The Worst Game Trailers

Elvis Starburst

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Let's all suffer together by watching some of the worst video game trailers we've come across! It doesn't have to be THE WORST EVER, but instead, let's all share some of the ones we think are terrible, if only for one single reason, or just because the whole thing is a disaster.

As is with most things that spur me to make a thread, I came across this one the other day while browsing Steam. And while the game could be great for all I know... they gave the trailer some awful lyrics, and a dreadful singer that reeeaaalllyyy can't hit the notes she's trying to make. Enjoy~

 

laggyteabag

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I understand what they were trying do with this trailer.

But it didn't work.

 
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FakeSympathy

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Well, there was the mighty no. 9 trailer which tried to sound ironic, but ended up sounding patronizing

There was also that Diablo Immortals trailer, which even without the whole "Do you guys not have phones" fiasco looks like a terrible trailer

BFV trailer hurt me, because I was just getting into the series (I've played BadCo2, BF3, 4, and Hardline before this) and them EA drops this monstrocity

And finally, there was the life of black tiger, which I refuse to believe sony was serious about this
 
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BrawlMan

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Well, there was the mighty no. 9 trailer which tried to sound ironic, but ended up sounding patronizing

There was also that Diablo Immortals trailer, which even without the whole "Do you guys not have phones" fiasco looks like a terrible trailer

BFV trailer hurt me, because I was just getting into the series (I've played BadCo2, BF3, 4, and Hardline before this) and them EA drops this monstrocity

And finally, there was the life of black tiger, which I refuse to believe sony was serious about this
Speaking of Comcept. The Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z trailer.

 

meiam

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I understand what they were trying do with this trailer.

But it didn't work.
Ahhh you stole mine, how did that ever get the ok?

I don't have a specific one in mind but all those trailer that literally have no example of gameplay, or there is gameplay but stripped of any UI element to the point that it's hard to tell what the game is about.
 

Chimpzy

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I don't have a specific one in mind but all those trailer that literally have no example of gameplay, or there is gameplay but stripped of any UI element to the point that it's hard to tell what the game is about.
Speaking of trailers with no gameplay that poorly represent what the game is, the Dead Island trailer

Tho you could also say it was a very good trailer, since it did create a lot of hype
 

Dalisclock

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And finally, there was the life of black tiger, which I refuse to believe sony was serious about this
Jim Sterling Put Life of Black Tiger on his Worst list that year. I didn't get it until I realized it wasn't a PS1 game. Or at least, wasn't supposed to be a PS1 game.

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against retro games but Retro games are supposed to evoke older games and generations while still incorporating lessons learned since then. I may like 90's style Point and Click Adventure games but I don't want to go back to Sierra Style "Do anything remotely incorrectly and you will die or fuck yourself 3 hours down the line because this game cost you $60, is five hours long if you know what to do and we just hate you".
 
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Dirty Hipsters

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Speaking of trailers with no gameplay that poorly represent what the game is, the Dead Island trailer

Tho you could also say it was a very good trailer, since it did create a lot of hype
No, that's a great trailer...for a really mediocre game.
 
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Bedinsis

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The trailer to Princess Remedy in a Heap of Trouble, the sequel to Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt, I thought was bad.


Unlike the trailer for World of Hurt, which knew how strange its premise was and therefore tried to teach new players what this exciting new title was all about, Heap of Trouble's trailer seemed to assume that everybody already knew that from the first game so therefore it focused more on what was new. To its own detriment, I'd wager; on their own podcast the developers admitted that it not sell that well at all. Also, the background music is incredibly dull.

I write this to ask people of this thread: after seeing the above trailer, do you know or think that you know what the premise/primary gameplay loop is of Heap of Trouble? My read on the situation can be very wrong.

Also, I think World of Hurt had a much better trailer, but that could also be me being wrong in what people innately understand:

 

DJShaddycat

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Speaking of trailers with no gameplay that poorly represent what the game is, the Dead Island trailer

Tho you could also say it was a very good trailer, since it did create a lot of hype
I think trailers with no gameplay are fine. The only reason that Dead Island trailer is a problem is because, well, Dead Island isn't that great.

Remember the Left 4 Dead trailer?
 

Samtemdo8

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My first experience of "preview does not reflect the final product at all"
 

hanselthecaretaker

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I’ve literally never even heard of any of these, besides DMC and Dead Island.

Hmmm.

Do best trailers of the worst games count

 

Meximagician

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Not exactly a game, but a 90s game making program called Klik & Play.
To paraphrase the ad itself: "Have you ever watched an ad and though, 'I could advertise an innovative product better than that!'?"
Compare it to the 3d intro, which would have made for a pretty good teaser trailer at the time.

Gee, this Pong game is boring. I know! Let's make the exact same game but with clip-art graphics, a visually busy background, 'wacky' sound f/x, and still no music!
 

Dirty Hipsters

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The trailer to Princess Remedy in a Heap of Trouble, the sequel to Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt, I thought was bad.


Unlike the trailer for World of Hurt, which knew how strange its premise was and therefore tried to teach new players what this exciting new title was all about, Heap of Trouble's trailer seemed to assume that everybody already knew that from the first game so therefore it focused more on what was new. To its own detriment, I'd wager; on their own podcast the developers admitted that it not sell that well at all. Also, the background music is incredibly dull.

I write this to ask people of this thread: after seeing the above trailer, do you know or think that you know what the premise/primary gameplay loop is of Heap of Trouble? My read on the situation can be very wrong.

Also, I think World of Hurt had a much better trailer, but that could also be me being wrong in what people innately understand:

I gotta say both trailers look literally the same to me.

Like if you put them next to each other and ask me to identify the "bad" trailer I wouldn't be able to do it even having just watched both of them.
 
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laggyteabag

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My first experience of "preview does not reflect the final product at all"
I love how at the start of the demo, they proudly state that there was no "No smoke and mirrors" - yet in a post-Halo 2 retrospective interview with Bungie, they admitted that the demo was exactly that.

That said, I don't believe that the demo was that bad. Yes, it is running on an engine that the Xbox couldn't actually handle, but most of the content shown, did actually appear in the finished product.

Sure, the scale of the level was a bit ambitious, and a lot of the environmental scripting - like the marine medics, and the covenant cannon the backgroud - was missing, but as a vertical slice of a game that still had another year-and-a-half of development time to go, I'd argue that the demo does a pretty decent job of showing what Halo 2 would be.
 
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Elvis Starburst

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Well, there was the mighty no. 9 trailer which tried to sound ironic, but ended up sounding patronizing
This crap:
It's been a long time since I watched this one, so I gave it a go. I did not remember it being that bad. That was painful to watch.
I also remember that Keiji Inafune expressed his displeasure with the trailer, but for the life of me I can't find the interview where this was stated