While it’s easy to talk about some of the bestvideo gamesof 2025, with smash hits likeClair Obscur: Expedition 33andKingdom Come: Deliverance 2(among others) setting the bar incredibly high, there have also been a trove of incredibly disappointing and downright terrible games this year. With the year only halfway over, there’s no telling how much worse it can get.
Even giving these games the benefit of the doubt, there’s simply no way a lackluster videogame is going to be successful when the industry is pumping out suchamazing games in 2025. A bad game feels way worse when you have incrediblegames likeClair Obscur, Blue Prince, orElden Ring Nightreignto compare it to. With major disappointments such asMindsEye’s abysmal launch showcasing just how bad things can get, publishers need to think twice before sending underwhelming projects out the door when the competition is so fierce.
10Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles - Not The Remaster You’re Looking For
A Star Wars Remaster Nobody Asked For
I can think of a dozen or so different classicStar Wars gamesthat fans would kill to see remastered, but I don’t thinkStar Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battleseven makes the top 10. However, Aspyr decided to publish this remaster, and it launched at the beginning of the year to anabsolutely abysmal reception. The original game was arguably one of the worstStar Warsgames ever made, so remastering it was certainly a choice.
Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battleswas originally launched on the original PlayStation and Dreamcast, and while it was certainly okay for that medium, it simply doesn’t translate well to modern platforms.The remaster added some interesting new content, but ultimately, that wasn’t enough to make it stand out as a successful Star Wars remake.
Jedi Power Battleshas a4.3 user review scoreonMetacritic, and just a 55 critic review score. This makes it both one of the lowest-rated games of the year and one of the lowest-ratedStar Warsgames ever.
Will We Ever Get A Solid Game Of Thrones RPG?
Much like the final seasons of the Game of Thrones television show,Game of Thrones: Kingsroadleaves a lot to be desired. It’s a little confounding that an IP as incredible asA Song of Ice and Firedoesn’t have a solid RPG that explores the universe in an entertaining way. WhileKingsroadcertainly tried to get us there, itultimately falls flat because it’s largely a mobile game, even if it is playable on PC.
Even if it didn’t have all the trappings of a mobile game that turn a lot of players off,I’m not entirely sold onKingsroad’s premise.I still think the only way we’ll ever get a strong sword and sorcery-style RPG in the GoT universe is if theyabandon Westeros altogether.
Either way, the Kingsroad RPG sold itself on an open-world RPG experience but limited its audience by rolling out as a mobile game with a PC port, an obvious bad move considering its5.8 user and 57 critic review scoresonMetacritic.
8Tamagotchi Plaza: A Deeply Underwhelming Package
TheTamagotchibrand holds positive memories for many, butTamagotchi Plazadidn’t exactly add to them. While the presentation has its charms, the lack of any strong connective tissue andthe slow grind that the game demands can make it feel like a slog. With minigames that don’t exactly wow, there just isn’t much reason to check this one out.
TheMetacriticconsensus forTamagotchi Plazaplaces it at a dismal 42, although slightly more forgiving user reviews scrape out an acceptable 6.0 average. Either way, it’s not one to write home about, and those looking for a good Switch 2 experience will likely be better off sticking with the hits.
7The Precinct: Lock This One Up
A Top-Down Buggy Mess Modeled After Early GTA Games
The Precincthas an interesting premise, but unfortunately ends up being an extremely repetitive and boring experience when all is said and done. It’s modeled after earlyGTA-style top-down gameplay, andpays homage to the early 80s and 90s cop films.These things are great in theory, but in practice, this game is a lot of the same mission types strung together to milk a simple idea for all it’s worth, which isn’t much.
The Precinct’s story had potential, but ended up being incredibly predictable and underwhelming as well, which is a shame.
While it’s certainly not the worst game of the year, it’s definitely one of the most underwhelming games I’ve played in 2025. Aside from these issues,the game launched with a ton of bugsand performance issues that, to the developer’s credit, have been largely addressed since its release. Overall, you might want to skip this one and just sit tight untilGTA 6finally releases, whenever that ends up happening.
6Ambulance Life: This Paramedic Sim Has Officially Flatlined
One Of The Lowest-Rated Games Of 2025
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulatoris, well, a paramedic simulation game that really doesn’t deliver when it comes to sim mechanics. In a genre ripe with excellent simulation games, this one provides a lackluster experience.The game launched with an extensive array of issuesthat left players in a state of confusion and dismay, and the day-one patch more or less made the game unplayable.
Ambulance Lifedoes have potential, but it’s also hard to pin down the exact audience for this game. Those interested in medicine might find the game entertaining, but those interested in a fun simulation experience will have better luck with various other games in the space that are much less frustrating in terms of game mechanics and controls.Ambulance Lifehas a Metacritic score of just44, with bugs and mechanical problems being cited as a core reason the game is so frustrating to play.
5FBC: Firebreak - A Hot Mess
An Overhyped FPS From Remedy That Should’ve Been Better
FBC Firebreakwas one of the most hyped games of the year, sold as a co-op successor to the smash hitsAlan WakeandControl, an incredible game from Remedy Entertainment. When you playFirebreak,it’s hard to believe it came from the same developers asControl,however, and it’s ultimately one of the biggest disappointments of 2025.
FBC Firebreaklaunched with some performance issues, but more pressingly, the gameplay is subpar,especially compared to previous Remedy titles.While the gameplay does pick up later in the experience, the beginning is a major slog, and a limited supply of content makes even the more exciting bits of progress wear thin.
If a game can’t hook you in the first 4 to 6 hours, there’s something wrong, and this seems to be the case forFBC Firebreak.Remedy may have shot itself in the footby setting the bar so high withControl, but players have no choice but to compare it to its predecessor.
4Monster Hunter Wilds - A Lackluster Successor
Monster Hunter World Is Hard To Follow, & Wilds Failed To Impress Fans
While other franchise titles likeMonster Hunter Worldwere beloved by fans and critics alike,Monster Hunter Wildswas a huge disappointment for many fans of the series. Critics raved about this game, and it ranks at an 88 overall on Metacritic, but this stands in stark contrast tohow it has been received among players. Ultimately, this is one title that didn’t land with fans of the franchise, serving as a largely stripped-down version of its predecessor.
While the game isn’t entirely irredeemable, thefan feedback forMonster Hunter Wildsis absolutely scathing. All told, this game feels incomplete and lacks many of the features that madeMonster Hunter Worldsuccessful, not to mention its various bugs and performance issues on PC since launch.
3Captain Blood: Shiver Me Timbers
A Pirate Hack & Slasher Stuck In The PS2 Era
Captain Bloodsuffered a long and sordid development history that ultimately shows in the final product. Work first started on this game as far back as 2003, and the gameplay reflects that. It took over 20 years for the full game to finally see the light of day, butthe end result is completely underwhelming, which is a shame for everyone involved.
Captain Bloodprobably should have been put to rest when itwas effectively canceled ten years ago. For some reason, the game got picked up again, but the concept itself and core gameplay weren’t adapted for a modern gaming atmosphere.
The game feels likesomething from the PlayStation 2 era of the 2000s, and it might have been much more successful if it had made it to the market when initially planned. However,Captain Bloodhas just a 50 rating onMetacritic, a sad ending for a game that started off with amazing potential.
2Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour: Yes, They Really Charge You For It
Why Would Anyone Want To Pay For This?
While some demo games have had incredible success, such as PlayStation’sAstro World,Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Touris definitely not one of these games.It’s hard to believe that Nintendo is charging people for this experience, especially given the lackluster gameplay that serves as a demo of the console’s main features.
If the experience was actually fun and exciting, that would be one thing, but it largely consists of things like trivia questions and underwhelming mini-games. The fact that it isn’t included for free as part of purchasing the Nintendo Switch 2rubbed players the wrong way,and its dismal 3.6 user score onMetacriticmakes this extremely obvious.
1MindsEye: The Biggest Flop Of 2025
There isn’t much to say aboutMindsEyethat hasn’t already been said, but I can speak from personal experience on this one. I bought this game despite the bad reviews, thinking that it couldn’t possibly be as bad as people said. Needless to say, I was wrong, andI don’t think there’s ever been a game I wanted my money back on as quickly as I did forMindsEye.
The game had so much potential, and despite the terrible reviews, I think it does have a few redeeming features, such as the visuals and GTA-style driving mechanics. But that’s being generous, as the overall experience is one of the least interesting I’ve ever had playing a game. There’s a justifiable reason this game only has a 2.4 user rating and 34 critic rating onMetacritic, and I hope we don’t see any other video games as disappointing asMindsEyein the rest of 2025.
