Mario is Missing

Between 1988 and 1996, Nintendo handed development reigns to Interplay Entertainment to create a series of educational Mario games, which probably explains why these titles were so doomed from the start. One offering from 1993, Mario is Missing, frequently ranks as one of the worst Nintendo games of all time. With repetitive buildings, NPCs and unfightable enemies, any seasoned Mario fan playing this will have steam coming out of their ears.

Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero

Until 1997, every Mortal Kombat game revolved around fighting and nothing else. In Mythologies: Sub Zero, however, also the first in the series to be available on the PlayStation, you play as Bi-Han and Bi-Han only in the search for Shinnok’s amulet. Sounds pretty good, no? No. The special effects and cut scenes, to this very day, are widely slated. One of the biggest gripes was that it took an action button just to get Bi-Han to turn around.

Pokemon Channel

To be fair, classifying this as a ‘game’ might be a bit of stretch. Most of the time, you’re just sat with Pikachu watching television, which is fine I guess, if you happen to love hanging around with an electrically charged cartoon mouse. But if you were a kid buzzing from the heady likes of Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow, this interactive game was a huge disappointment.

Sonic R

Weirdly enough, it was the soundtrack of Sonic R that seemd to get people’s goat the most. Described as ‘laughably bad’, the gameplay was also tarnished by grainy visuals which make it hard to see exactly where you were going. And that’s pretty important when you’re zipping around as fast as Sonic R. Designer Hirokazu Yasuhara, later said that “the final version of Sonic R is actually quite good … However, I do admit that the base concept of Sonic R, in which a player ‘drives’ running characters, is not great.”

Bomberman: Act Zero

This is the one you were waiting for. Yes, Bomberman: Act Zero is as bad as legend says – maybe the worst of all time. Why? Because Konami changed everything that Bomberman fans loved about the franchise, for no reason other than to come off as more serious in an ever-serious gaming climate. Act Zero was hounded by its loading times, poor soundtrack, repetitive graphics and lack of a save feature among MANY more things

Umbrella Corps

Umbrella Corps was a 2016 spin-off from the guys who brought you Resident Evil, because that’s what everybody betrothed to the series wanted. Syke! You couldn’t get more pointless than this effort, which was criticised for convoluted styles and elements and generally boring gameplay. Ultimately, it was nothing like a Resident Evil game – and where’s the fun in that?

Amiibo Festival

Some critics of this Animal Crossing spin-off from 2015 claimed the game was so boring that they actually fell asleep playing it. Now, that’s not very nice is it? Go play Amiibo Festival and you’ll see what they meant. While charming in a basic visual sense, this game offered nothing else in terms of player experience. Worse yet, the titular amiibo were described as “cumbersome” to control.

Metal Gear Survive

Keeping the dream alive after your creator leaves the franchise is never going to be easy. Just ask the guys behind Metal Gear, whose 2018 effort Metal Gear Survive was made following the departure of Hideo Kojima. Fans blasted this spin off as a shadow of its former self as well as an insult to Kojima and his hard work over the years.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories

Konami really didn’tdo fans of Silent Hill a favour when they handed the rights over to a developer that didn’t know what they were doing. The result was Book of Memories, a spin-off released in 2012 that signalled the death of the franchise thanks to its nonsensical plot, scare-free experience and cookie cutter setting – a far cry from the eerie, fog-littered landscape of the core games.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Taking place 500 years after the previous installment, Final Fantasy XIII sees the return of Lightning who is chosen by the deity Bhunivelze to save the world and its people, including former allies. Unfortunately, this grand storyline was deemed too ludicrous for loyal fans of the Final Fantasy series. Although visually varied, there was little development for Lightning who failed to carry the game for many critics.