#cancelled games

[found-in-retro-game-mags]

Ufouria: The Saga

"Bop 'til you drop" (Electronic Gaming Monthly #22, May 1991)

[posthumanwanderings]

Primal Rage 2 (Midway - Cancelled - 1997)

[its-ya-girl-phoeni]

@zay-does-things

The boyos (from the cancelled open-world SP game)

[reversemoon255]

Oh my goodness; new DigiXros content!? Did my birthday come early this year?

For a little context, the user "Ray Chan" on Behance posted a bunch of concept art from a game they worked on in 2013 under the developer The Playforge for a Digimon Fusions game commissioned by Saban. I'll leave a link [HERE] if you want to go read the full thing and see some of the mock-ups.

But I'm a big fan of DigiXroses (or in this case Fusions), having designed quite a few myself, so I thought it would be fun to go through all of them and give my thoughts. I know these are more in the style of things like DonShoutmon and BalliBastemon than the toyetic stuff I design, but a DigiXros is a DigiXros, and some of these are really cool.

Let's start with the Shoutmon stuff. Ray Chan mentions that they chose to fuse random Digimon together as an exercise, and all of the Shoutmon Xroses feel like that. Which, honestly, I think is a fun idea, and one I might try doing myself some day.

As for the Shoutmon X Shadramon design, I dig it. We have three versions here. The very superhero, uncolored design is probably my least favorite, if only because it's trying too hard to be cool. I much prefer the smaller version of the design. It does a good job of merging the already existing segmentation in Shoutmon's design with the Courage Armor aesthetic. The flame details on the mask are also very sharp. The lankier version is ok, but I think it suffers from the same issue I had with the uncolored one where it's trying very hard to be cooler than it needs to be. Those proportions feel closer to an Armor Evolved Shoutmon than a DigiXros.

Then there are these two, the last of the new Shoutmon X2s. The first Pharaohmon Xros is very fun, and I like the additional red. This one also feels very superhero, but Pharaohmon already has that silhouette naturally, so it works. The second design feels more like how the show would blend them, similar to things like PawnShoutmon or JijiShoutmon. It's not as visually appealing as the first, but small touches like the new shoulders really help it stand out.

I really appreciate that they did a Revolmon/Deputymon Xros, since he was a member of Xros Heart. As for the design, it's pretty great. There's a more subtle V incorporated into the poncho, Shoutmon's face is well incorporated into the bandana and horns. It really blends the two ideas to make something new yet reminiscent. However, it doesn't feel very DigiXros; if you used Shoutmon King instead, you could easily call this a Jogress in the same vein as Paildramon.

And we have a new X4! It's such a weird combination of Digimon, but that's part of why I like it so much. I like the humanoid design more, personally; Shoutmon, Lunamon, and Revolmon all have those general proportions, so it makes sense that a Xros of them would maintain that. The gun arms I also feel work in this case. Of all the versions they did of it, the one with the hat is my favorite, as it's obviously Revolmon's hat, but also blends Shoutmon and Lunamon into it. The one issue I have is Togemogumon isn't very incorporated apart from the feet and a few colors; this could have been a X3 with a little tweak.

The less humanoid design I don't like as much, but I also really appreciate it. Not every Xros should be cool; some of them should be weird or goofy. This version has a unique silhouette, and blends Togemogumon a lot more than the other, even if Revolmon is less apparent apart from the chest cannon (and even then, it's very generic). And there's nothing to say the same four Digimon can't Xros in multiple ways, something SkullKnightmon and DeadlyAxemon did in the show, and something I've been working with with Himemon XAT and XSR.

Now we move onto what is personally my favorite of all the revealed concepts, Sparrowmon X Guardromon. It stands out to me because, with a few tweaks, I could easily imagine this as a toy, where Guardromon's head flips into the torso, and its forearms open up and swap the hands for the drills. On the rare chance I get around to kitbashing a Shoutmon X5, I'd definitely want to try doing a Guardromon so I could do this form as well.

As for the design itself, the fact that its forms are so visibly separated is what probably appeals to me to most. The drills are most likely inspired by Sparrowmon's ray guns. The only thing stopping this from being a near-perfect toyetic DigiXros is the feet, but I understand the want for a visual shake-up.

And now we get to talk about the most interesting through-line in this series of concept arts; Dracomon. It seems like the designers had the idea that, to match Shoutmon from Xros Heart, they could use Dracomon as a similar-sized mascot character and center point for Blue Flare. Dracomon's combinations are much more Fusion than DigiXros, but I really like the idea of re-imagining the Blue Flare team with Dracomon as the center.

As for Dracomon X BlueMeramon, it's a neat design. I like the general shape and flaming wings, but it doesn't really feel like either of its components. The face is too different, and the armor shapes and core come from nowhere. It feels like a Lv5 evolution of Dracomon, like Wingdramon or Groundramon (do we have a Flardramon?). A really cool Digimon design, but a pretty bad DigiXros, sadly. Really glad they didn't go with the superhero shaped one.

And then, like Shoutmon, we have this random X4 using Yasyamon, MetalMamemon, and Catsuramon. Despite its appearance, having two Lv5s in there would mean it's probably pretty powerful. Unlike the previous one, this one actually incorporates all the elements of the component Digimon quite well, having Dracomon as a base, and various armor parts from everyone else dotted throughout in a slightly better way than Shoutmon's. I also really like the uncolored concepts as well, even if they feel less like DigiXroses than the one they went with. (Wonder if I could convince Poyo to draw #2?)

But I think the set of designs that will grab most peoples' attention are the Dracomon and Blue Flare Xroses. These feel like the only designs that were made for the game as a forethought, rather than being a fun experiment.

Dracomon X MailBirdramon is a pretty good Xros, borrowing quite a bit from MetalGreymon in the claws, tail, and wings, but the smaller nature and head design do make it feel more its own. I do wish it differentiated itself a bit more, maybe brought in a bit more green, reduced the armor a bit, but think it's a good start. I also really like how the changed the horns.

Then we get our Shoutmon X4 equivalent. I suppose this would be Dracomon X3? It definitely pulls a lot from it, with the heads on the shoulders and the humanoid silhouette. That being said, and knowing that's what it's trying to accomplish, I think it pulls it off really well (with the caveat of it being a Fusion and not a DigiXros). It does a good job of pulling in elements from all three Digimon. It also has a similar vibe to the WayGreymon design I did a bit ago, so I wonder if I can use some of these ideas as inspiration in the future? Still, I think this is a fun design, and accomplishes what the designers seemed to be setting out to do.

And the last design we have to look at for today is Dracomon X4. Funnily enough, this feels very show Xros, essentially being Dracomon X3 with elements of Cyberdramon added onto it. It definitely feels very final form, but maybe not hero final form? Though I suppose that works for Blue Flare.

At the end of the day, I'm just pumped to see more DigiXros content, even if it isn't the toyetic stuff I'm more fond of. It's also the first new DigiXros content we've gotten since Boy Hunters ended over 10 years ago, even if it isn't "official." Like I've said about my own content, I hope these inspire a few people to try designing a DigiXros. I'd love to see other peoples' takes. I'd also love to be not the only person who draws this stuff.

So thanks to The Playforge for designing these, and to Ray Chan for sharing them. It really made my week.

[everhavenworld]

The Five Starter Species Planned for Everhaven (Project Dragon)

A mega thread on the 5 starter species for Everhaven. We would've started out with: Humans, the Valekin, the Wyvarr, Fauns and Purrans.

2D game artwork by @nicholaskole

Humans

In Everhaven, Humans are a warm, inventive and diverse people who always seek out solutions. They are well-known for their generosity and love to celebrate together. No matter the gathering, they'll build a way for everyone to get there.

Valekin

The plantlike Valekin are deeply connected to the world around them. Patient and devoted, they strive for harmony with their natural environment. Valekin communities, called groves, are tight-knit and seeded with ancient magic.

Wyvarr

The dragonlike Wyvarr are a proud, honorable people. They can thrive in extreme conditions and their clans are centered around the heat of forge-holds. Protective of their long-standing traditions, Wyvarr will defend their own against any threat.

Fauns

The Fauns are genuine, candid and independent. Free-spirited as the wind, they share a special connection to music. While they call their rugged highlands their home, many yearn to explore the world.

Purrans

The catlike Purrans are traveling performers with a strong tradition of storytelling. Their fiercely loyal caravans present colorful performances to the world. Tastemakers and philosophers, Purrans often find inspiration from those they encounter on their travels.

[smilestrawbunny]

Hey! So Fairytale Freak Out, or the spin off to Little Red Memories has been cancelled. But, that means I get to freely share all of the art I made for it and tell you a bit about what could’ve been!

You played as Hunter Wolf, living a happy domestic life with Bonnie Roux, someone who he thought he was married to… Only to find out that wolf culture and rabbit culture are very different, and Bonnie doesn’t view their bond with the same intensity he does.

That aside, there’s a different problem that arises for Hunter… The vigilante known as “Robun Hood” shows up in town, and reveals himself to potentially be Bonnie’s long lost father.

Bad news for Hunter! He doesn’t trust this man, and after spending a really tense dinner with everyone, he decides that Robun is way too dangerous to stay in Bonnie’s life and must be gotten rid of… But Bonnie would never forgive him if he killed her dad, so what should he do?

He ends up enlisting the help of Bastone, Brick, and Hayley- a group of pigs for hire who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, for the right price…

They all make a plan to assassinate Robun in front of Bonnie and Hunter, so Hunter can’t be blamed for it, and Bonnie won’t hate him! (That makes logical sense… right? To Hunter it sure does!) Unfortunately, one of the pigs missed, hurting Miss Bonnie instead!

Hunter is not pleased… He enacts revenge on the useless pigs, killing off Hayley and Bastone. He doesn’t find Brick, but decides to deal with Robun first.

He finds Robun asleep on the couch next to a very awake Bonnie… Who helps him clean up the mess on his face! He can’t kill Robun with Bonnie right there, so he makes do with the love and affection from his beloved instead.

The next morning, Robun and Hunter are both trying to do their best to take care of Bonnie during her recovery… But they end up fighting instead, with varying results depending on a quick time event.

Amidst the commotion… Bonnie goes missing! A certain someone wasn’t happy over his two siblings being murdered, and decided to enact a bit of revenge himself by kidnapping her.

Throughout the game, the player makes a lot of decisions and there are quick time events that upped your “affection” with Bonnie. There were three endings planned depending on what your affection with her was like at this point.

If she favored Robun more, then Hunter goes and kills Brick. He doesn’t realize that Robun was behind him the whole time, and took the opportunity to kill Hunter himself. Robun blames the death on Brick and saves Bonnie, trying his best to give her a happy life going forward.

If she favored Hunter the most, then Hunter takes the opportunity to kill both Brick and Robun. He similarly blames their deaths on each other, and eventually asks Bonnie to properly marry him. (She says yes!)

If she had a more neutral opinion, then both boys save Bonnie. They realize that both of them are important to her, and she would be devastated should anything happen to either of them… So they choose to coexist, for her sake.

It was really hard to keep all of that condensed… but that’s that! It’s sad this game won’t ever see the light of day, but perhaps the new characters might show up in one form or another one day. Thank you for reading and looking at my hard work! ^^

[bison2winquote]

Dinosaur Planet [N64, canned] (Rare)

source

[icekingofhope]

ok so….does everyone remember this?

I can’t be the only one who remembers this

if you don’t know

this was a game called showdown bandit where it was created by the creator of bendy and was a chapter based game but it was cancelled after its first chapter due to reason that I don’t know my guess was lack of funding due to a lawsuit I heard of and bad reviews

honestly this game is one of the most strangest and fascinating games I ever seen I wish it wasn’t cancelled and maybe have afew of the mechanics fixed and such cause I wanted to know who is the mastermind why are the puppets sentient is such so much questions so little time

[atomic-crusader]

I found out about a cancelled Xbox game called B.C. and it has an absolute 11/10 tyrannosaur

[allstartrekgames]

Star Trek: Borg Assimilator

Original Release: N/A (Cancelled 2001)

Developer: Cyberlore

Publisher: Activision

Original Platform: PC

Not played: No leaked prototypes.

Borg Assimilator was an RTS game where you played as the Borg. In each of the 12 missions, you would have started with a few drones, building up your resources and assimilating enemies. Each mission would have you assimilating a new race, with the ultimate goal of getting the technology to produce an Omega Particle. If you complete these missions, you could then try to conquer the alpha quadrant in free mode.

There would also be threats along the way, such as Species 8472, viruses and individuality. You played as the “hive” with a Borg Queen acting as your conduit.

After announcing it, Activision ended up cancelling the game because “the game’s design did not reflect the established Star Trek universe”. The game was supposedly near completion at the time.

[mendelpalace]

So a few days ago, Pi (aka Pixel/Daisuke Amaya), the creator of Cave Story posted the link to a Discord server that, among other things, included a download link to a demo for a cancelled game he was working on around 2010-2011 called Rockfish. There's also hints that he might upload more unfinished/cancelled work. You can find the link here.

Rockfish seems a bit similar to his earlier game Ikachan, as you play as a fish and explore underwater environments. Interestingly, Amaya had previously posted video of another project also called Rockfish that seemingly had a completely different direction. where you played as a guy with a ship/helicopter.

Not much is known about this version and it was also cancelled.

[found-in-retro-game-mags]

Report about David Lynch’s unreleased PC game Woodcutters From Fiery Ships. (Computer Gaming World #168, July 1998)

[posthumanwanderings]

Primal Rage 2 (Midway - Cancelled - 1997)

[kjrwhatever]

To finish this little series, we have the most popular obscure character. As backwards as that sounds. Tiara Cyberooski. A character who would’ve debuted in Sonic X-Treme, had it not been cancelled.

Out of all the characters I’ve drawn. She is the one I wanna see return one day

[gamesthatwerent]

Waterworld - a 3DO/PlayStation title that sank

Did you know Waterworld was once set to make waves on #3DO and #PlayStation? 🌊 But a flawed on-rails design left it high and dry. We dive deep into the full story in the #GTW book, and you can explore some renders and screenshots on our page:

https://gamesthatwerent.com/2020/10/waterworld/

[everhavenworld]

What is Everhaven (codenamed Project Dragon)?

Everhaven was a sandbox survival crafting multiplayer RPG game that was being developed by Phoenix Labs. It had fantasy characters and quests inspired by Minecraft and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We first hear about Everhaven through the former development team of the game, including the character artist @nicholaskole on his Twitter/X where he explains what the game was about and how far along it was in development.

The game had been in development since 2021, 3 years. It was to be announced in June 2024 and released later in Early Access in September. The player would've started with 5 playable races: Humans, mountain-dwelling Fauns, plantlike Valekins, draconic Wyvarrs, and the feline Purrans.

Players would also collect creatures and have them as pets or ride them as mounts. Many regions were planned, and a starter region was to be used for launch, the Inner Lands - "a cosy pastoral paradise of rolling fields, lush forests, and alpine slopes". Like Minecraft, players would be able to build houses and customize their land, and grow crops and gardens.

Fully voiced NPCs would've given the world of Everhaven life, expanding the lore surrounding the 5 playable species and a story for players to follow. Enemies would also fill the regions of Everhaven as you explore the land, embark on quests and gather materials.

Each NPC was designed with unique art, gameplay traits, quests, and quirks. They each had a profession, a culture, a backstory. Some had friends and rivals and possible love interests. Aside from their personal quests, they had no linear story. Instead, by playing the game, players would discover their own developing narratives. Narrative designer Bethany Higa stated that the world of Everhaven would be procedurally generated each time, and everyone's experience with the characters would be different. When you met them, and how, and where in your journey, would all be unique. Phoenix Labs wanted to give players the freedom to choose how to build their own story using the NPCs.

The story of the characters would've been told through cinematics driven by the aesthetics and motifs of their cultures.

According to Nicholas Kole, Phoenix Labs was entering the final 3 months stretch with Everhaven: the character customization was working, music soundtrack and character voiceover was mostly done and still being recorded, cinematics were close to completion. After the Early Access period, Phoenix Labs would've went on with a full plan from there.

The game received excellent feedback and mock reviews, as it was preparing for its upcoming release.

Unfortunately...

A blockchain company named Forte quietly bought Phoenix Labs in 2023 and later decided to cancel all projects that were in development, including Project Unicorn and Everhaven. The team members assigned to the projects were also laid off. This decision was done to focus fully on the other existing games at Phoenix Labs, Dauntless and Fae Farm. There were internal attempts made to save Everhaven but they were unsuccessful.

Phoenix Labs wasn't the first company Forte had purchased. They had also bought Rumble Entertainment, the developer of the mobile game Towers and Titans, and decided to shut down the studio this year in July 2024 in, what a former Rumble dev member calls it, "a ruthless pursuit of profit". This reveals that Forte buys game studios and would casually shut them down if they choose. A gaming news article with anonymous former employees later revealed that Forte would close down studios they acquired and cancel their game projects if they can’t find ways to implement their blockchain tech into the games.

On July 12, 2024, the embargo for Everhaven was lifted, allowing the former team members to post their contributions of the project on social media and on their personal portfolios.

After seeing the content made for Everhaven, a movement was formed by fans; this campaign was called #BringBackProjectDragon, at the hopes of getting Forte's attention and convince them to revive Everhaven and at least sell the game to another publisher. Word spread, and a few cozy game influencers covered Everhaven and its cancellation.

A petition was even created that has reached over 9,000 signatures as a way to show Forte that there is a fanbase that cares for Everhaven.

To try and get Forte's attention, please spread the word about Everhaven to your friends and on social media (Twitter/X, Facebook, here on Tumblr, Bluesky, etc.), sign the petition, send Forte passive messages about wanting Everhaven back!

For Everhaven fans, there is a Facebook Fan Group, a Bluesky fan account, one for Twitter/X, a subreddit, and a discord server.

#BringBackProjectDragon!