7 Video Game Sequels That Mocked Mechanics Fans Hated

Just... how many towers do you want me to climb, exactly?

Ultimate Spider-Man Balloon Child
Activision

Video game franchises experience just as many highs and lows as those in any other medium, but they're also unique in that they have the chance to make amends in unique ways. While a film or TV show can retcon an unpopular storyline or simply take the p*ss with it in some respects (anyone remember Community's 'Gas Leak' year?), games can go much further by engaging the player in one of those barbs.

Actually getting in on the act of mocking a once hated mechanic, feature or plot-point can restore good faith between a studio and a fanbase, but it can also illustrate how developers have innovated on a given concept.

These hated mechanics weren't game-breaking by any means, but they were occasionally frustrating and, in some cases, lampooned heavily by fans and critics to the point where they necessitated a direct response.

In some instances, said responses can be so big that they actually invent an entire new mechanic altogether, as was the case with 2005's Ultimate Spider-Man, or even govern how an intro plays out, like in Far Cry 5.

Studios are constantly learning from their mistakes. And if they can have a sense of humour about it too? Well, that's all the better.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.