For every really great game it seems like there’s another five that just didn’t live up to their own hype. You might be surprised to see what games some of the COG staff came up with on their worst list. Even better you might disagree with them so go ahead and yell at us in the comments section. We respectfully ask that you leave our mothers out of any possible insults though because that’s just bad form. If you missed it don’t forget to check out our ‘Best Games of 2014 So Far’ article too where we might possibly redeem ourselves.
Thief
It pains me to have to put this on my worst list because I had such high hopes for it. Thief was the franchise that started it all for the stealth genre and while it attempted to stay true to those roots it lost itself in a bland story full of weak characters and buggy mechanics. Add on to that the repetitive gameplay, which I know sounds cliché but it’s true, and you’ve got a fine recipe for boredom. There’s still so much potential in the franchise that I hope Square looks at tackling it again. Garrett is a compelling enough character that if you give him a story worth being told rather than a muddy ‘steal this relic because bad people will do bad things (we never really know what those bad things will be) with it’ story then it might just be worth playing. – Shawn Petraschuk
Murdered: Soul Suspect
I’ll admit I was initially excited for Murdered: Soul Suspect. I mean, playing as a ghost detective trying to figure out who killed you and how other wandering souls were killed when they were alive intrigued me! That is, until I sat down and actually played the game to the point where I could not bear it anymore. It’s a painfully linear and an extremely limited game. Sure you can walk through walls and take out demons, but letting me click on paths that I don’t get to partake in and inevitably forcing me to choose the one path I have to take is a little silly. Let’s just say, instead of wanting to continue playing Murdered: Soul Suspect I wanted to start up my L.A Noire instead. – Judi Azmand
Watch Dogs
Watch Dogs was more disappointing for me than anything. I’m sure it will be some’s Game of the Year so I know this is an unpopular choice. It just didn’t live up to the expectations I had from all the pre-game promotion that Ubisoft put out there. After being delayed for 7 months I expected a fully next gen title that would blow my mind away. I expected the BEST title that Ubisoft could possibly provide yet I’m not even sure I could place Watch Dogs in my top 10 titles of the past couple years. Let’s put it this way, the game is currently sitting in its case next to my Xbox One and I have zero inclination to pop it in to play and it will probably end up on my trade pile by the end of the month. – John Elliott
The Elder Scrolls Online
OK, ESO isn’t a game that should be considered bad, but after playing I was deeply disappointed. I have been a fan of the Elder Scrolls series for a long time, and after hearing about an MMO in the works I was worried about how they could pull it off. My first viewing of it at early stages showed promise. However, when I finally got to play ESO at home, it had me bored in short order. I was hoping for more of a Skyrim/Oblivion experience, but instead what I got seemed a lot less personal. The story says that you are the one out to save the land, but with other real players running around doing the same thing, it lost some appeal. The overall look of the game is nice, and the character creation is amazing – but it’s not enough to keep me engaged I’m afraid. – Matt Cullen
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
I honestly don’t know what happened here. Beenox has a pretty good track record of making solid Spider-Man games. This year however they shit the bed. Amazing Spider-Man 2 was anything but amazing… it was awful. The new web slinging mechanics took a step back. The glitches were plentiful. The characters voices were grating. This game was rushed and the result showed that. Look movie tie-ins often suck and we know it but that doesn’t mean that they HAVE to suck right? There really isn’t much positive I can say here, other than Beenox please don’t mess up the next one. – Trevor Houston
How to Train Your Dragon 2
We all know the stigma of movie licensed games. I know they’re terrible, you know they’re terrible, so why does this keep happening? Normally in tie-in games you play alongside the story from the movie or something similar. How to Train Your Dragon 2 takes it a step further and actually has essentially nothing to do with the new movie at all except the location and characters. There is actually no story whatsoever in the game other than winning flying tournaments, and the game itself has been dumbed down to a simple dragon flying simulator that just has you doing flying mini games over and over. Even if you’re the biggest How to Train Your Dragon fan in the world, I still wouldn’t recommend this game. – Adam Dileva
Line of Defense Tactics: Tactical Advantage
This game could be considered as a new form of psychological torture. I have played some bad games over my brief existence but it’s been a long time since I’ve played a game that fails on every single level. With its paper-thin story, poorly designed levels, frustrating controls, laughable A.I. and hideous graphics, this is easily the worst game I’ve had to review, if not the worst game I’ve ever played. One of the game’s developers, Derek Smart, has also been caught deleting comments and reviews from the Steam page and banning people because they don’t share the same opinion has himself. Avoid this game like Derek Smart avoids common sense. – Lucas Raycevick
Deception IV
While far from the worst game I’ve ever played, it definitely wins that category for the first half of 2014. It has some redeeming qualities and I can see the where the fun comes from, but it’s really uninviting for someone picking it up for the first time. It almost felt like you needed to be a pro right off the bat. It felt clunky, slow, and unpolished. The idea is cool but it lacks follow through. – Royce Dean
Basement Crawl
If you’re going to rip off the Bomberman formula you’d better make damn sure your game doesn’t suck. This game was so broken it prompted a letter from the developer promising changes and appealing for sites to hold their reviews until changes were made. We never heard back from them. – Shad Forsyth
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z
I’m writing this because I was told ‘f**k this game’ was unacceptable. This game had promise and, initially, had some fun aspects to it. Then, I played it and the rage set in. Yaiba is obnoxious, sexist, annoying and sucks fun out of your soul and I’m just talking about the character! Of course, all of those descriptors also apply to the game as a whole as well, so I guess the distinction needn’t be made. Basically, from start to finish (or as far as you can make it), the game is a hot mess. The controls, characters, story, enemies, levels, art, pretty much everything; they’re all garbage. I’d recommend you pick up a communicable disease before playing this game. – Doug Mercer
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