The lowest rated games of 2025 that you might want to play

2025 will be remembered as a great year for gaming, at least if we're talking strictly about games. Cover stories are a different matter altogether. WITH Clair Obscuro, Silksong, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Battlefield 6, Hades 2, Donkey Kong Banana, Split Fiction, Death Stranding 2, Blue Prince, Ninja Gaiden 4, Monster Train 2, Arc Raider, Ghost of Yotei, Send, Europa Universalis 5, Sword of the Sea, Mario Kart Worldand Dark God 2You've probably been very busy, and this is hardly an exhaustive list of the All-Star Games of 2025.

However, like every other year, 2025 didn't just hit home runs and had some notorious stinkers or disappointments that failed to live up to their potential. Plus, because of how ratings work, some games are relegated to the bottom of sites like Open-Critic, forever doomed to be listed as the lowest-rated projects of the year. Should you completely ignore all the worst games of 2025? Or would it be worth trying a few of them under specific circumstances?

You've read the title of this article, so you already know the answer.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Open-Critic has not scored every game of 2025 and only titles with aggregation will be considered.

• The following games were selected from the 65 lowest-rated titles of the year. These aren't the 7 absolute worst rated releases of the year because they're worth playing to some extent. Top rated is the 498th best game of 2025 by Open-Critic. So, you know, pretty low.
• I'm not saying the reviews are bad or that you HAVE to go play these games. For the most part, these games deserve (or deserved) their scores. However, they could be worth playing on a deep sale or if you're after something really specific.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (OpenCritic Score: 65)

The campaign is bad, but the multiplayer can be a lot of fun

Discourse around Call of Duty has gradually become more critical in recent years and this trend has reached its peak Black Ops 7. After some mediocre records and settling for a successful debut Battlefield 6a 2025 entry just seemed unnecessary, and that perspective reflected his performance. don't get me wrong BO7 it was still one of the best-selling games of 2025, but it wasn't as big a hit as its predecessors.

straight up BO7The single-player campaign is bland and unsatisfying, and the “65” average accurately reflects its quality. Honestly, that could be a little kind. However, Call of Duty is all about multiplayer these days and BO7 it shines much brighter in this area. The maps are generally great and the gunfights are rock solid as always. You can even play the campaign in online co-op, which makes it a little more fun. Zombie mode is also a blast, which tends to always be the case. I only focus on multiplayer, BO7 is better than BO6 and MW3at least.

Although I totally echo the desire for another great single player COD campaign, this aspect is no longer a priority for the franchise and has been for roughly a decade.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour (OpenCritic Score: 61)

It was supposed to be The Switch 2 Pack-In game

Although it is not a complete repetition 1-2-Switch bug because it's only $9.99 Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour should have been part of the console. The entire project revolves around the system's technology with mini-games and trivia to educate players about what they just purchased. Like, this is the perfect little distraction for new shoppers who want something to do while they wait Mario Kart World for download. The content is short but fairly engaging, at least if you're into that type of thing.

Nintendo used to have such a great history with packaged titles, but the company seems to have abandoned the concept for the Switch era. Good point about Welcome tour is that it delivers exactly what it promises, so it's very easy to predict whether you'll like it. Does the idea of ​​completing short demos and then answering trivia about Switch 2 technology sound good to you? If the answer is yes, then it might be worth dropping $10 on this version.

Cyborg (OpenCritic Score: 60)

Satisfying combat framed by a frustrating roguelike system

Sobak's debut game, redeemerit was so much fun that the studio gained quite a bit of goodwill, at least with me. Cyborg is arguably the company's best and worst release, and your perception will almost certainly be shaped by your appreciation and tolerance for roguelike progression. You are a prisoner trying to escape your ridiculous punishment by participating in a TV show where you gain freedom by killing everyone and everything. As for premises, Cyborg is classic sci-fi, and that's by no means a detriment.

Similar to the developer's previous efforts, CyborgThe fight is intense, bloody and visceral. Both you and the enemies will hit hard and you need to stay focused as a few mistakes will quickly spell your doom. The controls are responsive and intuitive, and variety is offered by constantly having to use new weapons. The game is worth playing for its combativeness, but you need the patience to survive the first few hours with the will to continue unchanged. Cyborg it pretty much follows the standard roguelike formula, albeit with an onboarding process that is (arguably) among the worst. It will take a LOT of failed runs before you have enough upgrades to properly improve your base, and more importantly, experiment with build variety.

Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact (OpenCritic Score: 58)

Impressive combat mechanics buried by terrible online performance (and a weird name)

Fun fact: If you search for “hunter x hunter nen” on Steam, this game will not appear. You have to let go of “x” to find it, which is its own target to avoid. For a second I thought Bushiroad pulled the game from the store.

Anime fighters are synonymous with mediocrity and quick bucks, especially with IPs that don't regularly make games. For example, One-Punch Man: The Hero Nobody Knows it sits in my Steam library as a constant reminder that love for the source material can only yield a stunning game so far. As beloved as manga and anime, Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact it was a hard sell when it launched at full price and peaked at 181 players on Steam. Why bother picking up a multiplayer fighting game when it's basically already dead?

Honestly, do No buy Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact if you are looking for an online fighter. The netcode isn't great and you'll have a hard time finding matches in 2026. However, if you just want a fighter with nice combat and fun single player content, you should Nen x Impact keep that in mind when it's a deep sale. The gameplay is surprisingly good and manages to mix accessibility and depth well. If you just want to play with your pet HxH characters, just use auto combos to get through the story missions. On the other hand, people who want to really immerse themselves in the mechanics have a well-made tutorial mode at their disposal.

Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos (OpenCritic Score: 54)

With a significant discount, Neptunia fans might want to check out this spin-off

This is a special case because I definitely don't recommend it Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos to everyone. Honestly, I don't recommend it to almost anyone except people they know and love Neptunia. To be clear, “love” is not optional.

Neptunia has a history of producing strange spin-offs that stray from its turn-based RPG ways. Most of them are hack-and-slash must titles, but Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos shakes things up by going in a truly unique direction, and I'm not just talking in the context of this franchise. In the alternate dimension, Uzume must use her trusty bike to run over Dogoos, defeat opponents, and help her goddess friends. The game's vehicle-based loop involves driving around an arena while running over Dogoos, allowing you to collect them. To win, you must avoid the wrong dogs and collect enough of the right ones before your opponent. Simple enough and the gameplay is great for short sessions where you just want to get through a few stages.

Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos it's really short, to the point that you'll probably be done with almost everything in 5 hours (and that's beyond the length of the story). For all their mistakes and repetitions, Neptunia games are often lengthy, so the brevity of this project is surprising. While the game is fun, it's pretty shallow. Therefore, this game cannot be recommended at its standard price; however, Neptunia projects are sold quite often, so you can just wait.

Captain Blood (OpenCritic Score: 48)

If you're missing low budget PS3 games, then this might be the game for you

Captain Blood has been stuck in developer purgatory since the seventh console generation, and that history is on full display in the final version. This project looks and feels like a low budget PS3 game that would be trashed within a year of release. The visuals would be rough in 2012, hack-and-slash combat imitations God of War without any hints of depth and the production is far from polished.

Captain Blood it feels like a time capsule of a bygone era and there's a certain charm to it. More importantly, character action games are hard to come by these days, especially those inspired by the classics God of War. sure, Captain Blood not a great example of the genre, but at least it's an example.

MindsEye (OpenCritic Score: 33)

The lowest rated game of 2025 has improved a lot since its debut

The most infamous game of 2025, MindsEye it built up quite a bit of hype on the way to its debut, but it all came crashing down due to a launch version riddled with technical issues. Despite the bugs, the game wasn't particularly fun or interesting; honestly, the glitches were probably the most memorable part.

Now, Build A Rocket Boy and the game's publisher, IOI Partners, deserve all the criticism from around the world for launching such a mess of a game. That said, the developer also warrants some praise for their continued support MindsEyeas Build A Rocket spent the second half of 2025 releasing updates that greatly improved the overall experience. Today, MindsEye is a passable third-person shooter with a better-than-expected story and solid driving mechanics.

If launched in its current state, the game could score in the high 60s on Open-Critic. Still not amazing, but good enough. Instead, MindsEye sits between likes Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, Alekhine's Gunand Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric as one of the worst games ever, according to Open-Critic.