#5. Forklift Racing [Shenmue]
Late in Shenmue, revenge-seeker Rio Hazuki has to earn money so he can travel to China and exact bloody beatdowns to his criminal nemesis Lan Di. It sounds like an exciting story, but Shenmue luxuriates in the mundane details of life. You can slowly explore you little town, talking to people, and completing simple activities like feeding a cat, using vending machines, or playing full games at the arcade.
All of that changes when you get a job at the docks. The local dock workers have an absurd morning ritual that you’re forced to endure for literal weeks in-game — Forklift racing. Steering with the forklift is stiff and awkward, and most players will never reach the #1 spot. Most days, you’re stuck just failing (and failing, and failing) as your brain cells die from abject boredom.
#6. Bowling [GTA4]
GTA4 took huge strides forward in making the city and its inhabitants much more alive. You can call your friends, go out for drinks at a bar, go on dates, or just hang out with some of the activities around town. The big problem is that nobody at Rockstar worried whether these activities were any fun or not — therein lies the worst of the bunch; bowling.
As Nico Bellic, scourge of the underworld, you’ll be forced to go on a date with a random woman. Thankfully, you only how to bowl once, and you can screw up / skip your turn to rapidly put an end to the most boring activity ever. You’ll feel your soul draining away as you play. This ain’t no Tekken Bowl, one of the best bowling mini-games ever. This just sucks.
Bring back even more bad memories of the worst mini-games on the next page.