Multiplayer Modes That No One Asked For

14 August 2026

You know what's worse than a game crashing right before the final boss battle? Multiplayer modes shoehorned into games like anchovies on a pizza—unwanted, unsettling, and leaving you wondering, “Who thought this was a good idea?”

Don’t get me wrong. We LOVE multiplayer when it's done right—co-op heists in GTA V? Yes, please. Squad-based chaos in Warzone? Sign me up. But over the years, some game developers have taken a wild left turn down Feature Avenue, straight into Multiplayer Mode Madness—and never came back.

Let’s take a joyfully sarcastic ride through the most puzzling, outrageously awkward, and hilariously pointless multiplayer modes in gaming history. Buckle up, because this is going to be a multiplayer experience you also didn’t ask for.

When Single-Player Games Go Wild: “Do You Even Multiplayer, Bro?”

Tomb Raider (2013) – Because Nothing Says Lara Croft Like Team Deathmatch

Picture this. You've just finished an intense, emotionally heavy scene where Lara Croft narrowly escapes death. You’re emotionally drained. Then BAM—next menu screen: “Wanna try capturing the flag with friends?”

Wait, what?

Tomb Raider’s reboot was gritty, cinematic, and beautifully crafted for solo play. So naturally, someone at the studio thought, “Hey, let’s toss in a multiplayer mode where players shoot each other with traps and zip-lines.”

Did it revolutionize the genre? Nope. Did anyone stick around after trying it once? Also nope.

Dead Space 2 – Let’s Make Space Horror… Competitive?

Dead Space 2 already made you paranoid of every shadow. It was survival horror at its finest. But then someone had the galaxy-brained idea: “Let’s toss in a multiplayer mode where humans fight Necromorphs.”

Because, clearly, what fans of psychological horror want most is… an arena shooter?

Instead of building suspense and dread, the multiplayer was a chaotic mess of humans vs. monsters that played like a rejected Left 4 Dead clone. Honestly, even the Necromorphs looked confused.

Multiplayer Modes That Feel Like A Dare

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – Tag… But Make It Historical

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood introduced a multiplayer mode that had you assassinating other players in stealthy, confusing ways. It was like playing hide-and-seek combined with hardcore LARPing at a Renaissance fair.

To be fair, it was kind of fun in a weird, “what is even happening?” sort of way. But after a few rounds of stalking someone dressed like a plague doctor who’s also stalking you... your brain starts leaking out your ears.

Still, no one asked for it. Not a soul.

Mass Effect 3 – Galactic War Powered By... Horde Mode?

Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer wasn’t bad—it just felt like the devs held Commander Shepard at gunpoint and said, “You’ll save the galaxy, but only if players complete enough co-op missions on random maps.”

Yes, your solo campaign progress was actually tied to this online mode. Saving the entire galaxy depended on random people not quitting your match halfway. That's like NASA crowdsourcing a Mars landing on Fiverr.

The Ones That Make You Say “WHY!?”

BioShock 2 – Rapture Meets Frag Fest

Did you enjoy wandering through the underwater dystopia of Rapture, soaking in the eerie atmosphere and philosophical undertones?

Too bad! Here’s a multiplayer mode where you can blast your buddy with plasmids and rockets. Nothing compliments Ayn Rand-inspired narratives like a killstreak bonus.

BioShock 2’s multiplayer felt like eating caviar at a paintball fight. Two great things. Just not meant to be jammed together like this.

Spec Ops: The Line – Multiplayer… But Make It Mindless

Spec Ops: The Line is arguably one of the most thought-provoking military shooters ever made. Its commentary on the horrors of war is both chilling and heartbreaking.

So naturally, the multiplayer mode was just a generic third-person shoot-'em-up with zero relation to the tone of the main game. It’s like watching Schindler's List and then being invited to a Fortnite dance party.

Even the developers later admitted it was forced by the publisher and that it didn’t belong. Yes. I can relate.

Multiplayer That Took It One Step Too Far

Final Fantasy XV – Comrades Who?

Final Fantasy XV’s “Comrades” was a standalone multiplayer expansion where you could create your own character and go on side quests… in a game where everyone just wanted to hang out with Noctis and the boys.

It was like being handed the aux cord and told to DJ a party—after everyone had already left.

The combat felt sluggish, the servers were spotty, and the story was kind of like that one uncle who never knows when to leave the barbecue. Awkward and unnecessary.

Watch Dogs – Hacking, But Make It PvP

Watch Dogs prides itself on being a stealthy, tech-savvy sandbox where you can outsmart the system. Yet Ubisoft thought it’d be fun to let random players sneak into your game and hack you at the worst possible moment.

Imagine meticulously setting up a stealth infiltration. You're five seconds from the perfect hack—and BAM, Dave from Wisconsin jumps into your game and tasers you into digital oblivion.

Thanks, Dave. Really appreciate it.

Even Nintendo Has Slipped Up!

Metroid Prime: Hunters – Now With 90% Less Story!

Samus Aran is the queen of moody, isolated space exploration. So clearly, she should be in a twitchy first-person arena shooter, right?

Wrong.

Metroid Prime: Hunters for the DS threw out almost everything that made Metroid Metroid and slapped on a multiplayer mode because… Halo was popular?

Aiming with a stylus on the touchscreen isn’t competitive—it’s carpal tunnel cosplay. It was stiff, awkward, and felt like Samus had permanently lost her sense of direction and her dignity.

When The Multiplayer Was Actually a Lie

Metal Gear Survive – The Game No One Wanted

After the legendary Kojima left Konami, fans were hungry for more Metal Gear magic.

What they got instead was Metal Gear Survive—a zombie survival multiplayer spinoff that had the gameplay of a bad mod and the charm of wet cardboard.

Imagine taking everything iconic about Metal Gear (stealth, deep narrative, Big Boss, weirdness), and replacing it with crafting mechanics and co-op tower defense missions. It’s the gaming equivalent of serving sushi at a Texas BBQ. Just why?

The Multiplayer Mode That Literally No One Played

Resident Evil: Resistance (RIP)

Bundled with the Resident Evil 3 Remake, Resistance was a 4v1 online survival horror mode that looked interesting on paper… and collapsed faster than a wet Jenga tower in practice.

Balancing issues, a lack of content, and “meh” gameplay made sure the servers were emptier than a zombie's diary. It tried to ride the asymmetrical multiplayer wave brought in by Dead by Daylight, but instead just... bellyflopped right into the pool.

Some players reported spending more time matchmaking than actually playing. Now that’s true survival horror.

The “Who Asked For This?” Hall of Fame

Let’s rapid-fire a few more, just for fun:

- Uncharted 3 Multiplayer – Because nothing says swashbuckling adventure like cheap grenade spam and SNIPERS with laser sights.

- Battlefield Hardline‘s Cops and Robbers – We wanted urban chaos, not Payday: Lite with bullet physics.

- The Darkness II – A four-player co-op mode in a game about eating hearts in the shadows? Sure… let's confuse everyone.

- Fable III Multiplayer – One camera. Two players. One big headache.

Final Thoughts: Multiplayer Isn’t For Everyone... And That’s Okay!

Listen: not every game needs to chase the multiplayer dream. Sometimes it’s okay—no, great—to just embrace the sweet, solo journey. When developers start adding multiplayer modes that feel like awkward additions at a dinner party, it doesn’t just confuse players. It distracts from what made the game awesome to begin with.

Just because you can add multiplayer, doesn’t mean you should. It’s like giving a cat a skateboard. Interesting? Maybe. Useful? Absolutely not.

So next time you fire up a beloved single-player title and you see a “Multiplayer” option blinking seductively in the corner, ask yourself:

> “Is this really what the game needed… or is this just another one of those multiplayer modes no one asked for?”

(9 out of 10 times: it’s the latter.