There’s plenty of 2023 game lists going around, and ‘best of’s’ as we near the end of the year, but Metacritic is coming in hot with a ranking of the the worst games of 2023, based on the lowest-scoring game released in the last twelve months.
Metacritic shared their list of the ten lowest ranked games released between January 1st, 2023, and the end of December based on their Metascore. Any titles with less than seven reviews from professional critics were also excluded – “in other words, these bad games are all major enough to get reviews from multiple publications.” There’s some pretty unsurprising suspects in the list, based on online discourse around new releases, and some more left of field entrants.
While it’s definitely interesting to see what Metacritic reviewers considered to be the worst of the bunch in gaming for 2023, it does go without saying that seeing any game release crash and burn is always rough to witness. There’s many reasons a game can fail critically, even if they start off promising based on marketing – from the lack of budget and resources, to overambitious promises, to unsustainable crunch for a much-too-soon release window. This is not an excuse to kick teams when they’re down — rather, it’s an opportunity to look at the games that failed to impress and understand why.
Editor’s note: The greatest teacher, failure is. — David (and also Yoda if you want to be pedantic about it).
Without further ado, let’s check out the opposite of the cream of the crop – the worst games of 2023, as ranked by Metacritic.
10. Gargoyles Remastered
Disney’s Gargoyles, first released for the Sega Genesis in 1995, copped a surprise remaster this year! It was proof that sometimes the nostalgia factor isn’t enough to make splashing a lick of paint on an old title enjoyable. With a ‘generally unfavourable’ Metascore of 49, critics questioned whether the game needed a remaster, and many took issue with the level design, difficulty, and short runtime.
9. Loop8: Summer of Gods
Loop8: Summer of Gods is set in an alternate version of 80s rural Japan in a time-looping adventure that sees you playing a teenager in a repeating fight against demons. With an equally unfavourable 49 Metascore, it occupies the same tier as Gargoyles Remastered. Critics had complaints about the disjointed story, repetition (which, given the time-looping aspect, is quite a lot), and the combat system. An unfortunate failure for a JPRG that was relatively promising, but felt to many like a soul-less Persona clone.
8. Gangs of Sherwood
Sitting slightly lower in the standings than at a generally unfavourable 48 score on Metacritic, Gangs of Sherwood isn’t quite the worst game of 2023, but it’s certainly getting down there. The co-op action game takes place in Sherwood Forest and sees you play one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men, but in a jarring steampunk sci-fi alternate reality setting. Reviewers felt it didn’t stand out from the crowd with simple boss fights, repetitive combat, and a poor level of polish overall.
7. Hellboy: Web of Wyrd
Hellboy: Web of Wyrd is yet another roguelike, and while many praised the atmospheric visuals and performance of the late Lance Reddick as Hellboy himself, the genre choice and gameplay loop weaken its better aspects. Some outlets suggested the roguelike runs were not challenging enough, while others said making the game a roguelike cheapened the overall experience, which otherwise let a very promising game down.
God, they nailed the look, though.
6. Crime Boss: Rockay City
Despite a packed cast featuring Danny Trejo, Chuck Norris, and Michael Rooker, amongst other talents, Crime Boss: Rockay City was a certified flop according to its 43 Metacritic score. Its gameplay is described as dull and lifeless, with buggy gameplay and just a generally mediocre end result. Sometimes, mediocrity is worse than just being outright terrible. Did the budget get blown on the cast and likeness rights? We can only theorise. One of the worst game releases of 2023.
5. Testament: The Order of High Human
Testament: The Order of High Human seems to smash together a lot of different genres and elements in an attempt to create something unique, but meets with little success. The action RPG sprinkles Metroidvania-style gameplay in, but from story to combat, none of it really lands. Really beginning to dip from ‘meh’ into ‘could be the worst game of 2023’ territory in this list, Testament sits at a depressing 41 Metascore with critics.
4. Quantum Error
Quantum Error throws its hat into the cosmic horror ring, putting you in the shoes of firefighter Jacob Thomas as he tries to save as many as possible from a fire (and whatever else lurks within). Reviewers lambasted it for poor execution on all fronts, with clumsy level design and a rather beige game overall, resulting in a Metascore of 40. One of the worst rated PS5 games of 2023.
3. Greyhill Incident
With a generally unfavourable 38 Metascore, Greyhill Incident is another entry into the ‘very promising, but ultimately disappointing’ category of game releases for 2023. The acting was not great, and critics described gameplay as tedious and unrefined, with many feeling it was an overambitious debut project for studio Refugium Games. The Metascore for Greyhill Incident? 38.
2. Flashback 2
The sequel to 1992’s sci-fi platformer Flashback fell almost totally flat, thanks in part to a release plagued by bugs, overly-simple gameplay, and clunky combat. Many critics (and players) expressed disappointment that the sequel didn’t capture what players loved about the original, instead presenting something dated in a way nostalgia and a much-loved name couldn’t save.
1. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
In a ranking that probably surprises nobody, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is officially the worst reviewed game of the year for 2023, based on Metacritic scores. It also holds the title of the worst-rated LOTR adaptation ever. Gollum sets out to make a stealth platformer from a new perspective, putting players into Gollum’s shoes (or fucked up little hobbit feet, I guess). Despite the massive IP backing it, Gollum was plagued by game-breaking bugs and technical issues, extremely dull gameplay, and seriously cursed visuals and UI that show an utter lack of polish. Gollum was received so poorly by critics and players alike it caused developer Daedalic Entertainment to close its development division – with a Metascore of 34, it’s no wonder.
Many outlets said the game had no redeeming qualities and was terrible in all aspects – although I’d argue the spectacular failure and bugs almost begin to lean into “so bad you have to try it at least once” territory. While we still don’t know the full story about what exactly went wrong here – and something clearly went terribly wrong – The Lord of the Rings: Gollum clearly had a fraught development period and innumerable issues before it even hit launch.
And there you have it, folks: the worst games of 2023, according to their Metacritic review scores. You might notice Skull Island: Rise of Kong is notably missing despite its horrific launch and reports that it was made in a year by overworked developers, despite sitting at a Metascore of 23 – this is due to only receiving five reviews from verified outlets and thus disqualifying it from the running.
There’s certainly some pretty horrific releases in this release, but it’s not all bad news: 2023 also saw some meteoric rises to amazing heights for the best games that launched in the year, too – you can check out the best-rated games of 2023 according to Metacritic here.
Lead Image Credit: Refuguim Games / Daedalic Entertainment / Appeal Studios / Metacritic / Kotaku Australia
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