But we couldn’t help but feel that some games this year could have been so much more in terms of the value they brought to their players but ultimately let us down. It’s time to dive into 2025’s most disappointing games – and why they made us feel that way.

Let’s get started. 

Deliver At All Costs

Developed by Far Out Games and published by Konami, Deliver At All Costs had all the makings of a fun experience made engaging via a very unique premise. Winston Green’s determination to be the ultimate courier, letting nothing get between his cargo and his destination ultimately fell flat thanks to an uninspired gameplay loop.

While the isometric graphics and unique mechanics could entertain you for a brief time once you get started, the game quickly gets repetitive, with little to no narrative context other than a few fetch and carry requests.

Limited upgrades to the We Deliver pickup truck and a lack of actual consequences for your destructive actions other than some bland police pursuits make this an unfortunately forgettable experience that is sure to lie forgotten in many of its players’ libraries once the initial thrills wear off. 

Monster Energy Supercross 25 – The Official Video Game

Despite an excellent visual makeover courtesy of Unreal Engine 5, a wide selection of tracks, and the legendary Ricky Carmichael taking up the in-game commentator’s mic, Monster Energy Supercross 25 wasted away its advantages with a learning curve that a significant portion of players would find daunting.

Its tutorials are ineffective at getting you into the ebb and flow of a race, a lapse that is sure to throw you face-first into the dirt in front of a crowded stadium. Milestone S.r.l. probably assumed that anybody picking up the game was already a fan of dirt-bike racing and tailored the experience accordingly.

We’re sure that fans of the sport will swear by this one but for the rest of us, this is a title that is a very ironic uphill climb.

JDM: Japanese Drift Master

This indie title from the stables (or garages?) of Warsaw-based developer Gaming Factory seemed like it would be a great drifting simulator for racing fans who like a bit of style when they turn a corner. While its in-game physics and story-based open world are certainly highlights, the overall experience was ultimately marred by several inconsistencies in the Guntama Prefecture’s streets and winding mountain roads.

Obstacles that a fast-moving car could plow through quite easily in the real world could bring you to a complete stop while irregular lighting ruins the dynamic day and night cycle, sending you tearing right into unsuspecting NPCs who just want to get home and unwind after a long day.

Its delivery missions are nothing to write home about either while errors in the kind of vehicle you will need for its many events are a constant annoyance, requiring you to reload at the last garage you were in and drive a new car all the way back to the starting point.

We recommend rewatching Tokyo Drift a couple of times while you wait for a sale on this one.

STAR WARS: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles Remastered

We’ll be the first to admit that getting to revisit the origin story of Anakin Skywalker (or Darth Vader as you know him) had us pretty excited for this remake of the 2000 title from LucasArts. Getting all of its original content in one place while Aspyr’s additions like the ability to play as a bunch of enemies you beat down in your first playthrough during New Game+ was quite the attractive package.

However, an excellent visual makeover aside, all of the problems that players had with the original continue to plague the remaster, and are annoying enough to drive you towards the Dark Side of the force. It’s a baffling lack of polish that is sure to ruin what could have been a very entertaining return to Star Wars’ glory days.

Perhaps Qui Gon would be happy to let Darth Maul stab him to death if he were to try this one out.

TRON Catalyst

Bithell Games had the opportunity to bring the magic and complex political discourse of the original TRON films to a new generation of gamers in its take on the sci-fi franchise. However, Exo’s adventures and the subsequent conflict between the Automata and Core ultimately failed to impress thanks to a lackluster story and a distinct lack of utility to its many inventive mechanics.

From the Glitch system that lets you reset your state on a server to an earlier, safer time, or the lore that fails to flesh out the various factions you encounter in any satisfactory way, this is a game that could have, and should have been a whole lot better than it ultimately was – and that’s a real shame considering that it does so many things right.

Tails of Iron 2: Whiskers of Winter

Although Arlo’s quest for revenge and his adventures as the Warden of the West are quite well-written and given a lot of gravitas and weight thanks to Doug Cockle’s narration, this attempt to create a side-scrolling Soulslike was ultimately let down by its tonal inconsistencies.

It was quite jarring to see a boss brutally murder innocent NPCs only for a character to make a very droll quip a few moments later. While the combat on display is certainly top notch, the healing mechanic proved to me more annoying than innovative, especially towards the story’s final sections and boss fights.

Hardcore Soulslike fans might find a lot to like in this game but for the most part, it does feel like it could be more fleshed-out both narratively and from a technical standpoint. Its world-building does deserve credit, though.

La Quimera

What could go wrong with an FPS title that puts you in the heart of a conflict between warring states in a world gone mad? A lot, apparently. Reburn’s take on a co-op experience that lets you team up with your buddies to take on a world of threats with an AI companion in tow failed to impress on any level.

It didn’t help that the game was delayed on the day of its release, a misstep that is sure to be a sore spot for the studio and anyone who was excited for the game alike. But its distinct lack of a clear and engaging narrative coupled with its lackluster combat is sure to make this one a game that the gaming world would be happy to leave behind.

Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny Remaster

We’ve certainly been seeing a lot of Oda Nobunaga and his exploits in recent times. But younger games might have not known that the Japanese warlord was the main antagonist of a very popular action franchise from Capcom back in the day.

The studio’s remaster of 2002’s Onimusha 2 does include everything that made the original title so memorable, but fails to bring anything new to the table other than a new weapon swapping quality-of-life improvement and a couple of difficulty modes to accompany its visual upgrade.

Jubei Yagyu certainly deserved better despite his stoic and occasionally sassy demeanour making him less popular than Dante or Leon.

The Precinct

Fallen Tree’s police-sim brought a very promising start to Mick Cordell Jr’s first day at the Avernus City PD’s headquarters. However, his career soon took a very boring turn, devolving into mindless prowling along the city’s streets with only a hint of the promise he brought to table ever showing up during its runtime.

Terrible driving controls aside, The Precinct was a pretty interesting title that failed to deliver on the action-packed chases and gunfights it seemed to offer, instead focusing on the boring and dreary parts of police work. While it does shine on occasion and its main story could be interesting to some, this is a game we quickly moved on from thanks to its sloppy writing and average gameplay loop.

Splitgate 2

Its controversial marketing aside, Splitgate 2 never really reached the heights that its predecessor did thanks to being held back by a limited selection of playable classes and a gameplay loop that many players found derivative despite its intention to innovate.

Although credit must be given to its wide selection of weapons, maps, and modes, they were ultimately let down by its gameplay, which was hamstrung by the presence of only three playable classes with fixed functionalities. That’s especially saddening when one considers how many people worked on it as opposed to the original game.

Atomfall: Wicked Isle DLC

Although Wicked Isle did bring meaningful additions to Atomfall’s main story, they weren’t enough to make up for its lack of new enemy types and glaring omissions that made its runtime more tedious than it should have been.

That’s especially egregious considering how the main game always found a way to keep us on our toes, and the DLC’s new weapons, skills, and characters could not justify its lack of enough content to justify its price tag. Wicked Isle is another presence on this list that could have been so much more but ultimately failed to live up to the expectations it generated.

Still Wakes the Deep: Siren’s Rest

While getting to dive back into the main game’s story and learning more about the tragic events that brought about the Beira D’s destruction was certainly exciting, Mhairi’s search for its data logger was a disappointment thanks to its shorter runtime and technical issues that actively made it far less appealing than the main game.

Although it did bring a fairly interesting narrative to the table, it was not enough to deserve the same praise that the main game earned, mostly in part due to The Chinese Room’s attempts to address the linear nature of the main game only to get caught up in pathing and other technical issues that were obstacles to obtaining the full experience on offer in the DLC.

That’s a paradox many studios would rather avoid. 

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

After 26 years of silence, Fatal Fury fans were all “REV”ved up to receive a new title in the popular  SNK franchise. Bringing innovative new mechanics and excellent visuals to the table, it’s quite surprising that KOF Studios failed to do more with a franchise that had many gamers very excited about returning to the 2D fighting experience it offered.

That was unfortunately the extent of its traction, as an uninspired RPG mode and a distinct lack of heavy hitters on its playable roster brought disappointment to its fans despite the presence of excellent fighting systems that would challenge newcomers and veterans alike.

FBC Firebreak

A co-op multiplayer shooter set in the world of Control had us immediately invested in what we assumed would be another banger from Remedy Entertainment. However, FBC Firebreak failed to live up to that hype with a gameplay loop that quickly became repetitive while its inspirations were largely relegated to the background with a few notable exceptions.

A limited selection of weapons and little to no variety in locations and enemy types marred a gameplay loop that was frantic and action-packed until it revealed a slew of unlockables that required way too much grinding for the average player.

All is not lost, however, as Remedy could bring changes that puts this exciting yet flawed shooter back on track.

MindsEye

Oh, MindsEye. We really wish Build a Rocket Boy could have made this game live up to the high expectations that we and the rest of the gaming world had for it. We once expected it to be the perfect title to ease our sorrow at the delay of GTA 6. On paper, MindsEye has everything a modern hit should bring to the table. An interesting narrative backed up by a gorgeous open-world that blurs the line between man, machine, and AI.

But Redrock’s empty streets and non-responsive NPCs worked in tandem with its uninspired mission design, lackluster story and buggy execution to rob us of what could have been one of this year’s finest titles. We wish we could say this was a bittersweet experience but we have to lean more towards the former than the latter.

Were there any games that you believe failed to live up to your expectations? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!

With all the talking about the upcoming streaming future and how its going to change the industry, and if people are ready for it above all else, it can be kind of easy to forget that Sony has been there long before anyone else. Their PS Now service is, in many ways, a precursor to the upcoming Stadia and xCloud, and it’s still getting content. And it looks like August is going to be a dozy of a month, too.

10 games will join the service next month, and it seems Bethesda has the cake here as they will have three games from three classic franchises joining Now. But that’s not all there is to August’s haul as the fighting hit Tekken 7 is also coming. It’s quite a who’s who even without including the last three major Castlevania releases and MotoGP 17.

You can check out the entire list below or check out the official PlayStation blog for details here. PlayStation Now is available now, and the listed games will be available starting August 6th.

• Castlevania Lords of Shadow (PS3)
• Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 (PS3)
• Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate (PS3)
• Doom (PS4)
• Fallout 4 (PS4)
• Monster Energy Supercross (PS4)
• MotoGP 17 (PS4)
• Tekken 7 (PS4)
• The Raven: Remastered (PS4)
• Wolfenstein: The New Order (PS4)

Monster Energy Motorcross then, isn’t quite sure where it wants to fall into that spectrum. If the name itself didn’t quite give it away, this is a game where you can enjoy some good old fashioned Supercross bike racing from the drivers seat, and hopes to cater to the people who were looking for both a hardcore simulation title and those who just wanted something akin to Excitebike. Unfortunately it’s just kind of middling in that respect.

Forget any tutorials or even a brief view of the controls, you’re going to be thrown right into a race from the start of the game, and tossed from the nest to intuit all of the little things that make the game what it is to play, with the aid of a screen cluttering control window as your only guide. There’s actually a general dearth of modes, which is rather disappointing in general. The game could have really used a free race mode where the player can harmlessly practice and gain mastery over the controls, which is generally rewarded.

"Managing each and every turn, where your racer’s weight is, which wheel is braking and using your clutch, while making sure you’re nailing each jump and landing just right turns Monster Energy Supercross into a far more engaging game."

Whether you decided to throw yourself against the wall in Career, Championship, Single Event or Time Trials, you can make changes through a rather unintuitive menu system that define your difficulty through different options. At default, elements like assisted breaking, physics, transmission are all turned on, designed to bring the game more in line with an arcade experience. The problem with that is that it only goes so far in, as even on the lowest difficulty the racers can be super punishing. Just a bit of lean in the wrong direction and your racer can careen off the track, for example. Luckily the game includes an optional rewind function, similar to the Forza series, which can allow the player willing to use it to take as many shots at the turn as they need, meaning that while it doesn’t quite dumb down to arcade levels, anyone with the persistence can win a race.

Now, turning off all the assists can be an experience in and of itself, and it’s clear that it’s how the developers intended for you to play. Managing each and every turn, where your racer’s weight is, which wheel is braking and using your clutch, while making sure you’re nailing each jump and landing just right turns Monster Energy Supercross into a far more engaging game. The game even employs a rather unique method of encouraging players to take off the training wheels, essentially providing a multiplier to experience and money for every option you tweak to be harder, up to earning 400% of your bonuses. This allows each player to tailor what little there is to be just to their liking, without really feeling like they’re forced to deal with something they don’t find fun. If you want that sim experience, but still need the occasional rewind, then go crazy.

"Though the tracks won’t be visually very diverse, they become generally more intricate as a career mode goes on, and do a good job of keeping the player’s skills growing."

Now regardless of settings, once you’re in a race the experience is pretty similar regardless of mode. Success is determined by  your ability to work with the jumps and turns given to you and making sure you don’t muck it up and wipe out. While I had the very occasional physics snafu, like riding another racer for about 3 seconds in a way that would have easily snapped an actual neck, and a rather amusing ragdoll simulation when I clipped a barrier at a strange angle and went flying, much of the time the game behaved itself as expected. Which is to say, unremarkable, but just fine. My bike largely did what I expected it to do, and when it didn’t I could say it felt like I was at fault, which is exactly what you could hope for from a racing game.

Unlike another simulation racer, such as NASCAR Heat 2, Monster Energy Supercross has the benefit of a variety of tracks and different bikes to keep players interested. Though the tracks won’t be visually very diverse, they become generally more intricate as a career mode goes on, and do a good job of keeping the player’s skills growing. Another one of those options that players can tweak is whether they want to do a truly realistic circuit of qualifying races before the main event, or just play the highlights, which is another way the game brings customization to the forefront and allows the player control over their experience, which I have to laud.

"Models and tracks mostly looked “good enough.”"

The game does include online options, which are unfortunately as undercooked as the offline modes. There is no matchmaking taking place, instead just randomly bundling players of all skill levels into a room for a free for all. Trying to select a lobby by hand is an exercise in frustration which just usually means you aren’t finding a game.

Visually, the game doesn’t really look too spectacular, even on the PS4 Pro. Models and tracks mostly looked “good enough.” Music was the usual kind of generic rock and metal that so many low budget racing titles use, and the sound effects were serviceable at best. It’s the curse that so many of these niche sim games unfortunately have to live with, but at least I can say with confidence that I don’t feel like it ruins the game.

Your mileage with Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame may vary. Those who wanted an arcade racer will find that the options the game gives only go so far towards that experience, and the game is really going to shine, and is designed for that kind of enthusiast that will put in the time to develop the racing chops and craft the bike to take them to the top. The lack of modes and middling visuals won’t bother these people quite so much, and the small bits of jank won’t even register most of the time. It’s a fine effort, but hardly for everybody.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.