The famous painter Vincent Van Gogh was famously unappreciated in his time, but that didn’t stop him from doing what he loved despite never really getting the attention he deserved.
It wasn’t until years after his death that his work spread throughout the world and today he’s one of the most beloved artists of all time. It’s fair to say, the world was not ready for Van Gogh when he needed them to be.
The same thing can happen in all kinds of art.
Sometimes games that try new things often don’t hit the mark. There are an infinite number of variables about there and even some of the most solid titles fail to find an audience to financially support them. When media tries new things, it opens itself up for glorious, game-changing success or abject failure.
Every game on this list was a success from a functional perspective, but the best laid plans of their developers didn’t pan out when they came to store shelves. From under-purchased, overlooked and sometimes downright derided despite their promise; these games probably would’ve fared better if they had released at a different time or maybe a different place.
When you think of survival horror, most likely you think of isolation. Tight corridors of a creepy location that gives you that fight or flight feeling when you encounter an enemy. You’ve only got yourself, and far too little ammo, to rely on.
In the scramble of the clearly oncoming wave that was online gaming, Capcom decided to take Resident Evil in a surprising direction with the Outbreak duology. By making use of the PlayStation 2 Network Adapter, the theory was surviving a Resi-style puzzle-box scenario online with other fans of the series.
With a dozen characters to choose from, as well as lots of interesting locations each with their own gimmicks and enemies; Outbreak wasn’t just an interesting twist on the classic Resi style, but it also built out the lore.
Unfortunately, a lack of voice chat functionality made it pretty difficult to work with your team, and that’s even if online functionality was even available in your country (hello from us long suffering PAL players).
It seems in retrospect that Outbreak had jumped the gun. Thankfully, dedicated fans have crafted PC servers that keep Outbreak’s online experience a possibility and thus we can all experience what exactly this could’ve felt like if it came at the right time.
