10 Video Game Sequels That Look NOTHING Like The Original

9. Skullmonkeys (Sequel To The Neverhood)

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DreamWorks Interactive

The Neverhood is a claymation-styled point-and-click game released in 1996. As soon as it was released, it was praised for its beautiful stop-motion, hilarious characters, and inventive puzzles. It won tons of awards including Best Adventurer of the Year, Best Adventure Game, and Special Award for Artistic Achievement.

Sadly, being revered isn't the same as being successful. Despite all its creativity, The Neverhood didn't sell well. That's why the developer, Doug TenNapel, played it safe and turned the sequel, Skullmonkeys, into a standard platformer. For the first time, the protagonist of the franchise, Klaymen, could run, jump, shoot enemies, and use magic. TenNapel also did away with the 3D sections from the original, saying he had depth-perception issues while formatting them.

Not only does the follow-up take a drastic departure from the previous entry, the title gives no indication this is a Neverhood game! Many people who loved the original have never played Skullmonkeys, oblivious that it was a sequel.

Ironically, Skullmonkeys is a really fun platformer. But if anyone bought this, assuming it was another point-and-click adventure, they were left sadly disappointed.

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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows