Top 10 Favourite "Bad" Games

Ever come across a situation where you really enjoyed a game but your opinions didn't match the general consensus, or the critics, or both? Well the last scenario is what I'm planning to explore today since if both critics and the general public aren't enamoured with a game, there's probably a good chance it actually is a "bad" game. So, how to go about determining which games at Choicest Games make this Top 10 list, a top 10 list of games we really liked but are usually considered a "bad" game?

Well, firstly, I decided that any game with a rank of 8 or 9 (there are no 10 out of 10 games here at Choicest Games) should be considered as one that we like. This is usually the threshold I use to recommend games on Steam so seems as good a measure as any.

What I did next was to use this list of games and check for the corresponding scores on Metacritic. Not every game is listed on Metacritic and sometimes the ones that are listed don't have enough reviews. These games were excluded leaving 46 games left which actually had critic Metascores and user review scores. I then multiplied the user score by 10 and added it to the Metascore and sorted these scores in descending order. The Top 10 of these were included in this list, so without further ado, here are the top 10 favourite "bad" games on Choicest Games

10. Dragon Age 2

Metascore: 82
User Score: 47
Combined Score: 127
Choicest Games Score: 8

As you can see, the Choicest Games Score aligns with the critics in this case. While most people pined for more gameplay like its predecessor, Dragon Age: Origins, I actually liked the action RPG take in Dragon Age 2, the fact it was taking a page out of Mass Effect 2's book. Voice acting and music are of high quality and I liked the fact that the game's plot takes place over many years. It gives you an opportunity to see how other characters develop their personalities.

With a User Score of 4.7 though, many Dragon Age fans were not impressed by this iteration. The main criticism was that gameplay was not the same as Dragon Age: Origins and seemed casual, shallow and inferior to the original. Comments were also made about repetitive combat, poor writing and recycled content.

9. XCOM: Chimera Squad

Metascore: 77
User Score: 49
Combined Score: 126
Choicest Games Score: 8

Critics were still generally positive about this game but not as much as me. While you had a blank canvas when creating your squad in XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 this wasn't the case in Chimera Squad as you had unique squad members to contend with. It was more like Jagged Alliance than XCOM and since I was used to that, it was totally fine with me. In particular, I enjoyed the new Breach Mode, the overhaul to how turns worked, its awesome soundtrack and the colourful cast of characters.

The User Score of 49 shows XCOM fans were not as keen on this iteration of the XCOM series. Fans considered the game too "woke" and buggy (and although I gave the game a high score, I did mention that the bugs and crashes were one of its downsides). Many felt XCOM 2 was better and felt the gameplay in this was a step backwards. Others lamented that soldiers were no longer a blank slate and that having the game take place in a city felt like a downgrade when compared to fighting across the world in previous XCOM games.

Mass Effect Andromeda received mixed reviews from critics

8. Mass Effect: Andromeda

Metascore: 72
User Score: 51
Combined Score: 123
Choicest Games Score: 80

So here we have a game that received mixed reviews from critics and less than stellar reviews amongst the fans too. To be fair, I was initially planning to rate this game lower, but I persevered and I changed my mind. The game isn't like the original Mass Effect trilogy in terms of gameplay and is very much a spin-off with a Dragon Age: Inquisition open world RPG feel to it that's not going to be for everyone. But once I accepted it for what it is, I enjoyed it, despite its rough release and many graphical issues.

The more negative reviews from Mass Effect fans had a lot to say about the game across the board. Most complaints were directed at dull, unconvincing characters, primitive dialogue and visual bugs. Some fans were shocked to discover a game that was nothing like the original trilogy and others criticised its repetitive combat, tedious exploration, poor voice acting and lifeless worlds.

7. War Thunder

Metascore: 81
User Score: 38
Combined Score: 119
Choicest Games Score: 80

I already have an inkling of why this game has made it to the list. I have friends who are (or at least were) very into this game years ago and for the short time I played it, it felt like good fun. Critics generally liked the game too giving it a Metascore of 81. However, just like any MMO, it's really hard to rate something that lasts for multiple years and evolves during that time. MMOs aren't generally "review friendly" either since it usually takes many hours to get to the end-game so it's difficult to experience a good chunk of the game within a short period of time. I was overwhelmed by the information overload when playing the game but felt it was something that both a casual player or a WWII buff could appreciate given time.

Negative user reviews for the game tend to comment on common criticisms of Free-to-Play games, such as claims of it employing a "Pay to Win" model and the fact it takes a long time to grind the requisite currency to unlock stuff. Many long-time fans also feel that the developers are not spending enough time on balancing issues and are only focused on releasing new content.

Metacritic users did not like the new direction Battlefield V took

6. Battlefield V

Metascore: 81
User Score: 37
Combined Score: 118
Choicest Games Score: 8

Battlefield V was generally liked by critics and it fared well on this blog too. I was glad that the series had returned to its roots somewhat and revisited World War II as a theatre. Like every other Battlefield game, the game suffered from a rough start and was plagued with bugs and since the franchise had transitioned to a live service model, the game felt light on content at the start. I did feel that given time, things would only get better.

Complaints that contributed to the Metacritic User Score of 3.7 are all over the place. The most popular complaint though appears to be a surge in cheating in the past few years as well as people complaining about the gameplay (but not specifically saying what was bad about it). Other reasons people rated Battlefield V poorly ranged from comments about the single player campaign not being substantial enough to the game being too "woke".

There were some who complained about a lack of the Eastern Front but I get the feeling the War in the Pacific update was the game's last chance to drum up support and since it didn't deliver the upsurge in players they needed, they decided to "quiet quit" the game.

5. Moebius: Empire Rising

Metascore: 54
User Score: 62
Combined Score: 116
Choicest Games Score: 8

Okay, here's the first on the list where the actual critic score is less than the User Score. Across the board I felt the game was pretty solid. It had memorable characters, fair puzzles, and great music. The only thing I could fault were the sub-standard animations and backgrounds.

Negative critic reviews feel that the game's puzzles were too easy or tedious, that the plot was terrible and that the characters were shallow and forgettable. In particular, reviewers hated the main character, Malachi, who is seen as a misogynist jerk (although to be fair, I thought that was the whole point. He's not meant to be a likeable character). Some reviewers criticised the graphics as well but this wasn't considered as big an issue.

Negative user reviews were similar to the critic ones, pointing out the game's non-sensical plot and poor graphics, although again saying it wasn't as big an issue as others. They also felt the game had lazy characterisation (including an awful, misogynistic main character), cheesy dialogue and puzzles that were too easy.

1849 was a game that received a lukewarm reception from both critics and Metacritic users

4. 1849

Metascore: 60
User Score: 55
Combined Score: 115
Choicest Games Score: 8

Both critics and Metacritic Users seem to be feeling rather "meh" about 1849. It's not a case where one group is loving the game and the other isn't, they're both ambivalent about the whole experience. Critics felt the game had issues with respect to longevity as the game contained easy yet monotonous gameplay. Another critic said that the graphics and audio were nothing special either. There were no negative comments that were published by Metacritic users so I can only assume they too had similar reasons for bringing the rating to 5.5.

I actually enjoyed the music in the game and felt 1849 was targeted at those looking for a casual city builder, and if that's exactly what you're in the market for (which I was at the time), it serves its purpose well. I can understand how those who played City Builders back in the 90s and are now veterans of the genre would not find this game appealing. But for those wanting to dip their toes in the genre having never played a game like this before, I think it's worth giving it a shot.

3. Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Metascore: 75
User Score: 37
Combined Score: 112
Choicest Games Score: 8

This is a game which just scraped in with a positive rating on Metacritic but has a generally negative reaction from the fans, with a User Score of 3.6. I felt the game was similar to previous Life is Strange games meaning it did a good job in keeping me entertained. I did point out the overarching story isn't terribly interesting and the cliffhanger was disappointing but I felt the character stories and the way the gameplay provides the foundation for interesting puzzles were the game's strong points. The fans behind the negative reviews didn't think so.

Main criticisms from the fans was that the game was too "woke", lamenting the lack of heterosexual relationships in the game, although many also found the writing forced and shallow, with the choices you make having very little impact on the story. Some fans felt the gameplay was boring and that the music selection wasn't as good as previous games.

Company of Heroes 2 has many controversial moments such as this mission where you're forced to fire on fleeing German civilians from Halbe

2. Company of Heroes 2

Metascore: 80
User Score: 23
Combined Score: 103
Choicest Games Score: 8

This game received a solid rating of 80 on Metacritic but it has received the lowest Metacritic User Rating on this list with a score of 2.3. I felt the game was a pretty solid modern RTS in my review and the only things I could fault is its slightly controversial single-player campaign (which seems to be based off Western film depictions of the Eastern Front) and the fact you need to buy quite a bit of DLC to get the full experience.

Many of the negative reviews took offence to how Russia was depicted in the game. Other common complaints include the inferior single player campaign compared to its predecessor, difficult missions and bugs.

1. Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Metascore: 76
User Score: 26
Combined Score: 102
Choicest Games Score: 8

According to Metacritic, this game has "Generally Favourable" reviews since it has a Metascore for 76 on PC (and higher on other platforms). I felt it was as good as any previous Dragon Age game. It obviously doesn't play the same as previous iterations and while it does have flaws like some dialogue that feels a bit naff and your companion AI not working as effective as it could, overall it's a well polished RPG and feels like a Mass Effect 2 treatment of the Dragon Age franchise.

However, the Metacritic Users felt differently. Many felt the game was too "woke". Other common criticisms include poorly written dialogue and an unmemorable cast while others commented on it being a bad game without offering any reason whatsoever.

Conclusion

So what did I learn from this? What are some common reasons Metacritic Users give low ratings for games (since usually it was the Metacritic User rating that brought the overall score down instead of the critics).

At least for the games in this list, major reasons Metacritic Users voted down games were due to the Culture War (e.g. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, XCOM: Chimera Squad, Life is Strange: Double Exposure and Battlefield V) or political reasons (e.g. Company of Heroes 2). Another one of the commonly recurring themes is Metacritic users feeling the sequel has veered too far from preceding games (e.g. Dragon Age 2, XCOM: Chimera Squad or Mass Effect Andromeda).

So how about you? Are there any games that you enjoy which are considered a "bad" game by the critics, the public or both? Be sure to share them in the comments.