Ten games that the players have decided are the worst of the worst in 2023
SOMETIMES there is mistrust between gamers and critics as to what makes a good game.
There have been big differences between user scores and critics’ scores that have brought some game reviews into question.
So if you are the kind of person who trusts your peers over the professionals, then these are the games you’ll need to avoid.
Here are the 10 worst games as judged by Metacritic users.
10. Curse of the Sea Rats
User Score: 2.4 / Critic Score: 61
When Curse of the Sea Rats was released, critics were lukewarm on it, considering it a very average platformer.
However, following a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign that raised almost a quarter of a million dollars, backers wanted more.
As what happens with a lot of Kickstarter campaigns, Curse of the Sea Rats over promised and under delivered.
If it had just released as a small indie, it probably would have flown under the radar rather than earning so much anger.
9. NBA 2K24
User Score: 2.2 / Critic Score: 69
It’s quite common for sports games to earn lower reviews from users compared to critics, and NBA 2K24 is proof of that.
Fans usually play every entry in the series and they play it every day, which means that no unwanted change goes unnoticed.
Charging full price for games with very few changes always gets under players’ skins, and that’s how sports games often work.
Even worse than this, many complain that the changes made to NBA 2K24 made it worse both mechanically and technically.
8. Diablo 4
User Score: 2.1 / Critic Score: 86
This is the biggest gap between users and critics from the year and there’s a specific reason for that.
What both agree on is that the core of the game is good, very good in fact, but something else drove down user reviews.
After launch, Activision Blizzard sneakily added a number of microtransactions into the game, which already costs between £70 and £100.
Asking people to pay £30 on top of this to show off their slick new horse armour felt like a kick in the face to players.
You can read our full Diablo 4 review here.
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
User Score: 1.6 / Critic Score: 53
Here’s one that both players and reviewers agree on. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is rubbish and an insult to its fanbase.
The single-player campaign is very short, and despite how short it was, it still felt drawn out and simply boring.
Activision Blizzard has denied that this was originally planned as a DLC for MW2, but all signs point to this being the case.
Even after the multiplayer was introduced, people were frankly underwhelmed with what they got for their £70.
You can read our full CoD:MW3 single-player review and CoD:MW3 multiplayer review here.
6. Blood Bowl 3
User Score: 1.6 / Critic Score: 57
The Blood Bowl series has a niche but passionate fanbase, and with passionate fans, you get passionately low scores.
While people were excited for the next game to launch, this one was half-baked and people noticed.
It was released well before it was ready to, and performance issues like game-breaking bugs plagued the launch.
Many of these issues have apparently been fixed, but many called the early release little more than a cash grab.
5. Overwatch 2
User Score: 1.4 / Critic Score: 79
When Overwatch first launched players were in love, but the same cannot be said for Overwatch 2.
It came to Steam this year, and the new platform was not well received by fans.
Within hours of launch, it was the worst-reviewed game of all time thanks to the dip in quality from the now-defunct Overwatch.
It is also full of predatory monetisation options, and then there’s the promised PvE mode which has never made it into the game.
4. Madden NFL 24
User Score: 1.3 / Critic Score: 65
The second sports game on the list, there are many of the same reasons for Madden’s downfall.
Fans have been asking for improvements to Madden for years, but 24 didn’t give fans what they wanted.
Not only were there none of the features that fans have been asking for, but many said it didn’t improve at all on last year’s offering.
The launch was also filled with bugs, which players are never forgiving of.
3. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
User Score: 1.2 / Critic Score: 34
Gollum’s disastrous launch is well documented by this point, but it is still curious just how messed up it was.
Lord of the Rings is another IP with a passionate fanbase, and people have been waiting for years to get a big release like this.
The launch was famously full of bugs, leading to crashes and making it basically unplayable.
Even when it wasn’t breaking, it looked nothing like the trailers and was just boring.
2. Greyhill Incident
User Score: 1.0 / Critic Score: 38
This is another game that gamers and critics seem to agree on, as Greyhill Incident has failed to impress anyone.
With ‘Mostly Negative’ reviews on Steam, bugs and the short game length seem mostly to blame.
While there is some praise for the graphics and atmosphere, there seems to have been no attempt at creating gameplay or story.
Players were left bored and confused especially after paying more than £20 to play.
1. Pinball FX
User Score: 0.6 / Critic Score: 74
We’ve seen it a few times over the course of this article but fans are finally making the pushback against microtransactions.
Pinball FX is a decent free-to-play pinball simulator, but it’s the cost of all the extras that have people mad.
It charges around £10 for every table you want to play with, and for pinball, it’s all about variety.
Asking players for more money to play on tables they already own was too much for fans.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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