10 Failed Xbox 360 Games That Became Cult Classics
6. Shadows Of The Damned
In Shadows of the Damned, badass demon hunter Garcia, and his wisecracking sidekick Johnson (who's also his gun and motorcycle), venture to hell to rescue Garcia's lover.
Based on the promos, Shadows of the Damned looks like it tries way too hard to be edgy. Even Dante from Devil May Cry would tell Garcia to rein it in a little.
It may be schlocky as hell (literally), but Shadows of the Damned is fantastic. It successfully blends the cool and campy parts of Evil Dead and Resident Evil, while still feeling fresh. Due to innovative gameplay, astounding sound design, and fantastic boss battles, it looked like Shadows to the Damned was a franchise in the making.
Although new IP always have an uphill battle, this project should've generated a lot of hype, purely because of the talent behind it. It was developed by Grasshopper Productions immediately after the success of No More Heroes II. It was scored by Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka. Most importantly, it was produced by Resident Evil 4 director Shinji Mikami. With this dream team, how could it not be a hit?
Sadly, it didn't pan out. In its first month, Shadows of the Damned only sold 24,000 copies in the US. (That's including PS3 copies as well.) Now, nobody is going to pretend Shadows of the Damned is perfect. But the demon-blasting adventure title has so many great qualities, it should've performed far better.