Never judge a book by its cover, or a game by its trailer.
This time of year, there’s only one thing on gamers’ minds. It isn’t the sunshine, outdoor BBQs, or hitting the beach.
Oh no, it’s E3 season now. No matter how glorious the sunshine or how blistering the heat, you’ll find us blissfully skipping through the latest trailers and gameplay videos to have come out this year.
The thing is, E3 is often the source of one of the biggest problems in gaming, which is being mislead. Whether it be a gameplay video that shows a game with other-worldly graphics only for it to be released as a downgraded disgrace or an epic storyline trailer for a new mobile pay-to-play game, I’ve been stung too many time damn it.
Looking back, there have been some trailers that looked so good that you’d think there would be no way the game would be a let-down. Surely a video game company that puts this much effort into promoting it would know what they’re doing, right?
1. Dead Island (2011)
Clip via IGN
We’re going to start things off with the worst offender on the list. Or just about any list for that matter.
Put simply, Dead Island had no right to this trailer, which is nothing short of a masterpiece. To this day I have never seen anything quite like it.
A clunky and lifeless shooter released with more bugs than a Bush Tucker trial, the game itself certainly won’t go down in the history books. That said, it would’ve taken something special to be worthy of its trailer.
2. Overkill’s The Walking Dead (unreleased)
Clip via PlayStation
I bet zombie fans are loving this article so far. Sticking with the theme of the undead, this trailer certainly got people’s hopes up that we were finally getting a decent story-driven zombie game.
Those of us who remember being stung by Dead Island knew better.
It was inevitable that it was going to end up being the generic shooter that we saw in the gameplay trailer. For shame.
3. Watch Dogs (2014)
Clip via IGN
Here we see an example of a game that had the world at its feet. With a mega developer like Ubisoft at the helm and a genuinely unique concept, the initial trailer got the hype train going at full steam.
Now, Watch Dogs isn’t an entirely awful game, but it certainly didn’t live up to what we were promised with all the trailers and gameplay videos leading up to release. What we got was much more linear than the expansive open-world many were hoping for, with the downgraded graphics being another sour point.
That said, the sequel was certainly a step in the right direction.
4. Assassin’s Creed: Unity (2014)
Clip via Ubisoft
The gaming equivalent of making a leap of faith only to find someone has moved the hay stack.
After years of trusting the Assassin’s Creed series to deliver, this entry was the beginning of a dark period in the saga.
Even though the game was something of a wet mop, this trailer is still every bit as incredible now as it was in 2014.
5. The Order: 1886 (2015)
Clip via PlayStation
Cast your mind back to 2013, when this gem of a reveal trailer came out. The words “The following trailer was created in-engine” flashed up on the screen.
Surely this is a good sign that the game itself won’t be too far off what we see in the trailer, right? Surely we can be hopeful?
Let’s just nip that in the bud. This was a bad game in many respects, with stunning visuals doing nothing to change the fact it was sluggish and forgettable.
Will I ever learn from these experiences? No.
Am I going to keep pinning all of my hopes on a good trailer and putting my name down for a pre-order? You’d better believe it.
Don’t be like me, learn from your mistakes. Never trust a video game trailer.
In fact, trust no one. We live in a world of lies.
