Cool Underrated Games

#1

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Hey guys, back from assignment hell. As you can see from this actual picture of me above, I’m doing perfectly fine. I’ll have to lurk back into exam limbo soon, but since I now have time, I figure I can start yet another thread. So we all have games we all like yet nobody cares or heard about it, at least not a whole lot. Sure, they may ring a bell but not a whole lot talk about them as much as it should’ve. Here’s a few from me:

  • Jade Empire
    From Bioware back when they still made games people actually like it changes on The Old Republic’s turn based combat and into real time. The Chinese setting is pretty cool and there is a lot of work and effort put into it. While I think the Mass Effect franchise is the stronger IP, they shouldn’t leave this game behind to dust. If it were made with today’s technology, it might be of more respectable quality. However, given their recent output it might be best if it were a spiritual successor of sorts to pick this up.
  • Beyond Good and Evil
    This is a little bit of cheating since it did become popular enough to get a follow up, or prequel, or whatever. Either way, it is a pretty fun, if janky, experience. The writing is pretty decent with some likeable and interesting characters on top of fun gameplay. It is sort of Zelda ish but not too much like it to stand on its own. I don’t mind it’s approach going full on open world but the bloated Ubisoft style might understandably cause some concern for some folks. It will be interesting to see what’s next.

Not a whole lot to talk about sadly. They’re called underrated for a reason.

#2

Good idea; sometimes the good games rise to the top, but the success of a game depends on more than the quality. Poor timing, not enough connections, insufficient social media presence, or just plain bad luck can land some very good games in the unnoticed category. I’m going to list out the Steam games I have that I very very much enjoyed, and which may have positive reviews, but which have fewer than 200 reviews even after these many years (to me this fits the category of underrated, but ymmv):

Fun puzzler where you alternate control of a pair of robots:

Navigate your lonely capsule through the strange environment between abandoned research stations in this immersive, experimental game with amazing sound design:

Interesting text adventure where you play a self-aware, metaphysical firewall:

As close as I’ve found to Monument Valley on Steam:

Fun puzzle game:

Fun puzzle game, a bit like SpaceChem without the assembly step:

I would describe this one like Asteroids with more color and endless scrolling instead of periodic boundary conditions:

#3

I dont really see how Beyond good and evil could be considered underrated really. Ye it didint sell very well but it’s plenty popular and well received so.

#4

I did state that it was a bit of a stretch given the following it has amassed. Frankly I couldn’t think much games I’d call underrated, sadly.

#5

I think Invisible Inc. is a fantastic game, I would say that it is massively underrated, probably partly due to it being a turn-based game, but also because it values clever solutions over killing your way through.
It makes you feel like a proper spy!

#6
#7

skate with snowboards 10/10

#8
#9

I had never heard of this game until it was on the coin shop. It’s a great really tough platformer with a unique concept that makes it unlike any other. Each world introduces a major new idea that changes things greatly, and even each level tends to introduce something new to spice things up. The endless mode is fun too.

#10

This is a simple little game I recently started playing to wind down after a long day of work. The objective is simple: Drive along an endless highway and never get too fast or too slow. I don’t think there is an end goal, but I’m fine with that. Just sit back, floor it, and enjoy the perfect outrun/synthwave look and soundtrack of the game.

#11

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Needs more people to buy this!

#12

Not ‘underrated’ per say because it has only positive reviews on the steam but most definitely overlooked in general, i present you Paradigm.

I was gifted a copy of this game by our lovely squirrel @Danacscott and while i was obviously already in love with it because main villain is a sloth with a silly haircut this game is so great even without it. It’s so bonkers i cant even describe it and even if one doesnt enjoy point and click adventure genre this game is worth experiencing for it’s sense of humor and masterfully crafted ridiculousness alone. You will want to click on everything just to hear what protagonist has to say. It’s gold.

#13

I’ve seen Jacksepticeye play it and it’s sitting in my library, waiting for a weekend where I can take my time with it.
Such a charming and fun point & click adventure game, can definitely recommend it as well!

#14


A very competent 6 degrees of freedom rogue lite sort of game. Levels randomly generated from designed room and corridor pieces so you will recognize individual pieces but every new game will offer fresh levels to explore.

The game also mixes things up by the weapon drop and crafting system that lets you combine the different weapons you find into new more powerful ones. All in all I found it very entertaining but don’t think it attracted as much attention as it deserved.

#15

I second this!
Very much a modern version of descent on the PS1

#16

Wanted to try it ever since Total Biscuit recommended it so many years ago!

#17

Rogue Trooper, inspired by comics with the same name. The fact that theres a symbiosis between you, your gun, backpack and helmet and they all have personality because they are falled comrades of yours, I find that unique. Not too long of a game, story is decent, the gameplay nice and fluent. Did not raise up to the comics standards but nonetheless a good game.

Another hidden treasure is Sanitarium. I was a teen when I played this. Man those puzzles were hard for my brain capacity back then :smile: If you are an isometric story puzzle enthusiast, check it out!

#18

This is a very old NES game, but I believe it to be really good and very in-depth for the era it was released in. I speak of the ocean fishing tournament sim-like, The Blue Marlin.

Thing is, as far as I know, it’s one of those games that got very little attention at all.

#19

Here’s a few of my favorite sleepers.

This was a good build engine game. I think it went relatively unknown for quite a while. The reason it hadn’t gotten a re-release like Duke Nukem is because the source code was lost(from what I’ve heard). I had it running pretty well in eDuke32. When I saw this coming, I was happy to pick it up.

Simple concept, really fun game. I wanted to drive on the new tool album enough to buy it just because of this game.

This is a strange FPS roguelike. The big concept here is that you fire your bullets, and then you have to pick them up so you can use them again. It really makes for an interesting dynamic. If you fire all of your ammo, you’re screwed if you can’t locate it and pick it all back up.

For real, buy two copies of this game and gift one to a friend. I really enjoyed it, it’s basically IT/computer store Tycoon. The dev was great as well, I had a strange problem with my FPS taking when I did one particular activity. I reached out to the dev, they hopped into a screen sharing session with me and wrote a patch on the spot. I’ve never had that happen to me before.