For the majority of the year I was unemployed so I didn't buy too many new games. I also tend to stay away from Western games so a lot of the "AAA" titles that most people tend to play (Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed 3, Black Ops 2, Diablo 3, etc.) I have no thoughts/opinions for. From the looks of this thread and the general media consensus, however, it looks like a lot of those big blockbuster titles were either complete and utter messes or just major disappointments.
I think I had more disappointments this year than "worst games I've played this year" sort-of experiences. I tend to stick to Japanese developed games and I hardly ever run into one that's janky, buggy, or glitchy. The only "AAA" title I was kind of looking forward to was Resident Evil 6, but I stayed the FUCK away from that shit because of what I read and saw throughout its release. I'll pick it up and play it when its dirt cheap one day, but I know for a fact if I did let my curiosity get the better of me that RE6 would have been the worst game I played all year. I just know it.
So, with that said, I did play a few games that generally put me off and left me questioning why I purchased them. These are definitely not the worst games ever or anything like that. Like I said, just slightly disappointed with them:
Lolipop Chainsaw: I totally bit the hype bullet for this one. Payed full price too. I saw people on GAF claiming that it was Suda's/Grasshopper's best game since the original No More Heroes. No. It wasn't. I played through it once and had little to no desire to run through the other modes and unlock the rest of the goodies. There wasn't necessarily anything BAD about the game, it just didn't do much for me. All the high school/jock/blonde-ditz girl humor just wasn't clicking with me. The bosses were neat, but they weren't on the same level as the assassins in the original NMH. The story was just okay too. Ending was extremely anti-climatic as well. The best part about the game was Juliet's family members, but even they didn't feel as fleshed out as they could have been. Better than Shadows of the Damned? Definitely. Better than the No More Heroes games? You wish.
Final Fantasy XIII-2: I don't know WHY I picked this up, but I did. I didn't pay full price, however. I bought it new for $10 during some GameStop summer sale. I put 100+ hours in FFXIII and enjoyed my time with it to some degree. I played this game for a few hours and dropped it, hardcore. I haven't felt the urge to go back to it. Again, nothing notably offensive about it. It was just so uninteresting and sleepy.
Neverdead: Picked this up for cheap too. I had ZERO expectations for this game and bought it because I like quirky low-mid tier budget action games, but I only got through 2 levels before shelving it. I sort of want to like this game because of how ridiculous it is, but I can't get myself to play it, lol! The mechanics are a total whack job sometimes too. Rolling around as a head and getting sucked up into those little fart enemies and timing your escape with a golf-like meter is NOT fun. I'll probably finish this one day though.
Code of Princess: Bought this because of all the Guardian Heroes/ex Treasure employee talk. I also nabbed it at launch because I figured it would become rare (being an Atlus game and all). I just CANNOT get into this game. I knew going into it that the game consisted of arena-like combat scenarios, but I didn't think it was going to be as boring as it was. The writing/localization is good for what it's going for (or for who it's targeted at), but again, totally not my sense of humor. Online is completely broken too. Anymore than 2 people playing online is lag fest city. There's also online-only achievements which unlock single player exclusive gear/equipment. Barf. Probably my biggest let down of the year (although I wasn't exactly dying to play it).
NightSky: I GOTTA stop impulse purchasing these indie-like 2D games. This is another game where there's nothing technically wrong with it, it just isn't doing much for me. It's like a 2D marble madness, only without the charm or good music. It's another one of those artsy-fartsy low context indie games with an emphasis on ambiance and weird mechanics. I rolled my eyes when I reached the area with the gravity mechanics. Do ALL of these indie games resort to this shit at some point (See VVVVVV, Limbo, etc.)?
I'm all for low context games and ambiance, but this game lacks cohesiveness. The levels are separated and titled/themed, yet they all just feel like a collection of scenarios/stages.
I guess the WORST game I played, although it was from last year (but I played it this year) was Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One. I picked this up early in the year and played through it coop with a buddy and it was one of the most embarrassing games I've ever played. Probably the most unpolished Insomniac/Ratchet game I've ever played too. The game was riddled with bugs, glitches, and player-insulting scenarios. I literally felt like an idiot while playing it. Totally turned me off from their games and Ratchet in general.