Jaws on the NES. I absolutely loved that game, but I found out many years later that it was hated.

King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity. Even as a kid, I felt like it was a very strange gore-and-action focus shift for the King's Quest series. Only as an adult did I hear the story of executive meddling that lead to the complete tone and gameplay shift.

For me it was the original Modern Warfare 3. I played that campaign a lot as a kid, but didn't have internet back then so no multiplayer and no one to discuss the game with. The story is dumbed down compared to the first two games but it was pure fun and cinematic, every mission was memorable to me.

Like I didn't even know what the stock exchange was back then, I just thought it was awesome traveling through city ruins fighting invaders.

Also the survival mode was super fun too.

I made a post not all that long ago about Lords of the Fallen after discovering it myself, only to find that nobody else seemed to like it as much as I did (which, fair; it's probably why I hadn't heard of it until recently).

It's not as good as a Fromsoft game, or Lies of P, but, to me anyway, it's like the 2nd best soulslike that isn't a Fromsoft game. The major disappointments are minimal enemy variety, and the story is just kinda shit. The highlights are the combat and build variety, and unique aspects like tying item descriptions to your actual skills so you can't read some descriptions unless you invest in "knowledge" of it. It just sucks that you don't really get much from it because, again, the story is kinda shit.

Also it's the only non Fromsoft soulslike I've played that has PvP. I got into Dark Souls and the rest because of the invasion system more than anything else, so LOTF having that was a big plus for me.

Diablo 4. I mean, I know it is easy, but I felt the version of Halo I played was way easy and it has a good reputation.

Literally every MMORPG targeted at an oldschool/hardcore/PvP oriented audience. Without fail the related comments and reviews will be littered by people angrily ranting on how these games are outdated and should change to be more casual

I don't let other people influence my tastes.

I make my own opinions

Ultima IX: Ascension (1999)

I genuinely enjoyed the game. Fans of the series claim that it destroyed the franchise. Perhaps they're right, but the franchise was pretty fucked up to begin with.

I’m sure there are lots of examples for me, but I guess one that comes to mind is 007: The World Is Not Enough for PS1.

Reading/hearing about it as an adult, not only is it seen as a poor follow up to Goldeneye, but also the PS1 version is the worse of the two releases, with the general consensus being that the N64 version is better.

Back in the day, though, I didn’t know any better and I loved it. I expect most people have games like that.

Aero the Acrobat for GBA.

Cheap Sonic ripoff? I loved that game. Spent many childhood hours and AA batteries playing it and learning every corner of every level.

I never played the others. I play with my friend overseas every Monday. He chooses the games. He may have chosen it because it is cooperative, online and not PvP. IDK.

But we also play, Aliens, Grimm Dawn, all of the borderlands games, like literally ALL of them including Tiny Tina's Wonderland. Two is my favorite.

Might & Magic VIII. The ending was underwhelming in comparison to previous parts, yes, but gameplay is exactly the same.

Dying Light 2. I honestly have no idea why so many people prefer the original.