Metacritic Announces the Most Disappointing Video Games of 2023 Based on Critic Scores

Metacritic, a prominent resource for aggregating game critiques, has recently disclosed a compilation of the year's most underwhelming video game titles from various platforms. The list, which we are sharing with you, showcases those games with the most lackluster reception, determined by their Metascore. Several guidelines shaped this compendium, including the exclusion of any game with less than seven reviews, and in cases where a game might appear multiple times due to multiple platform releases, only its lowest-scoring entry was counted.

The dubious honor of leading the pack goes to "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum," an action-adventure title crafted by Daedalic Entertainment in partnership with Nacon for publication. The game's narrative runs parallel to "The Fellowship of the Ring," offering an inventive storyline wherein players undertake a journey to reclaim the One Ring.

Critical reception hasn't been kind, with The Guardian dismissing the game as a tedious and uninspired stealth action-adventure with scant regard for the engaging aspects of Tolkien lore. Push Square piled on, describing it as an outdated, sloppy product marred by awkward mechanics, a lack of refinement, and visuals that failed to impress, alongside a narrative devoid of intrigue. 

The aftermath of "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum's" calamitous launch in May saw a major shift at Daedalic, as they chose to halt all in-house game creation.

The roster for the least commendable games also includes "Crime Boss: Rockay City," an FPS featuring familiar faces maneuvering through Florida's gritty crime scene during the 90s, and "Flashback 2," the follow-up to the 1992 sci-fi hit.

Here's the grim roll call of 2023's most criticized games, compiled by Metacritic:
1. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum – 34
2. Flashback 2 – 35
3. Greyhill Incident – 38
4. Quantum Error – 40
5. Testament: The Order of High-Human – 41
6. Crime Boss: Rockay City – 43
7. Hellboy: Web of Wyrd – 47
8. Gangs of Sherwood – 48
9. Loop8: Summer of Gods – 49
10. Gargoyles Remastered – 49

For context, the previous year's unfavorable list was topped by "Postal 4: No Regerts" by Running with Scissors, with Smilegate and Remedy's "CrossfireX" and the collaboration between Platinum Games and Square Enix on "Babylon's Fall" following closely behind.

In contrast to these low points, Metacritic underscored Sony Interactive Entertainment's success, placing it at the apex of its 13th annual Game Publisher Rankings, which is attributed to a year of high-quality releases.