The beginning of this decade had seen anticipation from fans at the prospect of playing PS4 games, and now we’ve had over 70 games exclusive to the platform either released or about to be. The truth of the matter is that an exclusive is what defines a console system, so any failures here are scrutinized greater than simultaneous releases.
The PS5 is on the way, yet there are still a dozen and more PS4 exclusives still set to be released as 2020 starts. For those who want to know of the system’s track record where negatively reviewed games are concerned, here are ten of the worst according to Metacritic.
10 Shadow Of The Beast (2016) - 66
A common criticism doled out to video game remakes is the leniency toward the style of the original. There’s no way a remake will be lauded if it’s basically the same stuff seen before, and Shadow of the Beast suffered due to its liking toward the 1998 version.
The game was considered a letdown for treading the same ground as the original, with some even calling it a carbon copy. Although graphics were greatly upgraded, the gameplay was much inferior compared to similar titles like God of War and Devil May Cry.
9 Fat Princess Adventures (2015) - 66
Hard as it is to believe, this is actually a hack and slash game along the likes of the game mentioned above. Even though it’s meant for kids, Fat Princess Adventures was supposed to be heavy on the button-mashing action.
It wasn’t a success in that area, though, as criticism was doled out on the outdated morals of the game, with some taking issue with the concept. Gameplay wasn’t a very successful feature either, as it was seen as a rehash of previous games in the series with nothing new.
8 Hidden Agenda (2017) - 66
It’s become commonplace for celebrities to appear in video games over the last decade or so, with Hidden Agenda being one of the games that looked to appeal gamers based on the cast. In what was a very close resemblance to Heavy Rain, this one couldn’t replicate the former’s success.
The storytelling aspect was praised by some reviewers, but it was overshadowed by the lackluster execution of the gameplay where quick time events dominated proceedings. Overall, Hidden Agenda was considered as more of an interactive movie than an actual game.
7 The Order: 1886 (2015) - 63
We’ve discussed before the unlikely chances of some Xbox franchises to return in the future, but here’s one that would very easily find a spot for a PS list. The Order: 1886 was initially seen as a system seller, one that would’ve been a surefire AAA hit for the PS4.
Unfortunately, critics lambasted the story, level design, and mostly the game’s runtime, to the point that The Order: 1886 is seen as a failure now. The small length of the game brought accusations of failing to justify the price paid to play, and there really wasn’t much to hold interest after finishing it either.
6 Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV (2017) - 62
Can you really expect a series well-known for delivering role-playing games to be successful with a release that had you fishing? While the Final Fantasy series’ kooky nature is accepted for the most part, this was too much of a niche offering to interest most.
As part of the PS Virtual Reality series, Monster of the Deep has the player feel as part of the game’s universe as they take on some fishing adventures with the main characters. There’s nothing other than the VR aspect to appeal here, although some fans did enjoy that feature quite a lot.
5 The Inpatient (2018) - 59
Until Dawn was a horror game that was unique by presenting multiple characters and the possibility of multiple endings, so it wasn’t a surprise that a follow-up arrived. The Inpatient, however, was mainly scary due to the fact that you waste your money to buy it.
Being another one of the PS VR games, The Inpatient plays out as a first-person venture whose drawback was the fact that everything happened so slowly. It became rather yawn-inducing to walk around with nothing really happening, with the scares being few and far between.
4 Hardware: Rivals (2016) - 56
The days of the PlayStation 2 had seen many innovations in gaming, with developers feeling confident to try out all kinds of genres. Unfortunately, times have changed quite a bit and a vehicular combat game just isn’t interesting anymore.
It might have worked had Hardware: Rivals incorporated the things that gamers of today like, but it simply played out like a PS2 game instead. Top level critics weren’t amused by the cutesy style of play, and it was agreed the novelty of playing a throwback game wore off very quickly.
3 Drawn To Death (2017) - 56
Since the days of God of War, David Jaffe really hasn’t been on top of his game, and Drawn to Death was another misstep made by him. Looking for some edgy action like Twisted Metal, this game only managed to come across as a gimmick.
It was an online multiplayer brawler where players employed shooting mechanics, all the while being set in the pages of a teenager’s notebook. It was as weird as it sounds, and critics pulled no punches in branding Drawn to Death as misguided and a bad attempt to bring in innovation.
2 Knack (2013) - 54
It’s very difficult to bring in a platformer game when the field is already rich with quality titles, but Knack was a failure overall what with the almost unanimously negative reviews. It was doubly disappoint due to it being a launch title for the PS4.
While the developers’ attempt at making use of the console’s new features were noted, it wasn’t enough to cover up the lackluster gameplay. Sometimes the old ways are the best, so Knack throwing that template out in favor of blending in brawling action and platforming wasn’t welcomed by anyone.
1 Basement Crawl (2014) - 27
This game has been the lowest-rated PS4 game by such a mile that the developers had sent out a statement apologizing and promising a free copy of its remake. Better sense prevailed and there hasn’t been any remake to waste anybody’s time.
Basement Crawl has no real quality to it; the game is basically a maze game with special effects. There’s zero variety to be found here, and all one does is evade traps every few seconds as the camera pans around as if something exciting was supposed to happen. We can understand why nobody liked this game.