Each Thanksgiving, households around the United States gather to gorge on roast turkey — but this year we’re carving out a moment to celebrate the cultural “turkeys”: the celebrated flops, strange misfires, and underappreciated oddities that deserve affection just the same.
We have a strict “no trolling” ethos here: we’re not interested in contrarian takes for their own sake. Still, we relish defending our tastes and sparking the kinds of dinner-table disputes that make cultural conversation worthwhile. Works that critics once dismissed or audiences initially overlooked deserve a seat at the table — the equivalent of that lone person’s favorite green-bean casserole that somehow always gets made.
So this holiday, as we trade stories and favorites, let’s raise a glass to the lovable losers:
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Chris Hayner
From a Faltering Debut to a Cult Favorite: The Redemption of Fallout: New Vegas
With a new season of the TV adaptation on the horizon, the games have leapt back into the conversation. After replaying the series, I remain convinced that Fallout: New Vegas stands as the franchise’s most compelling entry — despite a launch that was riddled with problems. What initially felt unfinished and fragile has, over time, revealed a depth and personality that critics and players now celebrate.
New Vegas arrived under unusual circumstances: Obsidian took the helm while Bethesda focused on other projects, and the result was a title that shipped rough but contained a singular voice and design boldness. Its flaws at release became the scaffold for a game that, with patience and community devotion, matured into a modern classic.
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Ari Notis
Underrated Launches That Ultimately Proved Their Worth
Some games arrive with fireworks, others stagger out of the gate and bloom later — No Man’s Sky is the canonical example of a title reborn through updates and goodwill. But for every comeback, countless inventive projects languish in obscurity. These so-called failures often contain ideas that push against mainstream trends and merit a second look.
Too many mid-tier releases are written off as “fine” and then forgotten; yet many of them offer creative risks and distinct voices that reward curious players. This piece highlights underrated experiments and soft-launch flops that, in retrospect, contributed more to the medium than their initial reception suggested.
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Claire Lewis
I Adore Heavy Rain — Just Not in the Way Its Creator Intended
Quantic Dream’s 2010 thriller is an odd, often unintentionally hilarious experience. Heavy Rain sets up a grim mystery — the Origami Killer — and tasks players with guiding four protagonists through tense, cinematic scenes. The premise is rich, but the execution sometimes tilts into absurdity.
Plenty of the game’s most memorable moments come from its reliance on quick-time events and dramatic gestures that can read as melodramatic or campy. That combination turns what was meant to be solemn into something occasionally uproarious, and I cherish it for those unintended comedic beats as much as for the serious ones. (If you want to see a particularly famous example, there’s a viral clip on YouTube that captures the absurdity beautifully.)
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Chris Hayner
How Universal’s Waterworld Stunt Spectacle Recasts a Notorious Flop
Waterworld famously flopped at the box office and became shorthand for oversized Hollywood risk. The film’s bizarre premise and ballooning production costs left it marred in infamy. But when experienced in the context of Universal Studios’ long-running live Waterworld stunt show, the movie starts to feel differently — more vibrant, more theatrical, and more fun.
Viewed through the prism of the park’s action spectacle, Waterworld’s outlandishness becomes an asset: the world-building, the practical stunts, and the sheer committed silliness all gain a new, enjoyable context that helps the film read as campy entertainment rather than a costly misstep.
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Jake Kleinman
Adam Sandler’s Click Is a Hot Mess — and I Can’t Stop Watching
I’m unabashedly fond of Adam Sandler’s brand of comedy, but some of his films are undeniably messy — and yet oddly endearing. Click is one of those titles: a tonal jumble that swings between slapstick and mawkish sentiment, often without quite landing either note.
Despite its flaws, the film has a strange gravitational pull: Sandler’s earnestness, the film’s bigger ideas about time and regret, and a handful of memorable beats keep me returning. It’s the kind of flawed entertainment that invites affection precisely because it aspires beyond its comedic comfort zone and occasionally collapses spectacularly on the way.
Source: Polygon
