15 Most Disappointing Games of 2025

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2025 was a year of extremes for gaming. We saw some truly exceptional releases with amazing stories and gameplay, but also a lot of games that weren’t worth even a discounted look. Beyond the outright bad games, there were also several promising titles that unfortunately didn’t live up to their potential, often due to problems with development or technical glitches.

While some of these games are still being updated and could get better over time, they haven’t lived up to expectations so far. Here’s our list of the 15 most disappointing games of the year.

Bounty Star

The idea of Bounty Star – a mix of mech combat, bounty hunting, and farming in a wild, lawless world – sounded fantastic. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t quite live up to its potential. It suffers from repetitive battles and tasks, shallow base-building, and a weak story. It’s disappointing, especially because the main character, Clementine, is compelling and deserves a better game.

Battlefield: RedSec

EA’s free-to-play Battlefield royale, called RedSec, had a rocky start due to technical problems and the lack of a single-player mode. Many players were also frustrated that they had to play this new mode to unlock content for Battlefield 6, and that it included naval combat not found in the main game. While RedSec has potential to be enjoyable, it still needs a lot of improvement.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion

I was skeptical of Titanic Scion when I learned the Arsenals had changed from mechs to power armor that could even ride horses. But that wasn’t the biggest issue. The game’s shift to an open world felt visually uninspired, and while the customization options and range of weapons were good, the frustrating combat ultimately ruined the experience.

Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate

After wrapping up a decade-long story about the battle between Light and Darkness, Bungie started a new one centered around the mysterious Nine. However, this new direction frustrated many players. They removed established features, made the game much more grind-heavy, reused old content, and added unwanted elements like Matterspark. As a result, Destiny 2 has seen its lowest player count since the Curse of Osiris expansion. While the Renegades update is interesting, it doesn’t seem likely to fully address these issues.

TRON: Catalyst

Bithell Games’ games are sometimes good, sometimes not, but they usually have a distinctive style. Unfortunately, TRON: Catalyst doesn’t live up to that standard. Its uninspired graphics make exploring the game boring, and the time-traveling story is often either unremarkable or just doesn’t work very well. On the bright side, TRON: Ares came out this year, reminding us that things could be even worse for the TRON series.

Rennsport

Just because Teyon made the well-received RoboCop: Rogue City doesn’t mean they can successfully create a racing game, according to many players of Rennsport on Steam. Despite issues during early access, the full release still suffers from problems. Players have criticized the weak physics, poor performance, excessive microtransactions for cosmetic items, and a frustrating multiplayer experience. Ultimately, Rennsport is a disappointing game.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

We finally have a mainline entry in the Hyrule Warriors series, which is great! However, the story feels rushed and unimportant. Even setting that aside, the game’s missions aren’t particularly innovative. The combat is the best it’s ever been in a Hyrule Warriors game – and that’s saying a lot – but ultimately, the game falls short of its potential.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection

Including all the original Mortal Kombat games in one collection, along with interviews with the creators, seemed perfect for dedicated fans—and those who enjoyed spin-offs like Mythologies and Special Forces. However, the release was flawed. Problems with controls, sound, and the lack of online lobbies, plus a high price tag, really hurt the experience.

Yooka-Replaylee

This game is essentially a visually updated and more streamlined version of Yooka-Laylee, with better graphics, controls, and all moves available right away. However, it still retains the core Yooka-Laylee gameplay, meaning level design and challenges can sometimes feel awkward. The removal of Dr. Quack’s quizzes is a welcome change, but players hoping for major changes beyond these improvements should keep their expectations realistic.

FBC: Firebreak

Remedy, the studio behind acclaimed story-driven single-player games, surprisingly ventured into the world of cooperative shooters. While the experiment had some improvements and significant changes to how the game worked, the resulting game, Firebreak, was ultimately a letdown and its future is unclear.

The Precinct

While The Precinct tries to recapture the feel of classic GTA with its top-down view, it’s held back by awkward writing and unconvincing characters. The game often stumbles with its mechanics – chases feel clunky, allies are unhelpful, and aiming isn’t very good. It had potential as a *GTAlike game focusing on police work, but unfortunately, this isn’t a successful version.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

I mentioned before that many games on this list aren’t terrible, just flawed. Black Ops 7 is different – it’s genuinely bad. The story mode is almost universally disliked, and while the multiplayer is better than last year’s version, it still has plenty of problems. What bothers me most, though, is how uninspired and lifeless this game feels, even more so than Modern Warfare 3 from 2023.

Synduality: Echo of Ada

With all the buzz around games like ARC Raiders and Escape from Tarkov, it’s easy to forget about Bandai Namco’s Synduality: Echo of Ada, which didn’t quite succeed as an extraction shooter. While the developers are still updating it, the game suffers from issues like mandatory PvP with a small player base, and a frustratingly slow progression system for unlocking items. As a result, the number of players on Steam continues to drop.

NASCAR 25

I remember being so hyped for new NASCAR games back in the day, alongside titles like Need for Speed and F1! Sadly, NASCAR 25 just doesn’t recapture that excitement. While the driving itself is mostly pretty fun, the Career Mode feels a bit flat, and the multiplayer is struggling. It’s not a terrible game for the NASCAR brand, but it’s definitely a long way from being truly great.

Killing Floor 3

There’s a positive update after the recent Rearmament patch: all Specialists can now choose any perk they want. However, Killing Floor 3 is still disappointing. It’s plagued by server problems, awkward movement, and lacks features like mod support, text chat, and a server browser. Plus, the futuristic setting doesn’t really work. Tripwire is still trying to fix and improve the game, but right now it’s dragging down the reputation of the Killing Floor series.

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2025-12-04 17:13