It takes a lot more than dazzling rays of sunshine and endless terrain to make a world feel unique. It also takes that little bit of extra creativity to keep a player from sacrificing the experience to a dusty shelf for all time. Sadly, however, many developers fall flat at the first hurdle when building a new and hopeful world for gamers to explore. It’s these lands that often make or break a game, and should never be treated lightly during development.
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We’ve seen some genuinely magical landscapes over the years. But, we’ve also seen stacks upon stacks of mundane fields that have made us feel more frustrated than intrigued when plowing through them. Here are the ten worst open-world games of all-time, according to Metacritic.
10Fuel (67)
There’s really only so much rubber-band style racing gamers can tolerate before the adrenaline comes to a grinding halt, that not even nitro can help here. For the 2009 open-worldFuel, for example, these mechanics become tired out before the mid-way marker of the story even arrives.
The setting forFuelis blatant. It’s post-apocalyptic and dreary. But, again, there really are only so many murky textures and bruised browns we can watch at daring speeds before even the world itself becomes painful to look at. While the concept is clear, theopen-worldcrashes into repetitive tracks and dull victories.
9Two Worlds (65)
In a desperate attempt to steal the glowing spotlight cast overBethesdasmash-hitElder Scrolls IV:Oblivion, Polish developer Reality Pump stepped up and laidTwo Worldson the table. However, even after capturing the eyes of sandbox gamers, both Two Worlds fell incredibly flat over a miserable reception.
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Slated for its bugs and awful AI,Two Worldsoffers the player hardly any bang for their buck for the entire twenty-hour slump of a campaign. Plus, with low res and jagged textures with no real appealing touches, the ocean of lands featured are quickly forgettable.
8Mafia 3 (62)
For years fans begged2Kto revive the greatMafiaseries and dish out a third installment. AfterMafia 2, especially, crime-drama lovers hungered for another round at playing kingpin in a new metropolis fuelled from corruption and violence. However, after the long wait,Mafia 3finally fell at launch to boring routines and grim lighting.
Mafia 3starts off incredibly strong in terms of story-driven gameplay. But fast forward three hours in, and the city of New Orleans quickly becomes a miserable playground skirmish for repetitive missions and hardly noteworthy plotlines.
7No Man’s Sky (61)
No Man’s Skywas possibly one of the most anticipated games of 2016. Boasting an entire void of planets to explore and an endless catalog of meaningful encounters with otherworldly species, as well as jaw-dropping scenery.Hello Gameshas won Game of the Year already in the eyes of gamers everywhere.
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Release day fell andNo Man’s Skywas immediately placed beneath the critic’s spotlight for a thorough investigation. And, to our surprise, it was the opposite of whatHelloGamespromised in the build-up prior to launch. It was boring. It was pointless; there were no real goals or meanings behind the endless exploration. This meant thirty hours minimum was spent plowing through with no real motive, apart from endless mining.
6Dynasty Warriors 9 (57)
There comes the point where the reputation of a developer becomes so high that any old content can be released, and it’ll guarantee massive amounts of sales. ForDynasty Warriors 9, however, fans were quick to notice the lack of care when reeling out the first open-world chapter in the timeline.
Dynasty Warriorshas always had large but bordered open-world maps. But for the ninth major installment in the series,Omega Forceurged to build an open-world for players to indulge in. Sadly, the world consisted of hundreds of unimaginative miles filled with copy and paste scenery. This, along with watered-down action, all rounded off as a total disaster for the open-world genre.
5Metal Gear Survive (54)
Branching away from the typicalMetal Geartimeline that millions of fans have come to know and love,Metal Gear: Surviveacts as a whole other game, and not in a good way, either. Since Hideo Kojima departedKonami, the interest in experimenting with alternative worlds withinMetal Gearbecame a reality. Only, with Survive, the zombie-esque drama punches loyal fans well below the belt.
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Metal Gear: Survivetakes everything long-term fans adore about the franchise and replaces it with a horrible battle royale style gameplay.Metal Gearmight be slapped on the box, but the awful gameplay is not even close. Sadly, since Kojima has no further input into the franchise, it’s anybody’s guess as to where theMetal Gearseries will go from here.
4Superman Returns (51)
When it comes to thundering metropolises attention to detail is the key to keeping players hooked. WithSuperman Returns, however, it’s the boring combat and skewered controls that make the eighty square miles hardly worth flying through.
With a rather dull six-hour story battling through the same predictable encounters, players are left feeling baffled and unsatisfied at how poorlyElectronic Artshandled the iconic superhero movie turned game.
3The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (44)
New York City is meant to be shown as a picturesque painting, but inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, all that picture displayed was depressing textures that make the Big Apple easily forgettable. Even after the delay, developers still struggled with bringing life into the city that never sleeps.
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The Amazing Spider-Man 2consists of repetitive side-quests, aimless swinging, and scrubbing through joyless battle after battle. For long-runningSpider-Manfans, an appealing quality might shine. But as far as open-world exploration goes – there really is nothing to return for.
2Driv3r (Metacritic Score: 40)
In a desperate attempt to stareRockstar Gamesin the face and deliver a hard-hitting comeback toGrand Theft Auto,UbisoftthrewDriv3rin a tongue-in-cheek slap. Sadly, the inadequate efforts barely caused the enchanting aura of Rockstar Games too so much as flinch.
Shortly afterGrand Theft Auto 3andVice Citysuccessfully launched, open-world gamers were quick to scrutinize the appalling misfire of Ubisoft’s watered-down clone.Driv3r, although somewhat familiar with the sandbox genre, was quick to miss the mark when rustling up anything remotely enjoyable. With mundane missions, laughable combat, and instantly forgettable characters,Driv3rmarked the decline of the once-promising franchise.
1Raven’s Cry (27)
Finally, capsizing into the lowest depths of the gaming seas, welcome toRaven’s Cry.It is deemed unplayable due to its excessive uninteresting story and wooden mechanics, as well as its glitches, crashes. It’s honestly hard to tell which is worse.
Raven’s Cryis holding one of the lowest Metacritic scores ever. The title means nothing to the players who sacrifice so much for no prize.
