15 Video Game Series THAT WENT FROM GOOD TO AWFUL

It can be challenging to build a franchise - to launch a critically acclaimed forerunner and follow it up with hit after hit.
While there are others with excellent track records, from Ninja Gaiden and Mass Effect to Dead Rising and Silent Hill, they inevitably stumble into the abyss. Call it development troubles, not understanding what made the franchise such a success, reinvention gone wrong, lack of resources - the list goes on.
Either way, these franchises go from good to terrible seemingly overnight with no explanation. Let's look at 15 such examples, their current states in today's world and, in some cases, if there's any hope of a comeback.

[@StaredownGames]

0:28 - Saints Row 2:02 - Mass Effect 3:02 - Alone In The Dark 4:17 - Crackdown 5:22 - Starfox 6:36 - Metal Gear Solid 7:50 - Turok 9:04 - Madden 10:02 - Fable 11:16 - Silent Hill 12:24 - Mega Man X 13:29 - Duke Nukem 14:29 - Dino Crisis 15:13 - Dead Rising 16:24 - Ninja Gaiden

[@annonjames2433]

Thank you

[@jamesdayton2598]

Thank you

[@solimandar22]

Thank you

[@zenox3622]

Thanks

[@BaxterAndLunala]

It's criminal that Halo, Battlefield, and Call of Duty never made the list.

[@therealjaystone2344]

That has to be another video for another day

[@jasonsmith530]

At 16:30 it’s true, team ninja isn’t what it used to be, but rise of the Ronin is very underrated

[@maxkliegl1951]

And the Nioh games are awesome! And never talk about Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. That game was a broken mess.

[@M247]

Didn't team ninja lose some of the assets for ninja Gaiden and that's why the had to do the remake the way they did? No excuse for a half assed remake though, I was looking forward to purchasing the remake day 1 till I saw the reviews

[@jasonsmith530]

@@M247 I wonder if ninja gaiden has a future, or if part three killed it

[@M247]

@@jasonsmith530 I hope they take another crack at it especially since there won't be another Nioh, I feel they have what they need to make a new linear NG, my only concern is the visuals, I know the gameplay will be flawless

[@seagrey75]

Reject the cult and vote with your wallet!

[@jizzya4332]

i would rather play Duke Nukem Forever, than one of the "realistic" modern shooters that came out that year

[@Kleed44]

Awesome idea for the list and great picks!! Thanks for an amazing video as always and your hard work!!

[@BABA-is8kv]

I think Halo killed the whole Xbox Console Line starting with the Xbox One.

[@jasonsmith530]

The 360 era was a long time ago, Shame if Xbox can’t get back on its feet

[@stephenscales353]

Halo Infinite was so ass it changed gaming history by pushing Microsoft into buying Blizzard. One Halo had gone tits up MS was left with Forza as its only significant exclusive.

[@KenDAKL4ever]

Glad you gave Madden some love on this list

[@DashCourageous]

I will never understand the disdain for Ninja gaiden series. I like those games. I see no issues.

[@kaikiske7436]

These people don’t play action games at all master level, thus they don’t understand the series’ greatness. Vanilla NG2 on 360 is the best action game ever made. NG3 was a letdown, but Razors Edge redeemed it somewhat. Sites like GB will tell you that NG3 RE is “Awful”, but fawn over something like Ninja Theory’s DmC DMC is not awful, but does not live up to DMC

[@gjergjaurelius9798]

Yeah I really love razors edge. I mean there's lack of adventuring but that's fine. Straight to the action.​@@kaikiske7436

[@PikaLink91]

3:48 tf are you talking about? The New Nightmare has an atmosphere the original WISHES it had. It was the game that hooked me on survival horror.

[@darkblu117zcrookedneck8]

Can you do top enemies or friends that are Angels & Demons.

[@starsatellite2413]

For the record the Sega franchise Sonic the Hedgehog that was a good series had bad games and some of the worst games which caused the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise to sink low and hit rock bottom that made the Sonic the Hedgehog series awful.

[@flexivefowl8186]

How can you leave out Sonic.

[@grindsmore]

How can you talk about the downfall of Ninja Gaiden and omit Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z?

[@clementine2001]

Opinions, they are crazy sons of bitches.

[@therealjaystone2344]

The consumers lost interest when the game is just the same old thing. The mainline and spin off series (DOA) is officially dead.

[@Mintcar923]

Mass Effect A while i haven’t finish it seems just fine aside from feeling like a side story.. Also played the Alone in the Dark demo & I really liked it.. Granted i never played the others.. Just started on SH remaster collection ironically

[@Maelsethe420]

for the millionth time can you PLEASE make chapters in your video's ?!

[@StaredownGames]

Timestamps cut down total watch hours. That's why people don't do it. You leaving that comment actually helps them more than them making chapters. To be successful on KZbin, you must be a slave to your analytics page. Lame.

[@Maelsethe420]

yeah it truely is lame , as a viewer this helps alot tho@@StaredownGames

[@bv_1293]

Not putting Pokémon on here seems criminal

[@adhdasdfroflxd123]

for how clickbaity the title is the takes weren't that hot about ninja gaiden, i'm impressed

[@sawsanalzahmi9728]

Uncharted 4, last of us 2, horizon fw, resident evil 3 remake, ff16 and literally all Ubisoft games

[@nrobles9846]

I love that Saints Row 4 had the They Live reference

[@KeiBrightwing]

I enjoyed Fable III immensely.

[@DaneofHalves]

I don't think anyone really counts Metal Gear Survive as a thing that exists. It does. But not really.

[@_ElisDTrailz]

Andromeda is not a terrible game. Its not a great Mass Effect game, but it certainly isn't "awful". It's fine. It also has the best combat in the series and it isn't even close.

[@damienscanlon5585]

Honestly, Fable was never that good of a series to begin with. So much of people’s expectations for those games were so based off Peter Molyneux’s lies that each game was a let down in their own way.

[@joesunday199]

He doesn't even mention Yaiba from Ninja Gaiden! 😆 For good reason I bet!

[@richardruiz4463]

Souls games are whack yo

[@monoturiim1992]

When ur faster then light u only get to live in the darkness

[@Dan-rj8ex]

*than*

[@juzadellenuvole7323]

the Silent hill movie is a masterpiece so is silent hill shattered memories

[@FearFrontierOFFICIAL]

The new Alone In The Dark is actually pretty good.

[@MaddelynKayKay]

Madden started in 1998? Did I miss something?

[@blackmass4137]

I’m surprised perfect dark didn’t make the list !

[@KellyKMc]

Andromeda was still a great game. It just wasn’t a very good Mass Effect game.

[@adhdasdfroflxd123]

i think the gunplay/movement was the best aaaand honestly wouldn't have minded if it focused more in exploration and action over rpg

[@michaelboys2602]

Turac? 😂😂😂😂😂😂. Gaming bolt editing. Best in the world 😂😂😂

[@joeldfisher]

Assassin's Creed, Sonic the Hedgehog...

[@Kudos2_Me]

I was curious if Last of Us series would’ve been on here, since LoU2 got high critic scores and low general audience scores. (And yes Playstation considers Last of Us a game “series” on their website)

[@sakuragi1062]

The last of us is not even a series yet its only 2 games most series atlist has a trilogy in it Uncharted is a series because it has more than 2 games

[@Kudos2_Me]

@@sakuragi1062 Playstation calls it “The Last of Us series” on their website though.

[@Kudos2_Me]

@@sakuragi1062 On Playstation’s website it is called “The Last of Us series” though.

[@TheDuxun1977]

terrible writing also ruins a franchise

[@grindsmore]

Case in point: this top 15 list!

[@lefata]

For metal gear survive, everyone had low expectations and they were still disappointed.

[@therealjaystone2344]

I mean, it wasn’t the same when kojima left

[@kylereno5383]

The first Silent Hill movie is FAR from being bad.

[@joesunday199]

I wouldn't call Crackdown 3 "awful". I'd say it was good. Not great. Just good.

[@DeadPhoenix86DP]

Crackdown 3 was a huge letdown for me.

[@tootingkaboomsgaming]

It was awful

[@AtomicEy]

would enjoy another 3rd person mega man like MegaMan legends

[@DrVenture45]

Outside of EA being so feverishly GREEDY, I always hated how overly “technical” Madden became. How drawn out does the game need to be?! It’s football! Add EA’s monopoly of the NFL market and I dropped them entirely.

[@shifterzx]

Remember you guys gave that awful Saints Row Reboot an 8/10

[@kerjectroter3761]

Honourable mentions, Far Cry series. I didn't play the first Far Cry, Far cry 2 and Far cry 6 are okay, Fry cry Pirmal and Far Cry 5 boring, Far 4 is great but the most legendary is Far Cry 3.

[@Music45898]

Hi

[@odeee_1]

Literally any game franchise w alot of games

[@trankia1224]

God of War, Resident Evil, Armored Core, GTA, Mario, Zelda. All long franchises still going strong!

[@dotslashdotslahsdotslash]

@@trankia1224 And Final Fantasy!

[@kayneysmg1593]

@@trankia1224so I guess nobody complained bout any of those games huh??

[@LeProphic]

@@kayneysmg1593 It's not about nobody complaining about them, it's about maintaining the consistency throughout the series over time, and all those franchises and their new installments continue to be critically acclaimed, win awards, and sell well.

[@trankia1224]

@@kayneysmg1593 Sure you could find complaints about any game if you looked hard enough. But this isn't a list of games people have some complaints about. It's a list of game series that were good, but went bad in their latest entries.

[@AncestorEmpireGaming]

Halo 4: good Halo 5: shit Halo infinite: why creative minds should NEVER listen to focus groups!

[@richardruiz4463]

Probably cause you died alot yo, meaning you suck yo

[@Mixedbeats18]

They went to mid imo but Sly Cooper and Infamous?

[@trankia1224]

Infamous second son is arguably the best of the series.2nd is my personal favorite but ISS is still a very good game.

[@blackcrow9231]

⁠imo second was the worst game. Delsin felt very unlikable and the game was rushed as it was a ps4 launch title which was obvious with how incomplete the concrete power was. It had innovative ideas but overall felt boring.

[@KadeemG61]

Call Of Duty should’ve been on there because every time Activision puts out a new COD game every year, fans just don’t care anymore because they were mid. Not bad, but mid.

[@stephenscales353]

Wheres Payday 3 on here?

[@DevinPosey20]

NBA 2K

[@miggyalejandro]

Halo

[@brandanwilliams1973]

For dissrespecting ninja gaiden im unsubscribing

[@utisti4976]

im subscribing anything by team ninja is meh

[@Nola504Boi]

Yes. Ninja Gaiden 3 wasn't a bad game. It had its flaws and wasn't as great as the first two games. But it was still a good action game. No where near terrible and Razor's Edge improved some things.

[@davidmurphy9049]

Socom.. when 4 hit.. it barely resembled what made it great.. it looked more like a 3rd person COD. Maps were uninspiring and gameplay bleh.

[@AL-hi3ct]

Battlefield.

[@GhostGamer799]

There is dead space 3

[@dennisdavidov782]

Diablo might have a place here too though some people like 3 and 4.

[@miketaylor3578]

God of War 3 was the last good one.

[@chrisgill6306]

I agree wholeheartedly. I've got 100% completion on GoW 2018 and Ragnarok, and neither holds up to the original games. Even Ascension was far better imo. Everything GoW related since 2018 has just been kinda "meh" the only GoW I don't count from the original games is God of War: Betrayal, but we don't talk about Betrayal.

[@captainDL3]

You can hear the AI voice track for this channel’s videos glitch out with weird cadences. Wtf.

[@ryanpierce5460]

Haha you missed call of duty 😂

[@ps4gamingworld447]

First

[@RedDev1l757]

God of war should be on this list. Last two just haven't been God of war at all. Swap him out for any other characters and you'd have the same game. Another series ruined to get me casuals

[@RvkKJ]

CALL OF DUTY & BATTLEFIELD might be selling numbers but both of them are good for nothing shit games now

[@doublecommenter5161]

Devil May Cry survived as a series and recently Resident Evil as far as consistency and quality.

[@utisti4976]

Call of Duty Halo Fallout Elder Scrolls Warcraft Mass Effect Dragon Age :(

[@elekktrik_0339]

Definitely Gears of war. Great trilogy- now just pure garbage

[@joesunday199]

Gears 4 and 5 aren't that bad.

[@misterhoobomaster]

Unfair to say imo. Yeah the OG trilogy is far superior but 4 and 5 are not."bad".

[@richardruiz4463]

Gears tactics is absolute worst in the franchise yo

[@misterhoobomaster]

@@richardruiz4463 I would argue Gears Judgement is even worse lol

[@joesunday199]

@@richardruiz4463 How? It was very fun.

[@ThePhysicalReaction]

sweet baby inc had a hand in making the steaming pile of woke trash that is Saints Row 2022

[@shannonbayley3684]

Any developers that hire or are forced to hire DEI groups like Sweet Baby etc are doomed to FAILURE. Did anyone believe Rocksteady (with their genre defining Arkham series) would deliver a pile of hot crap.. Welp that's what happens. Same with Volition and their garbage Saints Row reboot. As well as numerous others too.

[@johnyoung8745]

DEI isn’t why Rocksteady produced crap like Suicide Squad, corporate greed and crowd chasing is. You sound like an uninformed troll

[@PeanutButterShack]

​@@johnyoung8745nah it was sweet baby inc

[@kaikiske7436]

Man, you guys have some of the WORST takes ever. 😂 You guys fawned all over Saints Row reboot in previews. 😂 Ninja Gaiden 2 (360) is the peak, and the BEST action game ever. NG3 was ok, but Razors Edge was a fine game on its own. Far from AWFUL (or is your title just click bait?) Most of the latest games in franchises listed here are far from “Awful” 😂

[@MarquisDeSang]

Halo is the worst, every new entry is slowly going down. The latest Feminist edition is the worst.

[@kizaruthegreat]

Reach was the last real good one imo

[@grim_tobe]

343 did halo wrong

[@grim_tobe]

​@@kizaruthegreatReach was the last Bungie made before 343 taken over.

[@MarquisDeSang]

@@grim_tobe The best games all came from Apple developers : Halo, Myst and the first WASD + mouse controls came from the mac game Dark Castle.

[@richardruiz4463]

You suck yo

[@hevysmokerX]

Crackdown always sucked.

[@richardruiz4463]

In the list you forgot; Dirt 2, GTA San Andreas, Baldur's gate 1-2-& 3, elden ring, destiny 2, Scarlett Nexus, Destiny, little planet, Halo wars, wasteland, cult of the lamb and gears tactics yo

[@peterthompson5785]

How did elden ring and baulders gate become awful?

[@trankia1224]

You've got 2 goty on here and an indy without any sequels yet.

[@FuckShit589]

Watch Dogs

[@johnny2.011]

I agree Watch dogs is dead now

[@aladdindouhan3172]

Hi