Fighting commies with a potty mouth!
Where to even start? I’ve watched video games grow from a niche pastime to one of the most titanic industries in the world. And within this incredible medium, there are developers striving to create art — something that genuinely connects on an emotional level. I’ve played games that made me want to snap my controller like a Kit-Kat (Dark Souls, anyone?), and yet I keep coming back because the experience is worth it.
I’ve played games that moved grown men — myself included — to tears, like Red Dead Redemption 2. I’ve even played games that challenged my entire worldview. But I have never played a game so unintentionally hilarious, so jaw-droppingly awful, that I genuinely questioned whether I was losing my mind just listening to it. Until I booted up Rogue Warrior.
The military shooter genre has been flooded for years. Standing out is hard. So how does Rogue Warrior tackle that challenge? It doesn’t. Not even a little. The title itself is so devoid of imagination, it sounds like something a five-year-old would scribble on a notebook during quiet time. And the box art? Might as well be a stock image from a government recruitment pamphlet.
Note: Affiliate Disclosure: At PlayRatedGames, our content is made possible by our readers. If you purchase a game or product through links on our site, we may receive a small commission. This support helps us continue publishing honest, independent reviews. Our recommendations are based solely on what we believe offers real value to players — never influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Here’s the kicker: the studio behind this catastrophe is Rebellion. Yes — the same folks behind the Sniper Elite series, which I actually like! So what went wrong? I don’t just mean wrong — I mean gloriously off-the-rails wrong. This is a game that fails in every single way you can think of.
Each level is more generic and forgettable than the last. The character models are stiff, expressionless husks. Even on the hardest difficulty, the enemies offer no challenge — because the AI is so shockingly bad, you’ll see them running into walls or spinning in circles like wind-up toys that have lost their key. Every weapon in the game feels like it was cobbled together out of leftover plastic from a garage sale.
The story? About as gripping as a PowerPoint presentation on lawn maintenance. The graphics? Imagine a game from 2009 that somehow looks worse than the original Wii Sports. This came out the same year as Uncharted 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Assassin’s Creed II. Let that sink in. Rogue Warrior looks like it got lost on the way to 2004 and never recovered.
And the campaign? It’s so short, I’m convinced it was originally just a tutorial. Honestly, anyone who spent full price on this deserves both an apology and a commemorative plaque for their service. I played it for free and still felt like I’d been swindled. There is a multiplayer mode, apparently. Not that you’ll find anyone there. I’ve seen preschool birthday parties with better attendance.
But — and this is important — there is a silver lining.
Rogue Warrior is bad. One of the worst games I’ve ever played. But my word, it’s hilarious. Mickey Rourke — yes, that Mickey Rourke — voices real-life Navy SEAL Richard “Dick” Marcinko. And Dick? Dick talks like a grizzled 50-year-old chain-smoker trapped inside a 12-year-old with a headset and a grudge. Every time you stealth kill an enemy, he drops a one-liner so aggressively unfiltered that you’ll think the audio was ripped from a parody sketch.
The profanity is so constant, so absurdly over-the-top, that I genuinely thought I was hearing voices. It’s like someone let a sailor narrate their day while playing airsoft. The dialogue is absolutely the best part of the game — and I say that with full sincerity. Mute the audio, and you’re left with nothing but bland, broken, brown corridors and a half-asleep shooter. But turn that volume up, and suddenly you’ve got yourself a comedy.
I can’t recommend Rogue Warrior — not in good conscience. But I also don’t regret playing it. It’s short, it’s a disaster, but it’s the kind of disaster you can laugh through. It’s like watching a B-movie at midnight with your friends. The developers failed in just about every way they probably didn’t want to — but still managed to create something… memorable. And that’s more than you can say about most generic shooters these days.
Laughter, after all, is one of life’s greatest joys.
And Rogue Warrior? It’s a mess. A disaster. A flaming garbage truck in a thunderstorm.
But somehow — it’s joyful trash.
Final Verdict: 2/10 (+1pt cuz it gives lulz)
Mikhail Manfredo & Fil Zahnko
Sacralised
Tell us what you really think?!