It’s pretty easy to find highly rated games onMetacritic; however, finding the really bad games is a lot more of a challenge. Many of the worst games have no critic or user reviews at all, despite having been created years ago. Critics probably don’t want to waste time writing a review for a game that nobody is going to play, even for free. So for this article the game only needs to have either a critic rating or user score – most entries have both though. When the Metacritic data is somewhat lacking for an entry, the game’s rating on Steam will also be given. These games challenge the notion that one can’t complain about the price of something when it’s free.
10Defiance 2050 – 48 Rating, 2.6 User Score
Defiance 2050was released in July of 2018 by Trion Worlds. The game takes place in the world created by theDefianceshow on the Syfy channel that ran for three seasons. In theDefianceuniverse, a group of various alien refugees have arrived on earth, and their arrival eventually sparked a war with humans that altered the landscape of Earth.Defiance 2050is an expansion to the original companion game. The problem most critics and users had with this game is that for an expansion there wasn’t much added – and the game it was expanding on wasn’t highly rated, to begin with.
9Catan Universe – No Critic Score Yet, 3.0 User Score
Catan Universeis based on theSettlers of Catanboard game but is not nearly as beloved. This game is well over two years old and has an extensive Wikipedia entry, yet it does not have a single critic review on Metacritic. This seems odd considering how popular theCatangames generally are –whether intabletopor video game format.
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The user score is 3.0, but there are only two reviews. There are 1,647 reviews on Steam however, and the aggregate score from those reviews is 42%. The biggest complaint is the rubber-banding; the game will help players falling behind during a game and hinder players that get off to an early lead.
8Gasp – No Critic Rating, 4.0 User Score
A quick search for really awful games usually has a few top results that mentionGasp. This game is well known for being bad. Despite the game being over four years old, there are no critic reviews for this game yet. On Steam,Gasphas 1,483 reviews and a rating of 21% - making it one of the lowest-rated games on the platform. The game has a decent premise; the player is an astronaut stranded on a planet quite a distance from their fellow astronauts and must make it back to them safely. The players’ largest complaint are the poor controls and the invisible walls scattered across the planet.
7Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery – 43 Rating, 1.5 User Score
Technically this game is free, but there are many microtransactions inserted intoHogwarts Mysterythat make the game a very negative experience if not purchased. In 2018 it was calculated that to play this game for one hour uninterrupted would cost $51. This is what the vast majority of the complaints are about – the game’s pay-to-win model. Unless more time is purchased the game forces players to wait about twenty minutes until they can continue until their character “recharges”. Many free-to-play games do this, butHogwarts Mysteryalso has missions that are time-sensitive.
6Brick-Force – 52 Rating, 2.6 User Score
Brick-Forceis a sandbox-styleMinecrafttype game that attempts to incorporate shooter elements into the mix. There are far more reviews for this game on Steam (4,327 to be exact), and there the game has a 40% rating. Among the complaints are the game’s frame-rate issues and music.
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Many reviews simply state that the game is broken, some do this by stating “at least the uninstall button works”. Don’t try searching for this game on Steam – it’s there but it is unlisted at the publisher’s request. Instead, look for it on Steam’s Hall of Shame list.
5Sniper Fury – 53 Rating, 6.5 User Score
As the title suggestsSniper Furyis a game that puts the player in control of a sniper as he goes on missions. This game began on iOS, but was later ported to PC and android – the reviews are not good on any platform though. Many of the reviews complain about missions that are too similar, making the game repetitious and boring. The game was also criticized for the large number of microtransactions in many reviews. Still other reviews complain about the game’s graphics and the inability to move during missions (making it more of a turret game).
4Warmachine: Tactics – 73 Rating, 5.6 User Score
Warmachine: Tacticsis a turn-based, squad-based tactical game set in theIron Kingdomsworld. The premise of the game is solid – squad-based combat that includes steam-powered mechs and magic. The graphics are also not that bad either. The problem with this game, according to the reviews, is that it seems unfinished and is a poor translation of the tabletop version. There are also many complaints regarding the user interface. The critic rating is actually only the average of two critic reviews, but there are enough user reviews that the user score can be trusted. On Steam this has a 44% rating with over a thousand reviews.
3The Settlers Online – No Critic Rating, 5.2 User Score
This game is based on theSettlersseries of games that began in 1993. The series was revolutionary at the time; including great graphics, tactical combat, and city building (including a robust economic system). There are nine user reviews on Metacritic forThe Settlers Online, but only one left a comment.
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The Settlers Onlineis an attempt to cash in on theSettlersname – at least that’s what several reviews state on Steam; where the game has a 37% rating with almost a thousand reviews. However, most of the reviews are that the game doesn’t work at all, asking for requirements of the computer it’s installed on that have already been met.
2StarForge – 25 Rating, 2.3 User Score
InStarforgethe Earth is dying, and the player controls a member of the colony mission on another planet meant to be humanity’s last hope. The game was not originally free, but after numerous user complaints about the developers not supporting the game it was removed from Steam. It is now available as a free download on its own dedicated website. The biggest complaints are regarding the game’s stability – apparently the game is plagued by many bugs. Many reviews also remark that there is a severe lack of gameplay as a result of the vast amount of open terrain.
This game is notoriously bad. It has an 8 (out of 100) critic rating; which is the lowest of any game onMetacritic. The user score is artificially high due to people giving the game a 10 as a joke.Big Rigswas released before it was finished, long before it was finished actually, and it shows. The opposing rig doesn’t move, and most of the objects and terrain don’t have any collision detection. Without collision detection, the rigs pass through objects and up vertical walls.Big Rigs: Over the Road Racingcan be found as a free download on sites such as MyAbandonWare.
