Goat Simulator
Originally released in 2014, Goat Simulator has confidently held onto its status as a hilarious, and if not the most obvious, example of a game "so bad that it's good". The game is absurdly pointless; prancing around a city as a goat, terrorising innocent bystanders and causing pure chaos amongst civilians. The game is riddled with clunky physics and countless glitches - but I think that's Goat Simulator's charm. The game doesn't try to be polished or serious, but instead embraces its weirdness, turning its imperfections into what makes it so enjoyable to play. With or without friends, the game is comedy gold - and somehow still gets updates, as well as a recent remaster. Goat Simulator is a healthy reminder in gaming culture that sometimes, nonsensical gameplay is exactly what we need in order to get a good laugh out of video games. Not everything needs to be so serious.
Daniel Atkinson
Skate 3
To be honest, calling Skate 3 “bad” is bold, and probably unfair. The game received strong reviews by critics and fans alike, and was a staple on mid-2010s YouTube lets plays. However, the mechanics, physics and overall feel of the game can only be described as ridiculous. The player can survive a 500-yard drop into a quarry at 60mph without a scratch, but will be instantly killed by a trip over a small rock. The ragdoll physics of the game make such instant deaths absolutely laughable as you watch your character be thrown across the room by a small hedge. For whatever reason, the ability to fight randomers on the street is also an option in Skate 3, and the fight mechanics are hilariously bad. A punch thrown at the speed of Virgin Media WIFI is enough to incapacitate most NPCs, who, upon waking up, will subsequently pursue you across the entire map with tasers out of revenge. Even the tasers don’t seem to hurt the player as much as accidentally bumping into a pebble, so maybe they aren’t all that bad.
Dylan Seymour, Sports Sub-editor
Who's your Daddy?!
This masterpiece created by Evil Tortilla Games has the strangest concept ever - stop your baby from killing itself...(?). Who's Your Daddy?! is a asymmetrical multiplayer game in which you and your friends either play as a baby, or the father, utilising the different tools and shortcuts on the map to either try to die, or try to prevent said death respectively. The strange, almost-creepy art style paired with the utter ridiculous customisation features creates something which, in theory, sounds straight-up horrible, but comes together visually to become something that looks so bad that it's actually part of the game's selling point. The game is littered in bugs and glitches, so objectively it can be considered as a 'bad game', however there is something stupidly hilarious about watching a virtual baby's limbs be freakishly outstretched to hold onto a barbell for a bench press that it can not reach.
Amy Mescus, Gaming Sub-editor
Snowboard Racer 2
To preface, I played this on our Playstation 2, and it was one of two games I had access to, the other being Lego Star Wars. In comparison; this was awful. There were much better Snowboarding games on the market for PS2, most notably SSX, but I think we received Snowboard Racer 2 as a hand-me-down from a friend; and I understand why they gave it away to us. Everything from the graphics, to the gameplay, to the impossibility of beating the 'snowman' down the slopes is just utterly terrible. So utterly terrible it was almost fun. It made for great bonding experiences growing up, and while our friends played Mario Kart, my brother and I sat in front of the TV with our (wired) consoles in hand as we practised our snowboarding skills. If I can give the game on selling point; it would be the soundtrack. I would play it again today despite the migraines it gives me just to hear that soundtrack again. If you're lucky enough to get your hands on this game and a PS2 to go with it, I strongly recommend having some painkillers to hand.
Milly Thompson, Gaming Sub-editor
Bad Rats
Reaching cult status after becoming the go-to joke game to gift your friends on Steam, Bad Rats debuted on the site back in 2009 when Valve were (supposedly) extremely strict with what featured on their platform. The aim of the game is to use a range of rodents to kill the cat that captured them, setting up a series of traps in an attempt to set off chain reactions. With how ridiculous and unrealistic the game’s physics are though, assembling almost anything is a complete roll of the dice. But there’s just something so hilarious about pressing play on the most insane contraptions you could possibly conjure up and watching as absolute chaos ensues on your screen. Bad Rats becomes fun when you make your goal not just to kill the cat, but to do it in the most absurd, convoluted way possible that never should have ended with you winning.
Adam Lovegrove, Head of Culture
