🚨 BREAKING: PS5’s FIRST 2026 “CONSOLE EXCLUSIVE” CRASHES & BURNS! 😱 Code Violet FLOPS with Metacritic 30 – IGN SLAMS “BAD GAME!” Modern Audience DUMPS Dino-Horror NIGHTMARE! 💀 Devs SKIP PC Over “Vulgar Mods” – Sales TANKING, Refunds IMPOSSIBLE! Is Sony’s Lineup FINISHED? The BRUTAL Truth Exploding Online… 👇🔥

TeamKill Media’s Code Violet, billed as the PlayStation 5’s inaugural console exclusive of 2026, has stumbled out of the gate with scathing reviews and widespread player rejection. Released on January 10, the third-person action-horror title—marketed as a spiritual successor to Capcom’s classic Dino Crisis—promised tense dinosaur survival in a futuristic bioengineering facility overrun by prehistoric beasts. Instead, it has earned a dismal Metacritic score of 30 from critics and a user rating of 2.5, cementing its place as the lowest-rated PS5 exclusive to date.

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PS5 exclusive Code Violet has been torn apart by the press – IG News

The cover art for Code Violet, TeamKill Media’s PS5-exclusive survival horror game that launched to overwhelmingly negative reception.

A Dino Crisis Successor That Misses the Mark

Developed and self-published by Italian studio TeamKill Media—makers of the similarly panned 2023 PS5 exclusive Quantum Error (Metacritic 40)—Code Violet casts players as Violet Sinclair, a woman abducted from the past via time-travel tech to repopulate a sterile future on Trappist 1-E. Awakening in the infested Aion Bioengineering Complex, she must scavenge resources, solve puzzles, and battle AI-enhanced dinosaurs amid an evacuation protocol.

Priced at $49.99, the game leverages Unreal Engine for ray-traced visuals, Sony’s 3D Audio, and DualSense features like adaptive triggers. Trailers hyped explosive combat, stealth chases, and a conspiracy-laden narrative. Pre-orders resumed late 2025 after initial stock issues, with the studio touting it as their “most ambitious” project.

However, launch day exposed glaring flaws. Critics lambasted unresponsive controls, glitchy AI, performance dips on base PS5, and a campaign clocking under three hours. IGN awarded 4/10: “Code Violet is a bad game,” citing “janky” mechanics and unpolished execution. Push Square echoed with 4/10: “Code Violet is a mess,” faulting repetitive encounters and technical woes. GamingBolt (3/10) deemed it “hard to believe a title could fall this flat in 2026.”

The A.V. Club delivered a brutal 0/10, noting 90% of the story crammed into the finale with zero payoff. With just 12 critic reviews, the aggregate sits at 30—92% negative—placing it among PS5’s bottom five games overall.

User Scores Plummet Amid Review Bombing Claims

Player feedback mirrors the disdain. Metacritic‘s 2.5 user score (223 ratings) features 75% one-stars, decrying it as an “asset flip,” “unplayable,” and “scam.” PlayStation Store reviews average under two stars: “Total mess… surprised Sony allows it,” one read; another called it “worse than Callisto Protocol.”

Complaints focus on dark environments sans early flashlight, blocking character models, inventory glitches, and “damage sponge” dinos. Post-launch patch 1.000.025 addressed some input locks and visuals but couldn’t stem the tide.

Some accuse review bombing by PC advocates, upset over the console-only release. TeamKill nixed PC ports in 2025, citing fears of “vulgar mods” disrespecting voice actress Francesca Galeoto and artistic integrity: “Not worth the extra money.” PS5’s strict refund policy—only for unopened digital copies—has fueled refund demands, with players joking exclusivity hides mass returns.

metacritic.com

Code Violet

Metacritic page for Code Violet, showing its dismal 30 critic score and 2.5 user rating just days after launch.

Studio’s Defiant Response: ‘We Don’t Make Games for Critics’

TeamKill celebrated briefly: Code Violet hit #2 on PS Store horror charts and became their “most successful release,” per social posts—though relative to Quantum Error‘s flop, the bar is low. Devs shrugged off scores: “We don’t make games for critics,” emphasizing player support over aggregates.

Outlets like Metro noted sales success for an indie despite backlash, attributing it to dino nostalgia. No official figures exist, but low concurrent players and YouTube Let’s Plays suggest muted uptake—trailing even niche indies.

Online Firestorm: Memes, Dunking, and ‘Modern Audience’ Narratives

X erupted with schadenfreude. Posts like “First PS5 exclusive of 2026… 40 on Metacritic” garnered thousands of likes, tying it to console wars. YouTubers GmanLives called it “one of the worst games I’ve ever played,” baffling at $50. Videos titled “PS5’s first ‘Console Exclusive’ of 2026 FLOPS” racked up views, mocking the “modern audience” for abandoning it—ironically, as the game positioned anti-woke (no mods, “respectful” design).

Reddit threads in r/PS5 and r/KotakuInAction debated: “PlayStation 5’s worst exclusive?” Some praised atmosphere; most decried shovelware. Pirat_Nation highlighted the PC snub irony.

PlayStation’s Exclusive Drought and Broader Context

As PS5’s 2026 kickoff, Code Violet underscores Sony’s thinning first-party slate. Amid GTA 6 hype and Xbox’s multiplatform pivot, indies like this fill gaps—but flops sting. Sony greenlit it despite Quantum Error‘s failure, raising QA questions.

Proponents argue rough edges suit indie horror; detractors see asset-flip greed. Patches continue, but momentum fades. For TeamKill, it’s a milestone; for players, a warning.

With Stellar Blade‘s success contrasting, debates rage: Quality over exclusivity? As 2026 unfolds, Code Violet‘s shadow looms—proof bad games flop regardless of platform.