Video games can take years of hard work and dedication before they reach fans. Publishers may feel hesitant before releasing a new title into the world. The game may not have any connection to an existing property. Players may not be so willing to spend their hard-earned cash on a bad game, especially if the price tag is the same as a highly-anticipated sequel.
Game developers are willing to take that chance. They want gamers to try out a new game, and their efforts pay off. Recently, smaller developers have seen success with titles like Shovel Knight, who was recently announced to appear as an Assist Trophy in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. title.
Other games may not be so successful. The first game may have had success and fans demanded more. After getting that title they wanted, they may find themselves disappointed. Sequels can either be surprisingly successful, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, or a huge disappointment that may damage the reputation of a trilogy, such as Mass Effect 3. There are game sequels, or even spin-offs, that has become so unpopular with fans and even future developers, that the game is no longer considered “canon” to the franchise.
Our list compiles some of the biggest disappointments that hurt game series more than helped them. Though the franchise may have managed to pick itself up and find success afterward, the sequel is an embarrassment that developers hope everyone will forget. Gamers may not have forgotten, but for now, they pretend these games don’t exist.
25 From Ghost Eating To Household Chores
Pac-Man is most well-known for being a 2D pixel adventure. Pac-Man consumes dots until he reaches a power-up that will increase his power to eat Ghosts.
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures changed the beloved series into a point-and-click adventure.
Instead of eating white pixels, Pac-Man is forced to do family chores. If his mood drops, he won’t listen to your commands. While most players realize that games may evolve, Pac-Man 2 was too much of a deviation from the series fans knew and loved.
24 A Driving Game Lacking Drive
Driver 3: Undercover, more commonly known as DRIV3R, was the third installment of the action-adventure series. The game had potential to be a great sequel, but publishers rushed the development. Atari released DRIV3R before the highly-anticipated Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Fans criticized DRIV3R’s controls and gameplay. The enemy AI was the worst part. Many of the enemies waited around until the player attacked first. Developers learned their lesson and the sequel, Driver: San Francisco was considered an improvement on the series.
23 A Prequel Few Asked For
After a video game series has received praise from gamers, many developers decide that a prequel must be born. God Of War: Ascension takes place ten years before the first game, but six months after the tragic events that change Kratos forever. Though gamers praised the gameplay, others criticized the story. Multiplayer was also added but received poor reception. Many believed that the series was meant to be a single-player adventure. Developers took their criticisms seriously with the 2018 sequel, God of War.
22 An Unnecessary Dark Turn For A Young Prince
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was the direct sequel to The Sands of Time. Fans were used to the Prince’s youthful charm but were shocked at his dark turn in Warrior Within.
The previously fun series had made a drastic change into a gritty, dark adventure.
The series also added in violent gameplay and changed female character designs for the worse. Others criticized the difficult gameplay and glitches. Though the series continued to release new installments, many fans choose to ignore the existence of Warrior Within.
21 This Is Why Gamers Fear Sequels
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is the second game of the survival horror series. It retained many of the popular gameplay elements from the first game, including using the environment during firefights, slo-mo combat, and intelligent A.I. enemies. Though it was more of what fans loved, others were not so impressed. Gamers criticized level designs and storyline. Players didn’t like the addition of mechanical armor and quick-time events. The game also lacked much of the horror that made the first game so enjoyable. While it wasn’t a game that hurt the series, it was mediocre to some.
20 Players Didn’t Ask For This
Deus Ex: Invisible War takes places after the events of the first game. Fans had grown close to JC Denton from the original game and didn’t feel the same about the new protagonist, Alex D. Many gamers criticized the storyline, which didn’t tie in well with the sequel. The gameplay was the most frustrating part of the sequel. Ammo was universal between firearms, but to make matters worse, there was no need to reload or aim. The game took care of that for you. The level designs also made gamers frustrated.
19 We’ve Remained Silent On This Prequel
Silent Hill: Origins was the fifth installment of the Silent Hills series, but a prequel. The game stars a trucker named Travis Grady, who is trying to find out more information about a young girl he rescued. His investigation takes him into Silent Hill.
Even though Silent Hill: Origins was a prequel, the plot was too predictable.
The game received an even worse reception for the PlayStation 2 port. Many elements were removed from the game, such as a map and camera control, which made the game hard to navigate. Many gamers consider the first game the real beginning of the franchise.
18 A Disappointing End To A Trilogy
Assassin’s Creed Revelations was meant to be the final installment of Ezio Auditore da Firenze’s story. The game let players control multiple protagonists from the series. Many enjoyed their interactions and the ending.
What gamers didn’t enjoy was the uncreative gameplay. It felt like more of the same for three games in a row, and players wanted something new for the end of Ezio’s story. Players also felt that there was a lack of actual assassinations, which is in the title of the game. Others hoped that the game would be much longer and that side-content was missing.
17 No Wonder They’ve Stuck To History
Battlefield: Hardline opted to trade military action for a gritty police drama. Instead of being a soldier on a battlefield, gamers were now taking down criminals to make the city of Miami safe for all. Players praised the stealth combat elements and multiplayer gameplay. However, the change from historical warfare to police drama was too much for some. They believed the characters were too predictable and were more harmful than helpful in battle. It’s no wonder that the franchise has decided to focus on history battles instead of crime.
16 A Not-So-Perfect Sequel
Perfect Dark was an FPS game developed by Rare, the same studio that created GoldenEye 64. To many, it was another great FPS game on the Nintendo 64. Fans enjoyed the story of special agent Joanna Dark.
Perfect Dark Zero hoped to continue her story, but the prequel ultimately let down fans.
The game was exclusive to the Xbox 360, which disappointed Nintendo fans. While the graphics were improved, others felt the gameplay and multiplayer elements fell short of their expectations.
15 Some Wish This Title Remained Unseen
Call Of Duty: Ghosts was developed by Infinity War and the tenth installment of the series. Many gamers were initially uninterested from the start because they were tired of the series. Many preferred to play the older games instead of a new sequel. Others who gave it a chance thoroughly enjoyed the multiplayer. Those who played the campaign felt that the storyline brought nothing new to the series, adding that, like multiplayer, it brought nothing new. The ending didn’t make gamers feel completing the game was worth the effort.
14 Who Needs Jumping When You Can Drive?
The Banjo-Kazooie series has featured entertaining action-platforming gameplay that gamers have enjoyed for years. The series initially began on the Nintendo 64. Players could quickly recognize the bear and bird duo out of gaming mascots. Fans were thrilled when a new installment was announced for the Xbox 360.
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts turned out to be a disappointment. Instead of a new platforming adventure, it was turned into a racing game. Gamers had little interest in building vehicles and racing them.
13 Plenty Of Room For Judgement
Gears Of War: Judgement was the fourth installment and a prequel of the popular Gears of War franchise. The game stars a different set of protagonists, which disappointed those familiar with Dom and his squad. The storyline failed to interest many.
Fans expressed they would have liked to see Gears Of War: Judgement as DLC instead of a standalone game.
What made the game so disappointing was the lack of content. Several fan-favorite weapons were moved along with Execution Mode. There were also only four maps compared to previous games, which had at least ten maps plus free DLC content.
12 Most Prefer The Original Competitive RTS
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released twelve years after the first game. The story takes place only four years after the events of the first game. Many fans didn’t believe that Blizzard would ever release a sequel. Fans were impressed by the new features but were vocal in why they thought the storyline failed compared to the first game. The multiplayer received criticism for removing LAN gameplay and players couldn’t switch between regions. It’s no surprise that the original title still has an active multiplayer fanbase even though StarCraft II exists.
11 A Spaceship Never Meant To Sail
The Mass Effect trilogy began as an epic space adventure. Fans become invested in Commander Shepherd’s journey to save space with his shipmates. The third and final installment received criticism for its ending. Fans hoped that BioWare would learn their lesson for the next game.
Fans expected that Mass Effect: Andromeda would have better reception. Unfortunately, it suffered from unusual facial animations, flawed character dialogue, bugs, and lackluster gameplay. Many fans consider this a flawed installment of the series and prefer to play the original trilogy.
10 A Terrible Change For An Iconic Character
Metroid: Other M was meant to give more insight into the series’ main character, intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran.
Some fans felt that Metroid: Other M hurt Samus instead of giving us insight into her character.
Fans criticized Samus’ characterization and voice acting. While some gamers were able to skip over the storyline, they felt there were issues with the gameplay. Others believed that the gameplay was too linear. Players were forced to use the D-Pad to move instead of the directional stick. There were also investigative scenes that felt unnecessary for an action game.
9 Zombies Are The Least Of Our Worries
Since the release of Resident Evil 4, the series has been leaning towards more action than survival-horror. Gamers tolerated the forced co-op in Resident Evil 5 and were disappointed to learn the sequel was more of the same. Capcom had decided to change the series many fans fell in love with in the 90s. It was clear that Capcom was trying to allure more gamers to the franchise, but RE6 proved to be disappointing. It’s no surprise the series went back to its survival horror roots with Resident Evil 7.
8 A Gritty Take On A Cartoonish Series
The Bomberman series is well-known for featuring cute characters in white helmets who set explosives to trap their competitors or destroy obstacles. Bomberman: Act Zero completely changed the formula. The cartoonish characters were now a battle-hardened soldier in an action setting. The graphics were more realistic which changed everything fans loved about the original series. The game was also exclusively released on the Xbox 360 on multiplayer, which some gamers may not have had access to in 2006. It’s no surprise that the developer Hudson Soft went back to their old ways in future sequels.
7 No Longer About Solo Survival
The Dead Space series originally starred a silent protagonist named Isaac Clarke. Fans enjoyed the survivor horror set in space. The second game slowly began to change the future of the franchise. Issac was now talking and no longer working alone. Though Isaac was seeking his missing girlfriend in the first game, a love interest was added in the sequel.
Dead Space 3 was transformed into a multiplayer action-adventure with little survival horror.
The characters fans loved were almost entirely changed. We can’t blame fans who have ignored the third sequel.
6 A Game That Made Fans Cry
Capcom took a risk releasing Devil May Cry. It was a brand new IP, and they weren’t sure fans would enjoy the hack-and-slash gameplay. Luckily, fans fell in love with Dante’s stylish sword combat. Though fans complained about the camera, they hoped Capcom would fix the issue in further releases. Devil May Cry 2, unfortunately, did the opposite. Instead of changing any problems, they remained unfixed. Fans didn’t like the open world combat and easier gameplay. For most, the game was more of the same.
