Reflective Christmas Season – the perfect opportunity to remember the various ones. Cortyn lists 3 deceased games that are greatly missed.
Those who have been in the gaming scene a bit longer and are not only interested in offline titles have surely accepted the “death” of a beloved game now and then. Be it an MMORPG or a popular online shooter, games die after a few years or even months if they are not profitable enough.
Here I want to talk about three of these games whose death has occupied me quite a bit in recent years because I still miss them today. They were games that shaped my enjoyment of gaming significantly, and for which I still instinctively search for a good “replacement”.
Evolve
Evolve was my gaming revelation, and no other game could captivate me as much. From my perspective, Evolve was exactly what a “perfect game” should be.
What was Evolve? Evolve was an asymmetric game in which 4 players took on the roles of hunters and had to hunt a monster, which was also controlled by a player. At the start of a match, the monster is still weak. It must first eat and hide to gain strength and eventually overwhelm the hunters with increasingly powerful abilities.
The hunters, in turn, each have individual abilities from the start of the match and can only act as a team.
While one hunter deals good damage, another may be the only one to heal or could place the “Dome” – a temporary prison that turned the current area into an arena where monsters and hunters were locked in for a short time.
Why did Evolve die? The reason Evolve came to an end is probably a combination of several factors. After an outstanding launch with a lot of interest, attention suddenly waned. From my perspective, clear “poor marketing” was to blame.
The reputation that Evolve received was catastrophic, mainly due to microtransactions. New characters could be purchased individually or acquired as a bundle through the Season Pass. From my perspective, the offers were fair. There were also skin packs, similar to those found in other games.
However, how it was promoted led to much negative feedback. Anyone who looked superficially at the Evolve shop wondered: “Do I really have to spend €200 to be able to play the game properly?”
While this was never true – and with the €90 full version including Season Pass, you actually had everything, including the upcoming DLCs – the reputation was quickly ruined. Players turned away, and the game stagnated.
Even the reboot “Evolve Stage 2,” which launched as a free-to-play version, could not regain lost ground. Evolve died, development was halted, and the servers were ultimately shut down.
What made Evolve so special? Like no other game in my gaming career, Evolve had perfect immersion. I wasn’t just playing a monster. I was the monster. When the monster took a deep breath to gain a radar effect, I instinctively had to take a deep breath in front of the PC. When I hunted the monster as a hunter, I shifted restlessly in front of the screen, listening for every little sound.
Added to this were the great characters with witty dialogues, the overall art design of the game that contributed to the dense atmosphere, and a cool 4vs1 campaign mode with numerous game modes that ended in a final battle.
I miss Evolve. And I believe it is only because of Evolve that I am drawn to Dead by Daylight. It gives me a similar kick, a similar feeling, but it never quite measures up to Evolve…
WildStar
There have been many MMORPGs over the years, and almost as many of them have died, been resurrected, and then died again. But one death is particularly tragic because it included numerous elements that I missed in other games. I am talking about WildStar.
What was WildStar? WildStar was an MMORPG from Carbine that aimed to appeal to “hardcore” fans. Those who found World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs “too casual” over the years were supposed to receive a challenging game in cool comic graphics with WildStar. Additionally, WildStar wanted to offer some features missing in other games (such as housing) as well as extensive additional social features and mini-games.
All of that WildStar was able to deliver and launched with a considerable amount of content and a relatively large game world filled with many quests and an incredible amount to discover. Interesting classes with outrageous abilities and the “telegraph” system, where almost every ability was a skillshot, made for an action-packed combat system that thrilled in PvP and PvE and required a lot of skill.
Why did WildStar die? The MMORPG died for fairly obvious reasons. It was “too hardcore” and did not provide fun for a large part of the player base. Many “hardcore” players had to admit that they weren’t as hardcore as they always thought and found no joy in the challenging challenges. But the fault does not lie only with the players, but also with the developers.
They had an extremely ambitious plan and wanted to deliver monthly content updates that brought new areas, quests, PvP battlegrounds, and additional features. But even the first patch made it clear: This will not work. Much was hopelessly bugged and unplayable.
The jump from a “game in development” to an active MMORPG that had to be supplied with new content was not successful.
Even in the months that followed, even after the transition to free-to-play, there was never the impression that the developers had really gotten into the rhythm that would have been necessary for WildStar.
What made WildStar so special? First and foremost, I want to mention the housing. Because that was nothing less than perfect. You could customize everything according to your wishes; there were practically no limits. Every object could be rotated, enlarged, repositioned, and placed anywhere. It was a paradise for roleplayers.
But the rest of the game also impressed. WildStar had a nice look with its colorful world and comic style that perfectly matched the crazy races. The gameplay was extremely demanding, and even normal quest opponents while leveling could become a real threat. The combat system was full of action, and the game world was filled with many details, little lore entries, and secrets. A hidden challenge awaited at every corner, often providing unique rewards that could be used, for example, for housing.
I often think back melancholically to the role-playing in the “Best First” inn, to fun events, great characters, and the fun in dungeons, even if we died hour after hour. It was great, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
Archeblade
Well, I know. Very few of you probably know Archeblade. While Evolve and WildStar were massive blockbusters promoted in all media, Archeblade was just a small game from an even smaller developer studio on Steam. One of the few action fighting games that could truly excite me.
What was Archeblade? Archeblade was a fighting game in an anime look in a 3D environment. The characters were each colorful and eccentric, each having several combos.
The special aspect here was that combos could branch off into various different attacks. It was important to study the opponent closely and to counter their combo accordingly to launch a counterattack. In addition to chaotic “deathmatch” matches with up to eight players, there were organized battlefields in the style of “King of the Hill” where several control points had to be captured.
Why did Archeblade die? Archeblade never made the big leap from its “early access” phase. Although there was a release after a moderately successful crowdfunding campaign, it did not help. The game simply never received the attention it deserved based on the enjoyment it provided.
The developers then dealt the killing blow themselves. In a desperate attempt to make a profit with the game, they released an item shop that brought enhancements for the characters – these were small but clear pay-to-win elements. Even though the developers removed all the pay-to-win items within just a few weeks, the outcry in the small community had already broken the game’s neck.
The developers left the game but allowed the community to continue developing it after years. Currently, there is a small team that releases a minor patch with bug fixes or balancing changes once or twice a year. Unfortunately, that doesn’t bring Archeblade back to life.
What made Archeblade so special? Archeblade was incredibly beginner-friendly and, despite its simple maps and modes, was quite complex in duels. In split seconds, one had to react to abilities and decide which combo to start as a counter while also being aware if the opponent was about to interrupt that combo.
The matches were quick and sharp, the characters in typical anime style were colorful and interesting. It was the perfect game for a quick play but could also easily keep you engaged for hours. Whereas fighting games usually only caused frustration for me, Archeblade made me laugh out loud again and again—especially when we engaged in a bit of “pseudo-RP” in the chat with the quirky characters before duking it out. Where else could there be elvish insurance ladies or undead schoolgirl secret agents?
Above all, the game featured a succubus character who listed gardening as a hobby – at that point, I couldn’t let go of the game anymore.
Which “dead” games do you still often think about? Which game was so good that it should still be running?
