Metacritic has shared a list of the worst games released this year, based on reviews.
Metacritic aggregates reviews of TV, film, books and music and then gives them an average score. As part of its end of year summary, the website has shared the 10 worst reviewed games released in 2023.
“Any titles with fewer than seven reviews from professional critics are excluded,” it explained, with the list only including titles that are “major enough” to get reviewed by multiple publications.
Topping the list of worst games is Daedalic’s The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum with a score of just 34 out of 100, making it “generally unfavourable”. The stealth platformer is set between the events of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, and offers an original story for Gollum.
According to the list, it’s the “worst Lord Of The Rings game adaptation in history” with reviews calling it “dull” and “tedious” as well as pointing out game-breaking bugs, terrible visuals and criticising the extensive knowledge of Tolkien’s work that’s needed to properly grasp the plot. “At any rate, it’s a complete package: completely terrible,” wrote Metacritic.
Flashback prequel Flashback 2 was the second worst reviewed game of 2023, followed by Refugium Games’ Greyhill Incident. Sci-fi horror shooter Quantum Error also features in the top five alongside Fairyship Games’ Testament: The Order of High-Human.
The top ten worst reviewed games of 2023 are:
1. The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum (Daedalic)
2. Flashback 2 (Microids)
3. Greyhill Incident (Refugium Games)
4. Quantum Error (TeamKill Media LLC)
5. Testament: The Order Of High-Human (Fairyship Games)
6. Crime Boss: Rockay City (505 Games)
7. Hellboy: Web Of Wyrd (Good Shepherd Entertainment)
8. Gangs Of Sherwood (Nacon)
9. Loop8: Summer Of Gods (XSEED Games)
10. Gargoyles Remastered (Disney Electronic Content)
In other news, Pornhub has revealed its annual Year In Review for 2023. Both Super Mario and The Legend Of Zelda have seen a substantial boost in interest over the past 12 months but Fortnite and Overwatch were the two most popular gaming titles on the adult video site for the third year in a row.
