Low Rated PS5 Games to Avoid

Between big-budget AAA releases pushing the envelope for what’s possible in interactive media and inventive, innovative indie games, it seems like there are simply too many good games to play these days. But that’s not to say that there aren’t some titles that are better left, skipped; far from it, in fact. This year alone has seen two titles that looked promising arrive to what can only be described as abysmal critical reception, with Build A Rocket Boy’s debut title, MindsEye, now taking the crown for being the worst-reviewed game on PS5. The following low-rated games are ones that players should avoid at all costs for the time being, waiting until they’ve received major patches and updates or a deep discount before picking them up, even if it’s just as a morbid curiosity.

• Release Date — June 17, 2025
• Developer — Remedy Entertainment
• Publisher — Remedy Entertainment
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 64% (Mixed or Average)

This one almost hurts to admit, given how incredible the rest of Remedy Entertainment’s catalog is, but FBC Firebreak is a game that players probably don’t want to pick up, yet. While the idea of a co-op first-person shooter set in the Control universe is a great idea and FBC Firebreak has some compelling gameplay, it’s currently short on content in a way that doesn’t bode well for its future player base. Remedy may have been better off releasing this one into Early Access on PC first before doing a simultaneous multi-platform launch as a $40 game. Try it on PS Plus before you commit to it, because you might be able to see all it has to offer in an afternoon.

• Release Date — January 23, 2025
• Developer — LucasArts
• Publisher — Aspyr
• Genre — Action, Hack and Slash
• Review Aggregate Score — 56% (Mixed or Average)

At the time of its original release, Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles was able to earn a bit of a cult following and positive reception as one of the better games based on the first Star Wars prequel film (which, admittedly, was a very low bar to clear). The game’s remaster arrived earlier this year with regular Star Wars game remaster studio Aspyr at the helm, and its console versions aren’t anywhere near as stable as its PC release. This is one relic of Star Wars‘ past that was probably better left there.

• Release Date — May 6, 2025
• Developer — SeaWolf Studio, General Arcade
• Publisher — SNEG
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Hack and Slash
• Review Aggregate Score — 49% (Generally Unfavorable)

The Captain Blood property is one with surprisingly deep roots across plenty of different media, and this year’s video game adaptation had been in a sort of development purgatory for years before SeaWolf Studio took over. Unfortunately, its origins as a 6th-gen hack-and-slash game are all too apparent in its lackluster presentation and thin gameplay, which wears out its welcome way too quickly, even for a budget title. The PC version seems to have fared better than the console release, which apparently leaves a lot to be desired in both its visuals and performance.

• Release Date — October 18, 2023
• Developer — Upstream Arcade
• Publisher — Good Shepherd Entertainment, Big Fan Games
• Genre — Action Roguelike
• Review Aggregate Score — 47% (Generally Unfavorable)

Another low-rated PlayStation game that fared slightly better on PC is the beat ’em up roguelike based on Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd. The game itself is fairly boilerplate as far as action roguelikes go, and it features some strong visuals and art direction that are pulled directly from the pages of the comics. Unfortunately, that’s about where the praise for Web of Wyrd starts and stops, as its performance on consoles is abysmal in comparison to the PC version. Somehow, the PS5 release of Web of Wyrd is almost as choppy and broken as the one for the far less-powerful Nintendo Switch.

• Release Date — September 2, 2022
• Developer — Red Games Co.
• Publisher — Lego Games
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 46% (Generally Unfavorable)

The positive PC reception for LEGO Brawls did not transfer to its console ports, which are almost universally lambasted as cheap, low-effort releases of what’s otherwise a good game. The PS5 version is perhaps the worst offender, charging a much higher price for a relatively thin gameplay premise that clearly originated as a mobile game. Mechanically, LEGO Brawls takes some clear inspiration from Super Smash Bros., but it fails at that imitation by nearly every metric, failing to offer enough content or entertainment to justify its place in your PS5 library.

• Release Date — February 2, 2024
• Developer — Byking, Gemdrops
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Genre — Fighting
• Review Aggregate Score — 44% (Generally Unfavorable)

Bandai Namco has quite a few excellent games under its belt based on popular anime, and Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash is not one of them. Compared to similar anime fighting games like Dragon Ball Z: Sparking Zero, Cursed Clash is almost an affront to both fans of the show and fighting game aficionados, delivering an incredibly thin and shallow fighting game experience with broken controls and a litany of bugs. Even if you’re a die-hard fan of the show, steer clear of this one at all costs.

• Release Date — March 28, 2023
• Developer — Ingame Studios
• Publisher — 505 Games
• Genre — FPS
• Review Aggregate Score — 43% (Generally Unfavorable)

Even a star-studded cast couldn’t save Crime Boss: Rockay City from the middling grounds of mediocrity. It’s a shame, too, because there are some good ideas at play in Crime Boss‘ concept that mostly fall flat from their poor execution. Once again, the PC version of Crime Boss: Rockay City is at least serviceable and could even be justified as a fair pick-up on a heavy discount, but the same can’t be said about the PS5 version. There are far better FPS games that you can pick up for far less, making Crime Boss: Rockay City a moot point.

• Release Date — November 3, 2023
• Developer — TeamKill Media
• Publisher — TeamKill Media
• Genre — Action, Horror
• Review Aggregate Score — 40% (Generally Unfavorable)

Speaking of bad FPS games, Quantum Error is another title with a cool premise that fell completely flat on arrival. This blend of survival horror and first-person shooter seemed to promise a more action-oriented take on the genre, complete with a surprising pivot into cosmic horror instead of the usual zombie apocalypse scenario. Unfortunately, Quantum Error‘s controls, performance, and gameplay do little to support what’s initially an interesting setup, resulting in yet another title that’s arguably not worth the disc it’s written on.

• Release Date — November 16, 2023
• Developer — Microids
• Publisher — Microids
• Genre — Action-Adventure
• Review Aggregate Score — 36% (Generally Unfavorable)

The original Flashback is widely regarded as one of the better action-adventure and platforming games of the early 1990s. So when its sequel was announced, fans who have fond memories of that classic were hoping that Flashback 2 would deliver a similar compelling sci-fi plot and some strong platforming-based adventure gameplay with puzzle elements. Of course, Flashback 2‘s place on this list means it missed the mark on both accounts, failing to justify its existence with a good narrative or enjoyable gameplay, and making most fans of the original wish the property hadn’t stained its legacy.

• Release Date — September 30, 2021
• Developer — Konami
• Publisher — Konami
• Genre — Sports
• Review Aggregate Score — 34% (Generally Unfavorable)

Konami’s PES series used to be one of the greatest soccer games available, but the company’s pivot back into the genre with eFootball 2022 was several kicks short of a goal. At the time of its release, eFootball 2022 had the unfortunate distinction of being the all-time lowest-rated game on Steam, and its console versions didn’t fare much better. To make matters worse, Konami would actually put some effort into improving the PC version of eFootball while ignoring the console releases, meaning the PS5 version of the game is still incredibly broken.

• Release Date — May 25, 2023
• Developer — Daedalic Entertainment
• Publisher — Daedalic Entertainment, Nacon
• Genre — Action-Adventure, Stealth
• Review Aggregate Score — 33% (Generally Unfavorable)

The saga of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was one of the most interesting news stories to follow in 2023, watching a game based on one of the most beloved and commercially successful IP of all time crash and burn in spectacular fashion. It’s a wonder that Gollum got made and was even released, as it’s clear from playing it that it’s essentially a broken and unfinished game that packs one half-baked idea after another into a mercifully short playtime. Licensed games were on a strong track record there for a minute, and titles like Gollum (and later, Rise of Kong) destroyed a lot of goodwill for the format.

• Release Date — June 10, 2025
• Developer — Build A Rocket Boy
• Publisher — IO Interactive
• Genre — Action, Open-World
• Review Aggregate Score — 28% (Generally Unfavorable)

Talk about a fall from grace; Leslie Benzies went from being one of the main designers and minds behind the incredibly successful Grand Theft Auto franchise to forming his own studio and releasing the worst-reviewed game of 2025. MindsEye is a boring and trite open-world game with cookie-cutter missions and a lifeless open world, and that’s when it’s actually working. MindsEye is littered with visual, audio, and performance bugs, tends to crash frequently, and completely fumbles the ball on what could have been an interesting sci-fi story about the dangers of technology and the military-industrial complex.