• last year
These games were received poorly enough that getting recalled or delisted probably didn't upset too many players. For this list, we’ll be looking at universally disliked games that were either recalled or delisted from digital stores, regardless of the reason for doing so.
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 bad games that
00:10 were recalled or delisted.
00:22 For this list, we'll be looking at universally disliked games that were either recalled or
00:27 delisted from digital stores, regardless of the reason for doing so.
00:32 We aren't including Atari's infamous E.T. game, as burying unsold copies in a landfill
00:38 isn't exactly a recall.
00:40 We also aren't including games like Cyberpunk 2077, which has made a strong comeback following
00:46 being delisted from the PlayStation Store.
00:49 Did you play any of these bad games before it was too late?
00:54 Share your thoughts in the comments!
01:04 Number 10.
01:05 Babylon's Fall
01:15 Developer Platinum Games is one of the biggest names in the action genre, but that doesn't
01:21 make the studio infallible, and Babylon's Fall stands as the biggest example.
01:27 Despite being an action RPG, Platinum's bread and butter, the Square Enix-published
01:32 release didn't have much going for it.
01:34 Combat was dull, progression was confusing, and basically no one wanted any of the live
01:39 service elements.
01:49 At launch, it sold very poorly and only reached about 1,200 players on Steam.
01:56 Things didn't look up as time went on, and the decision was made to delist the game from
02:00 digital stores only six months after release.
02:04 Servers also shut down in February of 2023, making all physical copies useless.
02:17 Number 9.
02:18 Two Human
02:26 Silicon Knights released some solid games in its time, but Two Human certainly wasn't
02:32 one of them.
02:33 The blend of sci-fi and Norse myth could have been interesting, though most felt the controls,
02:38 graphics, and long load times didn't do it justice.
02:42 However, a lawsuit is what led to its recall.
02:45 The developers sued Epic Games in 2007 over breach of contract and lack of support concerning
02:51 Epic's Unreal Engine 3, which was used for Two Human.
03:03 Epic countersued for copyright infringement, winning in 2012.
03:07 That meant every unsold copy of Two Human was recalled and destroyed, as was the case
03:13 for the studio's other game, X-Men Destiny.
03:16 Silicon Knights then had to cancel several games using the engine before filing for bankruptcy
03:21 in 2014.
03:28 Number 8.
03:30 The Culling 2
03:39 The early days of the battle royale trend saw many studios try to get in on the action.
03:45 After an early access period, Xavient's The Culling released in late 2017 and did
03:51 fairly well despite the crowded market.
03:53 However, the studio released a sequel less than a year later.
03:57 Competition was even more stiff, and Xavient was criticized for clearly modeling the follow-up
04:03 after PUBG.
04:14 Players also felt it was unfinished and rushed in order to capitalize on the fad.
04:19 It lasted a mere eight days before Xavient delisted it, shut down servers, and refunded
04:26 all purchases.
04:27 It then went back to the first game, making it free to play, but by then it was too late.
04:33 And servers for that game were shut down in 2020.
04:41 Number 7.
04:42 Cactu Shoujin Back Alley Brutal
04:50 Cactu Shoujin began as a tech demo to show off the original Xbox power.
04:55 Unfortunately, it didn't stay that way.
04:58 Although it did have strong graphics for the time, that didn't make it any fun to play.
05:03 Its simplistic gameplay and story didn't leave much of an impression, especially when
05:07 there were so many other great fighting games to choose from.
05:17 It was recalled in early 2003 due to the theme song of the main character, Assad, featuring
05:23 verses of the Quran.
05:25 Not only was that religiously offensive, but Microsoft had actually consulted with an Arabic-speaking
05:31 employee who spoke out against its release.
05:35 Yet it was released all the same.
05:37 Amidst protests from the Saudi Arabian government, Microsoft recalled all unsold copies around
05:44 the globe.
05:49 Number 6.
05:50 Overkill's The Walking Dead
05:56 While the majority of content within The Walking Dead does well, the same can't be said of
06:01 Overkill's brief foray into the franchise.
06:05 The FPS tried to focus on cooperative multiplayer, but was panned almost immediately upon release
06:11 for numerous reasons.
06:13 These ranged from bland, repetitive gameplay to technical issues to unbalanced difficulty.
06:24 Due to its reception, creator Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment ended its contract
06:29 with publisher Starbreeze.
06:31 It was only ever released on PC and was removed from Steam in early 2019, just a few months
06:38 after launch.
06:40 Console versions had been planned and were even shipped to retailers.
06:44 But with this decision, they were cancelled and recalled.
06:54 Number 5.
06:57 Fantasia
07:00 Sega's Fantasia adaptation may look and sound great, but that's really all it has
07:08 going for it.
07:09 It was made by a small development team that wasn't as comfortable making console games.
07:14 Not only that, but it was rushed in order to release during the holiday season.
07:19 Unsurprisingly, it was roasted by critics for repetitive mechanics, poor controls, and
07:24 frustrating level design.
07:32 Among the other people who hated it was Roy E. Disney, Walt's own nephew, who had promised
07:37 his uncle that no adaptations of the groundbreaking 1940 film would be made.
07:43 Turns out, the license was given to Sega by mistake.
07:47 And so, Disney halted all sales and recalled the somewhat 5,000 unsold copies to be destroyed.
08:03 Number 4.
08:04 Ash's Cricket 2013
08:13 We've seen plenty of horrible sports caching games throughout the years, but Ash's Cricket
08:19 2013 is on another level.
08:22 Developed by Trickster Games and published by 505 Games, it received a brief launch on
08:27 Steam in November of 2013.
08:34 It was a genuine broken mess, with every player experiencing a myriad of bugs.
08:41 This led to it being removed from the site in just four days and refunds issued to all
08:46 players.
08:47 Additionally, the planned releases for the seventh generation of consoles were cancelled
08:51 in response to the mountain of negative reception.
08:55 505 even put out a public statement apologizing for disappointing fans.
09:06 Number 3.
09:07 Afro Samurai 2 - Revenge of Kuma
09:17 The Afro Samurai manga branched out in several directions, including an anime series and
09:22 a couple of video games.
09:24 While the original game adaptation got mixed reviews, its episodic sequel didn't even
09:29 get to finish telling its story.
09:31 Revenge of Kuma was lambasted by everyone who played it for pretty much every reason
09:36 you can think of.
09:43 Gameplay was nothing original and far worse than what came before it.
09:47 Bugs were frequent and unignorable, audio levels were all over the place, and its plot
09:52 was completely forgettable.
09:54 The reception led to the second and third volumes being cancelled and the game being
09:59 removed from digital stores two months after release.
10:03 Those who purchased it were given refunds, and the IP has stayed quiet ever since.
10:12 Number 2.
10:14 Fast & Furious Crossroads
10:19 If as over the top as the movie series is, a Fast & Furious game featuring some of the
10:25 original cast may have seemed like a great idea on paper.
10:30 What fan wouldn't want to race through such bombastic set pieces?
10:34 But Crossroads failed to drum up much excitement when it was announced, which was a sign of
10:40 things to come.
10:50 It was a completely shallow experience in every way, from its racing gameplay to its
10:55 story to the cast's voice acting.
10:58 While reviews were poor, the game wasn't removed from digital stores until April of
11:03 2022.
11:04 Bandai Namco didn't give a reasoning behind the removal, but that doesn't usually happen
11:10 to games people like.
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11:35 Number 1.
11:36 Limbo of the Lost The creators of this PC adventure game ripped
11:47 off several other games, and yet the final product was still an abysmal mess.
11:53 Limbo of the Lost follows real-life sea captain Benjamin Briggs as he navigates Limbo.
11:59 Its visuals are extremely poor, as is its voice acting, and it's incredibly boring
12:05 from both a gameplay and story perspective.
12:13 What led to its death a month after its US release was the fact that it copied assets
12:18 and locations from other games, including The Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion, and World
12:24 of Warcraft.
12:25 Developer Majestic Studios blamed external sources for the copyright infringement.
12:31 Regardless, Limbo of the Lost was removed from all storefronts and is better off staying
12:37 forgotten.
12:51 --
12:57 (upbeat music)
12:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]