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So Bad It's Horrible Cleanup

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So Bad, It's Horrible is one of the more flame-bait-y parts of the site, so a cleanup thread is needed to ensure that works aren't added simply because someone doesn't like them.

If you want to list a work under this, keep the following in mind:

  • The work must have very few fans or defenders (both genuine and ironic). It should fail to appeal to any type of audience.
  • Being offensive in its subject matter isn't enough.
  • It isn't horrible just because a certain critic disliked it, though their reviews can be used as sources and citations.
  • The work should have notably poor reviews (e.g., less than 3/10 on IMDb, or single digit scores on Rotten Tomatoes)
  • For a Moral Substitute to qualify, it cannot even appeal to its target demographic.
  • Please be polite while writing and as much as possible, avoid falling into Complaining About Shows You Don't Like. Instead, focus on explaining why the work is horrible.

In addition, per No Recent Examples, Please!, a work must be at least one month old before it can be added, to prevent knee-jerk reactions.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Oct 6th 2024 at 3:34:45 AM

worldwidewoomy (Plucky Ensign) Relationship Status: I miss my wife, Tails
#6426: Dec 25th 2023 at 5:02:43 PM

ohh yeah that sounds like a mess. [tup] from me

Nen_desharu Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire from Greater Smash Bros. Universe or Toronto Since: Aug, 2020 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
#6427: Dec 25th 2023 at 7:03:46 PM

[up]x4 Even worse, the ads in the game are not Ad Rewards but a mandatory part of the game itself, firmly putting it in SBIH territory.

Kirby is awesome.
Lumberwood Outdated af account from Wouldn't you like to know? Since: Aug, 2018 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Outdated af account
#6428: Dec 25th 2023 at 7:36:33 PM

[up][up][up] Mobile games actually did have their own subpage for a while, but cleanup decided to merge it with Horrible.VideoGamesOther after purging a lot of not-horrible examples (doing the same to a lot of other subpages that got merged) and shrinking the page so much that it no longer needed to be a distinct page. It may be on its way to needing a subpage again, though, which isn't surprising given how many garbage games you can find on the mobile market without even searching that hard.

And yea, I give a solid [tup] to adding Raise My Perfect Idol. Making advertisements a mandatory part of the game is unacceptably bad on just about every level, a line that even other horrible mobile games refuse to cross, not to mention the implicit promotion of racism and less-than-implicit (and very squicky) promotion of incest that the game has and the advertising fraudulently claiming that the game is very well-rated despite it very much not being so.

Sincerely, Lumberwood
ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#6429: Dec 25th 2023 at 8:09:24 PM

[up] I immediately searched that game to see what you guys were talking, and after reading the all of that I can kindly say that the game can get shooed off the app store. The closest redeeming factor I could is it's art style, but if Santa Inc. taught me anything, no matter how good your aesthetic, the bad will always outweigh the good. Anyways thumbs up [tup]!

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
ForgoLight The Ultimate Lifeform Since: Oct, 2022 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
The Ultimate Lifeform
#6430: Dec 25th 2023 at 9:25:41 PM

It honestly sounds like the advertising for this trash heap could use an entry too by virtue of being a complete farce. Isn't blatant misinformation a major qualifier for SBIH ads?

As an aside, how the hell is this not literally illegal? This is the definition of deceptive advertising!

"Us weirdos have to stick together!"
kablammin45 art lizer from Cleese's Battle Circuit (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
art lizer
#6431: Dec 25th 2023 at 9:27:36 PM

Adding a [tup] to the pile. The more I hear, the more I'm just shocked at the audacity behind it all (between the ad stuff and the racist/skeevy stuff in it).

"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."
WarJay77 It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000) from My Writing Cave (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
It's NaNo, Bay-beeee! (10,238/50,000)
#6432: Dec 25th 2023 at 9:35:18 PM

I mean, misleading advertisements are the bread and butter of mobile apps. It's skeevy, but not unusual. The game seems to fit on it's own merits though.

Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall
LarryT Since: Aug, 2023
#6433: Dec 26th 2023 at 3:01:24 AM

[tup] To Raise My Perfect Idol

I saw we removed HowIBecameYours was removed from Horrible.Webcomics and I would like to know why? The edit reason was just ”the thread decided to cut this” with no link or explanation.

[down] Thank you smile

Edited by LarryT on Dec 26th 2023 at 5:44:42 AM

akumeakumeakume Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
#6434: Dec 26th 2023 at 5:28:59 AM

there was a discussion that started at this post. there was one reply agreeing to the idea of the entry being cut.

punkcrow The horrors persist, but so do I (He/Him) from Northwest Indiana Since: Dec, 2020 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
The horrors persist, but so do I (He/Him)
#6435: Dec 26th 2023 at 12:28:46 PM

Agreeing with adding Raise My Perfect Idol. That sounds like hot garbage for the reasons mentioned - when it comes to mobile apps with excessive amounts of ads, I can usually turn on airplane mode, but when you can't even do that?

The Unfortunate Implications and Very False Advertising just make it even worse. I also went and looked up a little bit about the game to see if I could find any reviews, and was also finding that no one really had anything positive to say about it. On Google Play, there are indeed many people talking about the excessive ads and offensive implications; according to many reviews, the gameplay itself is also boring.

Pretty much the only positive thing I've seen mentioned about this game is how the art style is nice, as I've seen at least one person here comment on, but there are several otherwise-awful works listed on So Bad, It's Horrible that have good art/animation as well, so I don't see that as an automatic disqualifier.

Mind if I try making a writeup based on the points I've heard? Feel free to let me know if there's anything I should add or change before I add it to the page.

  • Raise My Perfect Idol is a simulation game in which you raise a child. However, despite being a simulation game, the game rarely allows the player to make their own decisions, making the gameplay quite boring; if the player picks the "wrong" choice, they fail, and have to pick the "right" choice. In many cases, it doesn't even make sense as to why the choice is wrong. The game also has several Unfortunate Implications, with the level "Dark Skinned Hottie Girlfriend" being the most infamous — the level makes the player choose the light foundation to make her "pure and refined", and you automatically lose if you choose the dark foundation. Other offensive implications in the game include your son becoming a delinquent if you pick the Japanese school uniform for him instead of the Western one, and the Squickiness of the player getting to marry their adopted daughter in another level. There are also an excessive amount of ads, with one reviewer mentioning getting 14 ads in the span of 4 levels. Despite not having any other features that would require an internet connection, the game requires you to be online for the sole purpose of receiving these ads. An advertisement for the game even states that it has a rating of 4.4/5 on Google Play, when its actual rating is 1.9/5. The only positive part that players can find about the game is that the art style is pleasant, but that isn't enough to save it.

Cold turkey's getting stale. Tonight I'm eating crow.
BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#6436: Dec 26th 2023 at 1:00:28 PM

[tup] to the writeup

Do not obey in advance.
ForgoLight The Ultimate Lifeform Since: Oct, 2022 Relationship Status: In Lesbians with you
DoktorvonEurotrash Lex et Veritas from Not a place of honour (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
StewieGriffin34 from Sea ice (Season 2) Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
#6440: Dec 26th 2023 at 2:00:39 PM

I like it too! [tup]

He/they | Mostly here on my free days
punkcrow The horrors persist, but so do I (He/Him) from Northwest Indiana Since: Dec, 2020 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
The horrors persist, but so do I (He/Him)
#6441: Dec 26th 2023 at 2:23:19 PM

Raise My Perfect Idol has been added!

As I said, that game sounds absolutely awful on all fronts, and I have no idea how it even got on the app store in the first place.

Cold turkey's getting stale. Tonight I'm eating crow.
ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#6442: Dec 26th 2023 at 3:25:40 PM

[up] Great job punkcrow! Though I wonder which Horrible/ subpage did you place the game in (Advertisements or Video Game Others)?

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
Lumberwood Outdated af account from Wouldn't you like to know? Since: Aug, 2018 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Outdated af account
#6443: Dec 26th 2023 at 4:32:53 PM

Seems to be Others, since the game is Horrible on its own merits while the fraudulence of the advertising, though helping emphasize the awfulness of the game itself, is fairly standard business for mobile games in general.

Sincerely, Lumberwood
punkcrow The horrors persist, but so do I (He/Him) from Northwest Indiana Since: Dec, 2020 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
The horrors persist, but so do I (He/Him)
#6444: Dec 26th 2023 at 4:40:17 PM

[up][up] I put it in Horrible.Video Games Other (in the Smartphone Games folder), for the reasons mentioned by Lumberwood. I don't really know if the ads themselves qualify, since the only notable thing I heard about the ads is that they claim that the game is much more well-received than it really is (and Very False Advertising is unfortunately quite common for mobile games). The game itself appears to have significantly more negative qualities than the ads, from what I'm hearing.

A lot of the time, when an ad for a work is placed under Horrible.Advertising, it's for advertisements that caused notable backlash on their own merits for any number of reasons, regardless of how well-received the finished work was. (Stuff like Tainted by the Preview, Misaimed Marketing, and Never Trust a Trailer tend to factor into this.)

Cold turkey's getting stale. Tonight I'm eating crow.
Nen_desharu Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire from Greater Smash Bros. Universe or Toronto Since: Aug, 2020 Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Nintendo Fanatic Extraordinaire
#6445: Dec 26th 2023 at 5:29:18 PM

[up]x10 Should it be mentioned that the ads in Perfect Idol are not Ad Rewards like in many other mobile games that have ads?

Edited by Nen_desharu on Dec 26th 2023 at 8:29:25 AM

Kirby is awesome.
Lumberwood Outdated af account from Wouldn't you like to know? Since: Aug, 2018 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Outdated af account
#6446: Dec 28th 2023 at 4:11:56 PM

I'm looking at the page quote we have in Horrible.VideoGamesOther and wondering if we should move it to the "Companies and Developers" tab given that it refers specifically to a video game company, then find something else for the Other tab. Of course, given that we don't have an entry for LJN Toys yet, it being the company that the quote is referring to, I wonder if we should either make a writeup for the company and then move the quote after it's been added, or if LJN isn't horrible enough to make the cut, then to just cut the quote entirely and replace it with something else on both pages.

Edited by Lumberwood on Dec 28th 2023 at 4:12:23 AM

Sincerely, Lumberwood
randomtroper89 from The Fire Nation Since: Nov, 2010
#6447: Dec 28th 2023 at 11:30:27 PM

Should we cut all examples in Horrible.Webcomics unless it was proven the author/artist profited?

ToonAbby Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all! from Gamindustri Since: Jan, 2022 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Have a Death-End Thanksgiving, y'all!
#6448: Dec 29th 2023 at 10:22:35 AM

[up] Nah, I think we should go over the examples and see which ever counts as profited or not.

"It's requested that your death ends here, now!" - Sayaka, Death end re;Quest Code Z.
TheLivingDrawing Lucas the Dreamer from The Town of Clayton Since: Apr, 2019 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Lucas the Dreamer
#6449: Dec 29th 2023 at 12:16:58 PM

I think the page should just be cut altogether.

Once Upon A Time.
ReginaldOgron5 Est Ut Squimplex Ut from Two blocks down from the Undead Burg Since: Mar, 2022 Relationship Status: I want you to want me
Est Ut Squimplex Ut
#6450: Dec 29th 2023 at 1:44:15 PM

Does anyone know if a month has passed since Lady Ballers has come out? Because I was considering adding an entry for it but I can't remember how recently it released.

Wenn sie die Ente hierein lassen, lasse ich das Wasser hieraus!

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