We’ve all been there before. Game developers build us up with so much hype and then just end up shooting us down with disappointment. Some video games get canceled for many reasons, but mostly, the factors affecting its massive roll-out include lack of budget, development issues, time constraints, and a lot more.
Here are a few games that we wish pushed through and still hoping it can be saved from the video gaming limbo.
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Silent Hills
When Konami released its playable trailer entitled “P.T” it made fans go crazy. Directed by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, it gave a new flare in the survival horror genre and for the Silent Hill franchise. The game also stars the voice of Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus. However, the game’s development was questioned due to rumors surrounding Kojima’s work with the completion of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. His sudden exit from Konami gave more fuel to the flame. In April 2015, Konami announced that the game had been canceled, a move that was criticized by journalists by fans of the franchise.
Kojima, Del Toro, and Reedus later reunited for the game Death Stranding.
LMNO
LMNO is an action game that aims to evoke emotion. With the involvement of cinema legend Steven Spielberg, the game is a mix of first-person parkour movement with adventure and role-playing elements and escape-focused gameplay. It follows the player’s relationship with an alien-looking character named “Eve”. Unfortunately, the game was canceled due to unknown reasons.
Star Wars: 1313
The game centers around an unnamed bounty hunter who is later revealed to be Boba Fett. As the story progresses, you end up navigating the underworld city of Level 1313. It was first teased back in 2012 and generated positive reactions from gamers and fanboys alike but was later on stuck in development limbo. Furthermore, Disney’s acquisition of the Star Wars Franchise led to the shutdown of LucasArts which terminated the game’s development.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
Based on the comic book written by Brian Augustyn and Mignola, players take the shoes of Batman in the 19th century. It was planned for release by Day 1 Studios who also developed F.3.A.R. After THQ failed to secure the rights to the property, the game was ultimately left in the dark abyss.
Scalebound
Scalebound is an action, role-playing game where players would assume control of Drew, who is accompanied by a dragon called Thuban. Drawing some similarities to the book Eragon, players could use a variety of weapons to defeat enemies and could issue commands to the dragon which assisted players during battles. The game was canceled because Phil Spencer, one of Microsoft’s executives, believed that the expectations for the game were so high that even the best effort by PlatinumGames wouldn’t have been up to the pre-release standards set by fans.
Prey 2
A sequel for the 2006 game Prey, it is a first-person shooter where players get to be Killian Samuels who is now a bounty hunter in the alien world exodus. The game takes plays several years prior to the first game. However, the sequel was canceled due to pressure on quality standards.
StarCraft: Ghost
Back in 2002, Blizzard announced third-person shooter StarCraft Ghost. Different from its usual real-time strategy theme. The game was set years after the conclusion of StarCraft: Brood War, where the player takes on the role of a Terran psychic espionage operative Nova who is in a controversial mission. The game was designed to give fans a more personal look and explore the lore of the franchise more thoroughly. Blizzard announced in March 2006 that the game was put on “indefinite hold” while the company investigated seventh-generation video game console possibilities but later on canceled due to its delays.
The gaming industry is a very hard one. There are some games we badly wished could have continued and lived up to its hype. We hope to see the day that these games could finally be released, or at least, recycled into a better one.
