It's simple. What gamers, the long term kind, want as a majority have changed in ways the industry wasn't keeping track of.
This game has a lot of good looks to it, and a solid foundation gameplay wise, but its shallow and doesn't offer much behind combat + looks. Like, what's the story of evolve? What's the world of evolve? Who are the characters, really? What are they like? What is a defining features do they have that isn't able to be summed up by physical description + gear they have? Beyond that is the story. What is the reason we're going to these planets to hunt these monsters? Why is it the audience should care? Do the characters make it a point to say why they care?
From what I can tell, this game doesn't really have a good story mode. It's a multiplayer game, which meant all the resources went into combat + graphics, and a story was made as an after thought to what would look good in marketing. Not to say this is bad, but that there wasn't an effort to get the player to stay after their 16th hour of gameplay.
Look at destiny, and look at what people are complaining about. A lack of story, a repetitive type of gameplay, and a massive lack of content that isn't shoot stuff and get randomly generated loot. People wanted a Halo type experience with an immersive and rich story as well as solid gameplay. What they got was a game that was almost entierly gameplay, and almost no story. Or at least no story anyone could make heads or tails of, and thus couldn't become invested in.
Forumlas and doing stuff by the gameplay playbook aren't cutting it anymore. People want variety. They want to be entertained in multiplayer, but also experience a story that they can get invested in. They want both.
2013 and even before, you see the shift come into swing fully.
Assassins Creed Black Flag broke the normal route assassins creed games did in many ways, changing the formula and reinvigorating the story elements with new gameplay, while also keeping the solid writing. Bioshock infinite completely shatters the formula and brings in a good and solid story that rocked the whole industry. The Last of Us took the route of telling a zombie shooter in a way a big cinematic movie would, with a solid story and really emotionally hard hitting stuff. Saints Row 4 and Grand Theft Auto of all games takes the time to make engaging and interesting stories, one in the absurdest route and the other in a grounded a serious route, but both delivering excellent games.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum.
You have games like Total War 2: Rome, which blew hard thanks to being rushed and having little content to keep players interested beyond initial gameplay which wasn't that good to begin with. Colonial Marines does its story and writing in some of the most generic and poor fashion to play it safe, offering high graphics as its only saving grace. And the less said about Beyond Two Souls, the better.
In 2014, the big losers who didn't learn from 2013 were the ones with the most hype, and also MMO's. Destiny, and Elder Scrolls Online, which had such a stripped down experience compared to Skyrim, what everyone wanted, that the game as far as I know, has died out more or less.
Gamers want better games, it's just that simple. They want a story, no matter how simple, to be told, but a good one. Not an overly cliche piece of script that would make even Michel Bay embarrassed to be a part of. They also want gameplay that's fun and solid. And an experience with a game that's got minimal bugs, and that they can play without jumping through hoops. Connectivity makes any game infuriating, espeically if its required to even start a game. And paywalls as you pointed out OP are also a big turn off.
But I think people would be willing to go through connectivity issues and pay walls if the product they were getting at least felt worth it to them. In most cases, its either lacking in good gameplay making it hard to play, or the writing is so simplistic and mind numbing compared to the gameplay that it leaves little incentive to play through.
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