1. Lair
The first game to feature in this list is 2007 PlayStation 3 exclusive Lair. The game was developed by Factor 5 and was published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Lair was built as a flight action video game with a lot of air based battles.
Due to Factor 5’s reputation of developing great games, the audience had a lot of expectation from Lair. To add to that, the trailer of the game was amazing and it garnered a lot of attention. The graphics, artwork and sound of the game seemed perfect.
However, upon its release, Lair was unable to live up to the expectations. The game was heavily criticized for its control and received a Metacritic score of only 53 out of 100. The game failed both commercially and critically and GameTrailers placed it on the seventh position in the “Top 10 Disappointments of the Decade” list.
2. Prototype 2
Prototype 2 wasn’t a bad game by any means, both critics and gamers enjoyed it. However, it looked nothing like the reveal trailer showed it. The game went through a noticeable visual downgrade in its final build and that defnitely left many gamers dejected.
It also didn’t seem to feature a of the things that the trailer promised, but in all fairness, it wasn’t haf as bad as most other games featured in the list. The developers should have still stayed true to what they were planning to deliver and should not have launched an overly misleading reveal trailer.
3. Brink
The next game to feature in the list is Brink. The game, developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda Softworks was released in 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms. The game was actually scheduled to release in 2009, but had to be pushed twice till 2011.
The main storyline of Brink is based on the fight between the two factions, Security and Resistance, which takes place in the previously utopian city named The Ark. The trailer of the game looked promising and received a lot of attention due to the nice concept and graphical representation.
Brink, however failed to deliver what it had shown as it felt like an uncompleted game. Several critics panned negative reviews on the game citing that the game was unpolished and unfinished. They also mentioned that the game needed at least two to three updates more to be a complete package. Brink was awarded just two rating points out of five by Giantbomb and Joystiq.
4. The Order: 1886
The Order: 1886 is one of the most recent games to make its way into this list. The game which was released in 2015 was developed by Ready at Dawn and SCE Santa Monica Studio and was published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The third person shooter game which is based on alternate history was released exclusively for PlayStation 4.
The Order: 1886 was one of the most highly anticipated PlayStation 4 titles of 2015. A perfect trailer, nice graphical and technical representation were the main reasons of the great buildup for the game.
The audience and the critics, however were left disappointed after the release of the game. The game didn’t deliver according to the expectations at all. The Order: 1886 was criticized for its poor story, short length, bad gameplay and very less involvement of the player in it. The Order: 1886 was regarded as one of the most disappointing PlayStation 4 titles of 2015.
5. Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs is the next game to feature in this list. Watch Dogs was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. The open world action action adventure game with third person shooter and stealth mechanics was released in 2014. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Watch Dogs was announced in mid 2012 and since then the game was widely anticipated. The game had a great launch trailer which kept people interested in the game but things didn’t turn up to be good once it was released. The game had a lot of technical issues and was also criticized for its gameplay and plot. Although, the game was a commercial success, it was a critical failure.
6. Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marines is one of the most controversial games ever. The game which is set in an Alien universe was developed by Gearbox Software and published by Sega. It was released in 2013. Prior to this Sega published another Alien title named Alien Infestation in 2011, which received positive reviews.
Alien: Colonial Marines was a greatly anticipated game as its trailer, advertisements and demos were convincing. Things, however changed drastically after its release as the game had a lot of bugs, had poor AI, bad graphics, poor gameplay and storyline. Both the multiplayer cooperative mode and the single player mode were severely criticized.
Two persons named Roger Damion Perrine and John Locke even filed a lawsuit against Gearbox and Sega citing that they falsely promoted the game. According to the suitors, Aliens: Colonial Marines didn’t actually represent the advertised product. Sega, did finally settle the lawsuit by agreeing to pay 1.25 million dollars.
7. Homefront: The Revolution
Homefront: Revolution has just hit the stands but it’s already getting all kinds of negative reviews and reactions from the audience. The game, which is being made using Crytek’s CRYengine, had an amazing reveal trailer that also featured some gameplay.
The visuals looked really great but things changed drastically when videos from the final build made its way into Youtube last week. It didn’t look even half as good as the original and had a lot of performance issues, with framerate drops being a constant affair. The reviews too, have been overwhelmingly negative and the game has turned out to be an absolute disaster.
8. Assassin’s Creed: Unity
Assassin’s Creed: Unity is the second Ubisoft game featured in this list. The game developed by Ubisoft Montreal was released in 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Being the successor of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Assassin’s Creed: Unity is the eight installment of the highly rated Assassin’s Creed series.
The game was one of the most anticipated titles of 2014 and had a great trailer. The game, however failed to live up to the expectation of the audience as it had various issues. Assassin’s Creed: Unity received mixed reactions from the critics and scored just 70 on Metacritic, which is very low by Assassin’s Creed‘s standards. The game was also criticized for having a weak story, unrefined stealth mechanics and lacking a strong lead character.
9. Dead Island
The next entry to this list is Dead Island. The game, released in 2011 was developed by Techland and published by Deep Silver. The horror action-RPG was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Linux, Os X and Xbox 360.
Dead Island had a great trailer which was emotional and extra stylish. This made the audience expect a lot from the game. However, the game failed to live up to its expectation and anticipation upon its release.
The game was criticized for having a various glitches, issues in texture loading and lot of bugs. The PC version of the game was regarded to be good while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were not up to the mark.
10. Call of Duty: Ghosts
Call of Duty: Ghosts is often regarded as the worst Call of Duty game ever. The game was released in 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The tenth installment of the very popular Call of Duty series was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision.
The game had a lot of anticipation and expectation, as every other Call of Duty game has prior to its release. The trailer of the game was great, which led to further involvement of the audience.
Call of Duty: Ghosts, however somewhat failed to live up to the expectations. The game was showered with mixed reviews with online multiplayer being termed OK while the single person mode was criticized heavily. Critics panned the single player campaign for not being innovative, having a poor and exhaustive storyline.