Because there are a wealth of bad video games out there in the world, a set of criteria have been created to make sure we're focusing truly on games that are truly notable for their negative reception. Games are eligible for inclusion in this list if they have an article on Wikipedia, have established
notability, and have demonstrated a strong negative reception described by one or more of the criteria listed below. This demonstration requires providing in-line citations for the entry to several published articles, from sources that are
generally considered reliable for the coverage of video games, which describe in significant detail (not in passing) how the game meets the criterion/criteria; entries that fail to provide these citations will likely be removed without question. A minimum of three such sources is strongly recommended, and preferably at least five such sources should be provided. Note that you may reuse citations from the game's article to support inclusion here.
Having low review scores; a game with an
aggregate review score below 50/100, as determined by at least 10 critic reviews is generally considered eligible but not guaranteed a spot on the list.
Its quality having been acknowledged in relevant retrospectives and columns by reliable sources (i.e. being literally referred to as one of the "worst games ever" (either of all-time or within a specific category or genre).
Its negative reception resulting in a long-term impact on the video game industry (see the story behind E.T. and the
Atari video game burial as a strong example of this).
Having a notably negative response from end-users over its quality, especially in situations where negative user response impacts the reception by professional critics. In order to meet this criteria, at least three reliable citations must discuss such a response in significant detail. This negative reception should be something of discussion some months after a product's release; short-term negativity towards a bug or flaw that is patched shortly after release does not qualify for inclusion on this list. A title is ineligible for inclusion based on user response if it received an otherwise positive response from critics, as it might be more indicative of a controversy surrounding a portion of the title or its background, or one "manufactured" by its community, rather than the quality of the title as a whole. Titles with controversies unrelated to their overall quality may be eligible for inclusion on
List of controversial video games instead, such as in the case of Daikatana. Games that are the subject of "review bombing" due to non-gameplay related issues, such as Sonic Mania at launch
[1] are not considered appropriate for this list.
Shovelware,
tie-ins, and non-notable indie or mobile titles are typically excluded from this list, barring exceptional circumstances, since they generally receive little media attention and do not typically have a reasonable expectation of quality (thus they would have negative reception, but not be notable for it). Other common examples include cheap cash-in games based off of movies, television, or other similar media.
Start discussion on this page for any questions or proposed exceptions.
Please review the talk page archives (searchable below) for past discussions on games. Many games that have been often considered as "worst-ever" at some point have been discussed before and either added or rejected based on the arguments and sourcing presented.
This article was nominated for
deletion. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination:
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This page has archives. Sections older than 60 days may be automatically archived by Lowercase sigmabot III when more than 4 sections are present.
Splitting by decade?
Not sure if this has been suggested before but I think it might be a good idea to split this into multiple articles by decade, given its sheer length. --
Trar (
talk) 14:54, 17 March 2024 (UTC)reply
I agree. Curious what other people think though.
Timur9008 (
talk) 16:49, 30 March 2024 (UTC)reply
That doesn't make sense, this list is well within SIZE limits, and splitting by decade would lead to undesirable expansion.
Masem (
t) 16:58, 30 March 2024 (UTC)reply
I suggested it because the page has a SIZE tag. If it's well within limits, perhaps it could be removed then.
-- Trar (
talk) 12:26, 23 April 2024 (UTC)reply
A drive by IP added it the same day you opened this discussion. Sometimes tags aren't valid, since anyone can just add them. --
ferret (
talk) 13:37, 23 April 2024 (UTC)reply
That answers my question then, thank you to whoever removed it.
-- Trar (
talk) 11:44, 26 April 2024 (UTC)reply
Pokémon Sword & Shield And Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
The criteria is listed at the top of the page. If you have an argument to make that takes those into consideration, please lay it out. --
ferret (
talk) 19:37, 1 April 2024 (UTC)reply
- Well, while Pokémon Sword and Shield don’t have low review scores like Scarlet and Violet do, many of the problems presented in Scarlet and Violet, outside of the technical issues, were introduced in Sword and Shield, like the terrible animations, and the games’ gimmick, Dynamax, being far worse than Mega Evolutions and Alolan Forms, as well as the Pokédex cut.
- I do see them cited as the Pokémon versions of Sonic 2006 or Sonic Boom on occasion, and I have even seen them listed as some of the worst games before. And unlike those two Sonic games, which at least tried to be good somehow, there was no effort on Game Freak’s part to make them any good, or even learn from their mistakes regarding them.
- I’m not sure if they impacted the industry as a whole enough, but do think they left a lasting impact on the reputation of the Pokémon franchise, the Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo, Game Freak, and the Pokémon Company.
- It split the Pokémon fanbase in half, and many Pokémon fans now prefer the older games or even the Pokémon romhacks over them. Game Freak also doesn’t bother to patch them up and leaves them in unfinished states. I would provide sources but I don’t have any at the moment and I may search for some if requested.
2600:6C56:6C00:39B9:D4BF:9CE4:A8FB:3EBB (
talk) 22:42, 1 April 2024 (UTC)reply
.... ok, but that all needs to be backed by reliable secondary sources (See
WP:VG/S). --
ferret (
talk) 00:21, 2 April 2024 (UTC)reply
Nintendo offered mass refunds for ScVi something they don't usually do.
ScVi also has the lowest user scores of the series which shouldn't just be ignored.
Cider621 (
talk) 01:51, 22 May 2024 (UTC)reply
Are we seriously going to talk about Pokémon games to be on this list?
Xstronomy007 (
talk) 00:27, 4 April 2024 (UTC)reply
It would be a very difficult case to meet the inclusion criteria, but just because it is a Pokémon game does not make it impossible to be on the list. --
Super Goku V (
talk) 08:01, 8 April 2024 (UTC)reply
Other 2023 games
There were a lot of other games released last year that have been talked about in the same breath as not only similarly-bad games from that year, but many games on the list. Examples include games like Redfall, Kong: Skull Island, CoD Modern Warfare III, The Walking Dead: Destinies, EA Sports FC 24, Avatar the Last Airbender: The Quest for Balance or the Switch port of Mortal Kombat 1. Should we consider adding some of those to the list?
Hawkatana (
talk) 08:21, 22 May 2024 (UTC)reply
We need the games to meet not just low scores but have lasting impact and legacy as a game with negative reception or other impacts. Redfall might be there if that ties to the closure of Arkane Austin, but things like Kong and TWD were more treated as memes without any impact, and those others are just games with some negative scores but nothing lasting.
Masem (
t) 12:26, 22 May 2024 (UTC)reply
I want to support this comment. This isn't a list of every game with a negative score, but something of larger consequence for the studio/industry.
Shooterwalker (
talk) 15:48, 22 May 2024 (UTC)reply
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
A new article from Bloomberg by Jason Schreier has revealed that
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League cost Warner Bros 200 Million dollars, making it one of the least financially-successful video games of all time.
Also, there were barely any positive reviews of the game as far as I could see.
Hawkatana (
talk) 17:31, 6 June 2024 (UTC)reply
It's on the commercial failure list for that $200m write off by WB, but it's hard to justify it being negative. It just didn't catch on. But I wouldn't rule it out yet if other developments like layoffs at rocksteady were to happen
Masem (
t) 17:38, 6 June 2024 (UTC)reply
Duke Nukem Forever
DNF did not get particularly bad reviews, mostly mixed to negative. However, those are awful when put up alongside the game's 15-year development and hype, as well as comparing it to previous entries.
Armageddon7432 (
talk) 19:25, 13 June 2024 (UTC)reply