5 Games That Would Have Been Totally Different if They’d Stuck to Their Original Pitch

Sometimes, a game’s original pitch can be maintained all the way through its development. Other times, major tweaks are made, as was the case with these five games that would have been drastically different if they’d stuck to their original pitch.

5 Games That Could Have Turned Out Totally Different

Fuse

If you forgot or didn’t know, that Insomniac Games’ Fuse ever existed, you’re not alone.

A bland co-op shooter from the seventh console generation, the game was as by the numbers as a AAA game could get. From its bland environments to its cookie-cutter characters, nothing about the title stood out from the pack whatsoever.

This was bad enough considering how creative Insomniac’s games usually are, but it becomes all the worse when you look back at the title’s original concept from E3 2011.

Full of cartoonish yet charming characters with a design aesthetic to match, the game was intended to be far more in line with titles like Sunset Overdrive or Ratchet and Clank, with hints of James Bond-esque spy action for good measure.

It’s unclear why Insomniac vied for a change in tone that was so disappointingly dull, but most attest it to the fact that EA was the title’s publisher.

As a result, the game now lies forgotten to most, with the rest left to wonder what could have been.

5 Games That Could Have Turned Out Totally Different

Borderlands

When people think of the Borderlands series, most wouldn’t describe it as subtle.

Filled to the brim with crass humor, an extravagant cel-shaded art style and a metric ton of outlandish, overpowered weaponry, the game revels in being as over-the-top and bombastic as it can be.

It’s been much to the series’ benefit too, helping it stand out among the deluge of titles that inhabit similar genres and wasteland shooter settings.

And yet, before the first title made it through its development process, Borderlands was intended to be far more grounded and serious.

Early coverage of the game depicted a dark and gritty title more akin to Mad Max or the more serious side of Fallout. Where one would expect to find nonsensical raiders there would instead be violent cannibals, with nary a dick joke to be heard from anyone.

Likewise, the key cast of characters would have been far more grounded, only varying in the weapon types they used.

Though this might not have totally nuked the series’ chances of taking off, it would have made it stand out a whole lot less from the other gritty titles up for grabs in the seventh console generation, and robbed the world of an undeniably unique franchise.

5 Games That Could Have Turned Out Totally Different

Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 4 is touted as one of the best games of all time, revolutionizing the action genre and altering the landscape of survival horror games for years.

But it went through its fair share of changes between its concept pitch and release.

Initially helmed by Hideki Kamiya, Resident Evil 4 nearly went in several directions that could have irrevocably altered both itself and the Resident Evil series.

These ranged from a stylish hack and slash action title to one where Leon wander through an Umbrella-owned castle alone, hunting down a cure for a strain of a virus that was manifesting as a hidden power in his left hand.

Yet another plunged Leon into a hallucinatory world, forced to outrun a “Hookman” killer through winding, seemingly endless corridors.

Each was more different than the last, and if followed would have taken the Resident Evil series in a completely different direction than what fans ended up seeing.

Granted, some of these ideas did spawn different games – the initial pitch later became the basis for Devil May Cry – and the final design of Resident Evil 4 definitely proved itself a worthwhile direction for the series.

All the same, some still wonder what the series would have become, and what its impact on the gaming landscape would have been, had the series explored any of these other avenues.

5 Games That Could Have Turned Out Totally Different

Brütal Legend

Brütal Legend is hard to nail down as good or bad, mainly because its final release doesn’t veer too far in either direction.

Attempting to blend third-person action with real-time strategy elements under a heavy metal design motif, neither half of the title’s core genres stand out as definitive or groundbreaking.

Sure, players could command an army of heavy metal inspired units and engage in some visceral combat themselves, but overall it lacked any real substance that would make it a must play for anyone.

As a result, most felt the game didn’t live up to the originality of the concept first presented in 2007.

It’s a shame, too, because that first pitch had plenty going for it. Putting more emphasis on the third person action aspect, it would have seen players wandering a heavy metal world, killing enemies and bosses single-handedly and gaining new dark powers as they went.

As such, it might have had a much stronger sense of identity than it ended up having, and lived up to the promise of its heavy metal style with equally entertaining substance.

5 Games That Could Have Turned Out Totally Different

Final Fantasy XV

The story of Final Fantasy XV‘s development is a long and complicated one, with the initial pitch being a far cry from the final product players were delivered.

Initially presented as a spin-off of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV was instead referred to as Versus XIII for several years, meant to be a darker counterpart to Final Fantasy XIII.

And darker it was: Helmed by Tetsuya Nomura, it would have seen a more grim and depressing setting, with several of the game’s characters occupying different roles in a narrative similar to but drastically different from XV’s.

For proof, look no further than the game’s initial trailers, which saw Noctis defending his throne from soldiers as their invasion of Lucis is carried out.

Likewise, it would have included a myriad of gameplay elements like mech piloting and manning a cannon that strayed from the initial action RPG gameplay, falling more in line with the variety of play seen in Kingdom Hearts.

It’s unclear why the game’s direction was changed as drastically as it was, but had it come to fruition, there’s no doubt it would have had plenty of twists and turns to differentiate itself from what Square Enix ended up putting out.