It's been a good run of eight years since Microsoft's Xbox One dropped onto store shelves. While it's not quite out of the game yet, the Series X's debut has all but guaranteed that the Xbox One's days are numbered. While the system's promise of cross-gen support and backwards compatibility may soften the blow, the time is coming where the Xbox One stops receiving new games.
There's no time like the present to reminisce all the good times the console gave gamers... as well as all the bad. Here are Metacritic's top ten worst games ever published for the Xbox One.
Bounty Battle
What should have been a promising and fun fighting game featuring characters from beloved indie titles like Dead Cells, Darkest Dungeon and Guacamelee ended up becoming an exercise in frustration. Several critics cite the severe lack of multiplayer modes that should be standard for the genre (how can you not have an online mode in this day and age?) and saw the game as a buggy, unfinished mess with frequent lag and poor hit detection and AI.
The sheer amount of popular indie characters meant that the standard for this fighting game crossover should have been much higher than what is shown at launch. Bounty Battle is a costly disappointment that will only serve as a poor memory for all the indie franchises involved in its development.
Doug Hates His Job
A simple game with a simple premise: a sales worker named Doug hates his job, and he goes out into the world to beat people up to relieve stress, usually after they've already inconvenienced him. The game sets its tone by having a co-worker argue with Doug at the beginning of the game over Marvel or DC movies, followed by a restroom fistfight. Doug goes through various challenges and situations that wildly change in style, attempting to freshen up the typical redundancy of the beat-em-up genre.
Despite the witty writing and fun premise, the gameplay is far too simplistic, repetitive, and janky to be enjoyable, making for an all-around forgettable experience. It really doesn't help that most sound effects and music sound like something out of a stock commercial, and the visuals lack any charm whatsoever.
Ghostbusters (2016)
Not related to the much better 2009 action game by THQ, this Ghostbusters adventure is a loose sequel to the controversial 2016 movie reboot. It follows a group of four unnamed Ghostbusters that have no relation to the cast of either movie facing off against Rowan, the antagonist of the 2016 film. The gameplay is an isometric twin-stick shooter in a 2.5D format, not unlike Geometry Wars or The Binding of Isaac.
However, it seems to share a greater resemblance to Konami's own game reboot, Contra: Rogue Corps. It barely resembles the property it's adapting and has no depth to the gameplay or story. Most critics that are fans of Ghostbusters really hated this obvious cash-in and those who aren't fans will simply note how forgettable it is as an arcade game.
Crimson Keep
Crimson Keep is a roguelike dungeon crawler where the player is thrust into a series of dungeons that randomly generate alongside a new set of enemies. The player can select from a multitude of fantasy classes a la Dungeons and Dragons and collect a variety of weapons and items and experience points as they progress. The catch is, should they die, they are sent back to the very beginning with absolutely nothing.
These gameplay aspects are standard for the genre, so they alone aren't a problem. What brings the game down is its poor presentation, art style, combat, enemy variety, and almost anything else required for a decent video game to be made. Many critics also note how it's overpriced for the level of frustration and lack of satisfaction it brings.
Soda Drinker Pro
A game that is, quite frankly, really obvious shovelware with almost no effort put behind it, likely made purely for the novelty of a quick joke. A joke that falls flatter than a can of day-old Pepsi left out of the fridge. Gameplay almost solely revolves around collecting cups of soda and drinking them--that's about it.
It would help if the game was accompanied by over-the-top visuals or comedic writing or something resembling some form of low-brow humor to make it "so bad it's good." But unfortunately, the extremely poor 90's era 3D graphics surpass Bubsy 3D in ugliness, and completing the game takes zero effort beyond the patience needed to trudge through it.
This Is The Zodiac Speaking
Yet another game with a very promising concept but poorly realized execution. This Is The Zodiac Speaking is a psychological first-person thriller revolving around the infamous Zodiac Killer, a serial murderer who committed crimes across 1970's California and was never caught. The player is a victim who survived an attack from the killer, participating in an investigation that would lead to the truth about one of America's most notorious criminals.
The investigative portions of the game turn out to be rather dull and hard to navigate. When the killer is chasing the player, there are very few indications that it is even happening, coupled with an unfortunately very predictable plot that ends too quickly. With such a daring premise and high-concept ideas, this one needed a little more time in development.
Rock 'N Racing Off Road DX
Another shovelware game with barely any effort put into it, Rock 'N Racing Off Road DX is an isometric racing game where the player controls one of many colorful yet poorly detailed cars across various race tracks. There's barely enough content in the game to worth speaking about, let alone cover a whole entry on this list.
It's bad enough that a racing game only has four tracks to choose from, but the slippery controls, poor AI and wonky physics prevent this game from being enjoyable even in an ironic manner. Most critics remark how the game can be completed quickly and how so many other racing games perform basic functions much more effectively.
Robot Squad Simulator X
Taking heavy inspiration from real-life government robots, Robot Squad Simulator X allows the player to control various robots that resemble the tank-like devices seen on robot-dueling shows or real-life demonstrations. This game allows the average player to go through various obstacle courses and go through various operations such as search-and-rescue, espionage, and bomb disarmament. It's an interesting experience for a simulator that it's surprising it hasn't been done before.
Unfortunately, the novelty wears out its welcome very quickly. It's difficult to control the robot even when trying to perform basic actions such as picking up objects--something that really shouldn't be for a robot designed for emergency situations. The frustration of still learning the sluggish and clumsy controls coupled with the general tedium of present obstacles significantly takes away from the experience.
Fighter Within
Microsoft's Kinect had high aspirations, so it's disheartening to see how many games developed for it ended up failing to attract much attention. Still, the Kinect did get an Xbox One upgrade, but few games were made for it, and even fewer were actually even half-decent. The poor man's Tekken, Fighter Within, is just another piece of evidence for this.
On top of bland and unmemorable designs, a story that's barebones even for a genre known for thin plots, and graphics that still look like it was made in the last generation, Fighter Within's biggest downfall is the inaccurate motion controls. The Kinect's imprecise tracking will ensure that players will be finding themselves either performing the wrong maneuver or doing nothing at all.
Rugby 15
The absolute worst-rated Xbox One game on Metacritic, Rugby 15 is the first attempt to bring the popular UK sports to modern home consoles--and so far, it has made an unfortunately poor impression, bringing a lot of shame to the sport. The game has been compared unfavorably to NHL 15, and considering how bad that game is, that's saying something.
Player models are stiff and awkward, with the field's textures and other objects looking equally bland and flat. The limited amount of selectable camera angles is a poor attempt to hide how bad the game's graphics are, but it also makes it harder for the player to tell what exactly is going on on-screen. The AI is broken as well, with the computer either being biased towards the defense or doing absolutely nothing at all.