20 Disappointing Video Games That Didn't Fulfil Their Potential

8. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5
Activision

As a fan of skateboarding games (but can’t actually skateboard in real life), I really wanted Pro Skater 5 to work out. The Pro Skater franchise had been dormant since 2002, and with no serious competition in 2015, the timing couldn’t have been better to revive this series. 

Sadly, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 was a massive disappointment and a huge blunder, not just for the Pro Skater name but for Tony Hawk as well as the Tony Hawk’s games released before this were Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD (the bad one, not the good one) and Tony Hawk’s Shred (I still haven’t forgiven them for making me think a plastic skateboard controller was a good idea). 

Now, admittedly, this would’ve taken a lot of work to fix post-launch. The game was almost unplayable due to the number of bugs and glitches, and featured graphics that were somehow worse than the PS2 era of Tony Hawk games. Let alone the boring levels and bland environments. But stick with me here, I feel like it wasn’t unsalvageable. The core of Pro Skater 5 is still the Pro Skater we all know and love; it’s just dressed in one of the ugliest dresses we’ve ever seen. 

The developer, Robomodo, put out a day one patch for the game (without the patch, the game was literally unplayable), but were unable to continue to work on the game post-launch, as they unfortunately closed their doors in 2016.

 
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Hey, I’m Matt. I work full-time at WhatCulture's neighbours, MyVoucherCodes. I first joined MyVoucherCodes as a Deals Expert, scouring the internet, leaving no stone unturned in finding the best discount codes, sales and offers for our customers. Moving into my first home during the worst possible time (during lockdown), I understand the necessity of saving money when the purse strings are tight. Outside of saving money, I’m into video games, movies, books and music. I host and edit a video game podcast called The Retry Hard Podcast, where my friend and I go through news, reviews and video games in general. I love movies and watching how they’re made, and I’ve worked as a set decorator for a few months on His Dark Materials season 3, which gave me a massive insight into how it all comes together. I also put out music as a solo artist named Matt Kiano, where I won the award for Best Male Artist of 2025 for Radio Wigwam and have been nomiated for Best Live Act at the 2026 Radio Wigwam Awards.