A great game and a fun game are not the same thing. A game can win every award and still make you wait hours before it gets enjoyable. This list is for those games: critic favorites and Steam giants that score low when the only question is whether you’ll have fun tonight.
We’re not saying these are bad games. Some of them are masterpieces. We’re saying the fun is harder to get to than the hype suggests.
The Most Overrated Games, by Fun Score
Dota 2: 2/10
One of the most played games on Steam for over a decade. Players describe it as a drug they uninstall twenty times. Expect hundreds of hours before it plays well, and a lot of bad moods along the way. Full Dota 2 verdict.
Red Dead Redemption 2: 3/10
One of the highest-rated games of its generation, and one of the least fun we’ve scored. The fun doesn’t start until chapter 2, and the slow, realistic pacing never really lets go. Full Red Dead Redemption 2 verdict.
Overwatch 2: 3/10
The sequel to a Game of the Year winner. The hero shooting is still there, buried under region-locked bundles, expiring currency and aggressive monetization. Full Overwatch 2 verdict.
Rust: 3/10
A fixture of Steam’s most played charts for years. You can pour a whole weekend into a base and log in Monday to find a stranger with C4 wiped it while you slept. Full Rust verdict.
Call of Duty: 3/10
One of the biggest names in shooters, and the gunfights still hit fast. On PC you get it through one huge launcher, and new players often lose their first evening to downloads and BIOS checks before cheaters and sweaty lobbies finish the job. Full Call of Duty verdict.
Counter-Strike 2: 4/10
Regularly the most played game on Steam. When a match goes well it’s great. Cheaters and toxic teammates make sure that doesn’t happen often enough. Full Counter-Strike 2 verdict.
Dragon Age: Origins: 4/10
One of the best-loved RPGs ever made, and a former 10 on this site. The Steam version now crashes on too many modern PCs, so many new players never reach the fun. Full Dragon Age: Origins verdict.
Destiny 2: 4/10
Millions of players and some of the best gunplay ever made. New players start in the middle of the story with the old campaigns removed, get lost in the menus and find most of the content in paid expansions. Full Destiny 2 verdict.
Starfield: 4/10
Bethesda’s first new universe in 25 years and one of the most hyped launches of 2023. Jetpack fights and ship building are good, but most of the time goes to menus, load screens and planets with little on them. Full Starfield verdict.
Dragon Age: Inquisition: 5/10
Won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2014. The story is strong, but big, empty open-world maps keep killing the momentum. Full Dragon Age: Inquisition verdict.
Dead by Daylight: 5/10
Ten years in and still one of the biggest horror games on Steam. The chase is exciting from your first match, but toxic lobbies, a rough solo queue and perks locked behind grind or DLC wear most players down. Full Dead by Daylight verdict.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: 6/10
Won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2015. Great world, great Gwent, lots of menus and a slow first ten hours. Fun depends on how much patience you bring. Full The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt verdict.
Monster Hunter Wilds: 7/10
More than 120,000 Steam reviews and one of the biggest series in action games, yet its Steam rating sits at Mixed. The hunts are superb from the first fight. The slow, chatty campaign and PC crashes are what stand between new players and the fun. Full Monster Hunter Wilds verdict.
Acclaimed and Actually Fun
Plenty of classics do deliver. Portal 2, Half-Life 2, Hades and Outer Wilds all score a perfect 10 for fun, and Baldur’s Gate 3 earns an 8 despite its inventory busywork. Proof that quality and fun can live in the same game.
Why These Scores Look Wrong
Every score on IsItFun answers one question: did it deliver immediate fun? Graphics, story depth, difficulty and critical acclaim are left out on purpose. Anything that makes you wait for the fun to start costs points. Disagree with a score? Each game page explains exactly what cost it. Start from the full rankings.