The 20 WORST Video Games of All Time, According to Critics
Each of these barely playable games is more terrible than the last.
The modern video game as we know it is a relatively new form of home entertainment, yet one of the greatest ever, Grand Theft Auto V, has made more money than every movie ever made.
On the other end of the spectrum are these absolutely terrible titles that should never have seen the light of day. Of the 15,000 games archived on review aggregation site Metacritic, these earned the lowest average scores among experts.
Rambo: The Video Game had potential to let fans slay enemies as the franchise’s titular Special Forces soldier. What they got was a clunky, severely outdated rail shooter that IGN called “an unmitigated waste of time for for everybody involved.”
Then there’s Yaris, the Toyota-licensed “racing” game in which players pilot an awful rendering of the Japanese automaker’s 100-horsepower sedan down a tube.
And there’s WAY more trash video games where those came from.
Check out the the 20 worst games of all time here:
20. “Legends of Wrestling II”
Critic Score: 24/100
Metacritic Summary: “Legends of Wrestling II takes you through the wrestling hall of fame with the top grapplers that are battling for squared-circle supremacy. Play as your favorite wrestler–including Hulk Hogan, Andre ‘The Giant,’ and Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart–each with signature entrances, taunts, and moves. A new storyline and career mode let you battle for the respect of promoters and fans while fighting for the heavyweight championship crown. The game also features tag-team tournaments, a $15,000 Body Slam Challenge, and a variety of match types.”
Platforms: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance
19. “Pulse Racer”
Critic score: 24/100
Metacritic Summary: “Pulse Racer takes you to a future where racers careen toward the clouds in sleek vehicles to gain an advantage over the competition. As a racer, you’ll need a risk-taking mentality; but more importantly, you’ll need a vehicle that suits your driving style and a driver who matches your technique. Linked directly to your vehicle, your body will be pushed to the limit in a variety of high-speed tracks. Harass your opponents with missiles, mines, or direct plasma beams and slingshot around tight turns.”
Platform: Xbox
18. “Fighter Within”
Critic score: 23/100
Metacritic Summary: “Unleash your inner fighter to beat your friends with your bare knuckles. Discover Fighter Within, the next-gen game that provides you with the excitement of a real fight, throwing you into a total-body combat experience. Test your real fighting skills thanks to the next gen of motion recognition. Kinect for Xbox One arms the game with realistic fighting moves using 1:1 precision movement tracking. Enter a brutal, physical, and liberating world: Next-gen graphics, real-time wounds, sweat, and facial impacts in extreme arena environments and primal animations.”
Platform: Xbox One
17. “FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction”
Critic score: 23/100
Metacritic Summary: “FlatOut 3: Chaos & Destruction is demolition racing at its extreme. Real world physics with 9 different game modes, and over 47 different vehicles available. Lay waste to farm houses, fences, and then wreak havoc in a Detroit suburb, race up the walls in giant waste disposal sewers. Let the chaos begin as you race through over 60 different tracks, narrowly avoiding wrecking balls, Double Decker buses and much more.”
Platform: PC
16. “Homie Rollerz”
Critic score: 23/100
Metacritic Summary: “Homie Rollerz is a fast-paced, mayhem-laden kart racer where players can pick one of the 10 most popular Homies, customize their slick rides, then trick, hop, and battle through courses with settings, shortcuts, and secrets as unique as the Homies themselves. Trick Out and Roll Out: Earn respect points by doing stunts and winning races, then cash them in to trick out your car.”
Platform:
15. “Charlie’s Angels”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1QClbSdIs0
Critic score: 23/100
Metacritic Summary: “Join Natalie, Dylan, and Alex for an intense adventure based on the Charlie’s Angels movies. You’ll need various disguises, clever tactics, and acrobatic martial arts moves to ensure a successful mission. Master the different styles of all three Angels as you battle 32 different types of enemies across the globe. You can switch between characters at anytime during the game. Charlie’s Angel’s movie stars–Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Bernie Mac–supply the voices.”
Platforms: GameCube, PlayStation 2
14. “Rambo: The Video Game”
Critic score: 23/100
Metacritic Summary: “Rambo: The Video Game puts players in Rambo’s combat boots and takes them on an action-packed adventure through the iconic action- sequences and story-arcs of First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II & Rambo III. The game features the original movie voice-tracks of John Rambo and Col. Samuel Trautman as well as selected music from the original Rambo trilogy.”
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
13. “Fast & Furious: Showdown”
Critic score: 22/100
Metacritic Summary: “Fast & Furious: Showdown takes some of the franchise’s iconic characters on a high-stakes adventure around the globe that delivers takedowns, heists, hijacks and havoc. Players can switch roles with their AI partners or team up with a friend for two-person local co-op. Completed objectives unlock new vehicle performance and customization options to make each player’s ride unique. A bonus Challenge Mode and online leaderboards let players pit their strength, speed and skills against competition from all around the world.”
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U
12. “Drake of the 99 Dragons”
Critic score: 22/100
Metacritic Summary: “Drake is out for revenge in a supernatural Hong Kong world. You’ll join Drake in 25 intense missions, as he battles ruthless villains and female assassins with an array of firearms, short and long blade weapons, and thrown melee weapons. Use Drake’s power and agility to slow down the action, fire guns in any direction, and run and backflip off of walls. When you become injured, you can feed on the souls of the dead to replenish your health.”
Platforms: Xbox, PC
11. “Afro Samurai 2: Revenge of Kuma – Volume 1”
Critic score: 21/100
Metacritic Summary: Head out on a journey of redemption, driven by bitter-sweet revenge. The saga of Afro Samurai continues but this time follows the path of Kuma, one of Afro’s closest childhood friends.
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC
10. “Infestation: Survivor Stories”
Critic score: 20/100
Metacritic Summary: “It has been 5 years since the outbreak, giving rise to a post-apocalyptic nightmare with 95% of the human race wiped out. To survive, you’ll require food, weapons, and other supplies. Some of you will scavenge as you negotiate the terrain, others will be forced to fight for survival as they encounter zombies and other players. Every decision has an effect on whether you live or how quickly you meet your death.”
Platform: PC
9. “Deal or No Deal”
Critic score: 20/100
Metacritic Summary: “The hit TV show is coming to your favorite video game system! The premise is simple: You have 26 briefcases in front of you. Each one contains a different amount of money. Open each case one by one, and try to find the briefcase with the biggest amount of money.”
Platforms: Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Game Boy Advance
8. “Alone in the Dark: Illumination”
Critic score: 19/100
Metacritic Summary: “A dire curse has shrouded the town of Lorwich in an unnatural darkness, as monstrous hordes emerge from beyond the realm of nightmares to sow chaos on the land. As one of four heroes, you must battle the minions of Cthulhu with the force of arms and the power of illumination.”
Platform: PC
7. “SPOGS Racing”
Metacritic Summary: “Race along in distinctively unique SPOGS Racers that can be personalized, customized and modified with in-game images and vehicle parts. Gamers control their SPOGS as they try their best to smash into their opponents to steal upgraded parts on-the-fly in the title’s innovative Crash ‘N Grab gameplay. Featuring several game modes, a variety of track types including outrageous stunt tracks with loops and jumps, multiple difficultly modes and control schemes, racing power-ups, weapons, and head-to-head multiplayer, SPOGS Racing offers plenty of fun for gamers of all ages and experiences.”
Platforms: Wii
6. “Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons”
Critic score: 17/100
Metacritic Summary: “A remake the 80’s Double Dragon II game. Team up and take control of Jimmy and Billy, whose looks and actions are modernized. Battle through the newly drawn 3D stages, which hide their own secrets and surprises.”
Platform: Xbox 360
5. “Vroom in the Night Sky”
Critic score: 17/100
Metacritic Summary: “Vroom in the Night Sky is a magical bike action game.
There are various night skies in this world, and it is the work of Magical Girls to collect Stardusts there. You become the Magical Girl Luna, ride a magical bike, fly around the night sky and collect Stardusts! The Magical Gate is floating in the night sky. In order to open the gate, you need to collect the necessary number of Keystars floating in the night sky.”
Platform: Nintendo Switch
4. “Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust “
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGgP7qWpUNk
Critic score: 17/100
Metacritic Summary: “Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust video game gives gamers an all-access pass to the glitz, glamour and gorgeous women of Tinseltown. In this 3rd person adventure game, Larry takes a summer job working on his uncle Larry’s movie lot doing odd jobs and trying to uncover a mole from another studio who threatens to air the studio’s dirty laundry in the tabloids. True to form, Leisure Suit Larry Box Office Bust features sophomoric comedy and bombshell babes thanks to the writing talents of Allen Covert and an All-Star cast of actors and actresses, including Jay Mohr, Dave Attell, Shannon Elizabeth, Carmen Elektra, Patrick Warburton, Jeffrey Tambor, Nikki Cox, Peter Graves, Jane Lynch and Josh Keaton as the voice of Larry Loveage.”
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
3. “Yaris”
Critic score: 17/100
Metacritic Summary: “Hop into a Toyota Yaris and drive it on crazy tracks loaded with stubborn obstacles, cool powerups, and intense enemy action. The relentlessly twisted courses in Yaris might have loops or even be tube-shaped, but the Yaris never has to worry about sliding off track, as it defies gravity by scaling side-walls and going all topsy-turvy. Equip your Yaris with an arsenal of weapons to take out your adversaries, but be careful to avoid enemy fire, because once your shields are depleted, so is the game.”
Platform: Xbox 360
2. “Ride to Hell: Retribution”
Critic score: 11/100
Metacritic Summary: “The game is set in the last years of the roaring 1960s, a time of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. The biker movement, rock music and the hippie counterculture all add to the fascinating atmosphere to be experienced in Ride to Hell. Action-loaded from the very start with free roaming environments, players can immerse themselves in the liberty and freedom of riding full throttle with their gang on a multitude of different vehicles through the dusty flats of Western America.”
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC
1. “Family Party: 30 Great Games — Obstacle Arcade”
Metacritic Summary: “Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade brings home wacky and wild competitions for kids of all ages.”
Platform: Wii U
h/t: Business Insider