What delayed game was worth the wait? | Team Talk

With Starfield suffering its latest, seemingly inevitable delay, and other releases expected this year already on their second or third release date, we thought it was high time we shouted about a few games where the delay was a good thing.

No matter how right Shigeru Miyamoto's famous quote about a broken game being bad forever is, that wait of even a few months can feel excruciating if it's the thing you're most looking forward to that year.

It's not all bad news though, often a game will be delayed and end up meeting or even surpassing expectations, so we've come up with a few examples. Let us know yours in the Discord.

by Team PTC

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​@pass_controller

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​The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Liam Andrews

Even though I missed proper dungeons and non-breakable weapons, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was well worth waiting for. As far as I’m aware, Nintendo began working on BotW back in 2011, and originally planned to release it in 2015, but, as we know, it would eventually launch in 2017.

It wasn’t all bad, however, as being delayed for so many years meant Nintendo was able to release it as a launch title on the Switch. This made the game seem even more special, and I remember being very impressed at how good it looked both in handheld and docked mode (it was also a lot of fun switching between the two).

It’s hard to say whether the Switch would have been quite so popular without BotW doing a lot of the heavy lifting during that lean first year, as there really wasn’t a lot else to play. Luckily, the game was huge and there was more than enough to keep players occupied in the meantime.

It’s why I’ve not been too bothered about the Tears of the Kingdom delays. BotW might have deviated slightly from the usual Zelda format, but it was a well-polished, superbly put together game. Take all the time you need, Nintendo!

BioShock Infinite | James Parry

While it would have been tempting, and very timely, to pick Resident Evil 4 for this question, since it reportedly was in development hell and had numerous delays before finally making it to the GameCube in 2005, my experience with the title was the Wii release, so it would have felt a little cheeky.

One delay I do recall though was BioShock Infinite, a title I vowed to push through and finish after having such a hard time sticking to it with the original.

While the delay was only a few months, from October 2012 to March 2013, that shift put the game in a less crowded part of the year, and meant my summer that year was dominated by tearing holes in reality.

The world of Columbia was stunning, and showed a mastery of that sense of uncomfortable-ness you find at the beginning when forced to decide whether to join in with the town's cruelty and throw a baseball at someone.

The anticipation of that moment, as it's well telegraphed by a growing sense that something isn't right, is the definition of a moment worth waiting for – and you can bet its impact would be lessened without those few crucial months of polish.

And can we just remember how strong the ending was? If you know, you know.

​High on Life | Chris Brand

High on Life's release was postponed, not to give it a little bit of polish (which is usually the case), but to avoid having to share the limelight with other, more established, titles. Even though it's the lesser-preferred reason for a delay, it worked out well for me, as it missed our cut-off point for Game of the Year 2022, so I can comfortably choose it this year, if every other game gets pushed back until 2024.

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect going in, aside from the trademark humour, but I'm happy with what we got. If I had expectations, High on Life would've met them. It's a solid first-person shooter that's long enough to feel complete without ever becoming a slog.

The graphics are a visual treat and space is suitably "alien" looking, in a similar way to The Outer Worlds. Levels are fairly linear, with some kind of out-of-the-way places to find hidden loot, but, as beautiful as this all is, exploration isn't as much of a focus, as the real discoveries are to be found in hub areas when you're surrounded by a cast of weird and... weird folks. Most of the amusing dialogue could have been skipped, if I'd pushed on with whichever mission I was undertaking, but it seemed like everyone had something to say that was worth hearing.

It's well-paced over the course of the story, with a steady stream of new abilities and weapons/friends, though my first playthrough was extended significantly by trying to see and do as much as possible. Unlike a Fallout or Elder Scrolls game, there isn't a lot to soak in when it comes to lore and history, just little jokes, small self-contained stories and the occasional helpful tip on how to defeat high-ranking cartel bosses.

As much as I hate waiting, not picking a fight with a bigger dog was probably the right choice in the long run. I need everyone to play it and demand a sequel, it's the only way I'm getting answers to my questions.​