Top 10 Video Game Series That Went DOWNHILL

The Xbox and “Halo” began a beautiful, highly beneficial relationship between Microsoft and developer Bungie. That lasted through 2010’s “Halo: Reach,” after which Bungie moved on to other projects. But before that release, a new studio was founded to take over the reins: 343 Industries. 2012’s “Halo 4” was a strong entry, even if it didn’t quite measure up to the others. But things took a dip soon after. “The Master Chief Collection” had an incredibly troubled launch marred by bugs and matchmaking issues. 2015’s “Halo 5: Guardians” is seen by fans as the low point of the mainline series, especially due its lackluster campaign. The long-awaited “Infinite” earned back some goodwill, but the franchise’s peak seems to have long passed.

Despite BioWare’s established reputation as an RPG developer, 2007’s “Mass Effect” still blew everyone away. The emphasis on player choice was monumental, and intrinsic throughout the original trilogy. Rather we should say it was intrinsic throughout most of it. “Mass Effect 3’s'' simplistic ending angered a lot of passionate players. Some even organized the ‘Retake Mass Effect’ campaign and drew the attention of government bodies over product misrepresentation. 2017’s “Andromeda,” which was handled by a new team during a fraught development period, didn’t do anything to smooth things over. The biggest impression it made on the public’s radar consisted of bugs and laughable facial animations. BioWare is currently working on a new game, which we hope returns the series to glory.

Though it doesn’t look like much today, 1993’s “Star Fox” was an important step for 3D gaming. The next entry, “Star Fox 64,” was even more impressive with smooth-as-silk gameplay and the introduction of Rumble in home consoles. Sadly, the franchise left its innovative days behind long ago. 2002’s “Adventures” was seen by most as a watered-down “Zelda” clone. “Assault” and “Command” put Fox back in the cockpit, yet still didn’t leave much of a mark. A decade without a new game was followed by 2016’s “Star Fox: Zero,” whose controls were too awkward to thoroughly enjoy. It was nice to see the canceled “Star Fox 2” get released in 2017, but it certainly wasn’t the new installment fans wanted.

For a few years, we all subscribed to the fad of playing real rock songs with fake instruments, and it was glorious. But there’s a good reason it only lasted a short period. Harmonix developed the first two “Guitar Hero” entries for the PS2. When Activision acquired publisher RedOctane, as well as the series, it oversaturated the rhythm market with a mountain of releases. In 2009 alone, we got entries specific to Van Halen and Metallica, spin-offs “Band Hero” and “DJ Hero,” as well as the mainline “Guitar Hero 5.” It didn’t help that Harmonix was also milking the “Rock Band” series around the same time. By the time 2015’s “Guitar Hero Live” was released, not many players cared, resulting in poor sales and reception.

“Battlefield” may still be one of the biggest FPS franchises around, but we can’t deny an obvious decline in quality over the past few entries. Beginning with the original, “Battlefield 1942,” the series set itself apart from other warfare FPSs through its large-scale maps and greater focus on teamwork. Since then, it’s cultivated a robust online community, though it seems that community grows weary with every new release. Both “Battlefield 4” and “Hardline” still had fun multiplayer, though their campaigns left a lot to be desired. Following the bright spot of “Battlefield 1,” 2018’s “Battlefield V” was bland and lacked originality. However, “2042” was the last straw for many as it came with a ton of bugs and not nearly enough worthwhile features.

What began as an obscure platformer series found new life when Ubisoft revitalized “Prince of Persia” with 2003’s “The Sands of Time.” Strangely, after a couple of well-received sequels, Ubisoft rebooted with the self-titled 2008 release. The cel-shaded style and true ending locked behind DLC rubbed some the wrong way. And Ubisoft would go back to the former continuity with 2010’s “The Forgotten Sands.” Neither this entry nor the 2008 reboot measured up to its predecessors. The success of “Assassin’s Creed,” similar in both gameplay and tone, prompted Ubisoft to leave the Prince behind. Since then, we’ve only gotten two endless runner spin-offs for mobile. A “Sands of Time” remake was announced in 2020, but was delayed indefinitely following backlash to the trailer’s visuals.

It seems “Battlefield” isn’t the only military FPS that EA doesn’t know what to do with. There was a time when “Medal of Honor” stood as tall as “Call of Duty,” with harrowing stories and pristine gameplay. For an impressive 12 installments, it put players in the middle of World War II. However, when “Call of Duty” moved into the era of modern warfare, “Medal of Honor” attempted to do the same. The 2010 reboot followed the war in Afghanistan and, while financially successful, wasn’t nearly as impactful as CoD’s jump to the present. Its sequel, 2012’s “Warfighter,” dropped further in caliber due to poor visuals, AI, and technical performance. The series has since stayed quiet, except for 2020’s VR title, “Above and Beyond.”

There will always be a soft spot in our hearts for the “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series. Even after “Pro Skater” was dropped from the name, “Underground” and “American Wasteland” were still solid entries. Unfortunately, the series began to dip in quality during the late 2000s due to a lack of innovation. The peripheral-based “Ride” and its sequel, while unique, were awkward and clunky to play. Activision attempted to bring back the “Pro Skater” brand with a fifth release in 2015. But as it was a slapdash mess made only to retain the license, it was criticized accordingly. It was nice to get a remastered bundle of the first two games in 2020, but the series is definitely past its prime.

Despite Peter Molyneux’s unfulfilled promises, the “Fable” series managed to find itself an audience. By the time “Fable III” was released in 2010, the series was at its peak, though things started going South soon after. The cutesy and shallow “Fable Heroes” and the Kinect exclusive, “Fable: The Journey,” offered a double dose of mediocrity in 2012. The multiplayer-centric “Fable Legends” was in development, but it was canceled in 2016, after which developer Lionhead Studios closed. The only game to release since was “Fable Fortune,” a free-to-play digital card game. Microsoft has since admitted that forcing Lionhead to develop for Kinect was a bad call. Hopefully, it’s much nicer to Playground Games, which is currently developing a new installment.

Although it hasn’t had a mainline game in a decade, “Silent Hill” still commands a lot of respect from Horror fans. The franchise’s quality dropped slightly once the entries stopped being numbered, though it certainly went out on a sour note. 2012 saw the releases of “Book of Memories,” a forgettable dungeon-crawler spin-off, and “Downpour,” which suffered from poor combat and dull creature design. In 2014, a playable teaser for a new game from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro scared the collective pants off everyone. But as we know, Kojima’s falling out with Konami would ensure its tragic cancellation. New entries and a remake of “Silent Hill 2” are currently in development. But until then, the outcome of “Silent Hill” remains a major disappointment.