2026 may have only just begun, but the worst game of the year, and perhaps even the decade, seems to have already been released. By all accounts, this year should end up being an incredibly strong one for new video games once all is said and done. Currently, 2026 is shaping up to see titles like Resident Evil Requiem, Fable, Marvel’s Wolverine, and Grand Theft Auto VI all launch after years of anticipation. Despite this, a generational stinker has already come about and is already breaking records.
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Released to kick off the year, TeamKill Media’s Code Violet has dropped exclusively on PlayStation 5 platforms. The game, which generated some excitement upon its announcement last year, was meant to be a spiritual successor of sorts to Capcom’s Dino Crisis series. As a horror-action title, Code Violet puts players into the shoes of the titular Violet as she looks to navigate a mysterious compound filled with “ferocious prehistoric dinosaurs and hostile forces.” On paper, Code Violet sounds like it could be a winner, but the game’s execution on this premise has been quite poor, to say the least.
On Metacritic, Code Violet boasts an abhorrent 27/100 aggregate score based on 14 reviews. This score is incredibly low, even for games that are deemed bad. And to make things worse, those who have played Code Violet seem to be agreeing with critics down the line. User reviews on Metacritic have the game coming in at an average of 2.5/10, while those on the PlayStation Store have rated it at a 2.92/5. No matter how you look at it, Code Violet has truly bombed critically.
Code Violet Is a Historically Awful Game
To put into context just how bad these reviews are for Code Violet, it would have easily been the worst-rated game in 2025. Even when compared to last year’s biggest critical failure, which was widely agreed upon to be MindsEye, Code Violet comes in far below its Metascore of 37/100.
In fact, Code Violet isn’t just going to surely be one of the lowest-rated games of 2026; it’s already one of the lowest over the past decade. Code Violet has reached an aggregate review score that’s below that of other infamously bad games like The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Postal 4, Past Cure, and The Quiet Man. The only game that has received worse reviews over the past 10 years is that of 2017’s Road Rage, which barely has a lower aggregate score on Metacritic of 26/100. Obviously, Metacritic scores aren’t a perfect science, but in this case, it helps put into context just how negative the reaction to Code Violet has been since its release.
Beyond 2026, Code Violet stands a very good chance of being dubbed the worst game of this console generation. Unless something else comes about in the months or years ahead, this could represent a new low point for games on PS5 or any other platforms, for that matter. Hopefully, we don’t have to see anything else come about of such a poor quality any time soon.
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