The 10 Most Disappointing Horror Games

10 Most Disappointing Horror Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at the 10 horror games that shocked us, but only because they turned out so bland.

“The Callisto Protocol” (2022)

With Visceral Games shutting down in 2017, there was a gloomy air about wondering if we’d ever get another “Dead Space” game again let alone a spiritual successor. But when Glen Schofield, the creator of “Dead Space”, announced his new game, we were all ears…until the very last few months before launch. “The Callisto Protocol” understood one aspect that made “Dead Space” stand out: all those gruesome ways to die. As for the rest? Mm, we wish we could say it was serviceable. “The Callisto Protocol” missed the mark and became the victim of rushed development in an effort to beat EA’s remake of the original “Dead Space”. As a result, we got a game that was technically unstable, utilized unpolished controls, and couldn’t find a way to be interesting outside of visuals. In hindsight, maybe Krafton should have held off from publishing in order to get far away from Isaac Clarke and give Schofield and company more time to refine a few things.

“Bendy and the Ink Machine” (2017)

When the first two episodes launched, “Bendy and the Ink Machine” was a rather unique concept. At least it was in the wave of “kids stuff but scary” that FNAF started. “Bendy” told the story about an old animation team creating a cartoon character that would soon become their worst nightmare. The visuals were unique, and Bendy and the gang did have frightening designs. However, as we dove into the third and fourth episodes, the quality of the game started to tank. The game became increasingly buggy while each episode got shorter and shorter. It wound up feeling like the sudden success of Bendy was causing the quality of the game to start taking a back seat in favor of merchandise. By the time “Bendy and the Ink Machine” finished development, plot points were thrown out, characters became uninteresting, and ultimately, nothing was resolved. Though the game was rebooted in 2022 with new visuals under the name “Bendy and the Dark Revival”, it just felt like another attempt to boost merchandise sales as the game bloated itself with more twisted characters that don’t add anything to the story or the gameplay.

“Call of Cthulhu” (2018)

Despite sharing the same name as the 2005 game from Bethesda, “Call of Cthulhu” was unique in how it was based around the tabletop RPG “Call of Cthulhu”. Unfortunately, the game failed in capturing what makes the tabletop RPG fun to play. Sure, it toys around with the concept of sanity and how often you indulge in learning ancient languages and detective work. However, it fails in role-playing with the player. No matter how you’ve spec’d your character, the ending you get is really only dependent on what happens in the last hour or so of the game. Even then, your only real choice is whether you take part in the ritual or not. Some folks can appreciate the game for what it is, but for us, “Call of Cthulhu” really could have been fleshed out more.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2023)

With “Dead by Daylight” having such a strong foothold on the horror multiplayer scene, it’s become next to impossible for any competitors to penetrate this niche market. At one point, it did seem like “Texas Chainsaw” was going to be a worthy contender. While “Dead by Daylight” kept Killers in solo queues, “Texas Chainsaw” was shaking things up by letting you hunt down other players alongside friends. But in the fruitless endeavor to keep the game balanced, developer Sumo Digital gave Victim players enough tools to turn into bully squads and speedrunners. It wasn’t long before matches were ending faster than a “Super Mario 64” speedrun. Killer players eventually left, and now, “Texas Chainsaw” is a wasteland of long matchmaking queues and overpriced DLC.

“Dead Space 3” (2013)

In the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, some survival horror games were suddenly trying to be “Call of Duty”, or “COD-ified”. “Dead Space 3” was one of many victims as the first hour of the game retains the horror atmosphere. The rest of the game? Nah. This is only the third game in the series. Who needs horror anymore when we can just make weapons as ridiculous as “Ratchet & Clank”? Instead of finding new ways to terrify players, “Dead Space 3” wanted us to team up with a friend and go super soldier on the Necromorphs, both approaches that effectively eliminate any ounce of horror that could have remained. Even then, the game wasn’t even that great of an action-first game, and it's for those reasons why “Dead Space 3” lives a life of infamy.

“Alone in the Dark” (2024)

On paper, “Alone in the Dark” could very well succeed in the modern era. With survival horror games like “Resident Evil” and a variety of indie titles, an “Alone in the Dark” reboot would have plenty of ideas to pull from. Alas, this is the fourth consecutive time the IP has fallen flat on its face. This 2024 rendition injected quite a bit of money into its visuals and story, but what about combat, puzzles, and decent writing? Doesn’t seem like it. The tone is constantly inconsistent as characters are bewildered and confused one moment but calm and collected two minutes later. Combat, on the other hand, is clunky and unsatisfying as you’re practically flailing whatever you can equip. In the end, “Alone in the Dark” thought it could bank on brand recognition and being mysterious and confusing without delivering anything substantial. Developer Pieces Interactive was shut down in June 2024, three months after launch. Honestly, we’re starting to think this IP might be cursed.

“Scorn” (2022)

“Scorn” had all the right cards it needed to play. Unique artstyle, puzzles designed around the unsettling visuals, and a ton of imagination behind the world-building. So, what exactly went wrong here? It was the intense focus on the puzzles and the lackluster combat. Nothing could prepare us for the amount of cart-pushing and gun-poking we’d have to go through for this game. On top of that, “Scorn” was an unstable mess at launch as many players reported corrupted or missing save files. And this was all BEFORE checkpoints were more properly dispersed. “Scorn” really had everything going right in the months leading up to launch, but all this amde it crash and burn in the most miserable way possible.

“F.3.A.R.” (2011)

Once upon a time, “F.E.A.R.” was one of the most well-respected and revered horror franchises in gaming. The scares that the first two games brought will always stick with us, but it only makes the memory of the third game more resented. Much like “Dead Space 3”, “F.3.A.R.” made the mistake of teetering too deep into the shooter side of its gameplay and had the horror take a backseat. It isn’t an awful game, but given what fans were expecting after the first two games, a proper “F.E.A.R. 3” would have had a compelling narrative and remained consistent in terrifying us.

“Martha is Dead” (2022)

Initially, there wasn’t much reason to pay attention to “Martha is Dead”, not until Sony got involved. When it was revealed that the game would be censored on PlayStation, suddenly, there was interest in “Martha is Dead”. Could a game so shocking possibly be a new boom for horror games? Not at all. To its credit, the game does have a compelling narrative with its World War One setting and premise of posing as a dead person. The problem is mainly in its pacing, and it can kill a player’s investment in a flash. For every minute of ultra-intense highs, you have long stretches of low, calm moments that kind of make you forget that this is a horror game. It can get worse if you hit a point where you aren’t sure what you should be doing.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach” (2021)

What an abysmal missed opportunity. There were a ton of reasons to be hyped about “Security Breach”. Finally, we were getting a FNAF game in the style of survival horror where you have to explore a large environment with enemies lurking around corners. If only IT WORKED. Enemies can detect you from a mile away and will somehow find you hiding even if you bolted around a corner or two. On top of that, the AI is broken to the point where you may be able to cheat your way out of getting a Game Over just by wedging yourself between objects. And this all goes without mentioning the lack of information the game gives on where you need to go, or how cameras can sometimes fail in giving you necessary info as to where enemies are wandering. “Security Breach” wound up being one of the worst games to come out in 2021 and one of the worst horror games made in recent years. And even today, the game is still barely functional on PS5.

Which horror game disappointed you the most? Did it make our list? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!