RPG Codex - Top 50 WORST RPGs YOU'VE PLAYED vote thread

[visions]

I don't like this trend of voting for games that you think are "overrated." This basically means what other people think about the game is more important that what you think about it.

Search your feelings, vote with your heart.

I don't like it because it invalidates any sort of list that could be made on the basis of this thread, if people list stuff based on two different categories (worst ever vs most overrated). At least if the purpose of this thread is to arrive at some sort of list eventually. Or it would neccessitate making two lists (separate one for the picks of those who explicitly state that they name the most overrated, instead of the worst).

Anyway, I mostly stay away from things I think I will dislike so I have only one pick: Neverwinter Nights oc.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Dink Smallwood
Lionheart
Neverwinter Nights (OC)
Rogue
Angband
DiabloRL

 

[Kleptocratic debt serf]

I'm not going to bother naming what has already been named, fuck the chorus... Ok I lied, Witcher 2 is overrated.

Dungeon Lords - Worst ever

 

[St. Toxic]

Dink Smallwood

You motherfucker. I sincerely hope you die a slow and painful death.

 

[Roguey]

Finally a thread I can post in.

Alpha Protocol
Arcanum
Baldur's Gate II
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
Darklands
Deus Ex
Deus Ex Human Revolution
Divinity II: Dragon Knight Saga
Dragon Age Origins
Dragon Age II
Dungeon Siege III
Exile: Escape from the Pit
Exile III: Ruined World
Fallout
Fallout 2
Fallout New Vegas
Geneforge V
Knights of the Chalice
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen
Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights 2
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate
Planescape: Torment
Prelude to Darkness
Risen
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Temple of Elemental Evil
Teudogar and the Alliance with Rome
The Witcher
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Ultima VII The Black Gate
Ultima Underworld
Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines

I'm pretty impressed with how much time and money I've sunk into a genre I hate.

 

[Kane]

Oblivion

also, Roguey your hipster hate on OE and Troika is not cool.


not



cool.

 

[OSK]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Witcher

I've played plenty of poor RPGs, but those are the only two RPGs I've purchased that I seriously regretted. I blame the first on Bethesda, the second on Polack Codexers.

 

[Karmapowered]

<warning>
Below is the expression of a personal opinion, with all that personal implies.
Thank you for your attention.
</warning>

Games that I simply couldn't convince myself to finish - category BAD

• Dragon Age 2 - not worth to be qualified as garbage of the human body
• Fallout 3 - I refuse to acknowledge this game
• The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - level scaling, destroyer of my hopes in TES
• Wizardry < 7 - the Kama-Sutra of masochists who enjoy wasting their time staring at (uncountable number of utterly) non-sensical game-over screens

Games that I played, but would not recommend to anyone - category BAD

• Beyond Divinity - the grass is not always greener elsewhere, so don't copy the fail into your games, Larian
• Deus Ex: Invisible War - monstruosity designed as a PC game with console standards in mind
• Fable 1 - Molyneux ? must have been someone else designing some pretty good games in the past
• Final Fantasy 8 - I haven't touched a FF since (may change my mind in the future)
• Mass Effect 2 - cutscene, cutscene, meaningless dialog options, cutscene... wake me up before the end credits
• Might and Magic 9 (8 to a lesser degree) - what did you do to one of my favorite series ?!
• Neverwinter Nights (OC) - have some of the unsavory "banal shit boring" type, outstanding editor for user-modules however
• Neverwinter Nights (SOU) - have some more of the same than above
• Neverwinter Nights 2 (OC) - cliché, cliché, meaningless dialog options, cliché... wake me up before the end credits
• Sacred 1 - reminds me of the handheld games that have to be played by small chunks, to avoid overdoses of mediocrity
• Sacred 2 - better than the 1, but still an over-flowing recipient of excrement in the end-game

Average, underhyped games that everyone rightfully ignores anyway - category BAD

• Dungeon Siege - good engine, some of the best dungeons I had seen at the time, but unrewarding levelling and story
• Two Worlds - graphically close to a disaster, design wise everything you've already seen before elsewhere in better

Not bad games per se, but probably get more praise than deserved in these parts - category OVERHYPED

• Deus Ex: Human Revolution - would undoubtly be a better game without the anti-climatic boss battles, sub-par combat system and story/conclusion
• Gothic 2 (NOTR) - have to list it here by personal integrity (since I've seen it on a list somewhere in this thread): that game had everything right, except its controls
• Icewind Dale 1 - more enjoyable than the 2, but lacks charm and ultimately unsatisfying
• Icewind Dale 2 - repetitive, basically a D&D battle simulator in some corridors without consistency
• Risen - Gothic wanna-be without its charm, not worth the time it requires to be enjoyed, contrary to the original
• Suikoden 2 - the story doesn't make up for its anemic pace, could be recycled as a lullaby maybe
• Suikoden 5 - same than the 2, despite being touted as among the best of the series
• ToEE - buggy even with COE8, some redeeming qualities but boring, too glorified as a whole for what it really is
• Wizardry 8 - included, just to spite some people (seriously though, it's a great game, play it)
• Xenogears - excessively wordy, forces you to do quests for NPCs that you just want to punch in the face most of the time

List can be provided without formatting upon request.
Probably more to come, if I recollect more, and feel like it.

 

[felipepepe]

Top (bottom?) Ten:

Sacred 3
Fallout 3
NWN 2 OC
Gothic 4: ArcaniA
Dungeon Siege
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Birthright: The Gorgon’s Alliance
Betrayal in Antara
King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity
Dragon Age II

 

[jaybirdy]

Technically good, yet still inspires a black hate from within:

Bioware anything. (I don't know, some of them are probably actually good, but I can't play them long enough because I can't handle the insufferable characters)
Planescape: Torment
Might and Magic series
Daggerfall

Bad:

Fable
Inquisitor
Lionheart
Oblivion

Needs work:

The Witcher (combat system)
Temple of Elemental Evil (everything else except the combat)
Ultima 8
Ultima 9

 

[mediocrepoet]

Off the top of my head, games that I remember hating and seeing no merit in...

Computer Games

Mass Effect 2
Dragon Age 2
Neverwinter Nights
Baldur's Gate: Throne of Bhaal
Akalabeth
Dungeon Siege
Dungeon Siege 2
Darkstone
Two Worlds
Sacred 2
Faery Tale Adventure

Console Stuff

Fable
Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy XIII
Breath of Fire IV
Eternal Ring
The Immortal
Quest 64
Xenosaga

 

[Hirato]

FF8 (Grindy as shit. Story sucked. Characters were knee deep in shitty writing.)

Bro, you're supposed to run from all the non-boss fights, lest you level up.
And if you do level up, that means all the enemies get much stronger, this game has some fucked up and crazy level scaling.

I'm gonna get flak for this from the resident weeabos, but Persona 4 also gets an (dis)honorable mention. There are some things it does well, but that doesn't excuse the retardedly broken combat and RNG dungeons. At least Arcanum combat is generally fast. P4 combat isn't. It's like a lot of the things that were really good with P3 got taken out and replaced with retarded shit. P3 uses a fatigue system to encourage breaking up the dungeoneering, as well as the fact that it doesn't force you to waste day blocks. P4 basically encourages you to take on the whole thing at once to unlock your social links and not lose time, which is retarded. P3 dungeons are also less retardedly broken.

Actually we completely agree with you. P4's dungeon crawling and combat mechanics are absolutely awful. I really, really, want to make everyone suffer along with me during my Let's Play...
What saves P4 at the end of the day is everything else it does so well; art direction, writing, characters, atmosphere, etc. Essentially that's why it's a storyfag RPG and not a combatfag RPG.



My personal list of shitty RPGs

Fallout 3 (*)
Neverwinter Nights OC + expansions (BSB as personified in game form)
Oblivion
Final Fantasy X-2 (Didn't stop me from playing it 7 times)
Baldurs Gate 1 & 2 (**)
Icewind Dale 1 & 2 (**)


(*) By my verdict the worst game I've ever had the displeasure of playing. It's also nigh unplayable from the bugs and yet everyone gives Bethesda a free-pass over them. The Unofficial patch is nary a drop in the ocean and Bethesda pushed out 5 or so which only added more achievements...

(**) The only infinity engine game I've finished is PlaneScape:Torment, and that's only because the game balance is bad enough to rend combat completely irrelevant.
As for the rest of them, combat is a complete and utter clusterfuck that is nigh impossible to manage and control. I honestly don't know how any of you can suffer through this and call them fantastic games at the end of the day, because it completely ruins the game for me.
Give me Arcanum's simplistic (but quick and painless) turn-based combat over that abominable RTwP system any day of the week!

 

[tuluse]

jaybirdy, good luck on your PC game journey.

I do have a question about your list, have you not played Fallout 1 or do you consider only Fallout 2 worth listing?

 

[Tigranes]

Meh, I think I usually do a pretty good job of dodging games I know I won't like - e.g. ME series, and games I stick with I usually end up liking somewhat.

Neverwinter Nights 1 OC (All, eventually)
Arcania (Demo)

 

[Primordial Soup Nazi]

Diablo 3 (I'm not sure that they got a single element "right" in this game; Actiblizz should have fired Jay Wilson on the spot after his Facebook debacle)

Oblivion (Bloom, retarded faces, the same inflexible eight voice actors providing the VO for a large game where ALL LINES ARE SPOKEN, and Bethesderp writing is probably the worst of any AAA game studio)

Fallout 3 (See above; also, is not a Fallout game)

KotOR 2 (Yeah, I said it; come at me! And if you don't think the ending in that game was one of the worst you've ever experienced, then you're batshit crazy)

Torchlight (Bored the shit out of me; monster density was garbage, happy-go-lucky-we-wanna-look-like-World-of-Warcraft art style blows, too)

Neverwinter Nights 2 OC (I haven't played MotB or any of that jazz, but the OC was horribad)

Mass Effect (I enjoyed this one to an extent, but its not an RPG, and deserves much scorn for pretending to be one)

Deus Ex: Invisible War (Just a huge letdown all-around; virtually nothing of quality carried over from its predecessor. And Alex's voice...wow. Might as well hire Ben Stein for your dystopic-future world-saving hero-protagonist)

And if we're counting the weeaboo popamoles:

Wild Arms

Final Fantasy VII

 

[mediocrepoet]

Oh yeah, I'd also add Legend of Dragoon and Sudeki to my console list because they were fucking terrible.

 

[LordDenton]

Diablo 2 - An absolutely shallow borefest.

Septerra Core - Fucking respawing enemies. You have to pass through a map to get to another map and pick something up. On the transit map you have to kill a shitload of enemies. And after your are done with the destination map, you have to return through the transit map again. The exact same enemies you killed 2 minutes ago are all alive and well waiting for you to spend another half an hour killing them again. Rinse and repeat for the entire fucking game.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

(**) The only infinity engine game I've finished is PlaneScape:Torment, and that's only because the game balance is bad enough to rend combat completely irrelevant.
As for the rest of them, combat is a complete and utter clusterfuck that is nigh impossible to manage and control. I honestly don't know how any of you can suffer through this and call them fantastic games at the end of the day, because it completely ruins the game for me.

I never had such a problem. Actually, I had a reverse problem. I have found the system not detailed enough, even with RtwP. I could easily manage individual fighter abilities and stuff if they have bothered to implement them.

 

[Gozma]

I have played a bunch of RPGs that are terrible but unless they have a good reputation like Shin Megami Tensei or FFXII or Baldur's Gate my main criticism mode is that I completely fucking forget they existed. Shit has to be bad and popular for it to leave a mark as an official badgame. So listing bad games would be really distorted because there is worse shit both I and the general populace agree were no good like PS1 JRPG #6012

 

[Minttunator]

Like Gozma and Hirato said - I can't list all the forgettable mediocre shit I've played because, well, I've forgotten about it. There are some releases I have an active dislike for, though:

Crusaders of Might and Magic
Diablo III
Dragon Age II
Dungeon Siege III
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Might and Magic IX
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights 2
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Ultima IX: Ascension

I don't always play games that I don't like - but when I do, I guess they're mostly disappointing sequels. I've also played a bunch of MMORPG faceplants, although I guess listing them is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, since most recent MMOs have been absolutely horrible for some reason:

Darkfall
Lord of the Rings Online
Mortal Online
Runes of Magic
Silkroad Online
Star Wars: The Old Republic
TERA Online
Warhammer Online

 

[made]

Ultima VI - Cumbersome and cluttered inventory system

But UV with its tiny list inventory was a-ok? UVI was a big step up from that mess. It was only cluttered if you let it be.

 

[Trash]

Lots of games that aren't truly bad. Most of them modern as well. If you're looking for really bad however try Legends of Valour. It starts out so promising but turns out to be rushed and, well, shit. Did love the paphlet they had with the manual in the box though. Dink Smallwood was pretty crap as well.

 

[JrK]

The ones I thought were really really bad, not just mediocre:
NWN1 OC - I recently realized how much I hate this game, and how it is just a Diablo clone but with terrible engine and mechanics. DND where power attack just doesn't work properly :S.
Oblivion & Fallout 3 - They failed because they lack something that I find important: a feeling of progression and getting better. That and the totally stupid world and the people in it, it really did feel like it was written by children. Finally, both games have absolutely atrocious gameplay. F:NV isn't in here because it managed to make something out of the world.
Diablo III - It was fun to cleave mobs with a barbarian, but at some point you realize you need to grind or auction house to not die all the time. Otherwise it suffers from bad writing like Oblivion. Also the good loot was too rare. I thought Dungeon Siege III was more fun, as you actually had a dodge functionality.
Mass Effect - Yes, not II and III. The first had seriously boring gameplay, and that's what a game is about. II and III didn't have good gameplay, but at least it was more involving that the shitfest of the first. The same reason why Skyrim is better than Oblivion. The planet-buggy was fucking torture.

 

[mondblut]

I mentally browsed the potential list of mine, and realized anything I would mention would either be a non-RPG by my classy standarts, or not that bad really. Even something like Daemonsgate. As for non-RPGs, I am not gonna bother wasting my time typing their names, you can just copy the "Kotaku's 100 best RPGs" to know my list of 100 worst non-RPG shitbuckets.

 

[Bulba]

oblivion - the worst game EVER
d3 - i knew it's gona be shit, and so it was... what a surprise
DA:O - absolutly terrible, much worse than da2 since the 2nd was at least kinda arcate-fun.

out of fps wanna be rpgs
f3 and nv - rape of my childhood
me2 - the only me that I've played for 30 min or so. how could anyone enjoy that? even form the fps point of view it was an absolute nighmare. the talking wheel - lol