Best Horror Games That Were Canceled

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Key Takeaways

  • Various horror games never saw the light of day, with canceled projects like
    Aliens: Crucible
    and
    Darkwatch 2
    .
  • Winter
    for the Nintendo Wii had potential with its unique survival horror concept but was canceled due to Wii’s poor third-party sales.
  • Silent Hills
    , set to be co-created by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro, was canceled, leading Kojima to create
    Death Stranding
    .

As a long-time gamer who’s seen more than a few promising titles vanish into thin air, I can’t help but feel a pang of melancholy when reminiscing about these three canceled games that could have been game-changers.

Over the last several decades, numerous horror games that are now cherished have been unveiled, such as “Until Dawn” and “Silent Hill 2”. Yet, not every game is given a specific launch date. Some projects get terminated even in the development phase, while others never progress beyond the initial idea stage due to various reasons.

Regrettably, many projects that developers pour their heart and soul into, full of excitement for what might be, unfortunately never make it to the gaming world. This is true for several horror games that remain unseen. While details about these games were shared later, it leaves gamers yearning for a chance to experience them.

6 Aliens: Crucible

Obsidian Entertainment Almost Brought Xenomorphs Into An RPG

  • Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
  • Genre: Third-Person Shooter RPG
  • Systems: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Games based on the Alien universe often experiment with various gaming styles. Aliens: Crucible, initially planned as an RPG, aimed to delve into the chilling world of Xenomorphs. The project was first unveiled in 2006, but when Aliens Vs. Predator moved into production, Obsidian Entertainment had to temporarily halt work on it in 2009, even though a significant portion of the game was already developed.

Based on initial impressions, Aliens: Crucible seems to follow a role-playing game (RPG) style similar to Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, but with a stronger focus on action and horror aspects. Obsidian Entertainment, known for creating games like The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas, was initially involved in its development. Later, Cold Iron Studios took the third-person shooter concept and applied it to Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

5 Winter

Players Would Have Had To Contend With The Elements

  • Developer: N-Space
  • Genre: Survival Horror
  • System: Nintendo Wii

On the Nintendo Wii, there were some exclusive horror games, and one more was nearly ready for release called “Winter”. This game would have placed players in a frozen wilderness where they had to deal with their temperature consistently dropping. If the temperature fell too low, the character would perish, much like the survival aspects found in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”.

In the chill of Winter, I would have braved the elements, scouring for shelter, igniting fires, and discovering various methods to keep my character warm. It seemed like it could have been an engaging survival horror game, but unfortunately, with third-party games not thriving on the Wii, this project was sadly abandoned.

4 Redwood Falls

Alien Horror Inspired By John Carpenter’s The Thing

  • Developer: Kuju Entertainment
  • Genre: Survival Horror, First-Person Shooter
  • System: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

A portion of the creators involved in the “The Thing” video game were planning to develop another horror shooter titled “Redwood Falls”. This new project was set to revolve around a theme similar to humans and animals transforming into alien monsters. The game would showcase gruesome, evolving body horror for the creatures and invite players to traverse a winter forest located in Alaska.

Sean Murray, known later as the founder of Hello Games and creator of No Man’s Sky, played a significant role during the development process of Redwood Falls. Initially projected as a potentially groundbreaking horror game for Xbox 360 and PS3, Redwood Falls seemed poised to make its mark in gaming history. However, when Kuju Entertainment decided to concentrate on mobile games instead, the progress on Redwood Falls stagnated, ultimately leading to its cancellation.

3 Sadness

The Nintendo Wii’s Motion Controls Were A Vital Aspect

  • Developer: Nibris
  • Genre: Survival Horror
  • System: Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii horror game titled “Sadness” failed to reach the market because of conflicts with the developers and missed deadlines. This game was intended to be a gripping black-and-white adventure, exploring both physical and psychological horrors. In this story, a Ukrainian aristocrat is tasked with safeguarding her son after a train accident in the Victorian era.

Instead of sadness dominating the Wiimote’s motion controls and nunchuck, it could be said that the game would have cleverly leveraged these features to build an expansive environment for players to freely navigate, drawing apparent influence from the atmospheric horror of Silent Hill. However, developers initially unveiled a 2D successor for the Wii U titled Sadness & Solitude, but it appears that project has also been discontinued.

2 Darkwatch 2

From The Old West To Post-Apocalyptic Vampire Thriller

  • Developer: High Moon Studios
  • Genre: Action-Horror, First-Person Shooter
  • System: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Originally, “Darkwatch” was a gripping shooter game that showcased superpowers. Players took on the role of Jericho Cross, who joined the secretive agency called the Darkwatch to combat vampires, zombies, and every other type of undead creature. This title gained cult popularity during the PS2 and Xbox era, with High Moon Studios initially planning to develop a sequel titled “Darkwatch 2“.

Apart from a brief sneak peek during a beta version presentation, Darkwatch 2 didn’t progress much into full production. High Moon Studios, the creators of the game, were acquired by Activision, who showed no interest in it. Consequently, the project was scrapped, and since then, only scattered details have emerged, such as the character Jericho Cross being brought back to life in a post-apocalyptic world governed by vampires.

1 Silent Hills

The Game That Led To Death Stranding Instead

  • Developer: Konami
  • Genre: Survival Horror
  • Systems: Xbox One, PS4, PC

As a passionate gamer, I must confess that the cancellation of Silent Hills was one of the most disheartening moments in gaming history for me. The tantalizing teaser, simply known as P.T., left us all spellbound and trembling with fear, offering a glimpse into what mastermind Hideo Kojima had planned for the Silent Hill franchise. The prospect of collaborating with Guillermo Del Toro and featuring Norman Reedus in the game made it even more enticing. Alas, the dream was shattered, leaving us yearning for what could have been.

Unfortunately, Konami halted the development of Silent Hills, leading Hideo Kojima to rework the project and establish his independent studio, where he created Death Stranding, a game that sparked much debate. Since then, Silent Hill has shown signs of resurgence through the remake of Silent Hill 2, which leaves fans optimistic that Konami may revive the series with a fresh installment in the future.

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2024-10-21 18:35