Even for the largest studios, creating a new and innovative title that receives positive feedback is a big challenge. Perhaps it is even more difficult for AAA studios. Despite their fame and success, they are under the spotlight in the global gaming industry, with a lot of money at stake.
Smaller independent developers have slightly more freedom to try something new, but the battle to attract attention and sales for their projects is a completely different headache.
Regardless of the size of the team involved in developing a successful game, the issue of following up on success poses a global challenge. Fans want more of the same thing, but not more than necessary. They want an evolving and growing emerging series, but without radical changes. In some fortunate cases, the next installment arrives and strikes the right balance, but expectations are high, and disappointment unfortunately becomes common.
Whether it’s because the sequel took a new and strange direction, or because it lacked the quality of the previous installment, or was simply mediocre, here are some of the most disappointing sequels in the world of gaming.
10. Dead Space 3
Resident Evil 4, as mentioned earlier, effectively blended survival horror and third-person action. The game Dead Space, released in 2008, was another title that succeeded in achieving this blend.
The character Isaac Clarke is not a strong soldier, but an engineer fighting hordes of terrifying creatures aboard the Ishimura ship using mostly mining tools. The battles in the game were intense, gruesome, and bloody, but more importantly, they set the stage for the tense atmosphere the game generated along the way.
While Dead Space 2 largely followed the same formula, Dead Space 3 in 2013 was a step too far. Mechanically, the game took a reverse approach: it focused the player’s journey through Tau Voltanis on customizing weapons and giving them an exaggerated set of properties, and filled the world with large numbers of enemies to experience these innovations on.
For long-time fans, something may have been lost during this process. The psychological horror that was a distinctive feature of the series was largely ignored amidst all this combat. Along with the fact that this part was the last in the series (after the closure of Visceral Games), fans still hope that Dead Space will get the ending it deserves.
9. Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within
The game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, released by Ubisoft in 2003, is one of the beloved action-adventure games. Rebooting a classic series is difficult, but this release did so in a fantastic way.
Sands of Time is a complex action game, with stunning platforming sections showcasing the exceptional athletic abilities of the Prince. Controlling the Sands of Time was integrated into both platforming and combat (where time could be rewound to undo a certain death), and all of this was coordinated to create an excellent experience.
As for the sequel in 2004, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, it is not a bad game. It expanded the Prince’s combat capabilities and opened up different stages for exploration, adding some improvements to what was present in Sands of Time. However, the major disappointment was that it changed many of the best aspects of the previous game. It seemed as if everything had been tinted with a lot of darkness and exaggerated elements of nihilism, losing the quiet Prince we knew from before that touch.
Approaching to deliver an amazing sequel to a wonderful title, but making missteps that could have been completely avoided, became more frustrating.
8. Dragon Age II
The Dragon Age series showcases BioWare at its best: a deep set of RPG games, including choices, consequences, and a lot of dialogue. If all these elements combined in a fantastical setting appeal to you, you are definitely a fan already.
However, Dragon Age II represents a turbulent period in the series. Hawke’s adventure never seemed to know what it wanted to be. The game offered the player greater freedom than before in terms of the choices they could make, but the eerie pace of the story made the player unsure of when or where these choices would become important.
And perhaps most notably, the game struggled to make a truly unique world of its own, as very familiar locations appeared throughout the game. The difficulty may have been that Dragon Age: Origins set very high standards.
7. Resident Evil 6
Any long-running series will experience ups and downs. In the case of Capcom’s beloved survival horror series, Resident Evil, the sixth installment can be considered one of the major low points.
The game Resident Evil 4 changed the equation forever. It introduced a new focus on exciting action and executed it masterfully. It is one of the most celebrated games ever, and the pressure to follow up on this success was undoubtedly immense.
In an attempt to continue the success, Capcom gave us Resident Evil 5 and 6. The fifth installment may not have been a masterpiece, but it remained enjoyable enough, filled with some of the weirdest moments and reminders in the series. As for Resident Evil 6, unfortunately, it seemed to take this new direction too far.
The game tried hard to apply fan-favorite elements (like the meeting of Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy in a theatrical scene) but none of its campaigns truly felt like they belonged to the beloved series. The reputation of Resident Evil was greatly damaged, but fortunately, Resident Evil 7 and Village greatly contributed to revitalizing the series.
6. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
Adaptations with beloved franchises like Star Wars need to be handled very carefully. Fans are deeply committed to the series and want authenticity in Star Wars games. They want the iconic characters, vehicles, locations, and battles that feel the same way they love, in addition to epic space battles and cosmic drama befitting the name.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II had a great opportunity to deliver all of this. The new version of Starkiller could have been fun to control, as well as utilizing the lightsaber for the anti-hero character.
Unfortunately, the game was a major critical letdown, as it failed to improve on the solid foundation laid by the original. The real tragedy of The Force Unleashed II is that it was not considered worthy of a true sequel upon Disney’s arrival, leaving fans wondering what could have been.