10 Video Games That Got EVERYTHING Wrong
6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 wasn't merely a terrible game - it was a legitimately sad, pathetic thing to behold. The legendary skating franchise had been on the skids for quite some time leading up to Pro Skater 5's release, which Activision touted as a return to form.
Fans were skeptical going by the pre-release gameplay footage, yet nobody could've anticipated just how much of a broken, janky mess the final release would actually be.
First and foremost, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 is a shockingly ugly game for a 2015 release - the graphics could easily pass for an early PS3 title, yet that's far from the worst of the game's sins.
On a pure gameplay level, skating doesn't feel slick and fluid like it does in even the lesser Tony Hawk's games. Combined with a plethora of bugs, uninspired levels, and a weird lack of NPCs, the once-great series now felt like an emaciated, hollowed-out shell of its former self.
It was clear that Activision had lead developer Robomodo curl this thing out on a small budget with limited time, and the studio ultimately ended up paying for it, going out of business less than a year after Pro Skater 5's release.
The franchise at least enjoyed quite the turnaround in 2020, with remaster project Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 receiving rave reviews and largely restoring fans' faith in the flagging IP.