If you have never heard of the games on this list, then count yourself lucky. These games are infamously terrible. At least, that’s what the reviews at Metacritic say. It does not matter what platform you play, from the old GameCube to the shiny PS4, bad games exist.
When you have been gaming for a while, you typically get a sixth sense for bad games. For example, is the video game based off a movie or reality TV show? Yeah? Then it’s probably going to be awful. Then there are genres you know you need to be careful of because they have both great and terrible games aplenty, like racing and party games.
So if you are to believe Metacritic (and you probably should since it includes both basic audience and professional reviews), avoid these games at all cost. Or don’t, you can buy these games and play them and revel in their badness. There are streamers who make money off of getting angry at bad games after all.
Let’s get started in this terrible mess. We will let you know what made them terrible, what console they are for, and put Metacritic quotes in the descriptions.
27 Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade (11%)
For the Nintendo Wii U, this party game became known as garbage for its annoying voice acting, pointless mini-games, and confusing controls.
Released in 2012, this game was berated by fans and professional game reviewers alike.
“Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade is a mess,” wrote the Nintendo World Report. “It makes a promise it can't keep, assaults your ears with annoying voice acting, and sucks all the fun out of owning a Wii U. It is the coal under the tree that is Wii U.”
26 Ride To Hell: Retribution (13%)
Released for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows in 2013, Ride To Hell: Retribution has had a shaky start. First, it was titled differently and got canceled in 2008. So the design was heavily revised for its 2013 release.
“This game is a shame for all bikers in the world,” wrote PC Games. “... It’s just a wild mixture of shooting-sequences, beat-em-up and boring bike-driving that is just a simple test of your reflexes. There’s no cool atmosphere, no exciting storytelling, it’s just a complete waste of money and time.”
25 Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust (17%)
This action-adventure game was released in 2009 for the PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows. It was a part of the Leisure Suit Larry series that began in 1987. So the series is good enough to have multiple games made, but not all are winners, especially this one.
The poor graphics and humor quickly got on the nerves of even its dedicated fans.
“It's time to stop the show, before Sierra ruins what is still good in our memory,” wrote Eurogamer Italy. “After more than 20 years of story, he deserves some rest. Go Larry, and don't come back!”
24 Double Dragon II: Wander Of The Dragons (17%)
Double Dragon II: Wander Of The Dragons was released in 2013 only for digital download through the Xbox 360 arcade. It served to be a remake of the 80s Double Dragon II game. However this remake utterly disgusted even those who loved the franchise.
COGconnected called the game, “Boring, uninspired, glitchy, unfinished.” The combat was reported to be broken to the point of unplayablity with a lack of co-op play. Fans were warned that if they loved the 80s original then they should run far away from this remake.
23 Deal Or No Deal (20%)
Honestly though, who would think this would be a good game other than parents shopping for their kid who do not know better? Deal Or No Deal went from reality TV to the Nintendo DS and it was an obvious mistake. Reality TV and video games just do not mix.
Gamespot summed up the reason this game sucked on Metacritic. “A $30 game about winning fake money by picking random numbers is awful to begin with, but a completely broken version of said game is another story altogether.”
22 Drake Of The 99 Dragons (22%)
This game is a third person shooter that centers on an undead assassin on a mission for revenge. Released for the Xbox in 2003, Drake of the 99 Dragons was universally despised by critics for its sloppy controls and ugly visuals.
“The sad part is that there are just too many problems that were not fixed before the release,” wrote Cheat Code Central on Metacritic. “The main thing is the controls of the game itself... It's a game with some cool gimmicks that try to hide a poorly made game.
21 Fast And Furious: Showdown (21%)
Released for the PS3, Xbox 360, Windows, and 3DS in 2013, the Fast and Furious title did not save this game from tons of negative reviews.
This game attempted to be a bridge for the movies, Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6.
The Hardcore Gamer wrote on Metacritic, “Those with even a shred of self-respect should head to a seedy truck stop, bowling alley or other similar establishment and use the forty dollars this retails for to instead play the vastly superior The Fast and the Furious arcade game.”
20 Rambo: The Video Game (23%)
Being based on a film series is the first clue that this game was destined to suck. It was released in 2014 for PS3, Xbox 360, and Windows. The main story can be completed in only three and a half hours, the graphics are outdated, quick-time events are overused, and the dialogue is made from low quality audio bytes from the film series. That’s only a piece of what made this game bad.
Other reviews have criticized the game for its poor enemy A.I., the game often crashing, and it’s difficult to control aiming system.
19 NBA: Unrivaled (24%)
The Xbox 360 and PS3 really were victims to some terrible games. IGN called NBA: Unrivaled, “One of the worst basketball games that you'll hopefully never play.”
The game tried to go for an old school and arcade feel but it failed to make fans happy or nostalgic due to its bugs, poor animation, and overall boring gameplay.
Even at $15, critics say that price is too high for what the game gives you. You are better off buying spaghetti at an upper-class restaurant.
18 R.I.P.D The Game (26-39%)
A lot of these bad games came out in 2013. R.I.P.D The Game was based off the movie, R.I.P.D., which was the first clue that it was going to be bad.
“Poor design choices and a lack of content result in R.I.P.D. the Game fitting the stereotype that movie tie-in video games aren’t worth your time and money,” wrote Pulsegamer on Metacritic. “While there’s some cool looking weapons (such as a banana) to unlock as a reward for continuous play, after playing for a few hours nothing really seems worth the trouble.”
17 Legends Of Wrestling II For The Game Boy Advance (24%)
Reviews are mixed if you look at the game itself, which came out for the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox as well as the Game Boy Advance.
However there was no mix when it came to the Gameboy Advanced version, which was despised by critics.
“A major disappointment, outside having a super impressive roster of old school wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Iron Sheik, George 'the Animal' Steele, just to name a few,” wrote Gaming Age on Metaritic. “It falls short in every category that makes a great wrestling game fun.”
16 Pulse Racer (24%)
This game became known as one of the worst racing games out there. It was quickly under attack by critics when it was released for the Xbox in 2003. It attempted to be like Mario Kart, but in the year 2024.
“Simply put this is the worst game we’ve seen on the Xbox,” wrote Totalgames.net on Metacritic. “Before you even touch the controller you have to endure the pathetic excuse for graphics. The textures are about as bland as you can get, the visual effects are comparative to the Game Boy Advance and the vehicle models do anything but inspire.”
15 Fighter Within (23%)
Another terrible game that came out in 2013! Published by Ubisoft, this game came out exclusively for the Xbox One. It proved to be a terrible execution when it came to motion controls.
“The game that actually came out is broken, hampered by a control scheme that doesn't work more than half of the time,” Polygon wrote on Metacritic.
“This, coupled with the weak writing, means that Fighter Within does a better job of emulating the pain and frustration of actual training — rather than its rewards.”
14 Homie Rollerz (23%)
This kart racing game for the DS game that out in 2008 was not just hated for its terrible gameplay, but also for its racist portrayal of Latino people. The camera and play controls were very wonky.
"Please, for your sake and mine, stay far away from this game,” wrote Gamervision on Metacritic. “Even if you get it for free. Even if you get paid to take it. Even if they make it so the DS only plays one game, and this is it, I can’t recommend it. Awful.”
13 Charlie’s Angels (23%)
Out for the Gamecube and PS2 in 2003, this obvious attempt at a cash-in surprised no one by its terrible story, graphics, and gameplay.
“Extremely easy, even on the hard difficulty, and can be beaten in around three to four hours,” wrote Into Liquid Sky on Metacritic.
“That is, of course, if you can stand the insipid story, script and overall delivery of the game. Fighting your way through dumb-as-dirt enemies only to find a switch, computer, or really long ladder climb as your goal does not a good game make.”
12 Afro Samurai 2: Revenge Of The Kuma Volume 1 (21%)
This game had plans to be released in three volumes. However, it was so widely despised by audiences that the plans for any future this game had were ultimately thrown into the trash. Released for the PS4 and on Steam in 2015, this game worked as a sequel to the popular manga series, Afro Samurai.
Poor voice acting, controls, and a laughable story were all of the major complaints for this could-have-been trilogy. Reviews on Metacritic were unanimous that this game sucked.
11 SPOGS Racing (18%)
Racing games are also on the trend of easily messing up and getting poor reviews on Metacritic. SPOGS Racing was not only released for the Wii in 2008, but was also a WiiWare title which meant it was only downloadable through the Wii’s online market.
“This is as bad as it gets. SPOGS Racing is ugly, boring, and sports some of the worst racing AI ever,” wrote IGN on Metacritic.
“It's an absolute joke that D2C is charging money for this. SPOGS looks like someone's first go at homebrew developing.”
10 Vroom In The Night Sky (17%)
Even the Nintendo Switch is not an innocent console on this list. Vroom in the Night Sky came out last year and had a cute concept: a magical girl who flies on a magic scooter. Critics slammed the title when it was discovered that what seemed like a cute game actually was too boring for money. Unlike other games, not much was inherently wrong with the mechanics. The game just had so little content that it could be beaten in just an hour or two and was too uninteresting to revisit.
9 Yaris (17%)
Unlike every other game on this list, Yaris was distributed for free on Xbox Live Arcade. No one was thankful though, because this game was basically just an advertisement for their line of Yaris subcompact cars.
“As the title is completely free, you should ask yourself different questions related to value,” wrote Video Game Talk on Metacritic.
“For instance, 'Is the title worth the 17.5 seconds it will take to download it?' That's a tough one. You could take out the trash in that amount of time, a much more rewarding task than playing Yaris.”
8 Rogue Warrior (27%)
This 2009 first-person shooter game came out for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows and quickly sank into the pits of negative reviews for its generic story, boring gameplay, and poor enemy A.I.’s.
“You have to wonder how something like this makes its way onto shelves as a full-priced product,” wrote Giant Bomb on Metacritic. “Though there's some sort of ironic fun to be had by cruising through the short campaign and listening to Mickey Rourke shout obscenities, it's practically impossible to wring $60 of excitement out of this disc.”