Video games are, at least in my mind, the best form of entertainment. Especially with the advancement of technology, gaming has the ability to tell stories unlike any other medium. You’re not just watching or reading the story, you’re experiencing it and it can be truly magical. But, it can also take every piece of joy from your soul and leave you a broken shell of a person when you subject yourself to some of the worst games on offer. So if you appreciate joy and happiness in life, maybe avoid games. Here are the five worst-rated video games of all time.
5. Waifu Impact 15%
With the word Waifu in the title, surely no one can go into this game expecting to be good? Although, maybe it’s like Genshin Impact since it shares a similar name. Well, it is not. Of course, there is a demographic and an audience for waifu content online, but I doubt anyone in that section of gamers came away from this experience thinking they just played a masterpiece. People often think that our job is all glitz and glamour, but remember that some people had to take time out of their day to play this game, it’s not all Spider-Man 2 and Resident Evil 4 in this line of work.
Waifu Impact scored just 15% on Metacritic, with Gaming Age stating that “It’s bad, it’s broken, and it’s boring, and there’s no reason whatsoever to play it.”
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4. The Letter
The Letter is a first-person survival horror game, taking inspiration from the likes of Slenderman, but that is where the similarities end. There was very little care and attention put into this game, with no options menu or way to change the oddly chosen inverted camera controls. With there being no enemies in the game there is no threat or danger, which makes the term survival horror null and void. I’m not one to often criticize someone’s vision, but I’m struggling to figure out why this game exists except to cash in on a trend of the time with a low-quality game.
The Letter scored just 14% on Metacritic, with Cubed3 claiming that “This is not a video game; it is one man’s attempt to exploit ignorant consumers.”
3. Elf Bowling 1 & 2
Elf Bowling 1 & 2 brings not one but two Christmas-themed bowling games. I’m not sure why the world needed one never mind two, but the world would certainly be a better place without them. Elf Bowling was originally created in the early days of Flash games and then the developers decided five years later to create a sequel and bundle them together on the Nintendo DS. If a Christmas-themed bowling game sounds like your thing, just put some tinsel around your TV while you play bowling on Wii Sports, you’ll thank me later.
Elf Bowling 1 & 2 scored just 12% on Metacritic, with IGN saying that they are “Two of the crappiest games ever developed on the Nintendo DS platform.”
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2. Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade is exactly what it says on the cover, with the exception of the “great” part. The game features over two dozen game modes you can play with up to three other players in a theme park setting. However, most are extremely bland and boring with very little enjoyment to be had. Nintendo went through a phase of allowing a lot of shovelware onto its systems and this is a prime example of that.
Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade scored just 11% on Metacritic, with Nintendo Life stating “There’s absolutely no reason to recommend this obnoxious, screaming, clattering monstrosity.”
1. Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing is a game in the loosest sense of the word. The objective of the game is to race your semi-truck to the finish line and beat your opponent’s time. The developers didn’t put much effort into the game as there is little physics and collision detection, allowing you to traverse the entire map including driving up hills and mountains. If you want to track down the game just to see an example of how not to make a game, it can be found on sites such as My Abandonware.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing scored just 8% on Metacritic, making it the lowest-rated game of all time, with G4TV calling it “the worst videogame to ever see the light of day.”
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David –
Thanks for including the game I helped create – Elf Bowling. It is truly an honor to be listed as one of the Top Worst games. I do have a few clarifications about your write-up. The original games Elf Bowling 1 and Elf Bowling 2 were actually written in C++ and released as an EXE. They were no Flash games. Elf Bowling 1 and 2 were released as a PC download. EB1 was the number 1 PC download game in 1999 and became a huge internet phenomenon due to the fact that people thought there was a virus that would knock out computers. We built EB1 over a week. It was more of a joke – just 2 guys drinking beers and having fun. Glad it is still being talked about nearly 25 years later.