The 15 Most DISAPPOINTING PS5 Games

The 15 Most Disappointing PS5 Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are reminding ourselves of exactly why this generation has felt a little bit “meh.” These are the 15 Most Disappointing PS5 Games. Let’s get this over with.

“Forspoken” (2023)

I’m not putting this first because it doesn’t deserve to be higher, I’m just tired of talking about “Forspoken.” It's that disappointing. It encapsulates this list. I’ve heard the same split verdict from players who powered through, some insisting it blossoms into a genuinely engaging RPG once it finally stops holding your hand, others swearing it stays a slow, grey treadmill from start to credits, and honestly both camps have a case. If you tapped out around the 5–6 hour mark, you basically sampled the stretch most critics agree is the roughest, and that early slog is exactly why the game’s reputation got kneecapped at launch, because first impressions matter and “wait twenty hours for fun” is not exactly a killer sales pitch. If only Square Enix had another game to learn from, one that also didn’t get fun till after 20 hours and essentially killed the game, if only *cough* FINAL FANTASY XIII *cough*.

“God of War Sons of Sparta” (2026)

One of the biggest surprises from the recent PlayStation State of Play was the shadow-drop of God of War Sons of Sparta, a 2D Metroidvania spin-off from Santa Monica Studio and Mega Cat Studios. In theory, smaller experimental titles like this are a smart way to keep a major franchise relevant while mainline entries are in development. In practice, smaller experimental titles like this are a smart way to annoy your fanbase and make them even more disappointed that there isn’t a proper new entry. Despite TC Carson’s narration, Kratos feels out of character, and the simplistic art style reflects a broader problem: everything about the experience feels basic, and obviously: Disappointing. The gameplay lacks meaningful innovation, the story is underwhelming, and the design rarely embraces what makes Metroidvania titles compelling. Although the map is technically interconnected, areas feel disjointed, and backtracking is discouraged. Ability upgrades exist but rarely feel impactful, and exploration is often restricted rather than rewarded. The thing that makes it feel the most underwhelming is that you could replace Kratos with literally anyone, and nothing would change. So why is it a God of War title?

“Rise of the Rōnin” (2024)

“Rise of the Rōnin” split players right down the middle, mostly because it showed up looking like it time-traveled from a slightly older console generation and forgot to upgrade its graphics card. Frame dips popped in at awkward moments, textures sometimes looked like they were still buffering, and the visuals didn’t quite match its ambitious energy. Combat actually had real depth under the hood, but stiff controls could make it difficult to reach that depth. The narrative aimed for a mix of historical drama and player-driven choice, though the pacing occasionally wandered off for tea and forgot to come back. Critics pretty unanimously called it “uneven.” I call it “disappointing.” My girlfriend calls it “Ghost of Tsushima” because she thinks they’re the same game.

“Until Dawn” (2024)

The PS5 remake of “Until Dawn” landed in that awkward zone where nobody could quite figure out who it was for. The original still looked great, still played smoothly, and honestly didn’t feel old enough to need a glow-up, so expectations leaned toward a dramatic reinvention. Instead, what players got was more like the game showing up after a light spa day, skin refreshed, pores cleansed, but fundamentally the same person. So why on earth was this made? For the answer, you only have to look to HBO, and Naughty Dog, who enhanced both Last of Us titles to coincide with the show’s release. But, why would “Until Dawn” need to do - Oh they had a movie dropping the next year. Checks out. The remake wasn’t broken, wasn’t ugly, wasn’t unplayable, just… unnecessary.

“The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR” (2023)

Oh damn, Supermassive Games is back. Early players booted up “The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR” expecting a slick next-gen VR showcase and instead got muddy textures, flat lighting, and an overall look that screamed “VR will never take off.” In virtual reality, immersion is king, and it’s actually super easy to achieve, because you’re immersed by definition. But when the world looks like it’s rendered through a foggy windshield, that illusion shatters fast. The core rail-shooter gameplay was actually pretty fun, punchy, arcadey, great in quick sessions, but it didn’t have the variety to stay fresh for long stretches. The horror beats landed at first, jump scares popping like they should, yet repetition crept in once the novelty wore off. To the developers’ credit, patches later cleaned up the visuals and improved performance, but fans had already moved on, remembering this as a disappointing entry in this anthology that already goes up and down more than an elevator at a ‘fear of heights’ convention.

“Fort Solis” (2023)

“Fort Solis” (like our previous 2 entries) shoots for movie-night prestige but kind of forgets it’s supposed to be a video game along the way. You spend huge stretches strolling through hallways, poking audio logs, and watching conversations unfold while your controller wonders why it even showed up. To be fair, it looks great, performances are solid, lighting moody enough to make my high school bedroom jealous, but interactivity is about as much as an actual movie, which begs the question, why didn’t I just go to the movies for about $50 less? Players expecting puzzles, survival tension, or meaningful exploration instead get something closer to a slow-burn streaming episode you occasionally push along.

“Horizon Call of The Mountain” (2023)

“Horizon Call of the Mountain” is a showcase demo. I refuse to call it a game. So why on earth did I have to pay so much for it!? At first, it’s jaw-dropping. Towering machines loom, cliffs stretch into the clouds, your hands actually do things, and you think, okay, VR has arrived, this is where gaming is headed. Then the climbing keeps going, and going, and going, and even though you’re just sat on a couch lifting your arms, you think “I didn’t ask for this PT session.” Combat looks flashy, machines roar, arrows fly, but mechanically it stays pretty shallow, more spectacle than strategy. A lot of moments feel designed to say “look what the headset can do” instead of “look what YOU can do.” It might not have felt so utterly disappointing if it wasn’t pushed as the next big thing, a change in the genre, an industry defining experience. It did 5% of what “Half-Life: Alyx” did 3 years earlier.

“Quantum Error” (2023)

Technically, it was only a PS5 exclusive for less than a month, but that counts goddamnit, I wasn’t willing to do this list if I didn’t get a chance to rag on “Quantum Error”. It feels less like a finished PS5 exclusive and more like a cosmic horror game where the real scares are how bad it actually ended up being. Enemies just stand there like they’re waiting for a bus, politely allowing you to shoot them before collapsing with all the dramatic flair of chair tipping over. Checkpoints seem like they were placed by someone just completely randomly saying “now” from the next room, and the visuals look weirdly dated for a supposed showcase title. But worst of all, the cardinal sin of console gaming, the thing runs badly. This is WHY we get consoles instead of PCs, so we know that no matter what, the game will run smoothly. I don’t want to mess with my graphics settings, I wanna plug in and play, so if you can’t even handle that, get outta here you nice guy.

“Godfall” (2020)

“Godfall” strutted onto the scene looking like it was about to define the next console generation, and it couldn’t even define the very specific niche of games with the word “God” in them. The combat flashes and sparkles, sure, but it doesn’t do anything beyond repeating the same flashy routine on enemies who barely change their behavior. It’s all show, it’s all flash… Basically: Press square and watch nice things happen. Missions start blending together fast because environments recycle themselves constantly. Loot is supposed to be the big obsession driver, but new gear rarely changes how you fight, which makes upgrades feel like swapping stickers rather than evolving your build. Story? What story? It may as well not be there.

“Silent Hill: The Short Message” (2024)

“Silent Hill: The Short Message” being free definitely softens the blow, because if you paid full price you might be filing a missing-fun report. If you didn’t laugh at that joke, I hate you. It’s a short experience, only a couple of hours, and while it swings for emotional depth with heavy themes, it handles them with the subtlety of a “girl power” Marvel moment. Credit where it’s due though: the presentation is slick, the visuals are genuinely striking, and it makes clever use of the DualSense features, especially the microphone. But much like “Sons of Sparta”, you’re taking an established series, and giving us an entry that feels VERY “meh.” It’s kinda like “Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes,” thank you for a taste of what’s to come, but please just give us a full title. It feels like a DLC for something that hasn’t been released.

“Synapse” (2023)

“Synapse” is one of those games that feels like it almost reached greatness, then clocked out early because it had somewhere else to be. Its core hook, the telekinetic combat, is genuinely awesome, letting you fling enemies and objects around with stylish, brain-powered chaos. The problem isn’t what’s there, it’s how quickly it’s over. Just as you start thinking, “Okay, now this system’s about to get wild,” the credits roll like they heard you and panicked. Enemy variety is thin, the runtime is short, and that’s what stings most: players didn’t walk away mad because it was bad, they walked away wishing there was more of it. It’s impressive, polished, and creative, but SO disappointing. The world’s most delicious meal, but you only get a mouthful. AND YOU’RE STARVING.

“Destruction AllStars” (2021)

When “Destruction AllStars” launched, it at least had the advantage of being a PS Plus freebie, which softened the blow and let players treat it like a chaotic demolition derby party favor. Back then, the online matches were lively enough to justify its over-the-top car-smashing spectacle. Fast-forward to 2025, though, and that once-rowdy arena feels like a ghost town, but even the ghosts have moved to the next town over. The online modes, which were clearly meant to be the main attraction, are now practically deserted, leaving only offline content to mess with, which feels hollow by comparison. And sure, the core mechanics are still mildly entertaining for a short burst, but paying $39.99 today for an abandoned game? Nah, I’m good.

“Babylon’s Fall” (2022)

Execution and reviews managed to put the “Fall” and “Baby” into “Babylon’s Fall”. Landing around a 41 critic score and a brutally low user rating, it ended up sitting at the very bottom of the PS5 pile like a cautionary tale for developers thinking PS5 fans weren’t bursting out of their seats for a good exclusive. We were, and that made us blood thirsty. That’s especially wild considering it came from PlatinumGames and Square Enix, a combo that usually signals stylish combat and at least some level of polish. “Godfall” earned mid numbers, and a disappointing shrug. “Babylon’s Fall” earned genuine disbelief. What really stung was what it represented: another big publisher sprinting toward the live-service gold rush while wearing a pair of sandals. You can’t sprint in sandals, you’ll fall, you baby.

“Concord” (2024)

“Concord” didn’t merely flop, it belly flopped. Dropping into an arena already ruled by titans, it had too much confidence in itself. The hero roster looked oddly forgettable, the shooting felt serviceable but soulless, and the promised content roadmap inspired about as much excitement as a terms-of-service update. It wasn’t “Overwatch”, it was Underwatch. The question we had since the first trailer never really got an answer: why play this instead of the dozen established shooters already eating everyone’s free time? Players didn’t show up, sales stalled, and Sony pulled the plug not long after launch, a move so infamous it practically put “Concord” up as a cautionary tale for overzealous game devs. That kind of early shutdown is rare for a major first-party-backed release, which is why it instantly became industry folklore.

“Code Violet” (2026)

“Code Violet” has managed the rare achievement of becoming the lowest-rated PS5 exclusive, which is not exactly the trophy you frame on the wall. That said, it narrowly avoids being crowned the absolute worst game on the platform, and it can thank a small hall of shame for that mercy: “Flashback 2,” “eFootball,” “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum,” and the infamous “MindsEye.” Code Violet sounded like a slam dunk on paper: dinosaurs, sci-fi horror, and a PS5-exclusive built in Unreal Engine 5. Instead, it launched to a brutal critical mauling, placing it among the worst-reviewed games of 2026. Critics slammed nearly every aspect. IGN called it simply a “bad game” with “flat” characters, while others said the story was poorly written and the cast unlikeable. Technical problems didn’t help either, as patches had to be rushed out days after launch to fix bugs, combat issues, and softlocks. The game was just no good, there’s no nice way to put it. It should have been Dino Crisis 4, but it became Barny and the Extinction Event.