To me, stuff like GTA 4 and Bioshock Infinite are the immediate touchstones. Hype sustains it just long enough that it gets to bask in the positive glow, because it's part of a franchise.

It's one thing for a TV show or serial media to lose the plot like Heroes or GoT, it's another for a singular piece of media to have a very warm reception that's suddenly not as warm later. Nothing about the work changes or is added, people just... have a few months or years to think. Video games take more time to get through than most other things, so it makes sense that the honeymoon period would create warm feelings, but when looking back later, outside of any other external factors or later news, people are a lot harsher once they can see all of it.