Mighty No. 9

Mighty No. 9 fumbled its potential despite raising $3.8 million on Kickstarter, making it one of the most funded games on the platform at the time. Launched in 2016, this spiritual successor to Mega Man earned a Metacritic score of 52, which is 30% lower than the average for top-funded Kickstarter games. Its community manager’s infamous promise that the game would make backers "cry like an anime fan on prom night" became a cautionary tale in crowdfunding hype. Even #9 Skull and Bones, with its $200 million budget, managed a higher critical reception, underscoring how Mighty No. 9’s failure was not about money but broken promises.