5 Most Disappointing PS5 Games (So Far)

With so many games coming out every year, publishers have to generate a lot of buzz to stand out from the crowd. This can lead to lofty expectations and mounting excitement around a high-profile title, especially as promotional campaigns ramp up ahead of release. But this push to hype up a given project can be a double-edged sword, particularly if the public doesn't feel that a game lives up to what its marketing promises. Those are the titles that we're taking a look at today, the PlayStation 5 games that didn't measure up to what we were hoping for.

To clarify, just because a game is disappointing doesn't mean it's terrible, though there is some overlap with our worst PS5 games list. Instead, these are games that had clear potential and excitement around them but failed to deliver on those expectations. Whether it's because of the creative talent involved or the return of popular franchises, these titles had a lot riding on them but couldn't quite make the grade.

These are the five most disappointing PS5 games so far, each failing to live up to their own hype.

Sonic the Hedgehog creators Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima reunited for the first time since 1998's "Sonic Adventure" to create the Square Enix project "Balan Wonderworld." A platforming game, the 2021 title placed a strong emphasis on music and different costumes that players could unlock. These costumes also inform the minigames that can be played in each level, as well as the game's two-person co-op multiplayer mode. The game's story has siblings Leo and Emma follow the magical Balan to Wonderworld, a realm where emotionally troubled individuals can be rehabilitated through whimsical adventure.

Outside of Sonic, Naka had done excellent work with "Nights: Into Dreams," and "Balan Wonderworld" felt more similar to that magical experience. However, critics widely trashed "Balan Wonderworld" for its dated level and art design and laughably easy gameplay. Naka left Square Enix shortly thereafter and publicly trashed Ohshima, seemingly rupturing the prolific pair's partnership for good. "Balan Wonderworld" proved to be a real bomb and tarnished Naka's legacy almost as bad as the insider trading scandal he was convicted of after leaving Square Enix behind.

There was a time when it felt like every major game studio was trying their own hand at live-service games, chasing titles like "Fortnite," "Overwatch," and "Apex Legends." Among Sony's big live-service efforts was "Concord," a first-person hero shooter that debuted in August 2024. When news about the project became public in 2019, the production budget was estimated to be around $50 million, though some estimates placed it far higher. However, the "Concord" launch was a complete disaster, with the game shut down two weeks later.

"Concord" was supposed to be Sony's answer to the big competing hero shooters of the era, but it couldn't even last a month. For all of its development time, the game didn't look all that appealing, and the gameplay just wasn't as captivating as the developers hoped. Instead, Sony would find more success with extraction shooter titles like "Helldivers II" than its wacky hero shooter experience. "Concord" absolutely bombed and became an industry-wide joke in virtually record time after it was pulled.

SNK's "Fatal Fury" was a fighting arcade game series that was way more popular outside the United States and had lain dormant since 1999's "Fatal Fury: Mark of the Wolves." Over 25 years later, the fighting game franchise finally got a revival with "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves," taking fans back to South Town. In addition to being the first installment in the series to natively run in high-definition, the gameplay has been refined for modern fighting game audiences. However, additions to the roster put a damper on the excitement around the franchise's big return.

Among the new fighters to join the playable roster in "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" is real-life soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo. The inclusion feels like an extension of SNK now being owned by the Misk Foundation, which is run by the Saudi Arabian royal family, who also own Ronaldo's current team. With both Ronaldo having his own controversial reputation along with the Saudi Arabian government's own record of human rights violations, the addition to the roster overshadowed the game's quality itself. "Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves" should've been a celebrated return, but its behind-the-scenes controversies derailed its image.

Another one of the most disappointing video games of 2025 was "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7." Coming off the sub-series' resurgence the preceding year with "Black Ops 6," the game ditched the period piece trappings for a story set in 2035. The narrative follows American special forces operator David Mason as he investigates renewed terrorist activity and the shadowy corporate links behind it. The game revamps the franchise's various multiplayer modes, including its popular zombies mode with its own campaign.

With an underdeveloped story mode and inconsistent gameplay, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7" feels like a step backwards for the tactical first-person shooter franchise. After this, the franchise pivoted back to its "Modern Warfare" series, eschewing the clandestine aesthetics "Black Ops" was known for. "Call of Duty" had endured missteps before, but this was one of the bigger instances since its recent revival. With the franchise's 2025 release, it feels like "Call of Duty: Black Ops" is quietly laid to rest, in favor of different directions for the long-running series.

"Marvel's Wolverine" is a prime example of a title that isn't necessarily a bad game but one that fell short of fan expectations. After all, developer Insomniac Games had put out the "Marvel's Spider-Man" series, some of the best PS5 games so far. Ditching the open-world scope of its Spidey-led titles, Insomniac opted for a linear hack-and-slash adventure for its Wolverine solo game. While the game boasts a prestigious production value and solid cast, fans were left divided on how well it actually lived up to its potential.

To be clear, "Marvel's Wolverine" is fun, but that enjoyment comes with several glaring caveats, and it's easily Insomniac's weakest Marvel superhero game. The combat, while intuitive, is incredibly repetitive, and the game holds players' hands as they progress through levels, whether they want the assistance or not. Several of these issues were fixed through post-launch patches, but the damage to the game's reputation was already done. With "Marvel's Wolverine," Insomniac was a victim of its own past success, and hopefully that won't carry over to its planned sequel to "Marvel's Spider-Man 2."