With the likes ofFinal Fantasy VII,Skyrim, andDark Soulsamongst their ranks, RPGs as a genre are generally loved and praised by fans and critics alike. Whether they offer an open-world experience, elaborate character customization, or expansive lore, role-playing games have the potential to be truly immersive experiences.
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Of course, with so much content out there, there’s always more that can go wrong. From budget issues to unexpected bugs, any number of problems can leave players with a rather disappointing product. The comprehensive scores of Metacritic,though not always a perfect gauge for quality, give fans a clearer view of the RPGs that truly failed to meet their potential.
Updated May 8th, 2022 by Russ Boswell: There have been tons of RPG titles released over the years, with some of them providing players with hours upon hours of enjoyable content. The RPG formula is pretty “lax,” giving developers and studios a chance to create RPG experiences that are unique and engaging. Unfortunately, there have been many RPGs released that fell well-short of the fun mark, landing them a spot among the worst video games ever created. Metacritic has seen critics and users alike lambast some of these titles, for a variety of reasons. To better show some of theworst RPGs of all time according to Metacritic, the following list has been updated with more entries.
13Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny Revised (18)
It’s rather alarming to see a title on Metacritic that has a score below 30. Although there are some awful games out there, even some of the most egregious titles still maintain a low 30. The 18 that Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny Revised sports is eye-widening but it’s not because the game itself is inherently bad. In fact, Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny was a much beloved 90s RPG that developed a bit of a cult-following over the years.
Realms of Arkania: Blade of Destiny has such a low score because it’s a “re-release,” and perhaps one of the poorest to ever hit the market. According to many players, it’s much clunkier and more offputting than the original, which is difficult to imagine since the original release came out back in 1992.
12Infestation: Survivor Stories (The War Z) (20)
They say the sincerest form of flattery is imitation, and there are a lot of games out there that attempt to ride the coattails of more successful IPs by crafting releases that look and feel similar in design. This is especially true when a game is incredibly popular. Hype drives a lot of studios to attempt to replicate the same successes and sometimes the imitation is so “spot on” that it looks and feels like players are seeing the same game, or at the least, a cheap knock off. That’s what happened with The War Z, who attempted to capture the same feelings and gameplay of the wildly popular DayZ.
The execution was terrible, with many players and critics lambasting the release and claiming it replicated all the “worst parts of DayZ,” in a half-hearted way.
11Overlord: Fellowship of Evil (24)
The Overlord franchise developed quite a cult following thanks to its humor, character designs, and puzzle-based gameplay. Triumph Studios did a great job giving players a fun and unique adventure that had them coming back for more. Unfortunately, the developer didn’t work on Overlord: Fellowship of Evil, which was handed off to Codemasters. Although players were anxiously awaiting the chance to play a new installment in the Overlord franchise, they’d be supremely disappointed at release.
Codemasters' verison of the franchise was nothing like the predecessors, and players were irate that they took the formula that had built a cult-following and tried to replace it with completely different gameplay, that many complained “wasn’t fun at all.”
10Majestic Nights (32)
As a concept,Majestic Nightsseems like an interesting game. The episodic thriller is set in an alternate 1980s where every conspiracy theory, from those surrounding alien sightings to JFK’s assassination, is true. There are multiple versions of most conspiracy theories so including every single one is technically impossible, but it’s anentertaining ideato be sure.
While some reviews manage to find merit in the game’s soundtrack, players and critics alike agreeMajestic Nightsis plagued by buggy mechanics and confusing interfaces. The first episode, ‘Chapter Zero,’ is available for free on Steam, so players can at least experience these flaws before deciding to purchase the game.
9Metalheart: Replicants Rampage (31)
Released just over 15 years ago, there’s a certain nostalgic charm to the visual design ofMetalheart: Replicants Rampage,with it’s finely detailed isometric landscapes andFallout-inspired aesthetic. That’s about where the charm ends though.
This game is riddled with broken quests and onerous combat, but perhaps its biggest flaw is the writing. This shouldn’t be a surprise considering the script was translated to English by the Russian development team, but the result is an unlikeable cast and dialogue that often just doesn’t make sense.
8Crimson Keep (30)
This action RPG with a dash of horror suffers from a severe case of dullness.Crimson Keeppromises a dungeon-crawling experience full of unique challenges, sending players into a spiraling labyrinth to find the ancient power required to help them escape. All this potential comes crashing down thanks to the game’s roguelike elements.
The unpredictable nature of enemy encounters and area layouts makesCrimson Keepextremely frustrating to play. Defeat seems to come with no rhyme or reason, leaving players devoid of any enjoyment or satisfaction.
7Legends of Dawn (29)
2013’sLegends of Dawnstarted its life as a Kickstarter project, raising nearly twice its $25,000 goal. The campaign declared that the game isn’t meant for “casual gamers,” and would provide players “the choice to be whatever your heart desires.” With so much excess funding, it’s hard to imagine where everything went wrong.
Perhaps ambition got the best ofLegends of Dawn’s developers. Quests begin before the player has reached the right point in the narrative, and others are completely broken. The game received numerous patches up until 2015, but considering how low its score remains, they don’t appear to have fixed all that much.
6Wild West Online (29)
Thanks to its realistic Western aesthetic, it’s no surprise leaked images of this MMO wereonce believed to befrom the highly-anticipatedRed Dead Redemption 2. At first glance, a Western-themed MMO doesn’t sound like a terrible idea, and the detailed graphics of the leaked images had players even more hopeful.
Many were disappointed to discover that the game is afflicted by awkward animations, an empty world, and pesky microtransactions. Players and critics agree that aside from wandering around and completing tedious fetch quests,Wild West Onlinehas very little to offer.
5Final Fantasy: All The Bravest (25)
With the glowing reception ofFinal Fantasy VII, it’s almost tragic to see aFinal Fantasygame appear amongst the worst RPGs of all time. The series boastssome of the best video games on any console, butAll The Bravest’s touch-action gameplay just isn’t up to scratch.
While it has some redeeming qualities with its cute pixelated graphics and classic score, there isn’t much for players to do other than swipe their thumb to make units attack. When characters die, players must wait three hours for them to respawn, or spend money so they can get back to swiping, which just adds insult to injury.
4Call For Heroes: Pompolic Wars (25)
2007’sCall For Heroes' graphics harkens back to an older, simpler time for video games. It’s gameplay, on the other hand, just makes it feel outdated. The combat is clunky and boring, with fiddly character movement and imprecise jumping making it nigh on impossible.
The plot apparently involves demons appearing from a dimensional rift to enslave humans, but this narrative barely extends beyond the description on the games' box. Of course, games have come along way since it was released, but it’s equally worth keeping in mind thatOblivionwas released in 2006.
