5 Worst PlayStation 5 Games, According to Metacritic

The PlayStation 5 isn't exactly known for hosting bad games. That isn't to say that its entire library is fleshed out with near-perfect titles with Metacritic scores of 90 or above, though. Truth is, there's an abundance of fairly average games out there, with scores that typically sit with a mixed to mediocre score of 50 of below. Of course, this isn't unusual, given the fact that hundreds of games release on a yearly basis.

At the time of writing, there are 503 PlayStation 5 games available on the PlayStation Store. If you include the PS3 and PS4 titles that have been made backwards compatible, then you're looking at a library of thousands. With that, you should probably steer clear of a select few. Specifically, these five PS5 games that have pretty appalling Metacritic scores of 55 or below.

5. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition — 54

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — Definitive Edition should have been the collection to end all collections, what with its universally acclaimed trio of classics fleshing out its code. But alas, it was far from what fans had come to expect of the series, and was, in fact, a pretty shocking representation of an otherwise phenomenal saga. Thanks to Grove Street Games practically butchering not only Grand Theft Auto III, but Vice City and San Andreas, OG fans were left with a trio of appallingly bad remasters and nothing more.

So, what went wrong with the Definitive Edition, and what was it that contributed towards the embarrassingly low Metacritic score of 54? Well, truth be told, Grove Street Games, the developer responsible for the mobile ports of the trilogy, is to blame. Instead of letting Rockstar full throttle the project and give fans what they should've had, its subsidiary, which did very little to change the ports for next-gen consoles, is what went on to ring the death knell for the once-loved series. Take a look at its inexcusably bad rain effects and you'll see what we're talking about.

4. In Nightmare — 53

In Nightmare launched with a casket of great ideas and a quaint little art style to boot. What it lacked, however, was the power to captivate its player base long enough to see its narrative through to its grand conclusion. The factors that contributed towards its ultimate downfall weren't the visuals or the innovations, though, but the trial and error gameplay and tediously unskippable puzzle segments.

On the surface, it's easy to picture In Nightmare as this quirky stealth game with elements torn straight from the likes of Among the Sleep and Little Nightmares' award-winning pages. In reality, though, it's a cheap lookalike with a number of drab qualities and frustratingly repetitive level designs. With that, it's clear to see why Metacritic has thrown it an average score of just 53 on PlayStation 5. It isn't the worst horror game in the world, but it is scary how bad the final product is.

3. Balan Wonderworld — 51

Balan Wonderworld has this — I don't know — aura about it. Deep down, you want it to entice you, and you want to follow it down the rabbit hole into the Wonderworld it speaks so highly of, but, in reality, you know full well that there's nothing but disappointment waiting for you on the other side. That's Balan Wonderworld: uninteresting, misleading, and oh so forgettable.

Of course, there are moments that allow Balan Wonderworld to redeem itself of its painfully lacklustre levels, but they're so rare that it hardly makes the payoff with waiting for. Although not the worst game in the world, it's definitely hitting a new low for 3D platformers — and that's saying something, given how many games stock its library on a daily basis. A score of 51, though, isn't really anything to brag about.

2. Babylon's Fall — 41

It's a crying shame, knowing that the creators of some of the best action games of the last decade are, in fact, in receipt of one of the worst PlayStation 5 games of all time. And yes, we're referring to Babylon's Fall, PlatinumGames' failed action role-playing game that launched to an abysmal score of just 41 over on Metacritic.

Babylon's Fall had the potential to be a lot more than what its paper debut originally prescribed. Alas, its boring combat and lack of challenge made it instantly forgettable, as well as one of the most insulting live-service games to ever release on the system. And to think, this is the same studio that developed both Bayonetta and NieR: Automata.

1. eFootball 2022 — 34

After reaping the rewards of its former football series, PES, Konami eventually looked to open a new door, using its newfound title of eFootball to pave the way for a new generation of next-level sporting video games. The end product, however, was a far cry from what its developers had originally planned, with the first edition of the game rolling out to nothing but failure and disappointment.

Besides its unresponsive controls and questionably bad animations, eFootball 2022 also suffered from a certain lack of vigor, something that PES had, tenfold. Unfortunately, this poor excuse for a soccer game eventually led to a volley of review bombs, many of which slated the game for being the worst thing to happen to the sport in years. With that, a Metacritic score of just 34 seems fair, as sad as it is to see.

So, what's your take? Do you agree with our top five? Are there any PS5 games that we should avoid? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.