5 Critically-Panned Sci-Fi Video Games That Are Actually Worth Your Time

With so many video games set within the science fiction genre, it's a simple law of averages that some aren't going to be at the quality level of "Halo" or "StarCraft." For every great game that comes out, there are plenty of others that fail to connect with critics in the same favorable way, regardless of genre. For whatever reason, some games just don't have the same wow factor as their more successful counterparts, as articulated by critics reviewing a given game. That leads to mixed to outright negative reviews that often doom a game to relative obscurity as more positively received games get the spotlight.

But just because a game fails to impress the professional critics doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try for yourself.

There is no shortage of sci-fi games that got a lukewarm reception upon their initial launch that are worth checking out. Whether it's games that were significantly improved by post-release support or games that didn't live up to lofty expectations, there are titles that deserve a second look. With that in mind, here are five critically-panned sci-fi video games that are actually worth your time — trust us.

2006's "Lost Planet: Extreme Condition" was one of Capcom's best original properties in years, combining third-person action with strong survivalist mechanics. The fledgling franchise quickly flamed out by its third entry, 2013's "Lost Planet 3," the only title not developed internally by Capcom, though it remained the game's publisher. A prequel to the original, "Lost Planet 3" has players control Jim Peyton as he travels to a mining planet on the harsh, icy planet of E.D.N. III. As Jim battles monsters native the planet, he learns about a prior lost colony and its struggle to survive.

"Lost Planet 3" shifting to a more story-driven experience, rather than the franchise's emphasis on sci-fi survival action, divided fans and critics alike. Separated from the "Lost Planet" franchise association, the game is a solid sci-fi tale with repetitive missions and shallow level design. After performing below expectations, any plans for a sequel were quietly cancelled and the "Lost Planet" franchise has been largely dormant ever since. While certainly a departure from its two preceding games, "Lost Planet 3" isn't an irredeemable follow-up and is worth revisiting.

The "Mass Effect" trilogy is one of the greatest sets of sci-fi video games ever made, with Bioware combining third-person action with RPG elements and an engrossing story. After the apparent end of Commander Shepard's story, developer Bioware introduced a new protagonist in Ryder for the standalone follow-up "Mass Effect: Andromeda." As a contingency plan to avoid total annihilation, the Milky Way Galaxy's major races send thousands of colonists on sleeper ships to settle the Andromeda Galaxy. Players control Ryder, the initiative's Pathfinder, to find worlds capable of supporting viable colonies, encountering new allies and enemies along the way.

Though "Mass Effect: Andromeda" was initially well-received by select critics, it didn't make a great first impression as the wider critic and player base began playing it. At launch, the game possessed several distracting bugs and glitches that distracted from the overall experience. In the months after its launch, Bioware fixed much of what went wrong with "Mass Effect: Andromeda" but many of the franchise's fans had moved on. As the future of "Mass Effect" remains uncertain, "Andromeda" is a great extension of the sci-fi franchise with its own unique place in the narrative.

The "Terminator" franchise is full of hits and misses when it comes to both its movies and video game adaptations. One of the most criminally underrated, at least compared to its aggregate critics' score, is 2019's "Terminator: Resistance." Developed by Polish studio Teyon, the player controls Jacob Rivers, a soldier in the human resistance led by John Connor against sentient machines. Jacob fights alongside Connor and Kyle Reese across a post-apocalyptic North America to prevent the machines from eradicating humanity and using time travel to alter history.

Drawing from the lore of the first two "Terminator" movies specifically, "Resistance" chronicles the lead-up to Reese traveling back in time to protect Sarah Connor and also father her son. Contemporary critics were unimpressed by the game, feeling it to be uninspired and generic in its overall experience. But the game was a hit with fans, leading it to receive a DLC continuation and modern console enhanced remaster. For its part, Teyon went on to effectively reinvigorate another beloved '80s sci-fi movie franchise by developing the acclaimed "RoboCop: Rogue City" in 2023.

The 2022 survival horror game "The Callisto Protocol" pulled out all the stops during its production, including hiring Hollywood actors to play its main characters. The game centers on Jacob Lee (Josh Duhamel), who is incarcerated in a maximum-security prison after crashing his starship on Callisto, one of Jupiter's moons. Jacob discovers that a nightmarish contagion has overwhelmed the prison, turning those infected into mutated biophages. Jacob and terrorist leader Dani Nakamura (Karen Fukuhara) search for a way to escape, uncovering the dark truth about the prison in the process.

Even with "Dead Space" creator Glen Schofield directing the project, many critics and gamers felt "The Callisto Protocol" failed to capture the magic of Schofield's sci-fi horror masterpiece. A big part of that unfavorable comparison came from a buggy launch for the game and a lackluster combat system. In the months after its launch, the developers fixed the game with a series of patches, but the game's dubious reputation had been set. That said, after all these fixes, "The Callisto Protocol" provides a much better gameplay experience closer to Schofield's vision.

As filmmaker James Cameron's "Avatar" franchise was revitalized with "Avatar: The Way of Water" in 2022, a video game was produced to capitalize on the renewed interest. 2023's "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" lets players explore the lush sci-fi world from the movies as a Na'vi known as the Sarentu. The Sarentu works with his friends, including human resistance fighters against invading corporate forces from Earth, to defend the environment. This involves the player exploring Pandora and its three distinct regions in an open-world adventure.

While many critics observed that the gameplay and presentation itself was serviceable, none of them were particularly wowed by "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora" overall. The environment was beautifully rendered and offered a strong, immersive quality, but the story and combat weren't regarded as all that thrilling. This tepid reception led the game to be discounted immediately, even as a big licensed Hollywood property. That said, for gamers that are even casual fans of "Avatar," "Frontiers of Pandora" offers an interesting exploration of the blockbuster sci-fi franchise.