As the final hours of 2025 tick away, it's a fitting moment to reflect on the video games that defined the year for all the wrong reasons. Rather than celebrating triumphs, we're looking at the releases that arrived broken, misguided, or simply unfinished, testing the patience and wallets of players across the UK and beyond.
The Biggest Disappointments of the Year
While picking the year's highlights is easy—with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sweeping Game of the Year awards—identifying the lowest points is trickier in a year of strong competition. Yet, five titles clearly stood out as contenders for the dubious honour of 'Worst Game of 2025'. These weren't merely overhyped; they were fundamentally flawed experiences that left gamers feeling short-changed.
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Launched with immense expectation on November 14 by developer Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 promised a 'return to form'. Set in a fractured near-future Cold War, it included a global campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies mode. The reality was starkly different. Critics and players found the campaign short and incoherent, while multiplayer suffered from balance issues and recycled maps. The Zombies mode was criticised for lacking its former depth.
Technical problems at launch, especially on PC, compounded the frustration. The game settled at a mediocre 65% on Metacritic, marking it as one of the franchise's weakest main entries in recent memory, with many citing franchise fatigue and overly safe design.
2. Pokémon Friends
Nintendo released Pokémon Friends on July 22, aiming it at younger and mobile audiences with its cosy social simulation and town-building. However, the experience quickly felt thin and repetitive. Progression was sluggish, interactions were shallow, and aggressive time-gate mechanics felt out of place for a premium Switch title.
Reviewers saw it as a middling effort leaning too heavily on the Pokémon brand, resulting in a Metacritic score of 62% and leaving a large portion of the fanbase thoroughly underwhelmed.
3. Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition
Adapted from arcade cabinets and released on consoles on October 24, Fast & Furious: Arcade Edition failed to translate its short-burst arcade fun into a satisfying home experience. Tracks were brief, handling was overly simplistic, and game modes were limited. The initial spectacle wore off rapidly, revealing a shallow core with little replay value.
Critics panned its dated visuals and lack of depth, leading to a shockingly low aggregate score of 55% on Metacritic, placing it near the very bottom of 2025's rankings.
4. Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator
Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator, released by Aesir Interactive in early February, aimed for gritty realism in emergency medical response. Players navigated city streets, diagnosed patients, and performed first aid. Sadly, the execution was a disaster. Awkward driving, poorly explained medical systems, and repetitive mechanics made the experience a chore.
Widespread bugs and performance issues across all platforms sealed its fate, earning it one of the year's lowest scores at a dismal 44% on Metacritic.
5. MindsEye
The crown for 2025's most disappointing release, however, goes to MindsEye. Hyped as a cinematic, open-world thriller from Build A Rocket Boy—a studio led by former GTA producer Leslie Benzies—it promised a deep narrative in a near-future surveillance state. Instead, players got stiff third-person combat, lifeless stealth, and a beautiful but hollow open world.
Missions were frustratingly linear, and player choice was negligible despite marketing promises. Critics universally hammered its technical issues, poor AI, and unfinished feel, resulting in a catastrophic Metacritic score of just 37%.
A Year of Highs and Profound Lows
The contrast between 2025's best and worst games could not be starker. While the industry produced award-winning masterpieces, these five titles serve as a stark reminder that broken launches and misguided design continue to plague players. As we move into 2026, the hope is that developers learn from these very public failures, putting polish, player respect, and finished products back at the forefront.
