Worst RPGs All Time?

[Funposter]

The problem with very bad games is that (unless you are highly masochistic, without taste, or an edgelord desperate to have something to whine about) you usually give up on them fairly quickly, so you don't know them in their entirety, having only played the beginning.

For instance, playing the first half of the first dungeon of Pool of Radiance 2 was enough to convince me that the game was utter shit and most definitely not worth my time. Is it one of the worse CRPG of all times ? I strongly suspect it is, but I'll never play the rest of the game, so I can't be completely sure.

I use the metric from Top Gear's 'Worst Car in the History of the World' special. It's not enough for a game to simply be bad like an FSO Polonez, because as anvi mentioned, a lot of the truly wretched shit was produced by one or two people on a budget of approximately nine Zimbabwean Dollars. The worst RPG ever made has to be from a group of genuine professionals with the time, skill and money to produce a quality video game, and who should have known better than to design and release such an awful game. For this reason, I'd agree with the nomination of Dragon Age 2 and I'd probably say Fallout 3 as well. Oblivion and Skyrim are pretty bad, but they have a certain appeal in deciding who and what you want to be, even if most of it is LARPing. Dark Souls 2 is also a putrid game in comparison to what came before and after it in the same series.

Edit: If we include JRPGs, the five hours of Final Fantasy 13 that I played was one of the most miserable experiences of my life.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

In theory this is a great idea, but in practice, some mediocre to good games are going to dominate the list because some people found them boring. I don't see real shit like Psionics (1993) or YIIK getting on the list that much.

I missed completely YIIK. Apparently it was bashed everywhere, from a lot of casuals and journos too. Does it mean that it is basically a rough gem for the codex?

 

[Jenkem]

L E M O N A D E

 

[d1r]

L E M O N A D E

 

[Joseph Stalin]

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Examplar gets my vote for the portraits alone. This is literally the first game I wasn't able to play due to the disgust stemming from looking at my party members' faces.

 

[d1r]

Grimoire: Heralds of the Winged Examplar gets my vote for the portraits alone. This is literally the first game I wasn't able to play due to the disgust stemming from looking at my party members' faces.

Grimoire in general looks like fucking ass.

 

[Joseph Stalin]

L E M O N A D E

I HATE when "voice actors" are using anime voices in games.

 

[Funposter]

In theory this is a great idea, but in practice, some mediocre to good games are going to dominate the list because some people found them boring. I don't see real shit like Psionics (1993) or YIIK getting on the list that much.

I missed completely YIIK. Apparently it was bashed everywhere, from a lot of casuals and journos too. Does it mean that it is basically a rough gem for the codex?

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

 

[bec de corbin]

In theory this is a great idea, but in practice, some mediocre to good games are going to dominate the list because some people found them boring. I don't see real shit like Psionics (1993) or YIIK getting on the list that much.

I missed completely YIIK. Apparently it was bashed everywhere, from a lot of casuals and journos too. Does it mean that it is basically a rough gem for the codex?

It's probably the worst thing I've ever tried to play. I forgot about it but I think it probably is the worst rpg now that I think of it, yeah.

 

[Sarathiour]

It's probably the worst thing I've ever tried to play. I forgot about it but I think it probably is the worst rpg now that I think of it, yeah.

I watched some video of it few years ago when they popped on my feed. I then proceed to watch some more of it to try understand how and why such a game exist, i even watched the ending.





My butt still hurts

 

[Sarathiour]

To clarify my statement:

As it already been said there is a difference between shovelware who cost 20 bucks to make who are just scam, and embodiment of decline such as fallout 3 which aim to please the lowest key denominator.

Yiik is different, because it's never of both. It is the product of a disturbed mind, which only aim to hurt whoever will try to watch or god forgive, "play" it.

 

[Ol' Willy]

I kinda like this game, from what I've seen at least. It's like "The Room" of video games, when creator does everything possible wrong.

Still not RPG, though. Mini-game combat, stat progression is largely irrelevant, almost no C&C and no choice, etc.

 

[Cryomancer]

Faggout 3/76 ruined an game. WoW ruined over 99% of RPG's.

And when I mean RPG's, I don't mean only mmos or SP games. I mean, wow ruined mmos, ruined the great majority of SP games and almost ruined even TT games. D&D 4e is "generic wow clone D&D edition". BioWare canceled a next kotor game to make "generic wow clone : star wars edition"(swtor), and mmos? Before wow, we had ultima, dark sun online : crimson sands with complete different magical systems and in game systems. Now everything in mmo sphere is cooldown managing/gear farming games... The exception to this is the non fantasy mmos like Eve Online. Star Wars Galaxies changed to try to become more wow like. Runescape too(and now most people play OSRS).

Even when people decide to make a Ultima Online clone, they end up copying the wow retarded stat stikie itemization and cooldown based combat. See Legend of Aria which is inferior to UO in every aspect exactly due the wow taint on it.

 

[Stella Brando]

I remember playing some boring Mad Max-like back in the 90's. The game wouldn't even let me play a half-elf.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Faggout 3/76 ruined an game. WoW ruined over 99% of RPG's.

And when I mean RPG's, I don't mean only mmos or SP games. I mean, wow ruined mmos, ruined the great majority of SP games and almost ruined even TT games. ......,.

Even when people decide to make a Ultima Online clone, they end up copying the wow retarded stat stikie itemization and cooldown based combat. See Legend of Aria which is inferior to UO in every aspect exactly due the wow taint on it.

You mean where there's that timer thing for every special attack/skill and regular attacks suck ass? That's in SP RPGs now?

stat stikie itemization?

What I'm noticing is this odd art thats like uh.. paper dolls with tacks and thick outlines. Seems its everywhere like cheap flash games.

 

[luj1]

Pillars, Tyranny, Numenera for me

 

[Cryomancer]

You mean where there's that timer thing for every special attack/skill and regular attacks suck ass? That's in SP RPGs now?

In a lot of then.

stat stikie itemization?

Is where your char is a generic soulless clone of everyone else in the world and the muscle mass and intellect is 100% determined by how fancy and carnavalesque his pants/boots are. Instead of making magical gear doing crazy shit, they use magical gear to destroy all sense of character individuality.

RPG's are no longer living breathing fictional worlds. Now are mostly carnavalesque gear farming, cooldown managing games.

 

[prengle]

Disco Elysium and Undertale

Nope, Undertale is based.

 

[Fedora Master]

Disco Elysium and Undertale

Nope, Undertale is based.

GAY DOGS

 

[DaveO]

Somebody needs to pick up my list from the last vote. You have my full support to do so.

There ARE multiple threads on this topic.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/the-worst-crpg-ever.106102/page-11#post-4326113

Below was my tabulation from the vote back in 2012.
After my post, I did another recount with the added tallies which almost matches Mint's count:

1. 42 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 123456789
2. 36 Neverwinter Nights 12345678
3. 32 Fallout 3 123456
4. 29 Dragon Age II 1234567890
5. 15 Dungeon Siege 12345
6-8. 14 Arcania: Gothic 4 1234567
6-8. 14 Lionheart 123
6-8. 14 Neverwinter Nights 2 1234
9-12. 13 Dragon Age: Origins 1234
9-12. 13 Mass Effect 123456
9-12. 13 Might and Magic IX 123
9-12. 13 Ultima IX: Ascension 12
13. 12 The Witcher
14. 10 Gothic 3 1234
15-16. 9 Diablo II 1
15-16. 9 Dungeon Siege III
17-22. 8 Descent to Undermountain 1
17-22. 8 Dungeon Siege II
17-22. 8 Fable 1
17-22. 8 Mass Effect 2
17-22. 8 Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor 123
17-22. 8 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 123456

Revised totals from my count:
Oblivion - 51
NWN - 44
DA2 - 39
Fallout 3 - 38
Gothic 4 - 21
Dungeon Siege - 20

Nothing else breaks 20 votes, although Mass Effect and NWN2 are closest with 19 and 18 votes.

IIRC, the vote below was tallied in 2012. Will eight years make a difference?

At #1 - Oblivion with over 50 votes

At #2 - Neverwinter Nights with 44 votes

At #3 - Dragon Age 2 with 40 votes

At #4 - Fallout 3 with 39 votes

At #5 - Gothic 4 with 21 votes

At #6 - A tie between Dungeon Siege and Mass Effect with 20 votes

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

Anything Infinitron post and shills for

 

[ShaggyMoose]

Has anyone said Descent to Undermountain yet?

This was my vote. I couldn't believe it took until page 4 to come up!

Betrayal at Antara is a contender, but probably not the worst, just one of the blandest and most boring. Keys of Maramon maybe?

 

[ShaggyMoose]

5.) Ultima VIII. Pagan was an interesting setting and I liked the pixelart in this game but gameplay was really bad and fiddly and the longer I played the more the story felt messed up.

Agree with everything above, but the messed up story was the highlight for me. Even ignoring the ridiculous jumping puzzles, it absolutely was not a traditional Ultima game; the Avatar basically defiled Pagan and used its destruction as a springboard simply to continue the fight with the Guardian; pretty fucking dark for the paragon of virtue!

 

[Erebus]

Betrayal at Antara is a contender, but probably not the worst, just one of the blandest and most boring.

Betrayal in Antara isn't that bad, really. One of its main problems is that there are several parts during which you control only two characters ; but the rest of the time, combat is just as enjoyable as it is in BaK. The characters and the plot aren't the greatest, but they're okay. And the setting, the minor encounters and the optional quests are rather good.