Summary
The past few decades have seen the release of plenty of now-beloved horror games, fromUntil DawntoSilent Hill 2. However, not every game receives an official release date. Some get canceled well into the development cycle, while others may not even make it past the early concept stages for one reason or another.
Cancelations are often a tragedy, with developers showing passion for their project and the games having a lot of promise in what they could have been. This is the case with multiple horror titles that never saw the light of day. Developers have only revealed details about them later, making gamers wishing they had the chance to play them.
6Aliens: Crucible
Obsidian Entertainment Almost Brought Xenomorphs Into An RPG
Many games set in theAlienuniverse explore different gameplay genres.Aliens: Cruciblewas going to be the first attempt at an RPGfeaturing the terrifying Xenomorphs. The game was first announced in 2006, but whenAliens Vs. Predatorwent into production, Obsidian Entertainment was forced to put the project on hold in 2009 despite a large portion of the game being made.
From what fans have seen of the game,Aliens: Crucibleappeared to be an RPG in the same vein asStar Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, but with more emphasis on guns and horror elements. Obsidian has gone on to develop memorable games such asThe Outer WorldsandFallout: New Vegas.Cold Iron Studios would later reuse the third-person shooter idea inAliens: Fireteam Elite.
5Winter
The NintendoWii was home to a few unique horror games, and another was almost released for the console calledWinter. It would have featured a character roaming a frozen wasteland while having to contend with their temperature constantly dropping, which would have resulted in death, similar to the survival mechanics seen inThe Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild.
InWinter, players would be forced to find shelter, create fires, and find other different ways to raise the character’s temperature. It sounded like it could have been a solid survival horror title, but due to third-party games not selling well on the Wii, the project was shut down.
4Redwood Falls
Alien Horror Inspired By John Carpenter’s The Thing
Some of the team behindThe Thingvideo game were going to move on to a new horror shooter known asRedwood Falls, which would have featured a similar concept of humans and animals mutated into alien monsters. It would have featured dynamicbody horror transformations for the monstersand had the player exploring the winter forest in Alaska.
Sean Murray, who went on to be the founder of Hello Games and creator ofNo Man’s Sky, played a major part in theRedwood Fallsdevelopment cycle. It seemed like it was going to be a pivotal horror game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 era, but when the team at Kuju Entertainment shifted their focus to work on mobile games,Redwood Fallssuffered and was canceled.
3Sadness
The Nintendo Wii’s Motion Controls Were A Vital Aspect
Due to personal issues with the developers and the inability to meet deadlines, another Nintendo Wii horror game titledSadnessnever made it to market. It would have been a black-and-white adventure that would delve into horrors both physical and psychological as a Ukrainian aristocrat protects her son after a train crash in the Victorian era.
Sadnesswould have taken advantage of the Wiimote’s motion controls, as well as the nunchuck to create an open-ended area for gamers to explore,seemingly taking inspiration fromSilent Hill. The developers did announce a spiritual successor in 2D form for the Wii U calledSadness & Solitude, but that too seems to have been canceled.
2Darkwatch 2
From The Old West To Post-Apocalyptic Vampire Thriller
The originalDarkwatchwasan intense shooter that featured superpowers. Players controlled Jericho Cross, who joined the agency known as the Darkwatch to fight vampires, zombies, and all other forms of undead. It became a cult gem for the PS2 and Xbox era, and High Moon Studios was originally going to make a sequel withDarkwatch 2.
Other than a quick beta build that the studio showed off,Darkwatch 2did not see much production. High Moon Studios was bought by Activision, who had no interest in it. The game was canceled, and since then, only a few nuggets of information have been revealed, such as Jericho Cross being resurrected in a post-apocalyptic world run by vampires.
1Silent Hills
The Game That Led To Death Stranding Instead
This was one of the most disappointing video game cancelations. Fans received a playable teaser known simply asP.T.,which terrified gamers and showed whatacclaimed video game director Hideo Kojimawas going to bring to theSilent Hillfranchise withSilent Hills. It was even going to be co-created by Guillermo Del Toro and star Norman Reedus.
Sadly, Konami canceledSilent Hillsand Hideo Kojima repurposed the project and started his own studio to develop the divisiveDeath Stranding.Silent Hillhas since started to make a comeback with theSilent Hill 2remake, which has fans hoping that Konami will one day continue the franchise with a new entry.
