But as much as we hate to say it, there are a few titles that just didn’t click, and now have the dubious distinction of forming the lower end of the year’s releases. Let’s jump into which of this year’s games have made the list, and why.

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7

With fatigue having set into the franchise for a while, a lackluster campaign, and some heavy competition in the form of Battlefield 6, Ark Raiders, and Ready or Not, Blacks Ops 7 has failed to breathe new life into the franchise, and has plummeted to being the lowest-ranked Call of Duty entry in history.

Despite its emphasis on a more tactical gameplay loop this time around, Blacks Ops 7 has ultimately failed to bring any meaningful innovations that can make it stand out in a long list of titles from a franchise that could use a bit of course correction. That’s especially disappointing in a year where some excellent shooters have made their presence felt.

2. Sacred 2 Remaster

While the original game might have been considered innovative at the time of its release, this remaster’s insistence on preserving the original experience has largely backfired thanks to the passage of time. Sacred 2’s clunky mechanics and dated visuals needed more than a fresh coat of paint, and it’s a game that’s going to be played only for its nostalgia factor.

Although it did many cool things with its setting and world, it simply doesn’t measure up to scrutiny today. The world may be unique enough to give this one so replay value, but every playthrough is such a chore that it could be very tempting to drop off the game and move on quite quickly. This one should have been a remake if it were to have had any chance at succeeding among a very discerning crop of modern gamers.

3. Double Dragon Revive

Basic combat, finicky targeting, horrendous character models, and a failure to live up to the promise of a series that had been dormant for over a decade, this one was all kinds of wrong for both franchise fans and newcomers alike. Its drab environments and lack of the flair that makes a fighter special made this one a very forgettable experience that quickly gets boring.

And don’t get us started on the platforming sections. We’re all for a challenge in our games but bad design being a part of that challenge is a recipe for frustration , not engagement. While it all could have been salvaged by some awesome combat, there were only so many times we could punch the air before giving up on it all.

What’s sad about this one is that it had the potential to be all that it promised. Countering enemy Aura attacks with a Special Attack of your own was quite satisfying but the minuscule timing window on those parries made pulling them off rely more on luck than on skill. As a fighting game, this one should have been very different, and so much more than it was.

4. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Combining a vampire adventure with a setting that pushes you in the direction of an investigation just like a detective sounds like a great concept, doesn’t it? However Bloodlines 2 fails to capitalize on that premise. Its emphasis on sending you all around its admittedly well-crafted world does little to disguise the fact that its exploration is just unrewarding.

While the setting on offer is reasonably good, the combat is too clunky to be entertaining and this is a game that simply doesn’t click on any level. It can even get tedious from moment to moment if you don’t try and diversify what you’re doing. In a year where Ghost of Yotei gave us a more nuanced take on detective work alongside a brilliant combat system, this one is sadly relegated to the shadows.

5. Game of Thrones Kingsroad

With honestly terrible recreations of popular characters from the franchise, and a gameplay loop that doesn’t stay as entertaining as it is after the initial thrills of being let loose in Westeros in a well-crafted RPG world wear off. Bad character models, visual glitches, and a progression system that actively worked against players looking to make progress were factors that broke the spell of some solid visuals.

The combat gets repetitive too quickly, and as an RPG, having to manage menus more than your character arc was a drag. Kingsroad is an ambitious attempt to bring a popular franchise to life in the gaming world, but unlike its presence in other media, this take on Westeros fails to be one to draw the masses.

It’s disappointing to place this one among 2025’s non-preformers but Kingsroad is one that’s better avoided thanks to the journey being too uninteresting to be relevant.

6. Drag x Drive Review

A reasonably good gameplay loop and solid performance on the Switch 2 might have been factors being praised if this one had managed to be more interesting. With its innovative use of the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode, Drag x Drive Review could have been on the frontline’s of the console’s initial push into popularity after its launch.

But its high skill ceiling and unfamiliar control schemes work alongside a lack of content to keep things interesting to wall off most players from being incentivized to keep pushing forward through its gameplay loop until they get to the meat of why it can be enjoyable in the first place.

However, if you’re looking for a fun, unique 3v3 online title to dive into with your buddies, this one might just be worth picking up on sale when the chance comes along.

7.Killing Floor 3

While the legacy this one carried might tempt you to give it a go, you’re quickly going to find out that Tripwire Interactive failed to capitalize on the valuable feedback it received during the closed beta it held for it. While it can be fun on occasion, and even shines brightly when your plans for the chaotic decimation of Zeds line up well, its lack of content makes it too forgettable to be worth it.

For a game meant ot be played with friends or as a team, its solo survival mode might just be the most entertaining thing it has to offer. There was too little synergy between its playable classes for it to sustain any sort of engagement its initial hours might have garnered, and the lack of enemy types and bosses at launch meant that it soon became a rampage without consequences once we got used to its mechanics and combat.

All in all, there was a lot to like but too little of it to make Killing Floor 3 a game that holds its own against the year’s heavyweights, or enough to ensure it stayed off this particular list. Tough luck, though.

8. Dollhouse: Behind the Broken Mirror

In a genre where the world you craft is as much a part of the experience as your story and gameplay, Behind the Broken Mirror’s poor level design and a fairly predictable and uninspired story made it rank low among the year’s best horror experiences.

Frustrating puzzles peppered a progression path that was often blocked thanks to a lack of clarity on potential solutions stemming from poorly designed levels. It often felt like the game was working against us to be as frustrating as it could be, instead of with us to be entertaining instead.

The story is similarly all over the place, and you’re better off not joining Eliza on her journey to regain her lost memories.

9. MindsEye

In the end, MindsEye’s gorgeously crafted world was ultimately where its ambitions went to die. As if its lackluster story, subpar combat, and uninspired game design weren’t enough, the game’s AI was simply not up to the standard of a 2025 release. Policemen would walk idly by while you slaughtered an enemy in front of them, while the lack of life along the streets you go along made the entire experience feel like a massive letdown.

It’s a world that feels empty despite how its vibrant colors and futuristic buildings immediately stand out as soon as you see them. But MindsEye sadly doesn’t populate that world with enough life to make it matter to its players.

Making things worse was the lack of effective damage control from Build a Rocket Boy, and the eventual promise of a roadmap of fixes has ultimately failed to grab any attention. It’s a pity, but MindsEye is among the biggest failures of 2025 as far as gaming is concerned.

10. La Quimera

It’s a solid premise for a shooter. Its absolutely dystopian premise and environmental storytelling might have been the stuff of a legendary game. But Reburn’s Early Access version of a solid idea does nothing to make this game worth your time.

Its story fails to raise the stakes enough to make you care, which is quite surprising considering the setting it takes place in. Its combat is similarly vanilla, giving you farily powerful weapons and linear levels in which taking down enemies quickly became routine instead of a fight for survival in which either side could end up losing.

And in what’s going to be our top pick for most annoying mechanic of the year, your mercenary’s pockets only let you carry a limited amount of money. That’s counterproductive to the nature of your work, isn’t it? La Quimera makes too many of these blunders to be close to the experience it could be as it stands today.

11. Solo Levelling: Arise Overdrive

While its visuals and excellent audio design might have you believing that this one is worthy of the anime that inspired it, you’re going to want to temper your expectations with Solo Levelling: Arise Overdrive if you’re a fan or someone with a passing interest in what it has to offer.

It’s a story wastes the potential set up by the level designs, while bosses waste its combat system’s potential by having massive health bars whose only effect is that they make each one outstay their welcome. Despite a lot of depth, this one simply fails to make use of its strengths enough for it to be worth a shot.

And that’s a wrap on the year’s titles that might have been more than what they are if things had turned out different. We’re hoping that the talented teams behind these titles lift their chins up and come back stronger than ever with new projects in the years to come.

"It’s an open world that really lets you loose to explore it."

Developer Ascaron’s original experience did bring a lot of unique ideas to the table at the time, and managed to stand out thanks to an interesting setting and some cool builds that its players came up with. All of that fun is right there waiting for you to discover it. It’s an open world that really lets you loose to explore it, with the main setting being no more than an arrow pointing in the general direction of its next objective with a ton of distractions along the way.

That’s the good news. Here’s the bad. Those distractions lead you towards using a combat system that’s too rudimentary to withstand the test of time. I can see how it may have been passable but its clumsy hitboxes and clunky animations were quite off-putting to say the least, and quickly made me lose interest in the gear and skills systems altogether.

While the developers have done a reasonable job with bringing improved resolutions and graphics to the experience, as they should for a remaster, I question why this one couldn’t get a remake instead. It’s a title that definitely could use one as its many systems, world and quest designs, and character models are dated at this point.

"While some enemies don’t react to you unless you’re right on top of them, others seem to spot you from a mile away and come charging in for the kill."

With that being said, there are issues even with the graphics. The Inquisitor’s opening cutscene, for instance, had a wall pop-in to place quite late, while the audio and animations were entirely out of sync leading to a jarring start to a familiar adventure. It’s also why this title just didn’t click for me.

For starters, the world is chock full of enemies with weird aggro zones. While some enemies don’t react to you unless you’re right on top of them, others seem to spot you from a mile away and come charging in for the kill. It’s quite inconsistent and made combat begin to feel like a chore way too quickly as a consequence.

But the clunky combat controls are the other part of why I believe this game needed to redesign its combat systems from the ground up. It just doesn’t entertain enough even when you unleash Combat Arts thanks to lifeless animations and enemies that just crumble to the ground like ragdolls once you deplete their HP.

Combat variety is another sore spot thanks to the lack of enemy types and the many skills and spells you unlock being rather drab to use. None of them really stand out and feel distinct outside of their reach and attack speed. It’s definitely not what I’d want from a title that sets up such an incredible premise for terrifying enemies and some excellent fighting.

"Combat variety is another sore spot thanks to the lack of enemy types and the many skills and spells you unlock being rather drab to use."

And speaking of clunky, the inventory and vendor interaction management UI is quite familiar, and does a reasonable job of helping you keep your loot and gear in check. Finding fast travel points and accessing your storage does help with keeping your weight balanced and ensuring that you travel as smoothly and as quickly as you can across the world. But are all of the other problems something the developers could have addressed? I’d say no.

Everything that was fun about Sacred 2 back in the day was fun because it was fresh and perhaps even ground breaking at the time. Now, its open world is one that’s stale, its missions now largely containing what modern gamers called fetch-and-carry quests while the journey through its world feels uninspiring thanks to the dated look and feel of its world.

It didn’t help that my Inquisitor soon developed an odd problem, and their walking animations seemed to get locked into a sort of dance that haunted my every step through a world that was already dangerously close to losing my attention altogether. But in the spirit of experiencing as much of the game as I could, I decided to try a new character path, and see if I could discover the Inquisitor in the Shadow Warrior’s world.

But lo and behold, my Shadow Warrior developed the problem too! This foot affliction, as I called it, was only unable to affect my Dragon Mage, one of the new classes that was added to the game post its release. With a trusty staff in my hands and a lethal spell on my lips, I set off into the world. Do know that trying the game out on a different console didn’t bring up any instances of the issue.

"There’s only so much even the most talented studios can do to revamp a game that’s about 17 years old at this point short of a complete remake."

And I can tell you that Sacred 2 does have its charms despite its dated graphics, and a boring combat system. The setting is interesting, and the replay value is there if you’re a long time fan of the franchise. The world is still interesting and suitably well-written, and the soundtrack from Blind Guardian is as metal as ever.

It was quite fun to help the band find their lost instruments and then watch them perform. That’s the kind of quirkiness that accompanies the main setting, and is a reason for Sacred 2 could be fun. It never gets old to hear your character break the fourth wall if you leave your controller idle for too long, commenting on the lack of urgency on your part in progressing the adventure.

All of that wit and charm has been wisely left as is, and diving in and out of the world is blazingly fast thanks to the PS5. So is wandering through it when your character’s feet work as they should. But for a remaster, this one could certainly use some more polish. There’s only so much even the most talented studios can do to revamp a game that’s about 17 years old at this point short of a complete remake.

Nevertheless, Sacred 2 brought too little to the table to excite me as I played through the adventure aside from fond memories of a time where I expected way less from my games. It’s a blast from the past that begins to feel like it overstays its welcome way too quickly for me to recommend it.

If you’re a fan of the franchise or the original release, this one’s definitely for you. But for a newcomer, I’d definitely tell you to wait for a sale. It does only what is expected of a remaster but does bring the original game’s biggest strengths to the table. However, those aren’t enough to make Sacred 2 Remaster earn a place among the best remasters out there today.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.