Top 10 Worst Games Reviewed in 2025

We’ve now arrived at yet another top 10 worst games we’ve reviewed in 2025. While the games are newer, the duds certainly didn’t go away.

It’s the conclusion of another year for video game reviews. Our adventures into the world of gaming have really led us into a different direction. While we did try a number of old RPGs released on the NES and SNES, much of our gaming focused on comparatively newer era’s. This year, we went heavy into Gamecube games. It’s certainly been an interesting experience.

As you are aware of, last year, we were going hard in the Game Boy Advance games and got a reasonable start into the GameCube games. Now that we’ve gotten a good feel for both the Playstation 2 system and GameCube games, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed in the GameCube a bit.

Before, when we reviewed the Playstation vs the N64, the quality of the N64 games completely dominated the Playstation. While there were certainly some great games on the original Playstation, the N64 just seemed to be a hit game factory churning out brilliant game after brilliant game. When we got to the GameCube, having already played a bunch of games on the Playstation 2, we thought this trend would continue. Instead, the quality seemed to drop on the Nintendo side of things substantially. The graphics are only slightly better, but the library on the PS2 wound up getting better. For the time being, I’m personally thinking that Playstation 2 has an edge over the GameCube.

We really tried giving the system every shot in the world to succeed, of course. Playing many of the big named games already seemed like a slam dunk way to get some great entertainment. Some of them were great, but not that jaw dropping mind-blowing experience that I got with the N64. In fact, some of those seemingly sure-fire bets that everyone seems to rave about wound up on the wrong year end list (this one).

Of course, hitting the Gamecube hard wasn’t the only story for this year. This year, we also pushed through a pile of Steam games. Surprisingly, we had much better luck with those games then with the GameCube. Only one Steam game we’ve played all year ended up here (and it wasn’t even in the top 10 list). When it’s a type of game that regularly makes appearances here, that is actually an achievement as far as we’re concerned.

So, let’s go ahead and dive into this years list!

10. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)

WHAAAT??? I know. I was shocked too. The Legend of Zelda series seemed like one of the ultimate sure-fire bets. Having played hit after hit after hit in this franchise, it seemed like this would easily deliver. Imagine my stunning shock when I dove into the game and experienced an extremely boring game. Specifically, the endless sailing that frequently requires no user input. With that taking up half of the game, it wound up being one of the more boring games I’ve ever played. While parts of the game do seem interesting (dungeon exploring and classic concepts that make this franchise worth playing), interspersed is even more seemingly endless amounts of boring sailing. As a result, this game sails straight into the number 10 slot for this year.
Score: 54%

9. Lotus Challenge (GameCube)

Usually, when you offer a heavily stripped down game, you are already fighting to make a case that the game in question is a good one. This one simply doesn’t make the case at all. With laggy controls and often frustrating play (and that is coming from someone with plenty of experience playing racing simulator games), this one wound up being in the 9th position.
Score: 54%

8. Serious Sam: Next Encounter (GameCube)

I was always interested in giving this franchise a whirl. Imagine my excitement when I found out I could finally break into this franchise with this game. Unfortunately, this has left me with nothing but disappointment. While the crude humor gives me flashbacks of the great times I had playing Duke Nukem games, the cheapness flooding this game really made this one a disappointment.
Score: 54%

7. Ultima: The Black Gate (SNES)

If you are a serious RPG gamer, you should have played the Ultima series at some point. This is a classic that really kick-started the whole genre. Well, that’s what we were more or less told anyway. We tried this franchise and simply didn’t like it. This one wound up being barely passable as it did improve some things about the series. Unfortunately, the improvements only elevated this game to being barely functional.
Score: 50%

6. Worms Blast (GameCube)

So much about this game sounded interesting on the surface. It’s another Worms game in the franchise (which we’ve had some reasonably good luck with in the past). This one changes the formula a bit to offer a new style of gameplay (OK, trying to be innovative with the formula). It’s a puzzle game (I like puzzle games). Well, can you really go wrong with this one? Turns out, the answer is yes. This game blends the old turn based strategy with high speed puzzle action that requires precision. With the laggy controls thanks to you rowing in a boat, this one ended up being a total mess more than anything else.
Score: 50%

5. Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (NES)

Before we go any further, we wanted to point out again that we really do like RPG games. Some of the best games we’ve ever played were RPG games. Unfortunately, this year, it seemed that RPG games decided to not like us back. Coming in at number 5 is this one. A game that has a high learning and difficulty curve. This game is less about enjoying a good RPG game and more about how much you can endure playing a game that punishes you every way possible. As a result, we are already going down into the sub-50% scores starting with this bomb.
Score: 46%

4. Ultima – Exodus (NES)

Not all old is gold. This is certainly true with this entry. With excessively steep learning curve and baly implemented difficulty curve, this one wound up being one of those games best left to the dustbin of history.
Score: 46%

3. Ultima: The False Prophet (SNES)

Getting into the top 3 is the continuation of this theme. One thing we were told about this series is that this is such a great game franchise and every entry in the series is pure gold. All we are left to wonder is what some people were on when they decided that this is some of the best gameplay in gaming history. Once again, we see an annoyingly steep learning curve and bad and laggy controls. All this contributed to a just plain bad gaming experience for us.
Score: 42%

2. Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress (16-Bit DOS)

OK, so maybe it’s because the ports aren’t the greatest representations of this series. Let’s try the DOS version. That will yield a better gaming experience, right? Apparently, no. Forget a steep learning curve, this game has a cliff of a learning curve. With a steep difficulty curve and next to impossible to understand controls, this one wound up being one of the worst games I’ve played in a long time.
Score: 28%

1. Ultima: Warriors of Destiny (NES)

Well, gameplay couldn’t get any worse than the previous entry, right? Wrong. This game manages to edge out the previous entry by being ever so slightly worse. Not only is there no real direction to be found in this game, but the controls are borderlinge unresponsive. Ultimately, this is a very broken game that I couldn’t wait to stop playing. This is simply a really really bad game I would say you should avoid like the plague.
Score: 26%

Honorable Mentions

Thanks in large part to encountering what ended up being a train wreck of a series, it’s probably no surprise that we have a full roster of games this year. Here is our list of honorable mentions that didn’t quite make the list.

Rampage: Total Destruction (GameCube):
Had this game been released towards the beginning of the Gamecube’s lifespan, I might have looked more favorably towards this game. Unfortunately, just about everything about this one wound up being dated in this game. Still, the core gameplay can trigger some nostalgia for older players. As a result, this one wound up being the best game on this list. If we found one more terrible game this year, this one wouldn’t have been mentioned.
Score: 60%

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GameCube):
On the surface, this game sounds like an interesting one to play. It boasts unique features that allows you to get in the minds of the various characters. As you find yourself seeing horrific things, your sanity drops. As your sanity drops, you’ll be able to see the vivid hallucinations of the character that gets to the point of breaking the 4th wall. Unfortunately, that is the only good points in this game. The writing is not the greatest and the characters are largely forgettable. Even some of the design concepts started getting a bit lazy.
Score: 58%

Legend of Grimrock II (PC/Steam):
It represented a big step forward for this series. A sequel to the original Legend of Grimrock game. No longer confined to a single dungeon, you can explore an entirely huge world instead. With so many puzzles crammed into the game, this one wound up being frustrating. There is also the flawed battle system to contend with on top of it all. In the end, a game that I wanted to like more then I did.
(This game was also the subject of a First Impression Video)
Score: 58%

Ultima: Quest of the Avatar (NES):
Another entry of this series ending up on this list. Fortunately, this is the last mention today. This one did improve on some of the core concepts of the game. Unfortunately, it still wound up being mediocre.
Score: 58%

Bomberman Jetters (GameCube):
This one was one of those titles that we thought that, hey, can’t go wrong with a title like that, right? After all, there are some fairly solid titles in the series in the past. Well, it turns out, even this title served to be little more than a disappointment to us. With hardly any innovation to be had and dated graphics, this one ended up on this list and tanked almost hard enough to make it into the top 10 list.
Score: 56%

Well, that’s it for now. Join us tomorrow/next year as we count down the top 10 best games we’ve reviewed in 2025.

Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.