When it comes to gaming, we’ve seen plenty of titles that could have been industry-changing hits but ended up missing the mark. In this article, let’s talk about five such games that had incredible potential but couldn’t quite live up to it.
- Mafia: Definitive Edition
Let’s start with Mafia: Definitive Edition. We all know this is a remake of the original 2002 Mafia game, same storyline, rebuilt visuals. The developers wanted to preserve the classic experience with modern graphics, and that’s perfectly fine.
However, this remake could have been much more than that. Once you finish the main storyline, there’s an open world to explore, but there’s hardly anything to do there. Apart from stealing and driving cars, the city feels empty.
If developers had added more side activities, dynamic NPCs, or better world interactions, Mafia: Definitive Edition could have rivaled games like GTA. Sadly, they didn’t, making it a great game with wasted potential.
- Soulstice
Many players might not have heard of Soulstice, a hack-and-slash action game released in 2022. It draws clear inspiration from the Devil May Cry series, from its combat style to overall tone. The gameplay, graphics, and story are all solid.
But its downfall lies in one frustrating aspect: fixed camera angles. While that design choice was meant to offer a “classic” vibe, it made gameplay confusing and annoying, especially during platforming sections.
In today’s gaming landscape, a flexible camera system feels essential, and sticking to a fixed style hurt the experience significantly. Soulstice is fantastic at its core, but small changes could have made it so much better.
- Spectre Divide
Next up is Spectre Divide, a first-person shooter that gained attention thanks to Shroud’s endorsement. The concept was ambitious, controlling two bodies simultaneously during matches. It was fresh, bold, and had the potential to challenge Valorant.
Unfortunately, technical performance killed it. The game was riddled with bugs, required overly powerful hardware (a GTX 1080 Ti for visuals similar to Valorant), and suffered from terrible server stability.
There weren’t even casual modes to practice, only ranked matches. Despite strong ideas, weak execution led to its early shutdown. Spectre Divide could have been massive if given the proper support.
- GreedFall
If you’ve been following my channel, you already know I’m a big fan of GreedFall, released in 2019. It was heavily inspired by The Witcher 3, featuring RPG elements, trading, rich lore, and exploration.
After spending over 40 hours on it, I can safely say it’s a great game with flaws that limited its potential. The combat felt stiff and shallow, and the environments grew repetitive very quickly. No matter where you went, everything looked the same.
The open world didn’t feel alive, exploration lacked reward. GreedFall could have delivered a deeper and more immersive experience but stopped just short of greatness.
- Need for Speed (2015)
We can’t talk about wasted potential without mentioning Need for Speed 2015. The visuals were breathtaking, especially the nighttime reflections and lighting. Few racing games have matched that even today.
It gave longtime fans a taste of an Underground remake they always wanted. But several issues kept it from shining. Always-online requirements frustrated players, the story was weak, cops felt lifeless, and the city lacked personality.
Had EA refined these aspects instead of focusing on microtransactions, this could have easily been the best Need for Speed entry ever made.
- Final Thoughts
These were five games that could have achieved so much more but fell short of their full potential. Now I want to hear from you, which games do you think wasted their potential? Share your picks in the comments!
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