Single-player games are great at offering great gaming experiences that take a single gamer on an epic adventure. Sadly, over the decades, there have been numerous single-player games that are totally unplayable.
A game can be so awful that it’s unplayable for a number of reasons. Some were released in an unfinished state, while others featured specific technical requirements that hampered the gameplay entirely.
The iconic Steven Spielberg film E.T got a video game adaptation for the Atari 2600. Not only did the game fail to capture the magic of its source material, but it also was so critically reviled that it heavily contributed to the video game crash of 1983.
The gameplay was too simple to be exciting, and the graphics were terrible even by Atari 2600 standards. With tons of unsold copies buried in a landfill, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial is a terrible game with an even worse history.
The Zelda CD-i Games Completely Misused the Characters
All Zelda fans have differing opinions on which games are the best, but they can all agree that the Zelda CD-i games are the worst of them all. In fact, they’re so bad that Nintendo doesn’t consider them canon.
Not only is the gameplay incredibly bare bones, but the animated cutscenes are cringey with terrible voice acting. No matter how people feel about the main series’ weakest entries, Nintendo’s bar for quality is still much higher than the alternative.
Superman 64 Didn’t Fly with DC Fans
Based on the beloved animated series, Superman 64 should’ve been the first in a long line of fantastic games starring DC’s greatest hero. Instead, it was a poorly designed mess that serves as the biggest stain on the hero’s video game reputation.
The combat system barely works, Metropolis looks visually unappealing, and constantly flying through rings becomes extremely repetitive. Superman 64 is one of the worst Nintendo 64 games, and one of the worst games ever made.
MindsEye is the Latest Big Video Game Catastrophe
A more recent misfire, MindEye could’ve been the next great action game that combined the sci-fi elements of Cyberpunk 2077 with the action of Grand Theft Auto. But those ambitions were the game’s fatal mistake, and it ended up becoming the biggest blunder of 2025.
The world was boring to explore, the plot and characters were uninteresting, and numerous bugs made the game almost unplayable. MindsEye came and went with a whimper, and gamers quickly moved on to better titles.
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric Was a New Low
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric joins an unfortunately long list of Sonic games that tarnished the reputation of the beloved character. As part of the Sonic Boom spin-off series, this action platformer had so many things wrong with it.
The speed sections weren’t fast enough, the platforming and combat were boring, and there were too many technical issues to count. Alongside the 3DS game Shattered Crystal, Rise of Lyric was a new low.
Drake of the 99 Dragons Couldn’t Control Itself
Drake of the 99 Dragons had a unique art-style and an interesting premise about an undead assassin getting revenge on those who killed him. But all the stylish and colorful visuals couldn’t save the game from failing miserably.
That was mostly due to the broken controls and auto-aim that made combat, the main selling point of the game, feel completely awful. Drake of the 99 Dragons is proof that games need to iron out all the aspects of its design before release.
SimCity Shouldn’t Always Be Online
At the time of its release, SimCity was an unplayable mess that left fans of the franchise scratching their heads. The city-simulator originally launched with an always-online requirement, even for those looking to play by themselves.
This resulted in players being unable to log in and save their progress, and the franchise suffering as a result. An offline mode was added for single-player gameplay, but the damage was already done by that point, and there hasn’t been a new SimCity game in years as a result.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Wasn’t Precious
A Lord of the Rings game following one of the series’ most iconic characters could have been great. Gollum didn’t tarnish the reputation of the character or the beloved franchise, but it was still one of the worst games ever made.
The story and visuals did not match that of the source material, and the gameplay itself consisted of repetitive platforming and stealth sections. Add in very frequent technical issues, and Gollum’s quest to find the One Ring just isn’t worth it.
Ride to Hell: Retribution Fails at Everything
Ride to Hell: Retribution is one of the most infamously terrible single-player games ever created. Every single aspect of this action-adventure game about a biker seeking revenge for the death of his brother fails to hit the mark.
The poor story, awful voice acting, terrible AI, repetitive combat, and gross portrayal of women are just some of the many issues that Ride to Hell has. Those looking to give this game a try might have a laugh at how poorly constructed it is, but as an actual game, players can hardly do worse.
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing Literally Does Not Work
A lot of video games release unfinished, but none of them will ever come close to being as unpolished and unplayable as Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing. A racing game that was supposed to be about dodging the cops while racing in big trucks, the game instead consisted of driving around bland tracks with no real goal.
Because of how unfinished the game is, there are a massive number of technical issues to play around. There is no collision detection with walls or mountains, other racers don’t move, players can drive off the level entirely, and there is no real prize for “finishing” a race.