Video games are great distractions from what’s going on in the world. But some titles aren’t worth picking up. In fact, some shouldn’t have ever made it to retail given the ramifications they brought upon the very market that demanded them.
Now to be clear, this list doesn’t concern just those video games that were terrible in design. There are plenty of lists out there for them. It also concerns those titles with questionable circumstances — whether odd, controversial or just plain dumb — that proved too detrimental to the developers and publishers responsible for them.
However, despite all the conundrums these games have brought with them, it's already too late to recall some of them. Here is a list of video games that made their own companies regret they were ever made.
‘The Guy Game’ (Underaged model)
Art can imitate life but not without consequences. Take “The Guy Game” from developer Topheavy Studios and publisher Gathering of Developers for example. The hook with this live-action trivia game was to have the players answer questions until they were rewarded with sexy models flashing their extremities. Unfortunately, this also led to a lawsuit concerning an underaged model who wasn’t let in of the loop and the halting of distributing soon followed afterwards.
‘Abstractism’ (Cryptojacking scam)
Cryptojacking came to light with a game called “Abstractism.” Launched on the Steam marketplace in 2018 by developer Okalo Union and publisher dead.team, the game appeared as a 2D platformer on the surface. However, hidden deep within was malware that utilized players’ PCs for crypto mining right under their noses. This landed the companies in legal trouble and placed Steam under scrutiny for its open market design.
‘Rapelay’ (It’s in the name)
Eroge games can be easy targets for society. But some were made to cross the line as “Rapelay” had. Released in 2006 by Illusion Soft, this game had the player perform sexual acts on women against their will. The gameplay held nothing back and went viral, sending activists and lawmakers into a frenzy. In response, the game and many like it were banned in several countries, especially the US. Afterward, Illusion Soft was forced to restrict foreigners from reaching its official websites.
‘Manhunt’ (Snuff-driven gameplay)
Truth is stranger than fiction when it comes to certain violent video games. Some take things so far that their own developers are haunted by it. For Rockstar Games, it was its cult classic “Manhunt.” Launched in 2003, this snuff-driven stealth game had the player perform extremely gory kills on pursuers as part of a deadly game of cat and mouse. The game’s focus was so divisive, it almost sparked a mutiny by devs which was ironic given they were also the ones behind the infamous “GTA” series.
‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (market crash)
As previously noted, a game doesn’t have to be terrible to make it on this list. But “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” for the Atari 2600 more than qualified for the top spot. The movie tie-in game resembled neither the film nor an actual game when launched. And as expected, upset buyers returned copies to the stores in droves. Worse, Atari made an enormous supply for a shrivelling demand, which led to the infamous video game crash of 1983. Hence, this flop had almost killed the gaming industry.
