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10 AWFUL Games That Had MASSIVE Egos

10 AWFUL Games That Had MASSIVE Egos
VOICE OVER: Ty Richardson WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
The studios behind these games thought they were going to be a lot better than they actually were. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we're taking a look at 10 truly abysmal video games that had the audacity to try and build hype off of nothing! Our list of awful games with massive egos includes “Evolve” (2015), “Concord” (2024), “Daikatana” (2000), “Marvel's Avengers” (2020), and more!

10 Awful Games That Had Massive Egos


Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 truly abysmal video games that had the audacity to try and build hype off of nothing!

“Skull and Bones” (2024)


“Skull and Bones” spent so long in development that any hype it accrued from its initial reveal in 2018 had vanished. And yet, Ubisoft persisted to build up hype for this game after it had spent well over a decade working on the game. It got to the point where CEO Yves Guillemot had described “Skull and Bones” as “a AAAA game”. Just for reference, the “A’s” in game development signify the amount of money injected into a project and the amount of money it's expected to earn. It’s a budget label, not a quality assurance label as “Skull and Bones” would prove. The game failed to impress players as ten years of development had merely delivered an open world live service with survival and crafting mechanics. On top of that, it featured even fewer mechanics in its naval combat than “Assassin’s Creed III” and “IV” did back in 2012 and 2013 respectively. “Quadruple-A game”, huh?

“Shenmue III” (2019)


When “Shenmue III’s” Kickstarter was first announced at E3 2015, there was some confusion over the announcement. Not sure why a Kickstarter is being announced on Sony’s stage, but okay, if this means Ryo’s story can finally end, we’ll bite. Fast forward to 2019, and “Shenmue III” came and went like a fart in the wind. A lot of meandering about just like in 1999, and not one aspect of the game showed that co-director Yu Suzuki was willing to evolve with the expectations of modern gaming. Not only that, “Shenmue III” left us with even more unresolved plot and more questions! Prior to the game’s launch, Suzuki participated in a Reddit AMA and said, “Over the past fourteen years I originally planned for there to be four or five games in the series. If at all possible, I would still like to realize the full story of eleven chapters.” Can you imagine?!

“Daikatana” (2000)


“Daikatana” might be one of the most infamous stories in video game history when it comes to building up hype for an ultimately busted game. Granted, there was some reason to get excited for the game. This was the first game from John Romero since he was fired from id Software in 1996 and stopped working on “DOOM”. During the marketing for “Daikatana”, Eidos Interactive leaned into Romero’s legacy with “DOOM” and tacked on the tagline “John Romero is about to make you his b***h” Mighty big talk for a game that had already suffered from repeated delays and was constantly failing to impress journalists at preview events. And sure enough, the game launched in a horrid state with an unstable frame rate and some of the dumbest AI you could imagine. It was like watching the downfall of Foghorn Leghorn in real-time: talk a big game, get a butt-whooping mere seconds later.

“Evolve” (2015)


In the 2010’s, pre-ordering a game was viewed as a sinful act a game company could do. Why pay for a game that isn’t even out yet and could wind up being an awful experience? A valid concern, yes, but publisher 2K crossed a line when “Evolve” was first announced. 2K centered “Evolve’s” marketing on developer Turtle Rock’s roots as much of the staff had worked on the acclaimed “Left 4 Dead” games. To bank on this as much as possible, 2K began advertising pre-orders for “Evolve” before the public even got a glimpse of gameplay. This was a bold move to make, and it wound up costing 2K and Turtle Rock in the end. “Evolve” failed to catch on with its questionable balance and uninspiring visuals, and even after a push to go free-to-play in 2018, it fell hard. To this day, “Evolve” is still a game many scowl at the mere mention of it.

“Marvel’s Avengers” (2020)


On the surface, “Marvel’s Avengers” was supposed to be a match made in heaven. Hearing that Square Enix is publishing a Marvel game with one of their own studios opens up so many ideas for what kind of game they could be cooking up! But as the boastful talk of “story”, a star-studded cast of voice actors, and post-launch support continued, audience hesitation spread like wildfire. Every demo Square Enix put out showed mundane gameplay, boring combat, and god awful character designs that didn’t know if they wanted to copy the MCU or be original. Ultimately, “Marvel’s Avengers” wound up achieving the same notoriety as the MCU post-”Endgame”: it was bland, forgettable, and wasted millions of dollars on nothing but visual spectacle and “potential”. In 2022, Square Enix wound up selling off developer Crystal Dynamics and the “Tomb Raider” IP to Embracer Group just to recoup some of the costs. “Marvel’s Avengers” was delisted from all storefronts and had its servers pulled in 2023.

“Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric” (2014)


In the early 2010’s, SEGA began executing plans to revive Sonic for a new generation. Under the new name “Sonic Boom”, the Blue Blur was going to get a brand new TV series alongside a few new games. The most ambitious of these was “Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric”, and developer Big Red Button was even touted by SEGA as the studio was run by Bob Rafei, the art director for “Crash Bandicoot” in the 90’s, the “Jak & Daxter” series, and “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune”. Alas, good art direction does not equate to good game direction. “Rise of Lyric” was a monumental disaster for SEGA and Big Red Button as the game was completely broken at launch. In one fell swoop and an infinite jump glitch, the “Sonic Boom” name had been completely tarnished.

“The Day Before” (2023)


“The Day Before” will forever go down in history as one of the biggest scams in gaming history. First revealed in 2021, the hype surrounding this game reeked of shady behavior. Still, developer Fntastic persisted with trailers that may or may not have copied “Cyberpunk 2077”, IGN exclusive news regarding the delays, and assets made by staff who claimed they had gone unpaid and were overworked constantly. The game they churned out was in utter shambles with so many bugs and glitches that “The Day Before” had become the laughingstock of the internet. Four days after launch, Fntastic pulled the game from sale and stated they would be shutting down as their operating costs exceeded the little money “The Day Before” generated. And to think they’re coming back as “Fntastic 2.0” and expect folks are going to buy their next game!

“Drake of the 99 Dragons” (2003)


It wasn’t long after “Daikatana’s” launch that the gaming industry saw another embarrassing failure. There was so much ambition behind “Drake of the 99 Dragons” that developer Idol FX made plans for comic books and an animated series before the game was even out! In other words, another case of putting your eggs in one basket just as SEGA did with “Sonic Boom”. But the whiff of failure was mistaken as the whiff of success. “Drake of the 99 Dragons” was universally hated by critics and players for its awful controls, frustrating gunplay, and downright terrible story and voice acting. One reviewer even noticed the game reused stock sound effects that were used for AOL Instant Messenger! The multimedia plans were swiftly scrapped. Idol FX, on the other hand, has not put out another game since 2004.

“Anthem” (2019)


Having suffered a humiliating release with “Mass Effect: Andromeda”, BioWare quickly began repeating similar mistakes with “Anthem” albeit in a more self-sabotaging way. While the company talked up “Anthem’s” story and the characters and the world and how players will want to keep coming back to “Anthem”, BioWare was in shambles behind closed doors as plans kept changing with management. The game didn’t have a concrete course until eighteen months before launch with staff being told not to worry about the game’s release because that “BioWare magic” will supposedly pull them through. “Anthem” was a boring experience no matter which class you played, and the litany of technical problems caused frustrations for many gamers.

“Concord” (2024)


Had Sony not wasted so much money, maybe “Concord” would not be anywhere on this list. But after recent info dumps, oh, this is so much worse. “Concord” was already fighting a losing battle with the public as its character designs and gameplay failed to invoke enough interest to form an audience. Because of the abysmal sales, Sony pulled “Concord” from store shelves and PlayStation Store less than two weeks after launch. Servers were shut down two days later. According to sources who had worked on the game, “Concord” had cost four hundred million dollars to develop, half of that money coming from Sony after the game finally reached alpha in 2023. On top of that, developer Firewalk Studios had fostered a workplace of “toxic positivity” where staff were not allowed to say anything negative about the game. The reason? Sony was championing “Concord” internally as “the future of PlayStation” with the same amount of potential as “Star Wars”. At the time of this video, Firewalk is currently awaiting word from Sony regarding their future.

Did you play any of these massive flops? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!
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