14 Worst Video Games Of 2016

2016: A year where Pong had more core functionality than Street Fighter V.

Deus ex mankind divided
Eidos

It's only expected that amongst one of the best years for gaming this decade, any stinkers were going to float to the top more than ever. After all, the shinier the surface, the more obvious the blemish.

That said, as we're all looking forward to closing the book on this godawful year, it pays to take a look back at which games not only missed the mark, but that serve as a template on What Not To Do.

From broken promises and outright lies to developers removing functionality and crippling their products post-launch, 2016 might have been this generation's strongest so far, but that only makes the following misfires all the more obvious.

Starting with...

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14. No Man's Sky

no mans sky creatures
Hello Games/GamesBeat

As confusing as it is, I've included No Man's Sky over on the 'Best of 2016' list too, simply because from exploration to survival, the scope and scale of the world and its incredible art design, Hello Games got a lot of things right.

... now, that is.

Back at launch and for over three months, this space-faring planet-hopper was a complete mess. Dogged by unfulfilled promises and features discussed at length on forums as public as late night talk shows, consumers wasted no time tearing the game asunder for not delivering - which is more than understandable.

Finally - again, it took three solid months of additional work - No Man's Sky at least has some structure, but that doesn't get away from the fact that there's a spectacular lack of purpose to be found, other than exploring for exploration's sake. And as an objective criticism in the face of everything the game should have been, that creates quite the polarising end product.

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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.