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00:10Welcome to MojoPlays and today we're looking at games that might have done a bit better if they
00:15were released a tiny bit later. Cold classics aren't just regular classics for a reason. It
00:19took a while for people to appreciate why they mattered. These are 10 failed games that were
00:24secretly ahead of their time. Let's go. Before we continue we publish content all week long so be
00:30sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified of our latest videos. Interactive storytelling
00:37ambition Fahrenheit. Maybe it was my destiny or my karma or whatever. I know one thing for sure
00:45nothing's ever going to be the same again. Long before games like Until Dawn and The Quarry
00:50David Cage was openly pushing the idea of the interactive movie. He argued that games could
00:55lean into performance atmosphere and branching narrative over traditional mechanics much like
00:59a choose your own adventure novel offering the same level of interactive fun but visually. The first
01:04real test of that philosophy arrived in 2005 with Fahrenheit known as Indigo Prophecy in the US. At
01:10the time it felt strange ambitious and difficult to categorize. Critics respected the risk but many
01:15players weren't sure what to make of its quick time events and shifting perspectives. Sales were
01:21okay but not explosive and it was easy to label it a curious failure. Yet over time its reputation grew.
01:28The emotional storytelling and cinematic presentation laid groundwork for what came next. That cult following
01:34carried over into heavy rain which as we all know did a lot better. Some fans find Fahrenheit to be
01:40the
01:40better narrative so had they switched places who knows maybe we'd all be screaming Lucas instead of
01:57changing the JRPG scene. Earthbound is one of those rare games that feels legendary now but didn't exactly
02:15set the world on fire at launch. In Japan it carved out a strong identity fairly quickly but when it
02:20arrived in North America the response was kind of like huh? Earthbound what's that? Its offbeat
02:25humor, modern day setting and quirky tone didn't line up with what many RPG fans expected at the time.
02:30Sales lagged, marketing missed the mark and for a while it looked like the game might fade into obscurity.
02:36But most of us know the title Earthbound 32 years later so that obviously didn't happen.
02:39Over the years Earthbound built a devoted following that championed its charm, emotional depth and
02:45unconventional design. Its influence spread quietly shaping countless indie RPGs that leaned into
02:51sincerity and weirdness in equal measure. A game that once struggled to find footing became a cult
02:56classic. Today with re-releases available on Nintendo Switch its legacy is pretty goddamn solid.
03:01I mean NES is even in Smash Bros. That's an achievement. That's like Nintendo's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
03:12Semi-ironic fan favourite Deadly Premonition
03:24Most cult classics at least have the review scores to back up the obsession. Deadly Premonition? Not
03:30even close. Critics were all over the place. Some praised its bizarre tone, ambitious storytelling and
03:36oddly sincere attempt at small town realism. Others slammed it for clunky controls, awkward combat,
03:41repetitive design and moments that felt borderline incomprehensible. It's called everything from a
03:46masterpiece to a flaming pile of dog sh**. It was messy, slow and technically rough and somehow that
03:52became part of the charm. The closest comparison is probably Twin Peaks as it leans fully into supernatural
03:58weirdness and uncomfortable humour without smoothing any edges for mass appeal. It doesn't care if you're
04:04confused. It almost wants you to be. Over time, that unapologetic strangeness earned it a loyal
04:08following. Some adore it genuinely, others love it ironically, but either way, they love it. And had it hit our
04:14shelves during Kojima's current period, it might have been praised by the king himself.
04:23Huh?
04:24Remains a unique RPG, Alpha Protocol.
04:35If anyone is to blame for these events, Mr. Thornton, it is you.
04:40Alpha Protocol is another case of a game that stumbled at launch but aged far better than its review scores
04:45suggest. It's also our second 2010 entry. We were all way too jaded to be taking chances in 2010. I
04:51had a goddamn
04:51earring for f**k's sake. That's how bad it got. Instead of leaning on fantasy or sci-fi tropes,
04:56it framed itself as a grounded espionage thriller weaving real-world politics and conspiracies into a branching
05:02RPG structure. That alone made it stand out. Unfortunately, its gameplay didn't land cleanly.
05:08Combat felt clunky, animations were rough, and technical issues undercut what was clearly an ambitious design.
05:13Critics labelled it as a great idea executed unevenly, but time was a lot kinder. What once seemed messy
05:20began to look bold. The game's reactive storytelling, where choices genuinely reshape missions, alliances
05:25and outcomes, is now praised as one of the most flexible narrative systems in RPG design ever, influencing
05:31many titles since. Might be one of the greatest games ever made, Planescape Torment.
05:51Hey, Chief, you okay?
05:53Being one of the greatest games ever made is not a claim I invented, but a repeated statement by gaming
05:58fans
05:58who've been around the block. Planescape Torment arrived during the late 90s boom of Dungeons & Dragons
06:04based RPGs, sharing shelf space with heavy hitters like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. Critically, it stood
06:10shoulder to shoulder with them. Commercially, not so much. Compared to its peers, it was one of the
06:15weakest sellers, overshadowed in a market that already had established fantasy epics dominating
06:20attention. At release, it didn't light up the charts, and for a while it seemed destined to sit in the
06:24shadow of its contemporaries. Over time though, like all the other entries, its reputation grew
06:29far beyond sales figures. Instead of focusing on traditional heroics, Planescape Torment built itself
06:34around philosophy, identity, and consequence. Consequence. I'm going to draw that in again.
06:40Consequence. Its writing, strange setting, and emphasis on dialogue over combat made it feel
06:44radically different from the other entries, and it's this difference that has players desperately loving
06:48it 25 years later. Cerebral third-person shooter, Spec Ops The Line.
07:06Shooters in general are usually built around reflexes, killstreaks, online bragging rights.
07:11Franchises like Call of Duty, Halo, and Battlefield dominate charts year after year,
07:15and while they've had their narrative moments, the genre often gets labelled as gameplay first,
07:20story second. Except Modern Warfare Shuttle. Then along came Spec Ops The Line, a game that
07:25absolutely did not get the memo that story isn't crucial. On the surface it looked like another
07:29military shooter, but the deeper you go, the more it pulls the rug out from under you.
07:33It forces players to confront the consequences of their actions,
07:38deliberately blurring the line between heroism and horror. It's less about winning firefights,
07:43and more about questioning why you're fighting at all. Critics praised its bold storytelling and
07:47psychological punch. Unfortunately, the praise didn't translate into sales. The game underperformed
07:53commercially, and has only become a beloved legend retrospective.
07:55I would be at peace if you hadn't stirred up the locals.
07:58God, I'm killing soldiers again. Did you really think we weren't going to fight back?
08:02We hoped you would.
08:04Influenced in nearly every game today, System Shock 2.
08:12System Shock 2 is one of those games that feels like Half-Life or World of Warcraft.
08:16Games that revolutionized genres, but weren't readily available to children of the 90s,
08:20who were still playing on dusty consoles. When it launched in 1999, critics recognized how ambitious
08:25and atmospheric it was, blending RPG systems, survival horror, and immersive sim design,
08:30into something genuinely ahead of its time. The problem, take a guess, sales didn't follow the
08:36applause. Commercially, it really, really did struggle. But instead of fading away, it built a
08:41fiercely loyal fanbase that refused to let it die. Players created patches, fixes, and enhancements for
08:48years, basically keeping the light on themselves. And more importantly, its design DNA seeped into a
08:54wider industry. It introduced a lot of designs that you've definitely seen in classics that came
08:58after. Things like the environmental storytelling, player choice, audio logs, oppressive sci-fi tension.
09:05Bioshock and Prey openly wear its inspiration on their sleeves, and players are desperately asking
09:10for a remake of this fantastic game. Only gotten its due recently, Okami.
09:32Rooted deeply in Japanese mythology and folklore, Okami is one of those games that feels like it
09:37shouldn't have worked in the West. It doesn't exactly scream mainstream blockbuster, and thanks
09:40to players, it didn't originally. With a gorgeous ink-brush cel-shaded art style, you've got something
09:46that looks more like a moving painting than a typical PS2-era action game. Critics adored it,
09:51IGN even handed it a Game of the Year award, but players… not enough of them showed up at launch.
09:56Sales were… rough. For a while, it felt like Okami would be remembered as that brilliant game hardly
10:01anyone bought. But then came the comeback tour. HD re-releases on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in
10:082017, followed by a Switch version in 2018, introduced it to a whole new audience. Word of mouth did the
10:14rest. Okami didn't just survive, it leveled up, evolving from cult classic to, and this is really
10:20hard to do, regular classic. Well done, Okami. As good as Shadow of the Colossus, Iko.
10:45Famito Ueda doesn't exactly crank out annual sequels. He's responsible for three games,
10:50and each one feels like a quite artistic statement rather than a commercial play.
10:54Shadow of the Colossus became the headline act, a genuine industry icon that people still reference
10:59whenever they talk about games as art, and sometimes the best games of all time. The Last
11:03Guardian, despite its long and messy development, at least landed with decent name recognition. But
11:08Iko? That one's the understated middle child. Or, technically, first child. Either way,
11:13its parents loved it, but it had no friends. Although it was critically adored, influential,
11:18and carried by a fiercely loyal cult following, it never hit the mainstream spotlight. When it launched,
11:23sales were modest at best, and it certainly didn't light up store shelves. Still, its sparse dialogue,
11:28minimalist storytelling, and game mechanics gave it an emotional weight few games could match,
11:32even today. Passionate enough to get a sequel, Psychonauts.
11:39I'm ready, sir. Well then. You're late, soldier. Now get in here and give me 20.
11:51A lot of cult classics start life as commercial disasters, and more often than not, it's because
11:56their premise sounds like a fever dream thought up by a second grader who also happens to be on acid.
12:00Psychonauts is a perfect example. You play as Raz, a psychic summer camp kid who literally dives
12:05into other people's minds to untangle their trauma. Try pitching that to a focus group. Marketing teams
12:10had their work cut out for them, even though the game was actually brilliant. Inventive level design,
12:15sharp writing, emotional depth, it's the kind of title critics adore and players remember forever.
12:20Some outlets even rank it among the best games ever made. Unfortunately, that praise didn't translate
12:25to launch sales, and probably due to the presentation of the game at a glance. It reportedly hurt publisher
12:31Majesco badly at the time, but cult's status never expires. It's always achievable. Over the years,
12:37word of mouth did its thing, sales climbed steadily, and against all odds, Psychonauts 2 finally arrived in
12:422021, 16 years later. Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from MojoPlays. Be sure to
12:57subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of our latest videos.
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