A game could get perfect scores across the board, or garner nothing but mockery, but anyone’s experience is going to be subjective. Who is to say that you cannot love a title with a 30% on Metacritic? Conversely, every gamer has dropped their hard-earned cash on a “masterpiece” that failed to hold their interest. Just to be clear, this article is not meant to discredit reviewers or suggest that these titles are terrible, but a high score often leads to disappointment! Reputation can make or break a game.
Frankly, we prefer to waste our time with a bad game than a boring one. At the end of the day, gaming exists to break up the monotony of everyday life, but there is a fine line between entertainment and work. Whether due to repetitive gameplay, lackluster level design, or poor controls; there are many factors which impact the level of enjoyment felt with a title. If the central mechanics fail to click, simply logging into the main menu starts to feel like a chore!
Why play something that strives to compare favorably to school? For certain players, sports games are the only purchases made each year; for others, FIFA and NBA are about as interesting as watching paint dry. Neither group is right or wrong, which is why there is more than a single genre out there.
Ready to read some controversial opinions? Here are 30 boring console games that got amazing reviews (include Metacritic)!
30 Metroid: Other M - Metacritic Score: 79
Metroid: Other M is the Metroid: Other M of the Metroid series. While the combat borderlines on brilliance, when it comes to the script, Team Ninja and Nintendo dropped the ball before smashing it with a hammer. Replaying the game means having to sit through a series of unskippable cutscenes, which try their absolute best to ruin any of Samus Aran’s mystique. The plot is closer to a Days of our Lives than Alien and the franchise has struggled to recover ever since Metroid: Other M hit the scene.
29 Dragon Age II - Metacritic Score: 79
BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins sits among the top-tier of RPGs, so the sequel needed to be close to perfect or risk disappointing players. Rather than trying to recapture the glory of its predecessor, Dragon Age II opted to limit players to a specific setting and simplified the combat. The storytelling remained relatively strong, but the switch from Origins’ grandiose ambition to the sequel’s repetitive environments left many yearning for something more. Dragon Age II received positive reviews upon release, but the series lost quite a fair amount of support. Dragon Age: Inquisition was only a slight improvement.
28 Prototype 2 - Metacritic Score: 79
Radical Entertainment’s Prototype games are open world action-adventure titles which empower players by allowing them to step into the shoes of a superpowered hero on a rampage. Turning the original’s protagonist into the villain, Prototype 2 is a relatively fun waste of time, but the mundane missions and bland narrative drag the entire experience to the ground. At its core, Prototype 2 has all the necessary elements to be an entertaining romp, but destroying military vehicles and speeding through the nondescript sandbox gets boring rather quickly.
27 Perfect Dark Zero - Metacritic Score: 81
Perfect Dark Zero was doomed to failure. Besides succeeding the awesome Perfect Dark, Rare’s FPS shouldered the expectations of the Xbox 360 during the console’s launch window. The genre improved considerably over the seventh generation and returning to any of the older titles can be a downright chore. Failing to live up to its predecessor or compete favorably with other games released during the same period, Perfect Dark Zero is a mediocre FPS that masked its weaknesses with a decent multiplayer experience. Nowadays, Rare’s shooter is better left forgotten.
26 Final Fantasy XIII - Metacritic Score: 82
What else can be said about Square Enix’s Lightning saga? Gorgeous and highly anticipated, Final Fantasy XIII comes across as a hodgepodge of ideas that never truly come together. Boasting combat based on the “Active Time Battle” system, this 2009 JRPG seems determined to chaperone the player throughout the whole journey. Final Fantasy’s best entries try to walk the line between linearity and exploration, but XIII waits way too long to loosen its grip. By the time the world opens up, 30 hours have passed and Final Fantasy XIII has overstayed its welcome.
25 Assassin’s Creed III - Metacritic Score: 85
Assassin’s Creed II delivered the experience promised by its predecessor, so the second full sequel should have been fantastic; sadly, Assassin’s Creed III borderlines on parody. Glitching more than the Matrix after Neo became the chosen one, the Revolution proved to be a terrible setting for the franchise. Replacing sprawling cities for smaller settlements, Ubisoft’s sandbox adventure title incorporates the worst elements of the series. Assassin’s Creed’s controls were never the smoothest, but there was not a single wall in 18th Century Boston that Connor refused to hit.
24 Watch Dogs - Metacritic Score: 80
Ubisoft undermined Watch Dogs by staging a misleading E3 expo that wrote cheques that the final product could not cash. Doing his best Liam Neeson impression, Aiden Pearce is a super hacker out on a mission to avenge his fallen family. Watch Dogs’ gameplay is the title’s only saving grace, but the redundant and super serious narrative rears its ugly head at every turn. Sticking to Ubisoft’s cluttered sandbox formula with a passion that borders on obsession, Watch Dogs marks one of the 8th generation’s biggest disappointments. Watch Dogs 2 improved upon nearly every facet, so Aiden Pearce’s mindnumbing adventure can be erased from our collective memories.
23 Just Cause - Metacritic Score: 73
Thrilling and insane, Just Cause should serve as the prototype for an open world sandbox experience. Stepping into the shoes of a super spy, Avalanche Studios created the perfect platform to facilitate exploration and creativity. Just Cause is a masterpiece! Oh, wait! We meant to say Just Cause 2, as its predecessor is a boring slog that created a wonderful canvas but failed to supply the necessary tools. Even though the main missions were never the point, Just Cause makes the sequels look like The Last of Us. When it comes to the gameplay, Avalanche Studios required another try to perfect the formula.
22 Knack 2 - Metacritic Score: 69
Why does this exist? Repeatedly smashing two Lego blocks offers more excitement than the first Knack, so the sequel should not get a pass just because it improves upon mediocrity. Sony’s launch title looked like a platformer but played closer to a beat ’em up, so its successor aimed to strike more of a middle ground between the two genres. Clocking at over 10 hours, Knack II runs out of ideas well before the half-way point and, once again, fails to instill its protagonist with any charm. After two lackluster attempts, Sony should consider putting a lid on Knack.
21 Mirror’s Edge Catalyst - Metacritic Score: 74
Desperate to ride the open world hype train, EA attempted to stuff a circular block into a star-shaped hole. As the central plot rarely exceeds a couple of hours, Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed pad the runtime by distracting the player with side activities like time trials or other pointless activities. In an interesting move, the largest chunk of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst’s content consists of these one-dimensional missions. Glass City’s lifeless environment works for a short action-platformer split into multiple streamlined levels, but an explorable metropolis must offer more than a collection of sterilized countertops.
20 Super Paper Mario - Metacritic Score: 85
Paper Mario takes the core elements of a traditional turn-based RPG and spices things up with a touch of Nintendo magic. Split into multiple levels and locations, players (and Mario) unlock new characters to defeat bosses on their quest to dethrone Bowser. As the third game in the franchise, Super Paper Mario switched things up by focusing more on platforming, altering the graphics, and mostly removing turn-based battles. While far from a terrible title, this Wii release suffered from repetitive level design, poorly implemented 3D, and balancing issues. Super Paper Mario is closer to a regular Mario game with the Paper aesthetic.
19 Gears of War: Judgment - Metacritic Score: 79
Shockingly, Gears of War: Judgment sits at a respectable “79” on Metacritic. As a side-project designed to satisfy fan until Gears of War 4, Judgment offers an okay campaign but lags well behind any other release in the franchise. A prequel focusing on Baird and Cole, the story features the franchise’s most boring antagonist! Seeking to ape other popular shooters, Epic Games limited the gun count to just two, while the gameplay rarely diverts from the standard formula of clearing generic rooms packed with faceless grunts. As the successor to Gears of War 3, Judgment takes a noticeable step-back and feels unnecessary. For completionists, the campaign is barely worth starting.
18 Grand Theft Auto IV - Metacritic Score: 98
Okay, this one might be controversial! In its day, Grand Theft Auto IV was a landmark release, but its successor is such a vast improvement that there is no reason to revisit Niko Bellic’s Liberty City. Even in 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV’s controls were clunky and far from enjoyable; however, Rockstar Games’ open-world and graphics papered over the cracks. As the years passed by, GTA IV’s gorgeous visuals lost their shine and many of the game’s faults grew hard to ignore. Also, the less said about that friend system, the better!
17 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 - Metacritic Score: 88
Admittedly, nobody buys Call of Duty for the campaigns, but the Modern Warfare titles complimented their robust multiplayer with an entertaining singleplayer that incorporated the best elements of the series. As the franchise’s eighth installment, Modern Warfare 3 signaled the start of Call of Duty’s decline. Following up the highly acclaimed second entry, this 2011 FPS ramped up the explosions to mask the fact that the core was hollow. The short campaign presented the typical thrills associated with the series, but a distinct lack of surprises or twists led to a disappointingly pedestrian experience.
16 Alice: Madness Returns - Metacritic Score: 75
A game needs more than horrific visuals to be entertaining. A psychological horror title with hack-and-slash combat, Alice: Madness Returns reimagines the eponymous girl as an orphan and Wonderland as a twisted dystopia. Be it the striking graphics or the fast-paced combat, we earnestly yearned to adore Alice: Madness Returns! With a campaign lasting nearly 15 hours, EA’s action-adventure title overstays its welcome by around six of them. While this would not be a huge problem if there were a couple of additional worlds to explore, Alice: Madness Returns pads out its levels to the point of frustration!
15 Dead Island - Metacritic Score: 80
Hype can save or destroy a project. In hindsight, Techland’s melancholic trailer set expectations that simply could not be met by the final project. Taking place on a zombie-infected island off the coast of Papua New Guinea, Dead Island is a mediocre FPS pretending to be a survival game. Dragged down by a predictable storyline and a forgettable cast, Techland’s combat is Dead Island’s only saving grace. Considering that the developers proceeded to create the vastly superior Dying Light, 2011’s action role-playing snoozefest is better left to rot.
14 Far Cry 4 - Metacritic Score: 85
A sequel to a masterpiece faces the challenge of trying to create something new while satisfying fans longing to relive the good old days. Innovation for innovation’s sake is not always a positive, but a developer cannot just release a carbon copy of the original. With practically no significant additions, Far Cry 4 looks and plays like a re-skin of Far Cry 3. Ubisoft loves to milk a formula for all its worth, but the fourth main entry is the only one that refused to even contemplate a change. Far Cry 5 might not be a classic, but it took a step in the right direction; hopefully, the next entry recaptures lightning in a bottle.
13 DmC: Devil May Cry - Metacritic Score: 85
This entry is referring to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, as the next generation remake fixed quite a few of DmC: Devil May Cry’s glaring problems. Simplifying the combat and westernizing Dante, Ninja Theory’s spin-off built a decent foundation but fell apart due to a string of baffling creative decisions. Putting aside the absolutely horrendous boss fights, which rank among the worst in the series, DmC further restricted its mechanics by forcing players to use a specific weapon against certain enemy types. Ninja Theory’s Definitive Edition elevated the base game to another level.
12 Mario Party 9 - Metacritic Score: 73
Out of all of Nintendo’s spin-offs, Mario Party has always labored in the shadow of Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. Despite the Italian plumber’s name landing in the title, the minigames seem unwilling to embrace their roots. While it helped popularize the genre, Mario Party lacks personality and the characters feel like they could be replaced by just about anyone. Mario Party 9 attempted to tweak these deficiencies by adding a couple of boss fights and tributing games like Super Mario Galaxy, but these positives cannot mask the fact that the franchise ran out of steam.
11 Killzone: Shadow Fall - Metacritic Score: 73
If an award existed for the most boring but gorgeous game of the year, Killzone: Shadow Fall would have taken home the prize. Developed by Guerrilla Games, Sony needed a show pony capable of demonstrating the PlayStation 4’s technical prowess and Shadow Fall fit the bill. The FPS’s graphics cannot be faulted, but the gameplay and storyline are dull beyond belief. Compounded by the obtuse level design and overly long gunfights that merely repeat the same encounters, Shadow Fall is style and no substance. At least, Guerrilla Games hit a home run with Horizon Zero Dawn.
