleled. That’s a rare feeling, especially after a quarter of a century of gaming.
But then came the story — and while it’s incredibly acted and written in most parts, the ending felt like someone hit fast-forward. Ragnarok, the grand war of the realms and the battle of the gods, kicks off and concludes way too quickly. The shift in pacing from slow-burn buildup to immediate climax was jarring. Reports suggest that the Norse saga was originally intended to be a trilogy, which makes perfect sense. The compressed two-game structure forced the final hours to sprint, not stroll.
That’s why the Valhalla DLC — one of the greatest expansions ever — hit so hard. It delivered the introspection and godhood reconnection we should’ve gotten in a proper third installment. As it stands, Ragnarok is brilliant — but it deserved the breathing room of a trilogy to truly stick the landing.
God of War Ragnarok
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2
Mass Effect 3
Saving the galaxy needed just a bit more time
This one stings. Mass Effect isn’t just a trilogy — it’s a legacy. A galactic journey where your choices matter, and where you shape Shepard. Mass Effect 2 was lightning in a bottle, so expectations for the third game were sky-high. And then… well, things got messy.
ME3 was clearly rushed. The polish wasn’t there, the branching paths were narrowed into a funnel, and worst of all, Shepard’s once-flexible personality was suddenly on rails. The final mission, the emotional crescendo of the series, felt like it was written a few months before launch — because it was. BioWare backed themselves into a corner and prioritized other content early on, saving the most important part for last. That was a fatal mistake.
Yes, the ending was a mess. But the entire final act felt like a rushed draft. I don’t blame just EA here — BioWare mishandled their own pacing. It’s a textbook example of how not to close out a franchise. Credit where credit is due, though, the Citadel DLC really did feel like the true end to the trilogy, giving us the closure we needed along with the buddies we made over the course of the series.
Mass Effect 3
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1
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Where’s the rest of it?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution stands atop my personal Mount Rushmore of games, and it’s never coming down. I remember being teary-eyed when Mankind Divided was announced — it looked like more of what I loved from the first game, with so much more polish. A great narrative, great gameplay, a deep and rich map to get lost in — I was seated.
Playing the game, I enjoyed the experience, sure. The gameplay is smooth, Prague is a beautiful open world, but it is very small, and while that might have been a stylistic choice rather than one made out of a rush job, it was clear the game was rushed when, sometime during the second half, the game just… ends. I was so taken aback by this that I rushed online to check if that was a bug. That’s right — Deus Ex: Mankind Divided just ends out of nowhere, and it very rightfully irked the entire player base.
Not only did we not get the third game in this trilogy that would have tied everything up in Jensen’s arc and connected it to the original games and Bob Page, but we never even got any satisfying resolution to the second game itself, because major plot content was chopped from the game with as much finesse as that of a toddler using scissors.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
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Why rushed brilliance stings more than outright failure
What makes these games hurt isn’t just that they were rushed — it’s that they were so close to being all-timers. You can see the magic in them, feel it during the best moments, and yet you’re always aware that something’s missing. A final act. A polished ending. A few more months of love and labor.
When great games fall just short of greatness, it stings far worse than a bad game ever could. Because deep down, you know they didn’t need a miracle — just a little more time. That’s why rushed brilliance hurts. It’s like watching your favorite band skip the encore because someone pulled the plug too early.
