10 Worst Video Games Of 2024 (So Far)
Paying real money for in-game stamina is a new low.
2024 may not be halfway over yet, but there are already a few candidates for Game of the Year. Tekken 8 knocked it out of the park. Despite having a lot of hype to live up to, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth received universal acclaim. WWE 2K24 was such a triumph, it redeemed the disastrously broken WWE 2K20 (Well, almost. It was pretty godawful.)
But where there are winners, there must also be losers. And sadly, this year has seen some real failures.
Despite spending a decade in development, Skull & Bones was an unmitigated disaster. Even though skepticism was at an all-time high for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, nobody anticipated Rocksteady would bungle the IP as badly as they did. And as hard as it is to believe, there was another game this year worse than those two duds.
Though nobody expects video games to be perfect, there's no excuse when an IP has minimal content, game-breaking bugs, or a pay-to-play format.
The entries on this list aren't just bad - they're shameless, insulting, and borderline unplayable. As a result, it's best to avoid these flops at all costs.
10. Silent Hill: The Short Message
With the long-awaited Silent Hill 2 remake still in development, the fanbase will have to make do with the latest spin-off, The Short Message.
Though Konami's paranormal series is known for focusing on atmosphere and subtle scares, The Short Message throws all that out the window. With its ham-fisted plot, unsubtle twists, predictable ending, and gratuitous violence, this instalment feels like Silent Hill in name only.
Although the franchise often tackles heavy issues in a thought-provoking manner, the way The Short Message explores mental illness and suicide comes across as tasteless and cheap.
Furthermore, the gameplay is unbearably shallow. Most of the campaign involves meandering around mindlessly or taking part in infuriating chases. Rather than relying on strategy or skill, the chase sections rely on guessing the correct route. Even if the path is memorised, these sequences are aggravating, due to the lack of light and frantic movements of the pursuer.
Although Book of Memories put up one hell of a fight to earn the mantle of Worst Silent Hill Game, The Short Message might have it beat.
On the plus side, at least this debacle is free.