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We pity any players that spent money on these video games. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the worst video games of 2023.
Transcript
00:00 Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're looking at 2023 video games we pity any players for spending money on.
00:13 Number 10 - Unholy
00:23 In this stealth survival horror game, players control a mother searching for her child who has been kidnapped and taken into a haunting alternate world.
00:40 But with so many problems, we'd forgive you for giving up on her mission.
00:44 From its focus on a religious cult to its bland enemy designs, Unholy is fairly by-the-numbers horror, which means it isn't very scary.
00:53 Even if the story wasn't uninspired, you'd still have the frustrating controls that are awful for stealth, a myriad of technical problems, repetitive combat and puzzles, and some pretty poor voice acting.
01:07 While some praise the level of detail in its two worlds, that doesn't matter when the game is so unfun to play.
01:14 Let our pain be our demolition. Let fire be where we find solace. Let the cleansing begin.
01:22 Number 9 - Crime Boss - Rakeh City
01:25 In some cases, getting film actors to star in games can lead to greatness. But this obviously isn't one of those cases.
01:39 Rakeh City may have piqued our interest with its focus on heists in a cast that includes Chuck Norris, Danny Glover and Kim Basinger.
01:46 But once people got to try it, they found it to be quite hollow.
01:49 None of the cast puts in performances worthy of their past time in crime films, which means they can't carry the paper-thin plotlines.
02:04 We wouldn't need them to if the gameplay was any fun. But it all amounts to simple first-person shooting within levels and missions we've played through a million times before, and in much better games.
02:15 Number 8 - Testament - The Order of High Human
02:31 When you try to do too much and succeed at nothing, you get a game like Testament.
02:35 The first-person action RPG is set in a fantasy open world with metroidvania elements.
02:40 While that's incredibly enticing on paper, the developers fumbled the ball in nearly every category.
02:45 The story, about a king usurped by his evil brother, never goes beyond exactly what you'd expect, and neither does its generic setting.
02:54 Our creator, the truth to all things, the one who creates.
03:02 Combat is maddeningly simple with little to no variety, which becomes infuriating as the game throws groups of enemies at you.
03:09 Then you have the unifying factor across all bad games - a ton of bugs.
03:14 Considering Skyrim came out in 2011 and still does everything better, there's no incentive to explore here.
03:21 Number 7 - Loop 8 - Summer of Gods
03:25 The JRPG genre grows more popular every year.
03:46 Sadly, that means when one misses the mark as badly as Loop 8 did, it draws much more universal hatred.
03:52 Set in an alternate Japan during the 1980s, it follows humanity's fight against demons.
03:57 You might think that sounds pretty generic, and you'd be absolutely right.
04:01 Nothing about the story, characters, or writing leaves much of an impression, which is something that an RPG definitely needs to nail.
04:15 The other element it needs is a satisfying gameplay hook.
04:18 But the game's mechanics are simplistic, leading to a lot of repetition and boredom.
04:22 With a genre as crowded as this, one needs something to stand out.
04:26 But we have a feeling Loop 8 is destined to be forgotten.
04:30 Number 6 - Redfall
04:37 "Jake, what's it like to talk with a fricking bird?"
04:40 "Ain't much of a conversationalist. Just shows me what I need to see."
04:45 The stage was set for Redfall to be great.
04:47 It had the allure of taking back a city from vampires and would seem to be varied character classes.
04:52 But the most promising facet was developer Arkane, crafter of Deathloop and the Dishonored series.
04:58 When players got their hands on it, they found one of the most disappointing titles of 2023.
05:04 "Check."
05:06 The setup was actually quite dull and the combat uninspired.
05:14 The decision to tie progress to the host was confusing.
05:17 Joining a friend online meant you'd have to replay missions to keep rewards.
05:20 However, what insulted us most were the bugs.
05:23 Constant crashes, missing assets, frequent texture pop-ins, missions that didn't clear upon completion.
05:29 It was a giant mess and a poor exclusive for Xbox players.
05:32 "You will never see the sun again."
05:37 "Is Rachel in there?"
05:43 "I hope not. She should stop bothering me."
05:47 "What's going on with you, Henry? Tell me."
05:50 While some players commended Greyhill Incident for its atmosphere, the indie survival horror game has almost nothing else to offer.
05:57 Players control a conspiracy theorist proven right when his son is taken by aliens.
06:01 Many may use the term "walking simulator" derogatorily, but that's exactly what this is.
06:06 "It'll take me a few minutes to get it done."
06:08 "Bob, that's great. That's what I needed to hear."
06:11 There are no objective markers, so you'll spend a lot of time wandering around.
06:15 And when you're not aimlessly walking about, you'll have to endure a clunky control scheme as you attempt to hide from the aliens.
06:21 The writing is also extremely subpar, failing to drum up any scares or make you care about its protagonist.
06:27 Even with a short playtime, it's a rough experience.
06:30 "Well, after Ryan was abducted, his dog Max came along, and together we're now on our way to meet this mysterious man."
06:38 "I mean, that was the Greyhill Incident."
06:42 #4 Avatar The Last Airbender - Quest For Balance
06:46 "To lavish upon me the tale of the Avatar from the beginning."
06:51 Despite the potential, Avatar has never gotten a truly good game adaptation.
06:55 But Quest For Balance is one of the absolute worst.
06:58 It takes the compelling story from the TV series and completely butchers it.
07:02 Many exciting moments are dumbed down to simple text screens, while some you get to play through are presented out of order.
07:08 Even still, gameplay is some of the most lazy we've ever seen.
07:12 An abundance of sliding block puzzles and endless runner sections make it feel like this was meant for mobile.
07:25 What should be a highlight for an Avatar game, the combat, boils down to button-mashing nonsense.
07:30 While the franchise continues to progress through TV, comics and novels, Quest For Balance is a massive step backwards.
07:37 #3 The Walking Dead - Destinies
07:46 #4 The Walking Dead - Destinies
07:51 The concept of taking events in The Walking Dead and letting the player change them through their decisions sounds intriguing.
08:02 But even the most die-hard of zombie fans should stay away from this one.
08:12 Destinies dropped late in the year with little fanfare, surprising given the huge IP.
08:17 Those that took the time to look found it to be so messy, it's borderline unplayable.
08:22 Major technical issues like stilted frame rates and a ton of texture clipping would already make it unfun.
08:27 But the clunky controls and still image cutscenes already do a pretty good job of it.
08:31 As one of the biggest names in horror around, The Walking Dead certainly deserves better than this.
08:37 #2 Skull Island - Rise of Kong
08:42 When Rise of Kong was released, one particularly bad cutscene went viral.
09:01 Well, we're here to tell you that that's only the tip of the iceberg.
09:05 Players control Kong after his parents are killed and must explore Skull Island while seeking vengeance.
09:10 Its visuals are horrible, even compared to games that came out 20 years ago.
09:14 The combat consists of the simple beat-em-up mechanics.
09:17 And what should be a lush, engaging environment is severely hindered by poor level design.
09:31 GameMill Entertainment, the same publisher of Quest for Balance, reportedly forced crunch on developer Iguana Bee to get the game out in a year.
09:39 It's no surprise that it turned out to be such an abysmal mess.
09:42 Before we reveal our worst top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.
09:53 Clive and Wrench - A bland 3D platformer that's not really as fun as those that inspired it.
09:59 #3 Quantum Error - A promising premise ruined by poor performance and mediocre storytelling.
10:09 Colossal Cave - In a year of great remakes, this one was a dud.
10:20 Hellboy - Web of Word - Strong visuals couldn't save it from boring gameplay.
10:34 DreamWorks All-Star Kart Racing - Not much to offer beyond its popular characters.
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11:06 #1 The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
11:12 #2 The Lord of the Rings - Gollum
11:15 Kong may be a king, but he couldn't overthrow the rule of Gollum.
11:22 In a world as vast and magical as Middle-Earth, it's astounding that fans got a game as poor as this.
11:27 Set between The Hobbit and the trilogy, players control Gollum on a journey to reclaim the One Ring.
11:32 But good luck making it through the game to actually see what happens, because boring doesn't even begin to cover it.
11:38 #3 The Lord of the Rings - Datalick
11:43 You'll walk, climb, hide, and that's about it.
11:48 Or rather, you'll try to do those things since the game is so full of bugs, your patience will be tested on two fronts.
11:54 That's not to mention the horrendous visuals.
11:56 The game was so poorly received that Datalick Entertainment fired its development division to solely focus on publishing.
12:03 Ouch.
12:04 #4 Mojo Plays - The Last of Us
12:09 Did you play any of these terrible games?
12:12 Are there any stinkers that we left off?
12:14 Share your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to subscribe for more great gaming videos.
12:19 In the mood for more awesome gaming content?
12:27 Be sure to check out this video here on Mojo Plays.
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12:35 [music]