10 Beautiful Looking Games (That Play Terribly)

10. Shadow Of The Beast (2016)

Although 1989's Shadow of the Beast had its problems, the side-scrolling platformer received consistent praise for its visuals, especially the parallax scrolling. When a reboot was announced for 2016, long-time fans were hoping the graphics would once again be a standout feature.

Sure enough, 2016's Shadow of the Beast was undeniably striking, boasting slo-mo finishers, cinematic attacks, and deep parallax scrolling to add depth to the 2.5D environments.

However, it feels like the developers put so much effort in making Shadow of the Beast look glamorous, they forgot about the gameplay. The combat, which should be the centerpiece of a side-scrolling action title, quickly devolves into repetitive button-mashing. There’s a combo system in place, but it feels stiff and awkward, never rewarding skill or timing in a meaningful way.

The levels are linear and uninspired, often blending into one another with little to differentiate them. Despite its short runtime, the gameplay wears thin halfway through, especially when it starts to rely on backtracking.

2016's Shadow of the Beast may look the part of a brooding, brutal action game, but it plays like a dated tech demo.