The 10 Most Disappointing Games of 2016

The year 2016 delivered some spectacular video games, but it wasn't without its share of stinkers. Long-hyped releases such as No Man's Sky and Street Fighter V fell flat on their faces at launch, and Kickstarter catastrophe Mighty No. 9 turned out just as badly as we expected. There were also plenty of otherwise solid titles that suffered from game-breaking bugs, missing content or simply an inability to live up to the great games that preceded them. Here are our most disappointing games of 2016.

Street Fighter V (PS4, PC)

While I'm still playing the mechanically great Street Fighter V to this day, there's no denying that its launch was abysmal. The much-anticipated fighter offered virtually nothing fun for offline players to do, with a joke of a story mode and no traditional arcade mode or halfway decent tutorial in sight. Street Fighter V has improved vastly since release, thanks to a free cinematic story add-on and a steady flow of interesting characters, but it's hard to forget the foul taste of its botched release. — Mike Andronico

Battleborn (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

In theory, Battleborn is my perfect game. It has team-based multiplayer combat with MOBA-style gameplay, a huge roster of characters and a ton of style. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get into it. I thought that the characters' constant quipping was grating, the single-player content fell flat and matches were never as exciting as they looked. But what might have been the real dagger in the heart for Battleborn is how lonely the game felt. In matchmade games, it often felt like people were simultaneously playing a single-player game instead of joining in a true team-oriented battle, and since no one I know picked up Battleborn, I didn't have any friends to play with, either. — Sam Rutherford

Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Fans of Mirror’s Edge waited nine years for a sequel, but Mirror’s Edge Catalyst was nothing but ordinary. While the game’s controls are solid, and there’s an open world to explore, the side missions weren’t compelling. If you just want to do parkour, the game is solid, but it fell into most of the traps its predecessor did, with bumpy combat and a forgettable plot. — Andrew E. Freedman

Ratchet and Clank (PS4)

My childhood has been ruthlessly pillaged into unmitigated schlock. Which is why I wasn't looking forward to the Rachet & Clank reboot. Don't get me wrong, the game that first put Insomniac Games on the map is even more beautiful in 1920 x 1080, and the gameplay is just as fun as I remember. But thanks to some story retconning to make the game more closely resemble the movie about the original game, this reboot lacks the subversive humor that made the original so great in the first place. — Sherri L. Smith

No Man's Sky (PS4, PC)

Players didn’t know exactly what No Man’s Sky would be, but they knew what it looked like: a boundless space sim, where players could explore the universe to their heart’s content, finding something new and exciting on each new world. The final product is kind of like that, but it’s also a fairly tedious resource-collection game with too much grind and not enough variety between planets. — Marshall Honorof

ReCore (Xbox One, PC)

I was so excited about this game when it was first announced. I mean, how could a partnership between Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and former members of the Metroid Prime team go wrong? ReCore delivers fun robot-filled, color matching gameplay that combines a third-person shooter with an old-school platformer. However, long load times, unforgiving platforming and spotty spawn points diminish an otherwise solid game. — Sherri L. Smith

Slashy Souls (iOS, Android)

No one expected Slashy Souls, a free-to-play mobile tie-in game for Dark Souls III, to break new ground in storytelling or gameplay. But players did expect it to be fun, and in that, they were sorely disappointed. This side-scrolling endless runner gets almost nothing right — the story and world building are nonexistent, the gameplay is imprecise and there’s no end goal beyond leaderboards. At least the graphics and music were OK. — Marshall Honorof

WWE 2K17 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

Wrestling fans have long settled for clumsy, subpar games, but WWE 2K17 offended me so much that it took me no time at all to rattle off its 17 biggest botches without trying. The game was outdated the second it hit shelves, because it didn't acknowledge the big brand split that divided superstars between shows and shook up the authority figures. It gets worse, though: The new promo engine is hard to use, thanks to vaguely written instructions. By the time your favorite wrestlers load — and, by the way, look terrible (the ever-happy Bayley wears a terrified look; Dana Brooke has the eyes of a White Walker) — you'll be ready to hit your console with a steel chair. — Henry T. Casey

The Division (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The worst thing I can say about The Division is that I forgot it even came out this year. While I was initially floored by the game's stunning recreation of New York City and fun third-person shooting, the game eventually devolved into a repetitive grind for gear with a not-very-compelling story. It doesn't help that the game was plagued by hackers and cheaters when it first launched. Ubisoft continues to bolster The Division with new patches and content, but it's hard not to feel like most players have already moved on. — Mike Andronico

Mighty No. 9 (PS3/4, Xbox One/360, Wii U, PC)

Following multiple delays and almost $4 million in Kickstarter funding, hopes were high for Mighty No. 9. Instead of fans getting the Mega Man replacement they dreamed of, they got a game that looked like a mess, horrible voice acting and poor level design. The game’s combo system had its moments, but the whole thing ultimately felt unfinished, and fans and backers alike were very disappointed. — Andrew E. Freedman