We all have our favorite gaming franchises, but even the best of them can have that one rotten apple of the bunch that we all hate to play but love to make fun of.
Be it due todevelopment hellor a new direction that didn’t pan out as intended, the ugly ducklings of a popular series are forgotten for a reason: no one wants to remember the minor stumble during a record-breaking marathon.
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Some games on this list are the finalnail in the coffinfor some franchises, and others are just middle-title fans decide to pass over. Nonetheless, all games are fair game for this list, the only criteria being that they are terrible games in an otherwise well-regarded franchise.
Too Much Action, Not Enough Horror
Dead Space 3
The worst criticism any horror game sequel can earn is that it’s just not scary anymore. Sadly, this is likely the most significant reasonDead Space 3landed on our list.
To be fair,Dead Space 3did havea few neat ideas, such as an interesting take on co-op gameplay and excellent new mechanics and set pieces. But overall,everything still felt misplaced when combined with the traditionally slow-paced survival gameplay of the previous titles.
Unlike most on this list, we still recommendDead Space 3fans despite it being theodd child of the bunch. Just keep in mind thatit’s often much more of an action-adventure title, emphasizing a mainline story and action rather than the survival gameplay that made the previous games such gems.
11Sonic The Hedgehog (2006)
A Wildly Incoherent Mess, Even For Sonic
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Sure, people who dislike 3DSonicmay point to titles such asSonic And The Black Knight,Unleashed,Lost World, or evenForces, but at the same time, many of these games still have their staunch defenders. However,the only Sonic game almost every fan despises is Sonic The Hedgehog 2006, known asSonic 06.
Many factors makeSonic 06the epitome of trash for theSonicfranchise. The lackluster gameplay leaves much to be desired, there’s anoddly placed romancebetween Sonic and Princess Elise, and a litany of bugs alongside egregious load times.
Overall,Sonic 06offers very little to cherish. From a franchise with record hits and lackluster slips, it’s the one that slipped the furthest and has become virtually impossible to enjoy.
10Star Fox Zero
A Barrel Roll Right Into The Trash Can
Star Foxis one of the most beloved Nintendo franchises, so it’s almost poetic that, along with theWii U’s flop, we also got the massive failure ofStar Fox Zero.
The biggest caveat with this title is that while there are some othernot-so-greatStar Foxgames, those titles are almost expectedly mediocre because of their age.Star Fox Zero, on the other hand, was a different type of trash from its release.
Too much of the game feels like asimple throwback to earlier titleslikeStar Fox 64. While this can be entertaining, it fails to bring anything new and keeps many issues with previous games. On the other hand,the newer content feels too centered on Nintendo’s Wii U peripherals to have its own identity.
WhileStar Fox Zeromay have seemed like a beacon of hope for a returning franchise, it made us wish for a new, fully-fledgedStar Foxgame.
Frank May Be Back, But We Wish He Weren’t
Dead Rising 4
AlthoughDead Rising 4was a successful game for players who just wanted to turn off their brains and mindlessly kill zombies, most longtimeDead Risingfans could tell that the title was missing what made some previous titles so magical.
The developer was adamant about “recapturing the original magic” of the originalDead Rising. While there were character callbacks, such as the “Frank is back"online campaignand many other references,there was a stark lack of gameplay similarities and an overly snarky tone rather than witty and charming.
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The mechanics seemed to sway further away from the series' origins than expected, with a game thatfelt safe and traditional, discarding specifics such as the story-driven stories of the survivors and the survival combat for a much more conventional version of a zombie-killing game.
Failing to capture what made the originals great,Dead Rising 4ultimately became an unnoteworthy game in an otherwise heavy-hitting franchise.
8Mass Effect: Andromeda
The Failed Followup Of An RPG Legend
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromedahad the difficult task of following up one of the most well-regarded RPG trilogies ever made. Looking back, it seems like the game was always destined for failure.
It’s still possible to enjoyMass Effect: Andromeda, with many fans still playing through and finding it at least a somewhatdecentMass Effectexperience. Still,while the first trilogy was a science fiction space exploration epic, its follow-up was generally less impressive.
The story and writing, for one, are just not as good as the originals, and because those aspects are integral to the experience—it is an RPG, after all—they make everything, from the exploration to the shooting, feel worse in relation.
It’s also hard not to mention the copious bugs that plagued this game at launch, and many of thehorrific facial animationsfelt straight out of the uncanny valley.
7Fallout 76
Fallout’s Biggest Bomb Since Megaton
Fallout 76
Since its release,Fallout 76has made great strides, fixing bugs and unfinished content that plagued it at launch. However, for many reasons, we still consider it a lesser title, an outcast within an otherwise fantastic franchise.
Some people, including me, may hate some of the writing and gameplay elements in the Bethesda titles compared to the originals or New Vegas. Still, at least they all centered on a story-first approach to gameplay, compared to themultiplayer insanityof 76.
Open-world MMOs can be a ton of fun, but seriously,it may not have been a good decision to go down this route with Fallout,of all franchises. Likely supported by The Elder Scrolls Online’s success, this multiplayer functionalityfailed to bolster the gameplaythatFalloutfans have come to love.
While we won’t say thatFallout 76is entirely unworthy of being played,even Fallout 4 mods can provide a more worthwhile time.
6Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5
A Crash Landing For The Birdman
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5
With nostalgia-tinted glasses, it may be easy to overlook how much of a stainTony Hawk Pro Skater 5had on the franchise, but we hope to remind you just how much of a catastrophic failure this game really was.
Pro Skater 5was released broken, with gameplay thatdidn’t feel as goodand refined as other titles, along with lazy and uninspired levels. Compared to the addicting and snappy gameplay of the rest of the series,Pro Skater 5couldn’t deliver what fans wanted.
If you look at the gameplay of this gamecompared to games as far back asPro Skater 3or theUndergroundseries, you’ll immediately find how meaningless this new title seemed to be, adding nothing new to the franchise while subtracting a lot.
Even The Devs Are Apologetic
Postal 3is a game so bad that even the developers, Running With Scissors, consider this title a huge disappointment; in alengthy explanation, they describe it as “utterly broken” and have no plans to fix it. In fact, it was so broken that, at one point, it gottaken off steam.
Postal 3 is not a fun game; it breaks constantly, has no real meaning or purpose, and is half-baked from top to bottom.The third-person shooting never works as intended, with bad AI and even worse controls.
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Worst of all, the amazing humor the franchise is known for doesn’t feel the same inPostal 3. Sure, many wacky things may deserve a laugh, but the poor quality makes it too disappointing to cough up a light chuckle.
ThePostalfranchise is known for being an odd, incoherent mess, with offensive jokes and intentionally annoying NPCs almost begging to be killed.Sadly, Postal 3 took the fun out of the insanity, an atrocity all involved hope to forget.
4Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness
Leave That Relic In Its Tomb!
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
We suggest you never playTomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, as this serious take on the series is a complete disaster.
This was the first leap forTomb Raiderinto the PS2 era, and even though thePS2 came alongside many gems,Tomb Raidersadly didn’t join that list. The worst thing aboutAngel of Darknessis that it controls remarkably poorly, making it a slog.
The story may be a decent feature forTomb Raiderfans, but it’s hard to judge whether a story is good whenthe controls make Laura feel like a tank, not a nimble acrobat.
Within a series ofover twenty titlesand tons of reiterations and revisions,Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darknessis the utter worst.
3Banjo Kazooie Nuts And Bolts
The Platformer Turned Vehicle Editor Game
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
It’s hard not to love an excellent 3D platformer, especially one with as much love and charm asBanjo Kazooie. YetNuts And Boltsis only related to the original title solely by name, as after initially teasing fans with a vast nostalgic view of the series, the rug is pulled under you, and this game becomesalmost entirely different altogether.
What screams vehicle customization game likeBanjo Kazooie! That must have been the devilish thought that went through the developer’s heads before doing precisely that,making the beloved 3D platforming series into a weird vehicle-based platformer game.
In all honesty, the base game itself isn’t too bad. It’s childish andhas creative ideas, which makes it intriguing for child audiences. The real shame with this game is that it’s tied toBanjo Kazooie,benefiting from our nostalgia rather than itsnew, exciting ideas.
We hopeBanjo Kazooiereturns sometime soon because this was possibly one of the worst send-offs a franchise of its stature could ever have.
