Fighting games challenge players to overcome obstacles through a series of strategic blows and blocks or simple button mashing. Well made fighting games can be challenging and exciting for gamers, but there are a lot of factors that determine whether it’s a well-made game or a piece of garbage, this list is about the garbage.
Here are the worst fighting games of the last decade according to the critics on Metacritic. From barely functioning button mashers, to shoddy rage games, and blatant cash grabs, here’s the bottom of the heap for Metacritic.
10 Real Steel (Metascore 40)
Acting as the owner of a fighting robot in Real Steel players were tasked with winning matches to upgrade and improve their robot to win the championship. It was a fun premise that stumbled upon delivery.
Critics complained about the immense grinding it took to progress and the constant harassment to pay to unlock content if you didn’t want to continue grinding. The grind wouldn’t have been so bad if the controls and boxing mechanics were a little better.
9 Naruto Shippuden: Dragon Blade Chronicles (Metascore 38)
Naruto is an incredibly popular franchise for young males and Naruto Shippuden: Dragon Blade Chronicles sought to capitalize on that popularity by offering a simple fighting game that lets players control either Naruto or Sasuke on the Wii.
Some critics thought this game would serve its target audience well, but would fail to capture the interest of more mature, serious gamers. Other critics felt that the combat was too littered with technical issues to make playing worth it. Either way it wasn’t the best Naruto game and many felt It was more about turning a profit than providing quality gameplay.
8 Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat (Metascore 37)
Based on the popular SpikeTV show, Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat was at best a marketing gimmick for the show and at worst a blatant cash grab according to critics. There wasn’t a lot of content to explore, the fighting mechanics were too simplistic, and the game cost too much for what was offered.
Perhaps the biggest complaint was the absurd load times to start a match and when you could finally play the rounds were usually very short. It was a frustrating combination that upset many gamers.
7 3D Classics: Urban Champion (Metascore 37)
Based on the first fighting game ever released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, 3D Classics: Urban Champion is a faithful remake that felt very dated for a 2011 release for the Nintendo DS. Some critics thought it might be worth a play or two for nostalgia, but for a genuinely fun gaming experience it wasn’t worth it.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the game as it functioned well and offered everything it advertised, it just felt like an old game that was dusted off and ported for the latest handheld.
6 Clash Of Elementalists (Metascore 34)
With only four characters and limited content, Clash Of Elementalists wasn’t a terribly interesting game for critics. On top of the minimal gameplay and short length the controls were very choppy and response times were awful.
Some critics really wanted to like this game as an entertaining diversion with a fun concept, but it was too poorly made with not enough things to do to make it worth the purchase or any serious time investment.
5 Girl Fight (Metascore 34)
Boasting an all-female roaster and an interesting story about overthrowing a shadowy organization using Psionic powers, Girl Fight sounded fun, but failed to deliver in the end.
Critics couldn’t decide whether it was a failed Dead Or Alive clone or a perverted cash grab that had the entire roster dress up in sexy outfits for gamers to drool over. But even if the girls were a little more modest the fighting was too generic to make it worth playing for very long.
4 Kick-Ass (Metascore 33)
Based on the popular movie, Kick-Ass had players becoming one of the three main characters; Kick-Ass, Hit Girl, or Big Daddy to fight the bad guys and play through the film’s storyline.
Many critics felt it was rushed both in terms of development and story progression, ending before players had a chance to really enjoy themselves. There were some technical issues that quickly became annoying and nothing was terribly innovative about the fighting. In the end it was just another high-priced game meant to bring awareness to the film it was based on.
3 Fighters Uncaged (Metascore 32)
While some critics really enjoyed what Fighters Uncaged was trying to accomplish, many were ultimately upset with what it had to offer. Made for the Microsoft Kinect, Fighters Uncaged had players using their body motions to control their fighters, at least that was the intention.
Ultimately the controls were largely unresponsive thanks to the flaws of the Kinect which made fighting nearly impossible. Because it was based on the player’s movement fighting was largely constricted to simple punches, dodges, and kicks rather than the flashier moves present in other fighting games. Admittedly expecting the average player to perform Chun Li’s Lightning Legs kick and coding it into this game would be absurd so this goes back to the problems of basing a game on the Kinect.
2 The Asskickers (Metascore 31)
Based on the classic arcade beat’em ups from the 80s like Streets Of Rage or Double Dragon, The Asskickers promised to be a fun retro singleplayer or co-op experience, but became boring very quickly.
Critics claimed even retro fighter fans would become bored fairly soon as the game seemed more focused on delivering a nostalgic experience than fun gameplay. It was a nice return to the early days of gaming in the arcades but wasn’t something critics expected anyone to spend a lot of time on.
1 Hulk Hogan’s Main Event (Metascore 26)
The worst fighting game of the last decade according to Metacritic is Hulk Hogan’s Main Event. It was a combination of problems that led to an awful game according to critics. For starters, it was built to utilize the Microsoft Kinect, and like Fighters Uncaged it had terrible controls as a result.
But in addition to the Kinect problems were cartoonish graphics, bare-bones gameplay, horrific voice acting, and it felt like it was trying to cash in on Hulk Hogan's popularity and WWE fans. For those who were super fans of Hulk Hogan, it was likely a game they bought, but it’s doubtful even they could bring themselves to play this game for very long.