Psychotoxic

 PC
Metascore
40

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 11 out of 15
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  1. Armchair Empire
    30
    Such is the nature of a bad game though; if it's bad, it would have always been and always will be bad.
  2. Cheat Code Central
    50
    What is missing from PsychoToxic is soul. It's not a unique game by any standards. It's a regular shooter with average graphics and sounds.
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Computer and Video Games
    35
    For every second of satisfaction, there is a minute of monotony; where cardboard enemies fall under a cloud of red paint, physics offer no value whatsoever, AI is largely non-existent and gameplay follows the worn-ragged formula of coloured keycards and enemies that appear from thin air. [PC Zone]
  5. Computer Games Magazine
    40
    Game-crashing bugs? Check. Horrible enemy AI? Check. [July 2005, p.66]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. Game Chronicles
    57
    How much you enjoy that gameplay is going to be based on your love of the genre and your tolerance for numerous glitches. Hopefully a patch is in the works to improve things, or at least fix what’s broke.
  7. GameCritics
    25
    Oh, and in a final note to developers: please don't put pictures of your children in the end credits of your video games. It's not like it kept me from giving Psychotoxic a bad review—I just feel kind of guilty about it.
  8. GameSpot
    41
    A long-in-development shooter from Germany that--despite occasional bursts of endearing "deepest depths of your soul" wackiness--is ruined by sloppy design, bugs, and a desperate need for some editing.
  9. GameSpy
    30
    It's mostly tedious, sloppy, and stale, with bugs and crashes adding insult to injury. You could find a better shooter blindfolded.
  10. Gaming Nexus
    15
    It's ridiculously long, completely uninspired and quite simply, the biggest waste of my gaming time in the past decade. Even if struck deaf, blind and dumb, anyone can realize that Psychotoxic is without a doubt, one of the worst PC titles of all time.
  11. IGN
    50
    There are bugs and instability, and interesting environments can't overcome bland gameplay, weak AI, and lack of polish.
  12. IncGamers
    40
    The collision detection is ridiculous. Occasionally, you will get hung up on things as ordinary as steps!
  13. Jolt Online Gaming UK
    38
    A lot of the good intentions in Psychotoxic are just lost in the mess of it all. We might have recommended the story to fans of sci-fi B-movies, but frankly after a few interesting cut-scenes the story goes absolutely nowhere for hours before wrapping-up in a not-entirely-satisfying manner.
  14. PC Format
    25
    Combine all of this with shocking AI, unfair combat and limited ammo, and you're looking at a veritable festival of the mediocre. [June 2005, p.101]
    All this publication's reviews
  15. PC Gamer
    15
    And the mundane levels have been stretched out with keycard hunts, mile-high ladders, and endless corridors. [June 2005, p.72]
    All this publication's reviews
  16. PC Gameworld
    80
    Just remember to keep playing for more than five levels because once you complete a couple of the dream levels you'll be hooked!

User Reviews

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User Score
4.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 17
  3. Negative: 9 out of 17
  1. HawkeyeSolo
    Jul 8, 2020
    0
    It should be noted that this game had the most bundled development cycle. The people who made it had good intentions, but then their publisherIt should be noted that this game had the most bundled development cycle. The people who made it had good intentions, but then their publisher quit sending money and had to stitch together what they could with what resources they had.

    Where to even begin? Well for one, in order to even RUN the game you have to move the cutscenes to another folder or delete them because the publisher and developer credits are bugged because the game is broken on today's system hardware. Broken is the keyword. Because they ran out of money the game was shipped unfinished and is even more unfinished than something like Ride to Hell: Retribution. The amount of bugs in the game seems almost endless; in fact it's so buggy you'll die for no apparent reason. That is not a joke.

    The story, voice acting, gunplay, level design, ect. is all horrendous. One could go over why each level is terrible in its own right, but there are three that stand out of the 22 levels. The 6th level has you fight enemies within Airforce 1 (yes, THAT Airforce 1) until you activate an escape pod when doing so a timer starts, you have to get to the pod before time expires. Except, the game doesn't tell you there's a timer nor does it show you that there is one. The level after it is even worse. It takes place in the park in New York where you're supposed to find Dr. Lindstroem, who constantly goes from one place to another, leaving notes on his whereabouts, only to return to the spot where he was originally supposed to be, making the level a ridiculous and annoying chore, especially considering the fact that there is a lot of hostile cops. This level really shows how awful the movement is in the game, in fact bunny hopping is a more legitimate way to move. Also, there is a wall that does not properly extend to the ground which allows you to crawl in and fall to your death.

    I saved the best for last. The 21st level shows off one of two game breaking bugs. The minute you spawn into the level, you die. This is due to the fact that you're suppose to run away from rising water, but water rises too quickly and you immediately die. The second game breaking bug I mentioned will occur showing an error message "OpenGL Error #436" and cause the game to close due to a manufacturing error with the game discs causing their material thickness to be altered, preventing the DVD drive from reading the discs properly. This caused StarForce, the DRM software that the game used, to incorrectly detect it as an illegitimate copy of the game and made it show the error message. Though it should be noted that StarForce itself is an extremely bad copyright-protection system.

    [link omitted per site rules] Psychotoxic is without question one of the worst games ever made, but despite all the problems, this game happened all because of the lead developer of the game Frank Fitzner, who had a dream to make a video game and despite how it turned out, made it happen. It's a shame we never saw a remake of this game nor a sequel to see what his vision truly was and we never will. Unfortunately, Frank Fitzner passed away in 2016.

    We all at one point in our lives are told to go out and follow our dreams and Frank Fitzner did just that. I want that to be the main takeaway of this game and review. Just remember that if you ever doubt that you can accomplish your dreams remember that despite all the shortcomings Frank Fitzner did just that.

    Thank you for reading this...essay. And...Rest in Peace, Frank....    … Full Review »
  2. cronnin
    Jul 28, 2021
    0
    I remember playing this game when it came out, it was one of the best thing at that time. Yes there were some bugs, now we know there wereI remember playing this game when it came out, it was one of the best thing at that time. Yes there were some bugs, now we know there were some development issues and budget cuts, and graphics was not at FarCry 1 level, but the overall experience was very positive. Game is all over the place and it doesn't stop surprising you in a creative way. You really feel it being toxic to your brain, because it throws you all around with it's unpredictability.… Full Review »
  3. omabat102
    May 5, 2021
    1
    The only thing that prevents this from getting a 0 is Angie's large... thoughts.
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