Top 10 worst games of 2022 according to Metacritic

Have you ever heard the expression "la crème de la crème"? Well, the following games are the opposite. We would say it's a top with the worst of the year, but using the word top in a ranking like this doesn't make any sense. Metacritic has just announced 2022's worst experiences at the controllers according to the international press scores. An index in which there is everything. Remasterings of games that have aged badly and also needed a playable facelift. Projects that tried to copy the success of renowned sagas or to take advantage of the pull of TV series. And of course, things like the first game as a service that closes in less than a year. Our colleagues from Spain had... the misfortune of reviewing some of these titles, so we quote part of their reviews, to commemorate their sacrifice. Here is the list of games that are best avoided.

10. Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition (Nintendo Switch)

What seemed like a dream come true, the remastering of a 1997 classic that is one of the best point and click adventures in history, has ended up turning nightmarish in some of its versions. With many technical problems and a finish that was worse than the work that fans had done in recent years based on mods, Blade Runner Enchanced Edition has turned out to be a disappointment and the roughest possible way to bring what was a jewel to the new generations.

9. Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief (PS4)

Another remastering, in this case of a 2006 game that never left Japan and that, considering what we have seen, it would have been better if it had not. An action and stealth adventure that has not aged well in terms of graphics and gameplay, being so difficult to control that only the most nostalgic will appreciate it.

8. The Waylanders (PC)

"We admire the value of The Waylanders for betting on Celtic culture as the basis for its story, but its biggest problem has been trying to resemble Dragon Age. If Gato Salvaje had gone for something much modest, we would have a well-rounded game, but it hasn't been like that. The script is confusing and doesn't quite specify a path to follow, the combats lack a tactical component and visual clarity, and the technical seams spoil a remarkable artistic section. We will not deny that the journey in The Waylanders has not been the most fruitful and rewarding in the world, but we are glad to know that the developers are aware of this and intend to modify and fix those aspects that currently tarnish an experience that was being correct".

7. The Last Oricru (Xbox Series X|S)

From Software has given us a good number of games to remember: Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, Elden Ring.... But also a good number of plagiarisms that tried to replicate the Soulsborne formula without any success. The Last Oricru is coffee for coffee drinkers. A game that failed from its art to its level design.

6. Zorro: The Chronicles (PS5)

There are games that claim to be intended for the youngest members of the family and hide behind that to underestimate them. As much as we love Zorro and we are facing an adaptation of the animated series of the same name, the game is too simple, easy and riddled with bugs. It is very difficult for anyone to enjoy it, not even newborns who do not know who the hell is the masked man with a Latin accent that we are trying to sneak.

5. LEGO Brawls (Nintendo Switch)

"A Super Smash Bros for little kids, but quite little. LEGO Brawls is fun at first, until you realize that what you see is all it has to offer. It doesn't go deep, there's no more, except for thematic and visual elements to unlock by the handful. It's a shame they didn't take advantage of the jump from mobile to consoles to do the same thing other LEGO titles did, like the forgotten LEGO Rock Band. LEGO Brawls has the perfect foundation to be a fun Smash Bros clone with its own visual personality, but that's all they've left it at, the basics."

4. XEL (Nintendo Switch)

Although XEL looked like a charming 3D platformer that borrowed from the Zelda franchise, the game ended up having bigger problems than just plain plagiarism. Practically unplayable, it's a black hole that seems to absorb every kind of technical problem a game could have. Reviewers spent more time dealing with the bugs than playing the game, as was reflected in its score.

3. Babylon's Fall (PS5)

"Babylon's Fall has good ideas, a combat system with new elements and a core that can be improved. But it feels like a non-finished, early version of something with possibilities. Or something took a wrong direction during its development and from being a pure Platinum experience became a Game as a service by higher demands. The doubt remains if Square and Platinum are going to fix it as the game needs or if Babylon's Fall will stay like this. The worst thing is that as it is, Square Enix charges 70 euros for it. It's not broken, it's playable from start to finish and sometimes fun, but what if it had come out cheaper, or even in Freemium model, to download for free and pay for what you want to unlock / play / advance?".

2. Crossfire X (Xbox Series X|S)

"Crossfire's console version has turned out to be an adaptation disaster. An impractical multiplayer that, at least for now, deserves to be kept under quarantine, far away from any lover of the genre. Remedy's two single-player campaigns are the only thing that would be saved from the stake, but only by the slimmest of margins. Its marketing method sets a terrible precedent for Game Pass and although both stories have striking moments on an audiovisual level, they are the most insipid in gameplay. A passive and generic shooter of the kind that was common at the turn of the century. The icing on the cake is its length (less than 4 hours in total) and a very poor script in which it is impossible to recognize the creators of Alan Wake, Control, and Max Payne. Let's hope that this testing ground has served Remedy well because what it is to us has seemed like a wasted opportunity".

1. POSTAL 4: No Regerts (PC)

After several years in early access, Postal 4 was released with a final version that, to no one's surprise, contained all its bugs and problems intact. They are like From Software, but in reverse. If the parents of Elden Ring have two GOTY awards, the creators of the Postal saga have the dubious honor of crowning for the second time the list of the worst games of the year. And if this Postal 4 seems bleeding, we remind you that more than a decade ago, in 2011, Postal III had an average score of 24. It's hard to do worse even trying.

Source | Metacritic