Silent Hunter. What Happened to Heroes of Might and Magic, or Biggest Ubisoft IPs We're Slowly Forgetting
Table of Contents
- Genre: simulator
- How long have we been waiting: 12 years
We realize that this one is a rather hardcore example. After all, submarine simulators are today a niche for a narrow group of hobbyists. However, let's remind everyone how strong Silent Hunter brand was - the French had the title under their wings from 2001 (from the second installment). The last installment of the series was Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic , in which we played the role of the commander of the German U-boat. The game was not warmly welcomed. Historical authenticity and realism were to the point, but everything waned with very bad technicalities.
Numerous bugs and unreadable interface have been criticized, and some have started to complain about the simulation genre itself and the overly difficult gameplay. New DRM systems, requiring constant internet connection with a singleplayer game, tanked the game even further. This is not the end - Ubisoft servers were attacked by the hackers because of that, and the game was unavailable for a few days, further infuriating the players. At the end of that year, the internet connection requirement was lifted - first requiring only a single online activation, and then removed completely.
In 2010, we wrote about this game:
Nowadays, if Ubisoft announced a release of a realistic submarine simulator, this would be treated as a joke. Cannot be done with the current video game market. However, the brand itself is still remembered by many people, and it could return in a slightly different form, e.g. as an adventure game on a claustrophobic submarine, characterized by credible, engaging story and some simulation elements. Of course, you would need to do without goofy humor, endless customization, and buying skins for your ship, and instead, focus on character and story. After all, open worlds are in abundance lately - just fill them with U-boots and a good storyline.
