Talk:List of video games notable for negative reception

Skull Island: Rise of Kong

Here's a holding area to discuss the inclusion of Skull Island: Rise of Kong in future. Putting this discussion here as a few users have already enthusiastically attempted to do so. I think it is generally too soon and it is not appropriate at the current state. Despite a very well documented online reaction to the game's poor quality (IGN, Escapist, Kotaku, PC Gamer) and some evidence of a troubled production (Verge) the game is not high-profile and has not widely been actually reviewed (IGN). Given the game only came out a few days ago and lacks reliable review content, it is quite premature but hopefully this can serve as a starting point for a discussion if things improve. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 05:32, 22 October 2023 (UTC)

Currently, it fails the list criteria on almost all points. It has no aggregator score at this time (that I saw in the article), it's only got 4 reliable reviews presented (10 are required). It's also a tie-in property. -- ferret (talk) 19:57, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

Generally agree, although a tie-in isn't necessarily fatal (see Gollum) it does reduce the likelihood a poor quality licensed game is notable. At any rate, I'm inclined to say that this will not ever be eligible for inclusion. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 20:12, 30 October 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion: CrossfireX

It received unfavorably reviews from critics and players and the servers shut down on May 18th of this year, similar to Babylon's Fall

Should we add it on the list or no? just saying Xstronomy007 (talk) 05:11, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

Given how little this seems to be discussed (compared with Babylon's Fall), I think it doesn't meet the "notable" aspect. Masem (t) 05:31, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

Unlikely - there is some more coverage not captured in the article, including a review by Edge, but not a lot. Even then, just because a game is agreed to be bad doesn't make it notable for its negative reception. There has to be an aspect of commentary that singles it out as poor. That doesn't seem to be present in the article other than Metacritic noting it had one of the lowest scores of the year. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 06:14, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

Proposed removal of Mortal Kombat: Special Forces

I like the state of the article and think the entries are largely worthy, but there are some I'm not sure should be in the list. If I had to make one suggestion, it would be:

• Remove Mortal Kombat: Special Forces: There are three Mortal Kombat games cited between 1997 and 2001. Whilst two do have listicle "worst game" citations, Special Forces is an uncontroversial remove to me. Its score is sourced from seven Metacritic reviews, and comments on its reception only cite one "worst games" mention in a 2011 listicle from GamesRadar. I also really question the value of saturating the article with poorly received Mortal Kombat titles when the franchise as a whole is not generally seen as low quality. No talk page discussion in favor either.

Some other titles that should be improved in their sourcing are those that don't have substantive metacommentary on their reception on the talk page or article, but just seem to be here because they're games with low scores attached to high-profile franchises or developers, such as Alone in the Dark: Illumination, Babylon's Fall and Umbrella Corps. Stalin vs. Martians is also clearly shovelware which is discouraged.

Let me know what you think. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 06:56, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Part of what we are looking for in games notable for negative reception is the impact that negative reception had on the developers, publishers, or the like. for MK:Special Forces, we've got that the series was paused to better refocus the next game, which is a reasonable but weak reason to keep.

To contrast, Babylon's Fall was a major title but its poor reception led to its servers being closed rather quickly, which is why that's on this list. Masem (t) 13:28, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for your thoughts. I know I am agitating the point a little, but there's no sources or discussion on any impact of Special Forces to the franchise on the game or franchise page. It does not seem correct that Special Forces led to a pause in any development given that Deadly Alliance was already under development from 1998 and released in 2002. It seems true that there was a glut of low-quality spinoff games, but adding them all absent other games in the same period seems to be excessive. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 21:50, 6 December 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion: The Day Before

With this game getting notable coverage for it's bad release state (overwhelmingly negative on steam), the highly suspicious marketing and now the studio's (Fntastic) closure due to the poor sales of this game, I strongly suggest that The Day Before be nominated for this list. Sirfalcon11 (talk) 19:42, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

This might fall better on the commercial failures list. TDB has no reviews from reliable sources, only the negative user reviews, but that sent the devs to close up. So we have no way to judge its normal reception, but can judge its financial performance. Masem (t) 22:58, 11 December 2023 (UTC)

It's worse than that. A paying customer can't even buy the game now while the studio is trying to disappear from the internet: https://www.ign.com/articles/the-day-before-steam-fntastic Sirfalcon11 (talk) 00:26, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Don't see what that has to do with negative reception. Someone not being able to buy it means no one is out any money, so them pulling it should be seen as good, not bad, if the game is as bad (or a 'scam') as people are saying. ♫ Melodia Chaconne ♫ (talk) 13:33, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Agree re. the conflation with poor performance and poor reception. If the reliable reviews don't exist, it falls short of the standard for this list, but good sourcing for the game's disastrous rollout could be a good case study for a commercial failure. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 01:06, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

The "Failed financially" part is not from the game failed marketing, but instead mass refunds on steam Xstronomy007 (talk) 01:36, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

All the statements from the dev say "poor sales". While that could include the fact they had a lot of sales that then got refunded, we don't know if that was the primary reason. The case clearly can be made for commercial failure, with noting being the worst reviewed game and many trying to get refunds (and then Steam now automatically allowing for all purchasers to get refunds).

However, I'd also like to see if there's more exploration of the question being raised if this was all a scam, and give some time for our RSes to determine if that was the case. As if it was a scam, it would not belong on either list. Masem (t) 05:50, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Agree, we don't know if it was a scam or not nor the sales reasoning

But I do point out that Scamming is consider fraud Xstronomy007 (talk) 06:10, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

it's a scam that crashed hard with both players and games journalists hating it with IGN, GamesRadar and Rock Paper Shotgun giving it VERY negative reviews Sirfalcon11 (talk) 03:53, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

I think it bears noting that the three sources you listed seem to be the only major reviews of the game, for what it's worth. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 04:46, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Are we going to do the same situation as Babylon's Fall? Xstronomy007 (talk) 01:57, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Update on The Day Before

They announce that they are closing the servers down due to Fntastic closure: https://twitter.com/playdaybefore/status/1738112110385914052 Xstronomy007 (talk) 07:02, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion: The Simpsons Skateboarding

This game is as infamous bad as Simpsons Westling and argueable even worse @ 87.51.178.26 (talk) 17:49, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

Typically falls under the "no tie-in or shovelware" category. What makes it standout? -- ferret (talk) 17:50, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

It is as special and infamously bad as Westling. I know it got very negative reviews and are often paired up with Westling when talking about bad Simpsons games. I cant say what makes it specially standout, but i cant say that about Westling as well. They are both very bad games released close after each other. 87.51.178.26 (talk) 17:57, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

The Wikipedia article for Skateboarding gives 10 reviews for the game. Surely that are enough for being notable for the list? 87.51.178.26 (talk) 18:09, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

It have two 1/10 reviews. Also from said Wikipedia article

Andrew Reiner of Game Informer said: "Never before have I seen a developer put forth such an effort to secure the Worst Game of the Year award. I'll even go as far to say that this may very well be the worst PlayStation 2 game on the market." Kevin Murphy of GameSpy said that "The Simpsons Skateboarding should be a case study in bad game design."

Also while this is OR, Simpsons Skateboarding is one of the most bashed game on YouTube (just from the quality of the game, not for other reasons) and i believe it is one of the more well known bad games in general.

I believe this is enough for the list but i am not an expert on this. 87.51.178.26 (talk) 20:23, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

Was there some significant result from how bad it was reviewed? Its not a game I see on all-time worst game lists, so there would need to be a more significant impact to include, not just a badly reviewed game. Masem (t) 20:34, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

Unlikely but definitely sound reasons for nomination. Some reviews are promisingly notable in how negative they are: the "one of the absolute worst" games played, "worst of 2002", "worst" Simpsons game, (GameSpot [2]) "worst PS2 game on the market" (Game Informer). But most others are milder - consensus with most of the archived reviews is that it's a poor Tony Hawk "rip-off" or "clone" (i.e. "average skateboarding game with the Simpsons license plopped on top" - Electronic Gaming Monthly [3]). Given what makes this noticeably "bad" is its tie-in/shovelware imitation of another genre or brand, it might be a little harder to argue for inclusion. As raised earlier it also doesn't seem to have raised much post-release commentary outside of Simpsons circles. No issue with having two Simpsons games in there - there's three Mortal Kombat (!) games, after all. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 21:33, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion: Rise of the Robots

It got very bad reviews when it came out and it is on Gameradar top 100 worst games list in 2014. It is a rather well known bad game that deserves to be on this list. Was promoted a lot in magazines back in the day. 87.51.178.26 (talk) 18:06, 23 December 2023 (UTC)

Forspoken

Mainly regarded as mediocre. 0GDuckyD00m (talk) 17:14, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Simply having mediocre reviews is not sufficient for inclusion. Masem (t) 17:32, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Cyberpunk is at a positive on Metacritic 2603:8000:6E00:4871:248E:71FE:8540:883 (talk) 04:21, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

As stated in the Scarlet and Violet section, Forspoken is a valid suggestion, but the sourcing is not remotely comparable to the notability for the negative reception for the Cyberpunk article. If you think there is notable negative reception out there, you need to make the case for it rather than the angle that people saw it as "mediocre". ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 06:20, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Has lowest review score of any game in the series with fan reaction being mostly negative. 0GDuckyD00m (talk) 17:15, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Review scores aren't low enough to consider, and just because fans were upset at how released does mean appropriate to include. Masem (t) 17:33, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Cyberpunk has relatively high scores 2603:8000:6E00:4871:248E:71FE:8540:883 (talk) 04:21, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

Look at the article for Cyberpunk and Scarlet & Violet. One has quite a lot to say about the reception of the game beyond its technical issues: the disastrous launch, the mismatch in expectations to the game's hype, a proposed class action, and the crunch culture of the publisher affecting the game's release. The other does not. I agree that Scarlet and Violet does have some notable comments around the technical issues putting refunds on the table like Cyberpunk, but the breadth and context of the sourcing for Cyberpunk is far wider than fans not liking the game. With respect to your valid suggestion, they're not comparable. ＶＲＸＣＥＳ (talk) 06:18, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

Metacritic says the reviews are mixed, so no Xstronomy007 (talk) 23:44, 24 December 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion: Cube World

Of course, I understand that this game is not particularly popular and not considered "enough legendary to be memorized as bad", but more videos have been made about it than Superman 64. Majority of Cube World's fanbase prefers to play alpha version or modified latest version rather than finished vanilla game because of "region-locking" that makes your game items disappear after leaving the region and many, many flaws... 188.163.69.27 (talk) 03:58, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

I'd consider Cube World closer to "not notable at all" than "explicitly notable for negative reception" -- ferret (talk) 04:11, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Hoshi Wo Miru Hito

This very infamious game in Japan (not that much in the west because this game was Famicom exclusive) that created a term kusoge. Many years after it launched there are still articles talking about how bad it is https://www.destructoid.com/legendary-crappy-game-hoshi-wo-miru-hito-gets-completed-fan-translation/ From Wikipedia:

Reviewers noted the often confusing and highly difficult gameplay. Japanese gamers have dubbed it "Densetsu no Kusoge" (伝説のクソゲー, lit. '"Legendary Crappy Game').

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/hoshi-wo-miru-hito/ 87.51.178.26 (talk) 15:40, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

M&M's Kart Racing

On one hand this is a shovelware tie in game, so some here might say that it is not notable for that alone (even with the fact that there are other tie in games on the list) But there are some reasons why it might qualify anyway, like being on several worst games list and being in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers Edition as worst kart racing game on GameRankings

M&M's Kart Racing was critically panned upon release. It has a GameRankings score of 23% and 22% for the Wii and DS versions, respectively, earning it Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2011's award for the lowest-rated kart game. IGN cited that "commercial mascots make terrible video games" and that the game "barely uses the license at all". GameSpot opined that the game "could put you off M&M's for life". It also awarded the game "Flat-out Worst Game" award in its "Best of 2008" awards. GameZone also panned it, as did Nintendojo. Gameplay footage of the game was featured as Joystiq's "Today's most hilariously atrocious video", stating that the gameplay footage "is a true testament to the wrong way to build a kart racer". The game was chosen as one of GameZone's "most abysmal racing games ever", due to the sluggish pace of the game and the dialogue. GamesRadar ranked it 32nd on their "The 50 Worst Games of All Time." They criticized the Wii's motion controls making the karts impossible to handle and the absence of items to use in races, saying most Mario Kart rip-offs include the use of items. 87.51.178.26 (talk) 15:47, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

That really doesn't make it have long term notability for negative reception, just a bad game that didn't get much coverage afterwards. Masem (t) 16:18, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

It did get Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2011's award for the lowest-rated kart game. That must count for something? 87.51.178.26 (talk) 16:34, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Also being the flat out worst Mario Kart clone in a list that counts many shovelware tie in Mario Kart clones must count for something. Mario Kart are one of the most ripped off game for shovelware tie in games and being the worst in a genre known for a lot of bad shovelware tie in games must count for something. Not just one of the worst, but flat out the worst rated Kart Racing game on GameRankings. 87.51.178.26 (talk) 16:37, 26 December 2023 (UTC)