A Fork in the Tale is pretty up there.

I believe you need to search in non-english stuff, for example there are some legendary abominations amongst czech point'n'click adventures from early nineties. Take a look at "Mavlin - Vesmírný únik" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyeykjw_fVM), even if you don't understand the language, it's obvious that this hellish creation is just pure torture 😀 And "Mise Quadam" from the same author is not much better. Surprisingly, third game from him - "Swigridova kletba" - is not that bad.

Worst one I encountered was "The Neverending Story". Once you got to a certain point in the game there was no way to go any further. Guessing the company that released it never actually had anybody test a full playthrough.

If anybody has actually finished this game, I would love to know how to get past I think it was a waterfall... Kinda fuzzy since it was probably 25 years ago that I bought it and then returned it a few days later.

Are we talking text-based or does it have to have graphics ?

Surely it depends on what your criteria for "bad" is? There are games that might have had a good idea that was poorly implemented, but there are also games that started with a bad idea that was executed with some degree of competence.

Consulting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_g … ative_reception , the only thing that seems to qualify as an Adventure game is Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, and isn't that really just stretching the definition of what qualifies as a "game"? (At least A Fork In The Tale had proper FMV, right?)

EDIT: Lula 3D is in there as well.

I suggest browsing Richard Cobbett's fine list of Crapshoot articles.
https://www.pcgamer.com/author/richard-cobbett/

And I'm sure I read some choice reviews of some obscure stuff on Tap-Repeatedly (aka Four Fat Chicks). I can't recall what was the worst of the worst. Gothos? Koala Lumpur? Simon the Sorcerer 3D?

Jorpho wrote on 2020-11-29, 20:56:

Surely it depends on what your criteria for "bad" is? There are games that might have had a good idea that was poorly implemented, but there are also games that started with a bad idea that was executed with some degree of competence.

Bad writing and poor gameplay is my criteria for the worst adventure games. The graphics/music doesn't count.

held wrote on 2020-11-29, 19:17:

Are we talking text-based or does it have to have graphics ?

Graphic adventures only. No text based games.

Some games are probably worse, but stuff like Harvester or Mystery of the Druids always comes to my mind when I think about the decline of the graphic adventure genre about 20 years ago.

It may be a rpg but limbo of the lost

King's Quest VII.

sledge wrote on 2020-11-29, 17:01:

I believe you need to search in non-english stuff, for example there are some legendary abominations amongst czech point'n'click adventures from early nineties. Take a look at "Mavlin - Vesmírný únik" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyeykjw_fVM), even if you don't understand the language, it's obvious that this hellish creation is just pure torture 😀 And "Mise Quadam" from the same author is not much better. Surprisingly, third game from him - "Swigridova kletba" - is not that bad.

Holy hell, you weren't kidding, what the hell was that!?
Now I wish there was an English patch. This game deserves a good riffing. 😁

NiBiRu: Age of Secrets

Is up there in the top most horrible Point & Click Adventures imo.

Features:
Horrible Story and suddely Aliens at the end, like wth, story writer just gave up?
Horrible Puzzles
A Steel Pipe which is so well hidden it'll make you waste almost an hour thinking you're stuck
An absolutley unforgivable shit last puzzle, literally made me angry, like "hey so it's the final room let's make it last hours", no shame using a walkthrough for that one

German 1993 graphic adventure effort Der Schatz im Silbersee is supposed to be pretty bad, by all accounts. It's based on Western author Karl May's work and his estate/publisher was involved with the game. I haven't played it myself but judging from gameplay vids on Youtube the writing is pretty cringeworthy. Software 2000 published some pretty decent games in their day but I'm guessing this isn't one of them...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnESed6j-LI

Psycho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Piq2jPg-c-Q

https://advgamer.blogspot.com/2012/07/game-22 … troduction.html
https://advgamer.blogspot.com/2012/07/game-22 … pectations.html
https://advgamer.blogspot.com/2012/08/game-22 … psycho-won.html
https://advgamer.blogspot.com/2012/08/game-22 … nal-rating.html

Ok I know I'm gonna catch some shit for this but I'm just gonna go ahead and say it....Dragon's Lair. Yeah the animation is classic but the game itself sucked and we all know it.

Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller

Or pretty much anything ever made/released by Take-Two Interactive.

Jorpho wrote on 2020-11-29, 20:56:

I suggest browsing Richard Cobbett's fine list of Crapshoot articles.
https://www.pcgamer.com/author/richard-cobbett/

Coktel Vision's Fascination is one of the worst adventure games I could ever find.

Anyone remember Treasure Quest?

sf78 wrote on 2020-12-01, 08:09:

Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller

Or pretty much anything ever made/released by Take-Two Interactive.

I worked on all those Take - 2 games and I don't disagree.