There have been several excellent titles throughout video game history, some ascending to legendary status and being remembered for a long time. However, there are plenty that fall by the wayside despite some acclaim, with the odd player or three telling anyone and everyone to check them out. Let’s look at 15 such underrated titles throughout history and what makes them worth playing.
Sunset Overdrive
Despite launching in 2014 as an Xbox One exclusive (eventually arriving for PC), Insomniac Games’ Sunset Overdrive is still a classic that deserves more recognition. Its humor may not be for everyone, but the bombastic style and presentation, over-the-top combat and fluid movement, which would go on to inspire Marvel’s Spider-Man, all combine seamlessly. Coupled with an open-world playground littered with stuff to do and a compelling story, it’s a shame that more people didn’t play it.
Prey
Arkane Austin is dragged for Redfall, rightfully given its quality, but also because of its previous effort, Prey. As a reboot of the Human Head Studios’ FPS, it’s an immersive sim with a unique sci-fi setting and moral consequences from the perspective of one Morgan Yu, stuck on the Talos 1 station. Unfortunately, despite its well-designed environments, nuanced gameplay and frighteningly intelligent Typhon enemies, it failed to really make an impact sales-wise. Nevertheless, it’s still one of the genre’s best.
The Evil Within 2
You have to give credit to Tango Gameworks. Following the reception to The Evil Within, it returned to the drawing board and crafted a sequel superior in almost every way. Better graphics, more memorable sequences and terrifying scares, vastly improved gameplay and a story continuation that made us care more about protagonist Sebastian Castellanos and his family. Of course, as the story goes, it saw underwhelming sales and faded into the background. On the bright side, at least the developer bounced back and saw massive success with Hi-Fi Rush.
Days Gone
Bend Studio’s Days Gone is an interesting case – it sold millions, but many never tried it out until it came to PC and was offered free on PlayStation Plus. Its critical reception also left much to be desired, especially considering the high bar of PlayStation exclusives. Those who gave it a chance found a compelling open-world zombie shooter with interesting activities and an intriguing protagonist (despite some horrendous writing in sections). Fans still lament what could have been following reports of a proposed sequel being canned.
Nex Machina
Nex Machina is the final hurrah to Housemarque’s arcade shoot ’em ups and bullet hell titles (or so we thought at the time). A twin-stick shooter that combined elements from Robotron and Smash TV, even bringing on original designer Eugene Jarvis as a creative consultant, it offered gorgeous voxel graphics and fast-paced, intense action. Critics may have embraced it, but the sales said otherwise, leading to Housemarque famously stating that “Arcade is dead.” Fortunately, it didn’t stray far from its roots when it delivered the acclaimed Returnal for PS5.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
With all the high-profile exclusives on the GameCube, from Metroid Prime to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, it’s a miracle that various third-party titles stood out. Silicon Knights’ Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem sadly wasn’t quite there, despite combining a long-running horror saga with multiple protagonists with an innovative Sanity system that messed with player perception in a fourth-wall-breaking fashion. Even with rave reviews for its story, mechanics and scares, it never received as much attention as the genre’s greats. Hopes for a sequel were buried long ago, but when it comes to compelling horror stories in video games, Eternal Darkness is still one of the greats.
Oxenfree
All these years later, and even with a sequel, the original Oxenfree remains as compelling and unique as ever. The story of Alex, who ventures to Edwards Island with her friends, alternates between teen drama and compelling supernatural mystery with incredibly well-written dialogue. Even better is the dynamic dialogue, allowing one to respond however they wish, leading to different results (and endings). Memorable stories come and go in the games industry, but Oxenfree’s deserves to be highlighted more.
Jusant
In this era of climbing games, where many emphasize the difficulty and frustration that comes from falling down on all that you’ve ever known, DON’T NOD’s Jusant hits differently. Despite its post-environmental disaster world, it offers a relaxing and meditative vibe as you scale a mysterious rock and attempt to piece together the history of its residents. With responsive controls and interesting platforming challenges that never get frustrating, Jusant is a remarkably chilled-out time.
Stories Untold
You probably heard of No Code for their work on the upcoming Silent Hill: Townfall, but horror adventure Stories Untold remains their most memorable work. It’s a surreal experience, seemingly starting as a series of standalone episodes before connecting incredibly. With unorthodox mechanics, including the player playing someone playing an old-school PC adventure game, Stories Untold is unlike anything else out there.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
Falcom’s Kiseki series has always been considered an RPG series with a lower budget, but it made for it with strong characters and writing. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky exemplified this best, introducing us to a fantasy world with airships and magic (but in a more grounded fashion). As Estelle Bright, players embark on a journey to become a full-fledged bracer, joined by Joshua and encountering all kinds of characters and occurrences along the way. Despite a slow start, the first game offers an amazingly realized world, a solid battle system with challenging fights, and an incredible soundtrack that’s still memorable
Mad Max
Another post-apocalyptic open-world title that didn’t quite land with several critics, Mad Max was still a strong adaptation of the source material. Players scoured the wasteland, engaging in vehicular battles while scavenging for parts, but ventured on foot to interact with various survivors and infiltrate strongholds for some solid beat ’em up action. Despite how monotonous the environments could get, it was still worth checking out for fans.
CrossCode
With its 16-bit style visuals and addictive hack-and-slash combat, CrossCode is already one of the best action RPGs few have ever played. However, it also offers a massive world with dozens of hours of gameplay, a great story that plays with established MMO tropes, and one of the more well-written protagonists out there. Coupled with a fantastic soundtrack, it’s a wonder that CrossCode doesn’t have more players.
Tacoma
Gone Home from Fullbright understandably isn’t for everyone, but Tacoma, a sci-fi title focused on rewinding and reviewing conversations in an abandoned space station, is definitely worth checking out. The conversations in question occur via Augmented Reality, leading to the exploration of different spaces at different times of the recording to piece together what happened. It’s an engrossing mystery and a solid adventure title that deserves more attention.
Vanquish
While everyone talks about Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising and NieR: Automata, PlatinumGames’ Vanquish is nearly forgotten. It’s a shame because despite the corny story and voice acting, it offered a new take on cover-based shooting, with rocket-powered sliding encouraging one to reposition quickly. Slow-mo allowed for more precise shooting while memorable boss fights and scenarios added some style to the proceedings.
As Dusk Falls
Yes, it ends on a cliffhanger, and some parts could have been better, but as a narrative title about two families inspired by the likes of Fargo, As Dusk Falls is an intriguing adventure from INTERIOR/NIGHT. Players make decisions at different moments, causing the plot to branch extensively, and every little choice and QTE has an impact. With solid acting and writing, its story is begging for a continuation and an expansion of the unique presentation.
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