A sequel is a cut and dried inevitability nowadays. If a piece of media is even remotely successful, a follow-up will begin production. This process veritably applies to video games since the medium became immensely successful. Since the 80s and 90s heyday of platformer juggernauts and arcade classics, companies have been establishing gaming franchises in order to achieve financial success and loyal, mass followings. These followings develop into fandoms—groups that pride themselves on devotion to every aspect of a franchise. As a result, they are the hardest audience to impress.
The new entry in a franchise can only belong to one of three post-release outcomes: superiority, passability or disappointment. These respectively mean a sequel that: outdoes its predecessor, acts as a serviceable but average entry, or totally fails to live up to the predecessor. Perhaps this may stem from the game’s already high standard or a misfocus in direction that does not live up to that brand’s legacy. This list will focus on this unfortunate result, with examples that defy critical reception or commercial sales.
Sequels have a lot to owe up to, especially when it comes to the brand that is PlayStation. Arguably the greatest platform, Sony’s owned gaming franchises are rich with great gameplay and storylines. The latter of those merits entail an even greater responsibility to sequels than something like Nintendo: story. With those two aspects in mind, here are 25 PlayStation sequels that failed to improve upon the gameplay and/or story, leaving their astute fans no choice but to forget they even exist.
25 Resistance 2
While better than most games on this list, hardcore fans of sci-fi shooter Resistance clashed with critics over the sequel’s quality. Fans missed the essential mechanic that was the weapon wheel, which is an Insomniac Games staple of design as well as a cooperative, split-screen campaign. Resistance 2 also boasted an underwhelming story that tried to fit in too many large-scale battles without much engaging connection to story or characters. Luckily, the fanbase was treated to a stellar and underrated third entry that perfected the franchise’s formula.
24 Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Another Insomniac Games disappointment came when they decided to make a half-baked downloadable game that mixed in genre elements that do not belong in the franchise. Full Frontal Assault heavily focuses on arena combat and fails at that—lacking in content with a small selection of modes as well as a poor tower defense system. It seems like the developers were trying to try to throw some MOBA elements at us and see what stuck. Ask any Ratchet & Clank fan and they will say to just play Up Your Arsenal’s multiplayer instead.
23 Final Fantasy XIII
It was not THAT bad but, in a franchise filled with classics, this entry is disowned by fans. While the thirteenth entry had an imaginative art design and a lovely score, fans felt there was something missing. This mostly came down to the bloated story and boring cast of characters. While FFXIII got a few internal sequels, fans seemed to have already abandoned this generation of games. On the other hand, the next two entries in the Final Fantasy franchise are both worshipped by followers of the hit JRPG franchise.
22 Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 5 was the most hated game in the series until the sixth one blew it out of the cold water (or lava). After the surge of successful military games like Call of Duty, Capcom tried their hand at making an action-orientated Resident Evil. Tense, claustrophobic atmosphere was swapped for grand set-pieces.
The story involving Leon Kennedy is solid enough but everything else is unforgivable.
By stripping away the survival horror elements that made the franchise legendary, the game failed to hit the mark with fans and critics. It is still a mystery how 6’s superb sequel sold less than this bloated mess.
21 F.E.A.R 3
Similar to the direction taken in Resident Evil 6, F.E.A.R 3 exchanged most of its horror beats for action. Gone were creepy little girls and a sense of dread; replaced instead was an arcade-centric shooter that plays like a power fantasy. Fans of the first two were disappointed in this entry’s overly rushed pace and a lack of the palpable tone established in earlier entries.
A few contrarian fans, myself included, preferred this entry over the others.
There was also the game’s design being built around coop—meaning F.E.A.R 3 would feel lacking when played solo. Many terrible developmental decisions were made here.
20 Mass Effect Andromeda
An infamous and unprecedented flop, the fourth entry in the modern juggernaut that is Mass Effect paled in comparison to its earlier offerings. Upon launch, players reported (often with hilarious evidence) bugs and glitches, mostly concerning facial animations. Not only were the visuals not up to snuff, but the writing and choice-making seemed to have downgraded significantly. Lastly, the new titular galaxy Andromeda is filled with vapid, empty world-building. In the end, this is another piece of failure piled on top of EA’s already messy pile.
19 Dragon Age II
Dragon Age: Origins is one of the greatest RPGs of all-time. As a result, Dragon Age II had big wizard shoes to fill. Unfortunately, it took a more action-style approach, with wave-based enemies and a less methodical combat system. The real bread and butter of this franchise came from the opportunity to role play like few other games. In Origins, you could choose your character’s backstory and race—ranging from Dwarf to Elf. Dragon Age II swaps this character immersion with voiced dialogue—a poor move that would later be adopted by other modern RPGs (E.G., Fallout 4).
18 Duke Nukem Forever
One of the biggest commercial and critical flops of all-time is considered a cliché to mention when discussing failed sequels but this travesty is seemingly necessary to mention. Fans of the outlandish and fun shooter series had to wait a gruelling fifteen years since 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D. When the overhyped game released, critics and fans alike slammed its juvenile humor, boring shooting and almost everything else about it. A $30 million budget could not even save this from looking a game years behind its time.
17 Sonic The Hedgehog 4
After a string of terrible 3D Sonic titles, fans craved a classic callback to the golden days of 90s Sonic. SEGA tried to meet this need by releasing this episodic series that acts as a main sequel to the classic trilogy. However, while not exactly a bad game, it has been forgotten by fans because of better throwbacks to classic Sonic that followed. Both the excellent Sonic Generations and the incredible Sonic Mania have eclipsed this as the ultimate retro throwback entries. This downloadable-only title is lost in the annals of gamers’ minds.
16 Shadow The Hedgehog
It may be harsh to include another sequel from the same franchise but Sonic has multiple games unspoken of by its passionate followers. The unholy grail of the franchise’s sequels is arguably Shadow of the Hedgehog.
The more terrible Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) would have been on here if it hadn’t been a reboot.
Following the already sucky Sonic Heroes, fans got to play as the titular hedgehog who got a significant increase in agonization for the sake of coolness. If you can put up with Shadow’s constant complaining, a superficial morality system, and awkward level design, you might gain some sort of masochistic enjoyment out of this abomination.
15 Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines
When it seemed like the end of Altair’s chapter for fans, Bloodlines was announced and then released in conjunction with Assassin’s Creed 2. Bloodlines was met with pure apathy by fans and critics for its lackluster gameplay and story. Unless your company is Rockstar Games, the open world genre does not translate well to the portable medium. If you chose to get this game-on-the-go, a boring and short 6-hour campaign is all it offered. Since then, developer Ubisoft released another poor portable entry: Assassin’s Creed: Liberations, but at least that got a remaster.
14 Mercenaries 2: World In Flames
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction on PS2 was a critically acclaimed cult hit. Its sequel for the PS3 tried to replicate and renew its fun destructible mix. However, it only destroyed itself by being incredibly broken and pointless. While it boasted an impressive system of destructible environments for its time, World in Flames felt severely unpolished and glitchy. The most fun to be had was in the cooperative play—but even then you were just simply tempted to betray your partner. Nowadays, World in Flames is known for its failed petrol PR stunt.
13 Spider-Man 3
The sequel to the amazing game of the sequel to the movie sequel… I will not confuse you further, but after the success of Spider-Man 2 for the PS2, fans expected developer Treyarch’s third entry to knock it out of Madison Square Park. What PS3 players got was a terrible excuse for an open world superhero game, incomplete with bugs and an unengaging combat system. Finally, because it is based off an equally bad movie, there is a poor narrative throughout. At least we now have Insomniac’s Spider-Man.
12 Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two
PS3 owners were chuffed to hear that the Wii exclusive Epic Mickey would get a sequel on PS3, but that excitement soon got brushed aside when it came out. The Power of Two was a poor excuse in terms of being an actual video game. Like a couple of other games on this list, the game would feel incomplete without cooperative play. It is also plagued with abysmal camera mechanics and its generally repetitive nature. Disney fans soon painted it over but they loved the art style of the graphics and cutscenes.
11 Medal Of Honor: Warfighter
Medal of Honor veterans had to cope with their beloved franchise being overtaken by its influenced blockbuster franchise, Call of Duty. In an ironic turn of direction, Medal of Honor scrapped its historical settings for modern day; attempting to imitate its former imitator. The 2010 reboot was serviceable but its sequel Warfighter is as generic of as its title implies. With terrible AI, a nonsensical story, and a generally forgettable multiplayer, it’s no wonder you probably did not pick this up. Please stop butchering franchises, EA.
10 Mafia III
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven was a cult success and Mafia II received similarly positive feedback from fans of the gangster series. However, everyone could anticipate the third entry’s dwindling quality due to the hiring of a different developer.
No wonder it was made into a PlayStation Plus free game.
The story was praised for building on the dark themes of its predecessors but was criticized for a hollow open world and excruciatingly boring gameplay. Some of these problems applied to the second game but this particular sequel felt like it had no creative soul whatsoever.
9 Silent Hill: Homecoming
Team Silent was disbanded in 2004. They developed the first four Silent Hill games which are all beloved by fans of the legendary horror series. After being merged (one of the first terrible Konami decisions), unrelated Western developers took over all subsequent entries. One of the first was Homecoming.
Some franchises are simply best when made in Japan.
Despite trying to tell an interesting tale of a war veteran trying to uncover the titular town’s mysteries, Homecoming lacks depth. This outing simply does not have the symbolic profundity or intensely high fear factor of the original trilogy.
8 Army Of Two: The Devil’s Cartel
The first two games in EA Montreal’s series of duo, cooperative-focused third-person shooters garnered an enclosed but passionate fanbase that loved going through the battlefield with a familiar buddy by their side. The Devil’s Cartel removed the protagonists of the first two games that gamers had grown attached to.
Fans typically grow attached to characters in tightly-woven franchises like this.
Instead, two generic playable characters that severely lack charisma. Banter between the two is cringe-worthy, and gameplay will make players go through the motions by mowing down countless cartel baddies. Stick with Salem and Rios’ adventures in the first two games.
7 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
The original The Force Unleashed earned a soft spot in Star Wars fans’ hearts for its captivating story and loyalty to its franchise. The sequel came two years after and felt unfortunately shoehorned in for a quick buck from the late company LucasArts. Players felt the plot was a lot less developed this time around and they had to deal with the passable but overly repetitive gameplay that seemed almost identical to its predecessor. This sequel may have nailed the look and feel of the Star Wars universe but failed to connect with the Force of many gamers.
6 Crash: Mind Over Mutant
The new generation of Crash Bandicoot games has not been very well-received by fans and the last console sequel in the series is no different. Implementing a pseudo-open-world, it does not carry on Crash’s signature platforming gameplay, borrowing instead from the 3D direction of its PS2-era predecessors.
The revitalized interest in classic-era Bandicoot from the N’Sane Trilogy is a good sign of the franchise’s future.
Mind over Mutant uses this gameplay format to descend into a collectathon nightmare, complete with backtracking to progress toward the conclusion. The cutscenes were cool—representing different animation styles. However, this was not enough of a redeeming factor for the fans.
