15 Failed Video Games That Became Cult Classics

Another entry on the list from legendary game developer Shinji Mikami, a man who’s career has reached high peaks, yet also spirit-crushing lows. None so brutal as the failure of this wacky 3D brawler.

Mikami had just come off the enormous success of Resident Evil 4 but his Clover Studio was still smarting from the close-to-fatal blow Okami’s failure had dealt. He put it upon himself to make something budget yet unique and commercial. That project was God Hand, a homage to beat-em-ups and testosterone fuelled animes of yesteryear.

The reception wasn’t just bad, it was dire, with the game even infamously landing a 3/10 rating from IGN. With bad-word-of-mouth, it flopped instantly, and Clover Studios closed its doors soon after.

Yet, the disgusted reactions are confusing for a game with so much going for it. Of course, the level designs were bland, the music was budget, and the plot obnoxiously goofy. Yet, it’s not enough to break the dense combat system where every move and combo was customisable. Or the tough and fluid A.I. of combatants. Or the ingenious roulette wheel bonus move system, where you could literally kick opponents into the hemisphere.

Pretty badass, no?

Fortunately, the dismissed title defiantly developed a reputation amongst gamers and developers, with its ahead-of-the-curb concepts going on to influence pop-culture successes like Dark Souls and Bayonetta .