It’s been eight years since Microsoft’s Xbox One hit store shelves. While not quite out of the game yet, the Series X’s debut can almost guarantee that the days of the Xbox One are numbered. While the system’s promise of support through different generations and backward compatibility may soften the blow, the time will come when the Xbox One will no longer receive new games.
There’s no time like the present to remember all the good times the console has given gamers … as well as all the bad things. Here are Metacritic’s ten best bad games ever published for the Xbox One.
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Bounty Battle
What a promising and fun fighting game it should be with characters from beloved indie titles like Dead cells, Darkest dungeon and Guacamelee eventually became an exercise in frustration. Several critics cite the serious lack of multiplayer modes that should be standard for the genre (how can you not have an online mode at this time and time again?) AI.
The sheer amount of popular indie characters meant that the standard for this crossover for fights had to be much higher than what was shown during the launch. Bounty Battle is an expensive disappointment that will only be a bad memory for all the indie franchises involved in its development.
Doug hates his job
A simple game with a simple premise: a salesman named Doug hates his job, and he enters the world defeating people to relieve stress, usually after they have disturbed him. The game sets the tone by having an associate argue with Doug over Marvel or DC movies at the start of the game, followed by a fist fight in the toilet. Doug goes through various challenges and situations that frantically change style and tries to spice up the typical redundancy of the beat-em-up genre.
Despite the witty writing and fun premise, the game is far too simple, repetitive, and funny to enjoy, making for an unforgettable experience. It really does not help that most sound effects and music sound like something out of a stock ad, and that the footage has no charm.
Ghostbusters (2016)
This is not related to the much better 2009 action game by THQ Ghostbusters adventure is a loose sequel to the controversial 2016 remake of the film. It follows a group of four nameless Ghostbusters that have nothing to do with the cast of any film that haunts Rowan, the antagonist of the 2016 film. The game is an isometric two-stick shooter in a 2.5D format, not unlike Geometric wars or The bondage of Isaac.
However, it seems to have a greater resemblance to Konami’s own reloading of games, Contra: Rogue Corps. It hardly looks like the property it adapts to and has no depth in the game or story. Most critics who are fans of Ghostbusters hated this obvious deposit and those who are not fans will simply see how forgetful it is as an arcade game.
Crimson Keep
Crimson Keep is a roguelike dungeon crawler where the player is pushed into a series of dungeons that randomly generate along with a new set of enemies. The player can choose from a multitude of fantasy classes a la Dungeons and Dragons and collect a variety of weapons and items and experience points as they progress. The catch is that, should they die, they will be returned absolutely nothing.
These game aspects are standard for the genre, so it is not a problem. What underpins the game is the poor presentation, art style, combat, hostile variety and almost anything else needed to make a decent video game. Many critics also note that it is too expensive for the degree of frustration and dissatisfaction it brings.
Soda Drinker Pro
A game that, frankly, is really obvious kicking gear, with almost no effort for it, probably made for the novelty of a quick joke. A joke that falls flatter than a can of day-old Pepsi left out of the fridge. Game revolves almost exclusively around collecting and drinking cups of soda – that’s about it.
It will help if the game is accompanied by visuals or comic writing, or something that looks like a form of low humor, to make it ‘so bad that it’s good’. But unfortunately, the extremely poor 3D graphics from the 90s surpass Bubsy 3D in ugliness, and completing the game costs no effort beyond the patience required to tread through it.
This is the zodiac
Another game with a very promising concept but bad execution. This is the zodiac is a psychological first-person thriller revolving around the infamous Zodiac Killer, a serial killer who committed crimes in California in the 1970s and was never caught. The player is a victim who survived an assassination attempt and participated in an investigation that would lead to the truth about one of America’s most notorious criminals.
The exploratory parts of the game appear rather dull and difficult to navigate. If the killer chases the player, there is very little indication that it even happens, along with an unfortunate very predictable plot that ends too quickly. With such a bold starting point and ideas with a high concept, this one needed a little more time to develop.
Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX
Another kicking tool with almost no effort to do so, Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX is an isometric racing game where the player controls one of the many colorful yet poorly detailed cars across different racetracks. There is hardly enough content in the game to be worth talking about, let alone another full entry on this list.
It’s bad enough that a racing game can only choose from four tracks, but the smooth control panel, poor AI and bad physics prevent this game from being even ironically enjoyable. Most critics notice how the game can be completed quickly and how many other racing games perform much more effective basic functions.
Robot Squad Simulator X
If you draw heavy inspiration from real government robots, Robot Squad Simulator X enables the player to control different robots that look like the tank-shaped devices that can be seen during robot dueling or demonstrations in real life. With this game, the average player can go through different obstacle courses and undergo various operations such as search and rescue, espionage and bomb disarmament. This is an interesting experience for a simulator and it is surprising that it has not been done before.
Unfortunately, the novelty is very quickly welcoming. It is difficult to control the robot, even if you are trying to perform basic actions such as picking up objects – something that really should not be for a robot designed for emergencies. The frustration of still learning the sluggish and clumsy control, coupled with the generally tedious current obstacles, takes away the experience significantly.
Fighters are
Microsoft’s Kinect had high aspirations, so it’s discouraging to see how many games developed for it did not end up attracting much attention. Still, the Kinect did get an Xbox One upgrade, but few games were made for it, and even fewer were actually even half-decent. The poor man Tekken, Fighters are, is just another proof of this.
Above and beyond faint and memorable designs, a story that is barefoot, even for a genre known for thin plot, and graphics that still look like it was made in the last generation Fighters are‘s biggest downfall is the inaccurate motion control. The inaccurate detection of the Kinect will ensure that players will correct themselves incorrectly or do nothing.
Rugby 15
The absolute worst rated Xbox One game on Metacritic, Rugby 15 is the first attempt to bring the popular British sports to modern home consoles – and so far it has unfortunately made a bad impression and brought the sport a lot of shame. The game is unfavorably compared to NHL 15, and if you consider how bad the game is, it says something.
Player models are stiff and uncomfortable, the textures of the field and other objects look equally dull and flat. The limited amount of selectable camera angles is a poor attempt to hide how bad the game’s graphics are, but it also makes it harder for the player to know what exactly is happening on the screen. The AI is also broken, and the computer is biased towards the defense or doing absolutely nothing.
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