Review aggregator Metacritic has put out its list of the worst games of 2023, based on the average score and its own weighting system which assigns more importance to some outlets than others.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum takes the top (low) spot with a measly score of just 34. Developed by Daedalic and co-published with Nacon, LotR: Gollum was a travesty of a game panned by critics around the globe. It stank so badly that Daedalic announced plans to step back from game development and focus on publishing instead.
I wasn’t exactly too thrilled with it, either: “The boring missions, bland environments, flat gameplay, poor graphics and average story combine to make this, at best, a completely mediocre experience. But once you take the multiple issues into consideration and the fact that Daedalic wanted £60 for it, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum becomes like its namesake: a pitiful wretch corrupted by the allure of the One Ring.”
However, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum really only took the top spot because Metacritic only counted games with at least seven reviews for their list. With a Metascore of just 23 based on 6 reviews, Skull Island: Rise of Kong would take the shit trophy by a landslide.
Then there’s also The Day Before, the game so bad its developers closed shop four days after it launched. However, because it launched in Early Access and because it was removed from sale so quickly, very few people had a chance to review it. IGN was an exception, scoring it just 1 out of 10.
You can read the full story of The Day Before here.
The rest of the games on Metacritic’s list, which you can read below, are mostly what you’d expect. personally, I’m hugely disappointed to see Hellboy: Web of Wyrd make the list as it genuinely looked like it had some potential before its release.
- 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
WGB 