Top 10 Games With Broken Physics

Something very interesting happened around 2014. “Skate 3” had been out for four years, and it had actually gone out of print due to a lack of demand. And then YouTubers started playing it. All the big names played “Skate 3,” the videos accrued tens of millions of views each, and EA actually began producing more copies to keep up with the insane demand. And the reason the game became so weirdly popular? Ragdoll physics, mostly. The game is rife with hilarious glitches, and the ragdoll physics made wipeouts infinitely rewarding, enjoyable, and endearingly hilarious. It’s a skateboarding game, but no one wanted to actually skate. It’s amazing what a simple physics engine can do for a game’s popularity.

Rockstar’s first “GTA” foray on the seventh generation was an undeniable technical marvel, but fan response remains muted. It was a major tonal departure from “San Andreas,” complete with a tragic story and a far more grounded approach to its gameplay. Another point of contention concerns the game’s problematic and often frustrating physics. Niko (NEE-ko) moved like he weighed a thousand pounds, which made running and shootouts a bit awkward. But the biggest issue by far was the driving. The driving physics remain divisive within the fanbase, with some loving the more realistic approach and others hating the slow, boat-like movements. And that’s not even mentioning the absolutely laughable pool physics...

As great as Obsidian’s entry in the “Fallout” franchise is, it was made using the Havok engine, and what an unintentionally hilarious engine it is. The game was absolutely riddled with graphical glitches, including the always hilarious sights of characters walking into (or even though) walls, or just straight-up floating in the air. Even putting the bugs aside, the game’s physics left a lot to be desired. Facial animations were stiff and unengaging (a trait that plagues all Bethesda games), the combat and shooting felt flat and awkward, and world interaction was near non-existent. This was a game meant for mods.

In 2019, this little game developed by We’re Five Games and published by tinyBuild was released to the unsuspecting public. The goal of the game is simple - pick up a package and deliver it to its destination. Of course, it’s not as simple as all that. The title is used in an ironic fashion, as this delivery service is notoriously unreliable. The game is more of a ragdoll physics simulation than anything else, and each little action throughout the game is performed in the most outlandish, ridiculous, and hilarious manner possible. Like “Skate 3,” the actual delivery of the package isn’t really the point. Just explore the world, go crazy with the ragdoll effects, and enjoy a ton of laughs.

Created by British indie studio Boneloaf, “Gang Beasts” is undeniably one of the wackiest beat-em-ups ever made. Released through early access in 2014, “Gang Beasts” is a simple multiplayer beat-em-up, as players fight each other in various absurd locations until one is knocked out. The difference between this and, say, “Mortal Kombat” is that players control gelatinous characters that flop and flap around in hilarious and unrealistic fashion. It makes for a fantastic party game, perfectly blending competition and traditional fighting gameplay with an intentionally broken physics engine that will have everyone laughing in glee.

And here we see the dangers of rushing a game to completion. The licensing deal between Tony Hawk and Activision was expiring, so Activision quickly pumped out a new entry and released it in an utterly broken and embarrassingly unfinished state. The game was critically eviscerated and rightfully bombed, effectively killing the franchise for five years. Constant game-breaking bugs aside, the game was just a poorly produced mess. The physics engine is incredibly wonky and makes movement feel unintuitive, and the controls make even the simplest of tricks unbelievably frustrating. Even if the bugs were smoothed out, the game still would have sucked.

Like both “Totally Reliable Delivery Service” and “Gang Beasts,” the physics of “Goat Simulator” are intentionally ridiculous, meant for nothing more than maximum hilarity. You play as a goat causing chaos in a suburban setting. The game plays much like “Tony Hawk,” as you accrue points by performing certain ridiculous stunts and completing goals. It goes all out with the amusing ragdoll physics, and as funny as it is to say, the finished product is intentionally bad. The numerous glitches were left in on purpose, with the primary goal being to market the game through YouTube compilations and videos. It was often called “YouTube bait,” and it resulted in a rash of similarly styled games.

This game can sit proudly (or perhaps not so proudly) alongside “Tony Hawk 5” as one of the worst of all time. Now, we don’t expect masterful physics from the Nintendo 64, but the ones found in “Superman 64” are notoriously awful. Even controlling Superman is a nigh-impossible task, as he moves like a tank and generally acts in a totally unresponsive manner. Even completing the opening tutorial is an exercise in tedium and relentless frustration. And then there is the constant clipping found throughout the game and the absolutely abhorrent collision detection that makes the finished product feel like little more than a beta. Which it essentially was.

Much like “Fallout: New Vegas” (or most Bethesda games for that matter), “Skyrim” is far greater than the sum of its glitchy, buggy, physics-defying parts. “Skyrim’s” countless technical issues are part of its charm, as the literally thousands of YouTube videos can attest. In fact, all the memes and videos likely aided in the game’s commercial success. The physics engine is a complete mess, full of unexpressive faces, awkward movements, and a disappointingly flat combat system that will have everyone turning to magic or sneaking. And in a few other games can you ride a horse up a mountain. But then again, such is the undeniable magic of “Skyrim.”

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

Even More Ragdoll Goofiness

The Franchise Is Full of Notoriously Awful Bugs

Another YouTube Bait Game Famous for Its Wonky Physics

Much has been written about “Big Rigs” over the years, primarily because it’s one of the worst video games ever released. It’s technically a racing game, as you “race” through various checkpoints along a truck route. In reality, it’s the most unintentionally hilarious video game ever made. There is a complete lack of collision detection, so the truck can phase through every single object it comes across. There is no sense of elevation or off-road traction, allowing the truck to speed up steep mountains without impediment. You break the sound barrier while reversing, and should you be so inclined, you can do blurry donuts in your big rig. The game’s physics are broken in as much as… there are no physics to speak of.