Ever since its introduction in December 1994, the PlayStation brand has become one of the most recognizable names in gaming. Featuring a ton of games across all four home consoles that have been a part of this powerful brand, Sony has truly established its dominance in the world of gaming with its powerful hardware, exclusive games, and tons of content that have attracted fans from all over the world to become a part of the gaming revolution. Some of the games featured on this console have been absolutely spectacular, garnering praise from fans and critics alike for a ton of reasons.

However, not all games featured on this console have been great, good... or even passable. Some of them are absolutely terrible, and considering Sony's high standard of quality it's surprising how these games even managed to secure a release on these consoles, to begin with. However, with some games, it gets even more confusing when the end product is terrible.. but the so-called 'critics' who are paid to provide their analysis of the game end up completely misleading fans who just can't comprehend what made the game so great in the critic's eyes. Here are 15 terrible PlayStation games that — somehow — got stellar reviews.

The following scores of these PlayStation games have been taken from Metacritic.

15 Watch Dogs — Metacritic: 80

Watch Dogs has pretty much become the poster child for games that didn't live up to their hype, and the catalyst for fans to start doubting pretty much any game released by Ubisoft. One of the most hotly anticipated games of all time, Ubisoft pretty much dug their own grave by trying to make the game seem like the next best thing — which ended up backfiring massively when the game was finally released.

An overly serious story, a boring protagonist, forgettable characters, and the driving — oh dear god, the driving. The faults in the final product were so noticeable that the parts where the game actually managed to display its strengths ended up taking a back seat to the absolute mediocrity that was unfolding in front of the players.

14 Dark Souls II — Metacritic: 91

There was a general feeling in the gaming community that the industry had become oversaturated with games that insisted on holding the player's hand and refused to make their experience any harder than it needed to be. In came Dark Souls, and players who echoed these complaints received a fresh breath of air in the form of gameplay that was difficult, but never frustratingly so.

So when the sequel to this game was slated to arrive, fans were waiting with bated breath for more Dark Souls. And they sure got it — although the package turned out to be somewhat underwhelming. The lack of Hidetaka Miyazaki's genius was painfully apparent, since the sequel didn't share any of the brilliance that the previous game was known for.

13 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 — Metacritic: 88

The game that arguably started the trend of favoring multiplayer over single-player, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 can be credited as the catalyst for the general bogged-down versions of Call of Duty that we've been receiving nowadays. Unlike the previous two games, the campaign in Modern Warfare 3 was anything but great.

Not only that, but the multiplayer — that was apparently given 'more' importance — ended up being a disappointment when compared to the last two games. People need to accept that Activision didn't simply start giving more importance to multiplayer over single player; they just became lazier in both departments.

12 Dishonored — Metacritic: 89

The supposed masterpiece from Arkane Studios, Dishonored was a smash hit that received rave reviews from the moment it was released. Critics couldn't help but shower praise at the level design, stealth, powers, story, and whatnot. What people seem to ignore is the fundamental flaw that ultimately dragged this game to mediocrity, no matter how novel its concepts might be.

The game inherently encouraged a player to be non-lethal... but the non-lethal powers were so horribly boring that there was no way to enjoy the game unless you started killing people left and right. Of course, since having fun in a game is considered a crime your ending would also get messed up if you killed more people, which is just plain stupid.

11 LittleBigPlanet — Metacritic: 95

LittleBigPlanet was meant to be Sony's answer to the wildly successful Mario series — and at the time of release, critics showered the game with unmitigated praise for a number of reasons. However, gamers who bought the game in the hope of an experience that emulated — if not surpassed — Mario's gameplay would be sorely disappointed.

While the game certainly boasted a clever creation tool that allowed for a bunch of creative level designs, the core gameplay was quite bare-bones and lacking in a number of departments. The story is certainly one such element, but perhaps the biggest flaw of the game is just how easy it is. There's barely any challenge to the game's platforming, making it quite mundane in the long run.

10 God Of War III — Metacritic: 92

With the upcoming reboot for God Of War coming sooner rather than later (well, hopefully at the very least), fans are waiting with bated breath to experience Kratos' journey through a setting immersed in Norse mythology. Why, it's almost like people have forgotten just how mediocre the third entry in the trilogy actually was.

Solely improving the graphics and production qualities of a game isn't enough to warrant a 92 rating — especially when the core gameplay remains unchanged with barely any new additions to warrant this high rating. God Of War III was ultimately a pretty game with very shaky legs, which the critics chose to ignore when they showered the game with undue praise.

9 Far Cry 4 — Metacritic: 85

Far Cry 3 was undoubtedly one of the greatest games Ubisoft has ever released. The combat, story, characters and a ton of other things just clicked into place the longer you played the game, making it one of the finer products that Ubisoft has managed to squeeze out. Later, when Far Cry 4 came out, gamers would be forgiven for mistaking that it was pretty much the same game with a fresher coat of paint.

The lack of risk-taking and the tendency to roll out tried-and-tested gaming templates for the sake of profit can be clearly seen in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Far Cry 3, which also garnered great reviews —although not at the level of its previous games. Honestly, a simple repackage with barely any new improvements deserves far less than an 85. At least in Far Cry Primal, the changes were enough to make players play the game differently.

8 Assassin's Creed III — Metacritic: 85

Most people consider Assassin's Creed Unity to be the worst Assassin's Creed game, and one of the major factors that contributed to this decision was the horrid launch of the game that saw it absolutely marred with a crapload of bugs. But after a coat of polish, the game is actually quite good and provides a fun Assassin's Creed experience; something that Assassin's Creed III — a shambolic game with no redeemable factors whatsoever — failed to replicate.

Ubisoft seemingly forgot how to innovate and improve the series after their brilliant Ezio trilogy (although Revelations was a bit shoddy). The gameplay barely had any new changes, the main character Connor was as bland as one could be, and the storyline was just plain boring. Also, getting desynchronized for not skinning animals is pretty weak.

7 Dragon Age II — Metacritic: 82

Dragon Age: Origins was one of the best RPGs to have come out in recent memory. The fleshed-out world, unique characters, strategic combat system and a brilliant story are just a few of the many highlights that made the game such a huge success, both critically and commercially. Its sequel, on the other hand, was painfully mediocre by comparison.

Dragon Age II suffered from a number of shortcomings that made the game painfully average at best. The small scope of the story, the lack of choice when it came to designing your own character, the removal of origin stories and a disappointing battle system are some of the many complaints that fans talk about when discussing the relatively high critical scores it got at the time.

6 Final Fantasy IX — Metacritic: 94

Fun fact: Final Fantasy IX is the highest-rated Final Fantasy game on Metacritic, which is certainly... something. To say that a game that sacrificed all the innovations made in the series till now in favor of the same old battle system and story for the sole purpose of nostalgia can somehow be called the best Final Fantasy game of all time is perhaps the cruelest joke ever.

The fact of the matter is that Final Fantasy IX is a good game, but it certainly isn't a great game, and it's definitely not the best Final Fantasy title by a long mile. There's a reason why the game didn't enjoy as much success as the other two titles released for the PlayStation, and that's because it just wasn't captivating enough for the majority of players.

5 BioShock 2 — Metacritic: 88

The original BioShock is arguably one of the greatest video games of all time. FPS games at the time weren't even trying to forge a good story, since they were too busy trying to shove in as much mindless action in their games as possible. BioShock was a much-required breath of fresh air for the genre, and people were waiting with bated breath for its sequel.

Unfortunately, the absence of creative director Ken Levine impacted the sequel's quality by quite a lot. The game barely sported any of the depth of the previous game, instead featuring one of the most annoying ways to collect ADAM ever and a new enemy that was supposed to be the most dangerous thing ever... but ended up being just another bullet sponge.

4 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain — Metacritic: 93

The Metal Gear Solid series is one of the greatest video game series of all time, there's no doubt about that. Hideo Kojima has managed to create a story that spanned multiple games across different periods, but still managed to captivate both old and new fans alike. Unfortunately, his blowup with Konami happened during the production of Metal Gear Solid V, and it clearly affected the quality of the end product.

For an open world game, there was surprisingly little to do in the world of Metal Gear Solid V. As the game progressed, a player couldn't help but notice how rushed the game felt towards the end (a product of Konami's meddling), and the story — perhaps the most important part of a Metal Gear Solid game — felt anything but great.

3 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — Metacritic: 92

There's no doubt that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the greatest games of all time. Bethesda truly struck gold when they released this game (gold that they're still attempting to mine to this day). Gamers had an absolutely unforgettable experience while playing this masterpiece... although if you played on the PlayStation, then this was for all the wrong reasons.

The game was plagued with bugs since its launch — most of which Bethesda couldn't even be bothered with fixing. The PS3 didn't even have the added benefit of mods, meaning that the game was as bland as it could be. To make things worse, there was a game-breaking glitch that arose when the save file exceeded a certain size, causing the game to lag, freeze, or even crash, making it completely unplayable. Nice work, Bethesda.

2 Uncharted: Drake's Fortune — Metacritic: 88

Naughty Dog has truly established itself as the premier developer for PlayStation, with its large number of PlayStation exclusives and games that just simply can't be missed. One of the franchises that helped in establishing this dominance was the Uncharted series, which is quite lucky since everyone just ignored all the shortcomings that the first game in the franchise had.

Featuring bland cover-shooting and passable platforming, what truly made Uncharted: Drake's Fortune so bad was its shamefully short runtime. Gamers who romped through the fairly easy game could potentially finish it in just under three hours — that's the same runtime of a freaking movie.

1 Grand Theft Auto IV — Metacritic: 98

The Grand Theft Auto series is probably one of the biggest gaming series of all time. When Grand Theft Auto IV was revealed to the public, fans waited with bated breath to experience GTA on the next level of consoles. While the end product certainly showed just how powerful the seventh generation of consoles was, fans argue that as a Grand Theft Auto game it just didn't cut it.

Ditching the over-the-top antics from the previous games in favor of a more realistic approach was met with a mixed reception from the GTA faithful. If that wasn't bad enough, the game featured a ton of stereotypes that — unlike the previous games — felt lazy and rushed. There's also the lack of replayability in the game, making GTA IV completely unworthy of its 98 rating.