Visually Stunning Video Games That Are Simply Garbage

Released on May 29, 2018, Agony enjoyed a truly gruesome and unique look that unfortunately didn't translate to the gameplay. A poor story, atrocious voice acting, an inconsistent save system, and truly grinding gameplay suck nearly all the enjoyment from the game. IGN's review of Agony says it best: For every moment of jaw-droppingly detailed environments overflowing with gore and blood, there are moments of acute frustration due to poor level design, repetitive gameplay, and downright aggravating mechanics. It was almost as if Agony was trying so hard to be a “video game” that it lost sight of what made its trailers so grotesquely appealing to horror-loving gamers around the world.

Racing games have a long history of gorgeous graphics, and Need for Speed: The Run lives up to that legacy. Racing games are also usually fun, which is where Need for Speed: The Run falls short. The tracks and gameplay were railed by critics for being overly linear, and a progression system that keeps players from online play did little more to endear them. Considering how racing games are usually best enjoyed with people to race with, that's a pretty big oversight. But hey, at least the cars are pretty.

No Man's Sky may go down as one of the most divisive games in history. Its very existence was so offensive to certain players that they began bombing its Metacritic score in an attempt to destroy its marketability. That's unfortunate, because it's actually a really pretty game, when the player is lucky enough to find a pre-modeled world. The game famously relies on procedural generation to create its environments and creatures. The issue is when design aspects are literally cobbled together randomly, there are bound to be some duds. In No Man's Sky's case, there are a lot of duds.

On release, The Order: 1886 was lauded as a beautiful, atmospheric game. That didn't stop it from being critiqued for being boring to play. IGN suggested it was pressure to create a game that felt mainstream that harmed the beautiful narrative of The Order: 1886. It's nearly a requirement to fit RPG or FPS mechanics into major titles, which is a shame. Walking simulators, like Tacoma and Firewatch, have found success in the indie market, and it's hard not to wonder why AAA studios are so hesitant to embrace the genre.

The Deer God is an indie title boasting some amazing pixel art. Critics described it as moody and complex, but ultimately lacked the polish needed to be a fun experience. The gameplay, which revolves around a good/evil morality slider, confused players by arbitrarily placing value judgments on killing and eating certain animals. The platforming mechanics in the game are also pretty punishing. It's not uncommon for players to watch their character starve to death in a pit for lacking pinpoint precision on their jumps.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is part of one of the most beautiful franchises known to gaming. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy XIII introduced a protagonist lacking the humanistic qualities that make a character relatable and - according to critics - Lightning Returns does nothing to improve that character. The game revolves around boring fetch quests and monster-hunting missions that do little to draw personality out of the main character. It's too bad, because the game's visuals are breathtaking.

Mass Effect: Andromeda was on rocky ground from the start. A follow-up to a massively successful franchise, Andromeda released with comical animations and game-breaking glitches. It also had some amazingly beautiful level design and—when the ridiculous faces the main character constantly makes weren't ruining them—incredibly cinematic cutscenes. Unfortunately, even after the glitches were patched and the animations improved, critics still found Andromeda to lack the luster and drama of the original Mass Effect trilogy thanks to tedious quests and a sparse and boring world.

Assassin's Creed Unity is one beautiful mess. The quests were criticized for being dull and lacking innovation. In fact, the whole game was criticized for being nearly identical to previous installments. The main distinction is needing to unlock classic abilities like blending in with a crowd rather than just knowing it. All in all, Assassin's Creed Unity would probably be better served as a playable painting than an actual game.

Mirror's Edge is one of those games that's better in concept than execution. The sequel is no different. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst was built around an amazingly well-executed parkour mechanic, but its plot, world building, and character development were left by the wayside. This is unfortunate, because Mirror's Edge: Catalyst has an incredibly striking aesthetic. All it needed was some tight characterization to draw players into the world.

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a game that, for better or for worse, tried something different. Its striking, highly stylized graphics are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, the gameplay doesn't follow suit. A stylish brawler akin to Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, El Shaddai lacks the mechanical complexity of the more successful titles in the genre. Critics called it a boring button-masher. No matter how pretty a game looks, it still has to be fun to play.

Ryse: Son of Rome is a hack-and-slash adventure with incredible animations. Blood pours from enemies with realistic liquid physics. That's about all it does, though, as the player is forced to slog through fight after fight with little variation. The game was compared to the Batman: Arkham games, without any of the exploration and puzzle mechanics that make those games fun. Ryse: Son of Rome is a perfect example of why games need more than pretty graphics and oiled-up murder boys.

Resident Evil 6 pushed graphical boundaries to create a deeply atmospheric game. Unfortunately, it never decided what that atmosphere should be. The game is part survival horror, part third-person shooter, and all a confusing mess. Resident Evil 6's storyline is all over the place. It follows seven characters across four entirely unrelated arcs and somehow never manages to commit to any of them. At least it has some nice textures and splatter physics to make up for it.

David Cage took motion capture to a whole new level with Beyond: Two Souls. The game's realistic acting and beautiful graphics created a playable film. Games shouldn't just feel like an interactive movie though, which might be why critics called the game an unrewarding experience. Beyond: Two Souls travels back and forth through the main character's life, giving the game a frenzied and confusing feel. Ellen Page's acting earned back some points, as did the motion capture technology, but if a game isn't fun to play, it won't go far.