We’ve seen some impressive releases in 2025, but not every game delivered on the technical front. According to DSOGaming, several major titles stood out — not for their visuals or gameplay quality, but for their disappointing performance and lack of proper optimization. The publication compiled a list highlighting the worst-optimized games of the year.
At the top of the list is Rise of the Ronin. The PC version struggles to maintain good performance at ultra settings, with poor optimization and graphics that don’t match its demanding system requirements. It’s a game that should run much better than it does.
Another major disappointment is Double Fine’s Keeper. Despite using Unreal Engine 5, even a GeForce RTX 5090 can’t run it at 60 FPS in native 4K with maximum settings. This makes it one of the most demanding and frustrating titles of 2025.
Games That Failed to Deliver in Performance
The Outer Worlds 2 also lands among the worst offenders. With ray tracing enabled, it becomes nearly unplayable on most modern PCs. It requires a CPU with a very high IPC since it only efficiently uses four threads, meaning it doesn’t scale well with multi-threaded processors that have lower IPC values.
Borderlands 4 launched with terrible optimization, and its performance remains poor even after updates. It shares this unfortunate ranking with Monster Hunter Wilds, which needed several patches before achieving decent frame rates and stability.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 was another disaster in terms of optimization. It suffers from severe stuttering, among the worst seen in recent games, and its overall performance leaves much to be desired.
But the ultimate “winner” of the worst optimization award goes to Oblivion Remastered. Despite its nostalgic value, the game runs terribly and seems to have been left in a broken state, abandoned without proper fixes.
These examples highlight that even in 2025, technical polish is not guaranteed. Ambitious projects often fail to meet expectations when optimization is neglected — a reminder that power alone doesn’t ensure smooth performance.
