It has been eight years since Microsoft’s Xbox One crashed on store shelves. Although not completely out of the game yet, the X Series debut almost guaranteed that the days of Xbox One are numbered. While the promise of cross-gen support and backward compatibility may ease the blow, the time is coming when Xbox One will stop receiving new games.
There is no time like the present to remember all the good times that the console has given players … as well as all the bad. Here are the ten worst Metacritic games ever published for Xbox One.
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Bounty Battle
What should have been a fun and promising fighting game featuring beloved indie title characters like Dead cells, Darkest Dungeon and Guacamelee it ended up becoming an exercise in frustration. Several critics cite the severe lack of multiplayer modes that should be standard for the genre (how can you not have an online mode these days?) And saw the game as an incomplete and buggy mess with frequent lag and hit detection bad AI.
The sheer number of popular indie characters meant that the standard for this fighting game crossover should be much higher than what is shown at launch. Bounty Battle it is an expensive disappointment that will only serve as a bad memory for all the independent franchises involved in its development.
Doug hates his job
A simple game with a simple premise: a salesman named Doug hates his job and goes out into the world to beat people up to relieve stress, usually after they’ve already bothered him. The game sets the tone by having a co-worker arguing with Doug at the start of the game over Marvel or DC movies, followed by a fight in the bathroom. Doug goes through several challenges and situations that radically change his style, trying to refresh the typical redundancy of the beat-em-up genre.
Despite the witty writing and the fun premise, the gameplay is too simplistic, repetitive and janky to be fun, creating a complete forgettable experience. It doesn’t really help that most sound effects and music sound like something out of stock, and the visuals don’t have any charm.
Ghostbusters (2016)
Not related to the best action game of 2009 from THQ, this Ghostbusters adventure is a loose sequel to the controversial restart of the 2016 film. There follows a group of four unnamed Ghostbusters that have nothing to do with the cast of any of the two films facing Rowan, the antagonist of the 2016 film. Gameplay is a game of isometric shot with two 2.5D handles, not unlike Geometry Wars or Isaac’s mooring.
However, it seems to have a great resemblance to the Konami game restart, Against: Rogue Corps. It hardly looks like the property that is adapting and has no depth to the gameplay or story. Most critics who are fans of Ghostbusters I really hated that obvious cash-in and those who are not fans will simply notice how forgettable it is as an arcade game.
Crimson Keep
Crimson Keep is a roguelike dungeon crawler where the player is pushed into a series of dungeons that are randomly generated alongside a new set of enemies. The player can choose from a multitude of fantasy classes Dungeons and Dragons and collect a variety of weapons and items and experience points as they progress. The problem is that, if they die, they are sent back to the beginning with absolutely nothing.
These aspects of gameplay are standard for the genre, so by themselves, they are not an issue. What discourages the game is its poor presentation, art style, combat, variety of enemies and almost everything else necessary for a decent video game to be made. Many critics also notice how expensive it is due to the level of frustration and lack of satisfaction it brings.
Soda Drinker Pro
A game that is, frankly, a really obvious spade with almost no effort put behind it, probably made just for the novelty of a quick joke. A joke that falls more than a can of Pepsi from a day left in the fridge. The gameplay revolves almost exclusively around collecting glasses of soda and drinking them – that’s all.
It would help if the game was accompanied by exaggerated visuals or comedy writing or something like some form of sullen humor to make it “so bad it feels good”. But unfortunately, the extremely poor 3D graphics of the 90s era outperform Bubsy 3D in ugliness, and completing the game requires zero effort in addition to the patience needed to advance with difficulty.
This is the Zodiac speaking
Another game with a very promising concept, but poorly executed execution. This is the Zodiac speaking is a psychological first-person thriller that revolves around the infamous Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who committed crimes in California in the 1970s and was never arrested. The player is a victim who survived an attack by the murderer, participating in an investigation that would lead to the truth about one of America’s most notorious criminals.
The investigative parts of the game turned out to be somewhat tedious and difficult to navigate. When the killer is chasing the player, there is very little evidence that this is happening, along with an unfortunately very predictable plot that ends very quickly. With such a bold premise and high-concept ideas, it took a little more development time.
Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX
Another almost effortless shovelware game, Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX is an isometric racing game where the player controls one of the many colorful, but poorly detailed, cars on various racing tracks. There is almost not enough content in the game to be worth talking about, let alone cover an entire entry on this list.
It’s bad enough that a racing game has only four tracks to choose from, but the slippery controls, poor AI and unstable physics prevent this game from being fun, even ironically. Most critics note how quickly the game can be completed and how so many other racing games perform basic functions much more effectively.
Robot Squad Simulator X
Drawing heavily on real-life government robots, Robot Squad Simulator X allows the player to control multiple robots that resemble the tank-like devices seen in robot duel shows or real-life demonstrations. This game allows the average player to go through several obstacle courses and go through various operations, such as search and rescue, espionage and bomb disarmament. It is an interesting experience for a simulator that is surprising not to have been done before.
Unfortunately, the novelty wears off its welcome very quickly. It is difficult to control the robot, even when trying to perform basic actions, such as picking up objects – something that really shouldn’t be for a robot designed for emergency situations. The frustration of still learning the slow and awkward controls, along with the general boredom of today’s obstacles, significantly takes the experience away.
Fighter Within
Microsoft’s Kinect had great aspirations, so it is disheartening to see how many games developed for it ended up not attracting much attention. Still, Kinect did get an update for Xbox One, but few games were made for it, and even fewer were really decent. The poor man Tekken, Fighter Within, is just one more proof of that.
In addition to tasteless and memorable designs, a story that is pure even for a genre known for fine plots and graphics that still seem to have been made in the last generation, Fighter WithinThe company’s biggest downfall is inaccurate motion controls. Inaccurate Kinect tracking will ensure that players are doing the wrong trick or doing nothing.
Rugby 15
The Xbox One game with the absolute lowest rating on Metacritic, Rugby 15 it is the first attempt to bring popular UK sports to modern home consoles – and so far, unfortunately, it has made a bad impression, bringing much shame to the sport. The game was compared unfavorably with NHL 15, and considering how bad that game is, it says something.
The player models are rigid and clumsy, with the textures of the pitch and other objects looking equally tasteless and flat. The limited amount of selectable camera angles is a poor attempt to hide how bad the game’s graphics are, but it also makes it more difficult for the player to say what exactly is happening on the screen. AI is also broken, with the computer tending to defense or doing absolutely nothing.
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