We’ve seen the very best, and the worst, of what the primary half of 2025 has delivered to the desk in 2025. Nonetheless, there are a couple of releases that had a lot potential and may very well be strong experiences to a couple gamers who swear by them. Opinions are subjective, in spite of everything.
However we couldn’t assist however really feel that some video games this yr might have been a lot extra when it comes to the worth they delivered to their gamers however finally allow us to down. It’s time to dive into 2025’s most disappointing video games – and why they made us really feel that means.
Let’s get began.
Ship At All Prices
Developed by Far Out Video games and revealed by Konami, Ship At All Prices had all of the makings of a enjoyable expertise made participating through a really distinctive premise. Winston Inexperienced’s willpower to be the final word courier, letting nothing get between his cargo and his vacation spot finally fell flat due to an uninspired gameplay loop.
Whereas the isometric graphics and distinctive mechanics might entertain you for a quick time when you get began, the sport shortly will get repetitive, with little to no narrative context aside from a couple of fetch and carry requests.
Restricted upgrades to the We Ship pickup truck and a scarcity of precise penalties in your harmful actions aside from some bland police pursuits make this an sadly forgettable expertise that’s certain to lie forgotten in lots of its gamers’ libraries as soon as the preliminary thrills put on off.
Monster Power Supercross 25 – The Official Video Recreation
Regardless of a superb visible makeover courtesy of Unreal Engine 5, a wide array of tracks, and the legendary Ricky Carmichael taking on the in-game commentator’s mic, Monster Power Supercross 25 wasted away its benefits with a studying curve that a good portion of gamers would discover daunting.
Its tutorials are ineffective at getting you into the ebb and stream of a race, a lapse that’s certain to throw you face-first into the grime in entrance of a crowded stadium. Milestone S.r.l. most likely assumed that anyone choosing up the sport was already a fan of dirt-bike racing and tailor-made the expertise accordingly.
We’re certain that followers of the game will swear by this one however for the remainder of us, this can be a title that may be a very ironic uphill climb.
JDM: Japanese Drift Grasp
This indie title from the stables (or garages?) of Warsaw-based developer Gaming Manufacturing unit appeared like it will be an awesome drifting simulator for racing followers who like a bit of favor after they flip a nook. Whereas its in-game physics and story-based open world are actually highlights, the general expertise was finally marred by a number of inconsistencies within the Guntama Prefecture’s streets and winding mountain roads.
Obstacles {that a} fast-moving automotive might plow by means of fairly simply in the actual world might convey you to a whole cease whereas irregular lighting ruins the dynamic day and evening cycle, sending you tearing proper into unsuspecting NPCs who simply need to get residence and unwind after a protracted day.
Its supply missions are nothing to write down residence about both whereas errors within the type of automobile you will have for its many occasions are a continuing annoyance, requiring you to reload on the final storage you had been in and drive a brand new automotive all the best way again to the place to begin.
We suggest rewatching Tokyo Drift a few occasions whilst you watch for a sale on this one.
STAR WARS: Episode I: Jedi Energy Battles Remastered
We’ll be the primary to confess that attending to revisit the origin story of Anakin Skywalker (or Darth Vader as you understand him) had us fairly excited for this remake of the 2000 title from LucasArts. Getting all of its unique content material in a single place whereas Aspyr’s additions like the flexibility to play as a bunch of enemies you beat down in your first playthrough throughout New Recreation+ was fairly the enticing bundle.
Nonetheless, a superb visible makeover apart, the entire issues that gamers had with the unique proceed to plague the remaster, and are annoying sufficient to drive you in the direction of the Darkish Aspect of the power. It’s a baffling lack of polish that’s certain to destroy what might have been a really entertaining return to Star Wars’ glory days.
Maybe Qui Gon can be completely satisfied to let Darth Maul stab him to demise if he had been to do that one out.
TRON Catalyst
Bithell Video games had the chance to convey the magic and sophisticated political discourse of the unique TRON movies to a brand new era of avid gamers in its tackle the sci-fi franchise. Nonetheless, Exo’s adventures and the following battle between the Automata and Core finally didn’t impress due to a lackluster story and a definite lack of utility to its many ingenious mechanics.
From the Glitch system that permits you to reset your state on a server to an earlier, safer time, or the lore that fails to flesh out the assorted factions you encounter in any passable means, this can be a recreation that would have, and may have been an entire lot higher than it finally was – and that’s an actual disgrace contemplating that it does so many issues proper.
Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter
Though Arlo’s quest for revenge and his adventures because the Warden of the West are fairly well-written and given a number of gravitas and weight due to Doug Cockle’s narration, this try and create a side-scrolling Soulslike was finally let down by its tonal inconsistencies.
It was fairly jarring to see a boss brutally homicide harmless NPCs just for a personality to make a really droll quip a couple of moments later. Whereas the fight on show is actually prime notch, the therapeutic mechanic proved to me extra annoying than progressive, particularly in the direction of the story’s last sections and boss fights.
Hardcore Soulslike followers may discover loads to love on this recreation however for essentially the most half, it does really feel prefer it may very well be extra fleshed-out each narratively and from a technical standpoint. Its world-building does deserve credit score, although.
La Quimera
What might go flawed with an FPS title that places you within the coronary heart of a battle between warring states in a world gone mad? Rather a lot, apparently. Reburn’s tackle a co-op expertise that permits you to crew up along with your buddies to tackle a world of threats with an AI companion in tow didn’t impress on any stage.
It didn’t assist that the sport was delayed on the day of its launch, a misstep that’s certain to be a sore spot for the studio and anybody who was excited for the sport alike. However its distinct lack of a transparent and interesting narrative coupled with its lackluster fight is bound to make this one a recreation that the gaming world can be completely satisfied to go away behind.
Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Future Remaster
We’ve actually been seeing a number of Oda Nobunaga and his exploits in latest occasions. However youthful video games may need not recognized that the Japanese warlord was the primary antagonist of a very fashionable motion franchise from Capcom again within the day.
The studio’s remaster of 2002’s Onimusha 2 does embody every part that made the unique title so memorable, however fails to convey something new to the desk aside from a brand new weapon swapping quality-of-life enchancment and a few issue modes to accompany its visible improve.
Jubei Yagyu actually deserved higher regardless of his stoic and infrequently sassy manner making him much less fashionable than Dante or Leon.
The Precinct
Fallen Tree’s police-sim introduced a really promising begin to Mick Cordell Jr’s first day on the Avernus Metropolis PD’s headquarters. Nonetheless, his profession quickly took a really boring flip, devolving into senseless prowling alongside the town’s streets with solely a touch of the promise he delivered to desk ever displaying up throughout its runtime.
Horrible driving controls apart, The Precinct was a reasonably fascinating title that didn’t ship on the action-packed chases and gunfights it appeared to supply, as a substitute specializing in the boring and dreary components of police work. Whereas it does shine now and again and its essential story may very well be fascinating to some, this can be a recreation we shortly moved on from due to its sloppy writing and common gameplay loop.
Splitgate 2
Its controversial advertising and marketing apart, Splitgate 2 by no means actually reached the heights that its predecessor did due to being held again by a restricted number of playable lessons and a gameplay loop that many gamers discovered spinoff regardless of its intention to innovate.
Though credit score have to be given to its huge number of weapons, maps, and modes, they had been finally let down by its gameplay, which was hamstrung by the presence of solely three playable lessons with mounted functionalities. That’s particularly saddening when one considers how many individuals labored on it versus the unique recreation.
Atomfall: Depraved Isle DLC
Though Depraved Isle did convey significant additions to Atomfall’s essential story, they weren’t sufficient to make up for its lack of latest enemy varieties and evident omissions that made its runtime extra tedious than it ought to have been.
That’s particularly egregious contemplating how the primary recreation all the time discovered a method to hold us on our toes, and the DLC’s new weapons, abilities, and characters couldn’t justify its lack of sufficient content material to justify its price ticket. Depraved Isle is one other presence on this listing that would have been a lot extra however finally didn’t reside as much as the expectations it generated.
Nonetheless Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Relaxation
Whereas attending to dive again into the primary recreation’s story and studying extra concerning the tragic occasions that introduced concerning the Beira D’s destruction was actually thrilling, Mhairi’s seek for its knowledge logger was a disappointment due to its shorter runtime and technical points that actively made it far much less interesting than the primary recreation.
Though it did convey a reasonably fascinating narrative to the desk, it was not sufficient to deserve the identical reward that the primary recreation earned, largely partially because of The Chinese language Room’s makes an attempt to deal with the linear nature of the primary recreation solely to get caught up in pathing and different technical points that had been obstacles to acquiring the total expertise on supply within the DLC.
That’s a paradox many studios would moderately keep away from.
Deadly Fury: Metropolis of the Wolves
After 26 years of silence, Deadly Fury followers had been all “REV”ved as much as obtain a brand new title within the fashionable SNK franchise. Bringing progressive new mechanics and glorious visuals to the desk, it’s fairly shocking that KOF Studios didn’t do extra with a franchise that had many avid gamers very enthusiastic about returning to the 2D preventing expertise it supplied.
That was sadly the extent of its traction, as an uninspired RPG mode and a definite lack of heavy hitters on its playable roster introduced disappointment to its followers regardless of the presence of fantastic preventing programs that might problem newcomers and veterans alike.
FBC Firebreak
A co-op multiplayer shooter set on the planet of Management had us instantly invested in what we assumed can be one other banger from Treatment Leisure. Nonetheless, FBC Firebreak didn’t reside as much as that hype with a gameplay loop that shortly grew to become repetitive whereas its inspirations had been largely relegated to the background with a couple of notable exceptions.
A restricted number of weapons and little to no selection in areas and enemy varieties marred a gameplay loop that was frantic and action-packed till it revealed a slew of unlockables that required means an excessive amount of grinding for the common participant.
All isn’t misplaced, nonetheless, as Treatment might convey adjustments that places this thrilling but flawed shooter again on observe.
MindsEye
Oh, MindsEye. We actually want Construct a Rocket Boy might have made this recreation reside as much as the excessive expectations that we and the remainder of the gaming world had for it. We as soon as anticipated it to be the proper title to ease our sorrow on the delay of GTA 6. On paper, MindsEye has every part a contemporary hit ought to convey to the desk. An fascinating narrative backed up by a beautiful open-world that blurs the road between man, machine, and AI.
However Redrock’s empty streets and non-responsive NPCs labored in tandem with its uninspired mission design, lackluster story and buggy execution to rob us of what might have been certainly one of this yr’s best titles. We want lets say this was a bittersweet expertise however we’ve to lean extra in the direction of the previous than the latter.
Had been there any video games that you just imagine didn’t reside as much as your expectations? We’d love to listen to about them within the feedback!