I just want to preface this with: these games are not bad, they just didn’t meet my expectations!
Games That Disappointed Me in 2025
6. Split Fiction
Split Fiction felt nothing like It Takes Two for me—granted, the game is not trying to be one. However, I went in expecting the same level of creativity, fun, and fresh perspectives that It Takes Two gave me. The more “realistic” visuals of the main characters are fine in theory, but I feel like it takes away too much of the magic and goofiness that made the previous game so charming.
Still, this shouldn’t take away from me saying that I was drawn to the idea of writers traveling through other writers’ worlds—it’s a creative concept that could’ve been so engaging.
Each level offers different gameplay experiences, and some of them are genuinely fun. The mechanics change enough to keep you on your toes, and there are moments where the world design really shines. However, the overall execution just felt a bit lacklustre. The game never fully captured that sense of wonder or excitement I was hoping for.
Even though it didn’t click with me, I can still see why a lot of players enjoyed it. The creativity behind the concept and the variety in levels show promise. Certain jokes are also pretty funny, and there seem to be a lot of references to pop culture and modern games than It Takes Two had.
It’s an interesting game, but it falls short of leaving a lasting impression.
5. Elden Ring: Nightreign
Not an Elden Ring experience at all; the pace is too fast and “rushed” for me. I really thought we would get an official version of the Seamless Coop Mod from the original Elden Ring, but instead we got a timed extraction looter game with a mix of Fortnite-style mechanics. I’m sure there’s a strong fanbase for it, and to be fair, there is still a story in the game—but it’s just too far removed from the slow, methodical experience that made the original so memorable.
Honestly, I might have shot myself in the foot by setting my expectations. To be fair, Miyazaki said they acknowledge the Seamless Mod and were open to providing the same experience in future games (which is only Elden Ring: Nightreign, so far).
Anyway, there is still a lot of fun to be had in Elden Ring: Nightreign. The characters are all interesting with their own backstories. The retelling of the shattering of the ring, as well as the supporting lore, is equally compelling in its writing and charm compared to the original lore.
There’s also still an RPG experience to be had with the variety of characters, skills, and items to acquire.
And before we move on, I did win a couple of runs, and when you successfully vanquish a Nightlord, it is incredibly exhilarating. The game also maintains that awe factor with its environmental design, and certain fights with the Nightlord are pretty epic.
4. Assassin’s Creed: Shadows
Bad writing, bad voice acting. The open world is mostly good, but the bushes are pretty bad and often feel more annoying than useful. I also don’t really understand the need for Yasuke at all, and I still don’t get Ubisoft’s push for full RPG mechanics in what’s supposed to be an assassination-focused game. It just feels mismatched, especially for an Assassin’s Creed title.
The game is bloated, as usual. There’s a lot of content, but not all of it feels meaningful, and it can start to feel overwhelming rather than engaging after a while.
On a more positive note, the game does have tons to do, and it seems like they really tried to make it feel closer to Ghost of Tsushima, especially with how some of the cutscenes are framed and directed. That cinematic approach does work at times and is probably one of the stronger aspects of the game.
Still, the game feels uninspired, and I have no clue what they are trying to achieve with the franchise at this point.
3. Mafia: The Old Country
The open world is basically dead outside of Mafia: The Old Country‘s main story. There is nothing to do—it honestly feels like a miniature version of a location where nothing is happening at all once you step away from main missions.
It hurts to see a game like this have such responsive and advanced features in its movement, combat, and even exploration, only for the game to do almost nothing with them. The entire game feels well-made, but they’re underutilized, which makes the world feel even more empty.
Other criticisms are mostly nitpicks, like the story being short or the lack of proper gunplay. The game is honestly fun, but for the price it’s being sold at, the overall experience just doesn’t feel justified.
2. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is fun, and the story is really nice, but I think everything just feels a bit outdated aside from the graphics. That’s pretty much it. It’s not a bad game at all, and I know a lot of people really liked it.
The game starts out really interesting with the assassination of the king and, through sheer luck, your freedom and eventual “destiny” to save the world by the coincidental duty bestowed upon you by the king.
Progression is pretty linear and straightforward, with very minimal roadblocks or hitches aside from one. This one roadblock isn’t a small one either; it is a pretty large one. Things start to ramp up pretty intensely once the “hell gates” open. I don’t think this is something only I experienced, but enemies suddenly become much harder.
At one point, there’s a fight where you can gather allies to help you defeat the hordes of enemies coming out of these “hell gates,” and completing this main story moment with minimal to no casualties is pretty much nigh impossible. I also found the clearing of the three main hell gates to be quite repetitive, and it didn’t give me that much variety.
Optimization was also hit-or-miss—it was fine for me, but not for others.
Seriously though, if I had played this 10 or more years ago, I probably would’ve loved it. The game is really long, and there’s so much side content to accomplish. The DLC is also very fun and is probably the best part. The true ending seems to be there too, and it’s a bit unfortunate that you need to buy it.
1. Avowed
Avowed feels like it has everything right going for it, but the game just feels unoriginal. I played it for about eight hours or so, and the intro mission was honestly the most fun I had in that time spent.
Speaking with characters puts you in that Fallout 4-like camera position, where the character you are talking to can be seen from the waist up. While this is very nitpicky, I just feel like, paired with the writing, it ends up being eerily similar to how Fallout is written. It’s not bad, but it does make the game feel overly familiar right from the start.
The starting island is very bright and colorful, pretty much what you will see moving forward in the game.
Everywhere you look, it is very “welcoming” to the eyes, but having played Dragon Age: Veilguard, I get the sense that it is just too bright. Too many fantasy games lately feel overly “bubbly” and almost childish in their presentation, and Avowed definitely leans into that same visual direction.
RPG elements are also tied to the dialogue, which I really love, with certain options available or unavailable based on how you’ve built your character, or what you’ve done or not done that is related to the situation.
The game’s combat also combines melee attacks with magic and guns. This is pretty creative, and I really like the way players can weave different attacks together while also having the option to go all-in on one combat style. However, I found combat to be pretty clunky. Think of it like God of War, where combat suddenly slows down every now and then whenever you are countering, doing certain special moves, and so on. That constant stop-and-go rhythm just didn’t feel good to me.
As for exploration, there are tons of hidden objects to find and puzzles to solve. I appreciate the verticality and the use of every space in the game, which is neat and clearly well thought out. Sadly, the game leans a bit into survival mechanics, with certain pickups from nature being required to heal your character or regenerate mana. If you don’t have those, you’ll need to find a place to camp, which are fixed locations. I’m just not a fan of that kind of system.
Honestly, it’s just not for me. My main dislikes are the feeling of unoriginality and the clunky combat.
And that is it! I tried to think long and hard to see if I didn’t miss anything other game but thankfully, I didn’t. These games are not bad at all, they just do not fit my taste one way or another; some more than others.
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