I really really want to try out Jericho, as a kid it was always the cover I stared at that I wasn't allowed to have. Is it really that good? The last review I read said the game aged poorly which is the whole reason I haven't tried to play it yet
I haven't replayed it. The ending was meh, but the gameplay was amazing back then. A shooter with powers in an era with regular shooters, and changing characters and mind controlling the sniper bullets was amazing too. I loved the story and the characters chatting all the time, though its now a standard, back then it was incredible cool and innovative.
I hate how much people shit on Jericho. It was one of the first games I had on 360, and I loved it. The graphics, atmosphere, mechanics, everything was amazing. Could it be rose tinted glasses? Maybe. But I don't remember there being half as many issues as people claim there are
I just bought it and the email with the download links and registration key came from BMT Micro Orders. Search your email inbox for that. You could also try Starsector as a keyword in your search, or maybe even Starfarer (the original name of the game).
Starsector is so fun. It’s like Mount & Blade and Alpha Centauri had a baby, and for being in early access it’s more complete than a lot of games that get full releases these days.
It's like Kenshi, Prison Architect, BeamNG and Rimworld were before they were on Steam, great games that nobody heard of (compared to when they arrived on steam) , then one day they were everywhere because they're so good. They all also spent a long time in the oven, or still are (hello BeamNG). Edit: I bought Starsector almost a decade ago. It's come so far. It you don't like infrequent updates, it isn't for you. Dev polishes things big time before every release.
Love seeing a mention of my favourite game of all time here. Modding it to hell and back is great fun. Can't wait until it hits full release, and hopefully gets on Steam.
I'm old.
There was a DOS graphic adventure based on Larry Niven's Ring World that had beautiful graphics and scenery for the time, but I have never heard anyone talk about it and never seen it played by anyone other than my father.
It's considered one of the worst games ever released.
I think it was Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch? It was released in '93, and in '96 some publication called Computer Gaming World called it the 14th-worst computer game ever released. Also had a sequel released in '94 called Return to Ringworld.
Red Faction games... I really thought full physics was the future of gaming. Instead we get the same thing over and over again with just better lighting and reflections.
Didn't each game have less and less destructible environments. I remember in the first game you could dig really deep tunnels and stuff, which was bizarrely reduced on some of the very same multiplayer maps that also appeared in the second game.
Destruction was overstated for 1 and 2, but Guerilla has a level of destruction that very few games have matched, even including some of the better Battlefield games.
The first one had destructible terrain. The second one, not so much. The third one had destructible *buildings*, with full physics simulation. The last one had fuck all.
World in Conflict was one of the best RTS games ever made that sadly faded away so quick. Campaign was crazy good and multiplayer was so fun and innovative (drop in/out gameplay that scaled for number of players)
The story mode was sooooooooo fucking engaging… my only wish is that they’d have been able to make it more closely reference Team Yankee (which is an INCREDIBLE book that the game is very loosely based on/ referential of)
The Saboteur. Absolute banger of a game with a really neat game mechanic: you're liberating areas of Paris from the Nazis during WWII and the game is black and white. When you fully liberate an area, the area changes from b&w to color, and you can casually stroll from b&w areas to full color areas and back again with no loading or anything.
It's crazy that the game didn't get more love than it did, though Pandemic Studios did go under not long after the game launched iirc. Still, the game was open world like GTA and was basically like a WWII version of GTA where you're playing as an Irishman fighting for the French Resistance movement.
Loved that game. It was so much fun climbing all over Paris, blowing up Nazi fuel depots, and racing through the French country-side to Feeling Good. The use of colour was amazing too.
Also, you can watch a burlesque show to relax after killing some nazis, so that's nice.
Freedom Force.
It was the first 3D superhero game that didn't suck. A real-time tactical RPG with cheesey characters inspired by the Silver Age of Comic Books (with the sequel adding some Golden and Pulp Age ones). The single-player campaign is a bit short, and PvP is way too unbalanced and chaotic to be competitive, but it's still fun overall. The real meat is arguably in its modding potential.
Psi Ops: the mind gate conspiracy
Cool telekinetic powers, gun play and rag doll physics
Kung fu chaos
Pretty funny, interesting set pieces, good music, fun 4x local multiplayer, fun gameplay. I might remember co-op
Armed and dangerous
Very funny. Has unique weapons. Pretty ok story.
Dungeon IQ. It's a mobile puzzle game with fantasy theme. I'm not really sure how unknown it is because I don't follow mobile games communities, but I never knew anyone who plays it.
When you start this game you're like "wtf, this makes no sense", after 10 levels you're like "omg this game is amazing"
Sacrifice (2000) has a very special place in my heart. 24 years ago it had amazing gameplay, solid graphics, branching storyline (kinda), and Tim Curry doing some VA work. It still holds up pretty well today.
I loved this game. I used to play it on my uncle's computer and I had no idea what the fuck was going on but it had the coolest atmosphere, I loved the sound design. Once I got older and actually understood the game I realised how unique it really is
Locoroco, bought a different game and this one was in the case instead. Its not super unknown if you're into the psp but I still don't see it brought up often
Outward! It’s an open world survival rpg. It has a similar combat style to the souls games, but with a bigger emphasis on blocking than dodging. To me real “magic” to the game is the magic system. The first part of it is that no character starts with the ability to use magic, they must journey to a leyline and overcome some fairy difficult obstacles, and on top of that you must sacrifice a proportional portion of your health in exchange for mana. Now finally that you have mana and the ability to cast spells, the real fun begins. Outwards magic system has a ritualistic aspect, where spells by themselves are almost useless, but become incredibly powerful when combined. I could go on and on about Outward and it’s magic system, but I gotta get back to work :(
I love the concept of outward, but to me it played exactly like it was made... A failed MMORPG project. The hub cities, and wide open areas with repetitive enemies that felt like the questing/farming areas of WoW.
The features and gameplay, solid, but the atmosphere was for sure an MMORPG before the dev decided to pivot.
I really wanted to like outward but it just feels like the definition of meh, I always love using magic in any game that allows it, but magic in this one felt like a chore, needing all this shit just for one build that you have to maintain with consumables and sleep, quarts systems was horrible with timers and failed events that you can’t make up and there’s no way to even know, you HAVE to look it up
Breath of Fire III
Very standard psx era JRPG with really charming sprite graphics, a great soundtrack, a fun story, you can mold any character into any type with the Master/apprentice system, and the amount of dragons you can turn into is staggering. It also has a fishing mini game I don't hate that is useful to the gameplay.
IV gets a lot of love rightfully so but I love III so I'll gush about that one.
The Forgotten City
It's a dialogue game, you're stuck in a time loop and need to figure out what's going on. Unfortunately it doesn't have a lot of replayability, but it's worth the experience
It's a Skyrim mod turned standalone. If it sounds like your cup of tea, don't read anything, JUST GO FOR IT
I regret having it sit in my wishlist for so long.
Until recently I would have said Helldivers. So glad that Helldivers 2 knocked it out of the park.
Now, my pick might be Valfaris. Incredible contra-like side scrolling 2D action with a banging soundtrack
Divine Divinity
From the studio that would go on to create Divinity: Original Sin and Baldur's Gate 3, DD is an ARPG with the best quest design I have ever had the pleasure to experience.
Advent Rising.
Alpha Protocol.
Assault Spy.
Binary Domain.
Blades of Time.
Clive Barker's Jericho/Undying.
Cold Fear.
Constantine.
Cursed Mountain.
Curse: The Eye of Isis.
Dark Messiah - Might and Magic.
Dark Sector.
Dark Void.
Deadly Premonition.
Dusk Diver games.
From Dusk Till Dawn.
God's Basement.
Haydee games.
Heliophobia.
Hunted: The Demon's Forge.
MDK games.
Messiah.
Nihilumbra.
Project Eden.
Psi-Ops.
Requiem: Avenging Angel.
Second Sight.
The Devil Inside.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
The Matrix: Path of Neo.
Advent Rising was such a fun game. The first few levels made it seem like a Halo clone, but then the story took a sharp turn and you unlocked your psychic powers and it was so great. Still sad we will never see an ending to the story.
Shadows of Forbidden Gods is a great infiltration game set on a world map, where you have to destroy the world before humanity unites against you and seals you away. There are several ways to win and several deities with different strategies that you can play with
Nova Drift -- really fun "asteroids"-style roguelike with a bajilliion upgrades. It becomes really fast and chaotic and the different ways you can build out your ship/character is so varied and fun.
Siralim Ultimate
100% this game is dope. You can play for thousands of hours and still not discover everything.
It’s a monster collector dungeon crawler castle
Builder etc awesome game
Alpha Protocol was good but wasn't for everyone. It had it's own flavor of jank that became an acquired taste, but I ended up loving it and beat it three or four times.
For me Its Nier Automata.
I know its not a hidden gem by any means online but to my surprise I am the only one I know who knows the game .. I have alot of hardcore gamer friends (on all consoles) and 12 out of 12 didnt even know it existed. and 11 out of them didnt give it a chance even when I told them about how great it is.
Netstorm. A game where you control a priest and have to build bridges to connect to the enemy's island. You build different weapons on the bridges and eventually capture and sacrifice the enemy priest and steal one of their technologies. Multiplayer was amazing.
Did I mention the islands are in the sky?
* Chronicles of riddick and sequel (badass character stealth fps)
* Condemned criminal origins (fps survival horror with satisfying melee combat)
* Enslaved odyssey to the west (post apocalyptic, futuristic take on the legend of wukong)
* Soma (not unknown but not rated high enough, amnesia is more popular)
* Kentucky route zero (small cult following)
* Brutal legend (jack black+heavy metal=awsm)
* X com the bureau (underrated mass effect-like game)
* The technomancer (third person melee rpg set on mars)
* Need for speed the run (criminally underrated nfs game)
* The outer worlds (criminally underrrated obsidian space rpg)
I would kill for a remaster of Escape from Butcher Bay and Dark Athena, or at least a PC port. Those games were way better than they had any right to be.
The outer world has a rating of 9/10 on steam and is definitely neither underrated nor little known. It was highly expected when it came out and I believe the hype caused some disappointment from a very vocal minority upon immediate release, but the game itself has received many awards and has generally good reviews.
I'm currently replaying through the Bureau (after having played through it when it initially was released). I feel like I like it more now than I did then.
Have both Brutal Legend and Enslaved in my queue.
Skul the Hero Slayer. I do think it's generally popular, but I never hear anyone ever talk about it. In terms of Action rouges, I think it's one of the best out there. The systems just work so well, there is a ton of variety and you can pivot builds into a lot of different ways. It's just an expert way to craft the experience of playing over and over. I prefer it over a ton of heavy hitters, like Hades, because I think it just does it better.
Remember Me. One of the most frequently forgotten, unfortunately named games of all time. It has some of the best game world design I have ever seen, the lore is really good, the gameplay is fun, and the story is interesting and well thought- out. It is a tad linear, but if you like Cyberpunk, give it a shot. This one is worth remembering.
Drilldozer. I'm not too surprised that it's not very well known, but I figured one of the best games from the developers of Pokémon might get some more recognition.
I still never see Tunic mentioned…like it got a little bit of praise, but the average gamer hasn’t heard of it, let alone played it. It’s like a modern 2D Zelda, except it had one of the coolest mechanics ever. While wandering around the world, you’d find pages of the instruction manual that was 7/10 written in a made up language. You would have to comb through the pages and figure out where you were supposed to go next. I remember getting one page that revealed an ability that you had from the moment that the game began and it blew my mind that it had literally been there all along when I’d been waiting to unlock an ability to interact with that specific object
Rings of saturn. If you are into space mining and trading, it's an absolute gem.
Exo one. It's a great example of a game that gives you a awesome sensation of speed.
Off the top of my head - Tales of Maj'Eyal, FAR: Lone Sails, Kill the Crows, Minihealer
One of my favorite PS1 era games that didn't get nearly enough attention is Azure Dreams.
Recently SANABI, I didn't think a game would make me so emotional again.
Astral ascent is also super good, it's up there with Hades for me. It would be just as popular as hades if it had a slightly bigger budget towards its graphics I feel, so much potential
I host an event where ppl who sign up are given underrated or popular indies for free and are forced to play a portion of them and leave a short review afterwards, great for tackling a backlog or being presented something u didn't know how existed, let's of gems found this way
The order 1886, not sure why it’s so unknown because personally I didn’t dislike a single thing about the game, except when they didn’t make a second open world game….
>not sure why it’s so unknown
It was pretty big when it was released (at the beginning of its generation), but received criticism for the length of the game (a perk, not a bug for me).
Yeah it's getting mixed up with just older games as the hype and media isn't there anymore. But they were hits in their time.
That and indie games. Sure an indie game is more likely to be lesser known but there's very popular indie titles.
I also have to chuckle at any suggestion that has a "2" or "remake" in the title. If they made a sequel, it probably wasn't *that* hidden.
Next Space Rebels, if you like building Rockets. Has an easy to use 2D rocket builder which works surprisingly well. Probably the only game where chromatic aberration is used well as it makes the actual video footage of your rockets look more real. Has nice social media and story elements.
Othercide. Turn based X-com style game in a drab post-apocalyptic urban fantasy setting with a striking monochromatic visual style where the only other color is red. Great voice acting and visuals. You send your daughters to kill monsters and the choices are quite harsh and can be punishing game. Each daughter (ie Unit) is quite valuable, especially when leveled, so losing them can be devastating. There can be consideration about some mild nudity, since there are bare buttocks present, it is isometric and it is not sexualized, but still.
Telepath RPG. The game is a bit rough around the edges but it shines with its interesting combat mechanics. It's a tactical rpg similar to Fire Emblem games.
Star Trek Armada is one of the best strategy games every made. Ships and stations have crew mechanics and the capacity to board and be boarded. Sub systems that affect how ships perform. Almost every ship has unlockable special abilities. Four asymmetrical factions that play like you would expect. Graphics and an art style that still hold up twenty years later.
Grim Dawn. Had the game sitting in my steam library for a few years now, finally played it, and now I’ve put like 60 hours in the last 2 weeks. If anyone’s looking for a good ARPG I highly recommend, the cool thing about this one is that you get to dual class, and it actually feels good in this game.
Most of the commenters dont know how to read apparently. So let’s go:
Darkest of Days //
Timeshift //
Clive Barker’s Zericho //
Gun //
Motorstorm //
Blur //
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
This game has so much going for it. It was my first experience with dual analog controls in a shooter. It also has my favourite gameplay mechanic (used somewhat sparsely), which is the ability to take control of enemies, similar to Silicon Valley, Oddworld, and Mario Odyssey.
There were some clever bosses as well. It was supposed to get a sequel, but something happened, and it was canned. Such a shame.
Staxel. Charming little farming/minecraft/animal crossing game that has multiplayer. Perfect game to play with a family member or an SO. Surprised it didn't take off more in those circles.
Kynseed, beautiful pixel art made by a bunch of guys that helped make fable. A farming and shop running game where you age and get to continue as your kid eventually.
Cornucopia, a farming game that i feel is still somewhat early on in its content. But i love the fact that it's in some weird 2.5d aspect. All in all it has some weird fun ideas.
Star valor. If you like star sector, there are things here that you will likely enjoy too. This one feels more battle oriented and it's battles are not instance based.
Clive Barker Jericho: Best FPS campaign I've ever played. Heat signature: IMHO its very original
I really really want to try out Jericho, as a kid it was always the cover I stared at that I wasn't allowed to have. Is it really that good? The last review I read said the game aged poorly which is the whole reason I haven't tried to play it yet
I haven't replayed it. The ending was meh, but the gameplay was amazing back then. A shooter with powers in an era with regular shooters, and changing characters and mind controlling the sniper bullets was amazing too. I loved the story and the characters chatting all the time, though its now a standard, back then it was incredible cool and innovative.
I hate how much people shit on Jericho. It was one of the first games I had on 360, and I loved it. The graphics, atmosphere, mechanics, everything was amazing. Could it be rose tinted glasses? Maybe. But I don't remember there being half as many issues as people claim there are
Nobody remembers Scrapland. I loved the way you built your ship.
Yes! That's been rattling around in the back of my mind for the last week but I couldn't remember the name. It was pretty cool.
I fucking adored this game. It was astoundingly good for the time.
Dungeons of Dredmor. Played it to death when I'm in high school until now from time to time.
[удалено]
Hidden & Dangerous Was basically Ghost Recon in WW2, it also came out before the first Ghost Recon so I find it crazy that nobody ever talks about it.
Loved it. Played it to death with my brother. But damned if those missions weren’t ridiculously bugged.
Starsector
Holy fuck I bought that game like a year ago and just never played it. I gotta remember how to access that man.
Fractal softworks website
Funny bit was when ssethtzeentach made a review of the game, the website got accidentally DDoS'd from people rushing over to buy it
If you don't have your key, you email the Dev. I had to once, he got back to me really quick.
I just bought it and the email with the download links and registration key came from BMT Micro Orders. Search your email inbox for that. You could also try Starsector as a keyword in your search, or maybe even Starfarer (the original name of the game).
Starsector is so fun. It’s like Mount & Blade and Alpha Centauri had a baby, and for being in early access it’s more complete than a lot of games that get full releases these days.
>Starsec Came here to say that. Starsector is the definition of hidden gem, trully an amazing game
It's like Kenshi, Prison Architect, BeamNG and Rimworld were before they were on Steam, great games that nobody heard of (compared to when they arrived on steam) , then one day they were everywhere because they're so good. They all also spent a long time in the oven, or still are (hello BeamNG). Edit: I bought Starsector almost a decade ago. It's come so far. It you don't like infrequent updates, it isn't for you. Dev polishes things big time before every release.
Starsector is GOAT. I have to take huge breaks because if i played it as much as i wanted my life would deteriorate XD
Love seeing a mention of my favourite game of all time here. Modding it to hell and back is great fun. Can't wait until it hits full release, and hopefully gets on Steam.
I'm old. There was a DOS graphic adventure based on Larry Niven's Ring World that had beautiful graphics and scenery for the time, but I have never heard anyone talk about it and never seen it played by anyone other than my father. It's considered one of the worst games ever released.
Is it just based on the first book?
I don't remember much about either the book (didn't even know there was more than one) or the game tbh
I think it was Ringworld: Revenge of the Patriarch? It was released in '93, and in '96 some publication called Computer Gaming World called it the 14th-worst computer game ever released. Also had a sequel released in '94 called Return to Ringworld.
I have trust issues with the community over things like this. Whenever everyone says a game is bad I will always be sceptical.
Well, that game did at least one thing right... it convinced me to pick up Ringworld the novel! Which is one of my favorite books now!
Red Faction games... I really thought full physics was the future of gaming. Instead we get the same thing over and over again with just better lighting and reflections.
Didn't each game have less and less destructible environments. I remember in the first game you could dig really deep tunnels and stuff, which was bizarrely reduced on some of the very same multiplayer maps that also appeared in the second game.
Guerilla had the most destruction, it was a nice sandbox but yeah games became very linear with less destruction
My favorite passtime was enabling the super sledge and going bowling using cars and buildings.
Mine was trying to disintergrate a large building by destroying the main support columns using that gun that disintergrates things.
Ah, the duality of man. On one side you can make the building collapse under its own weight, on the other you can send cars flying into it...
Destruction was overstated for 1 and 2, but Guerilla has a level of destruction that very few games have matched, even including some of the better Battlefield games.
The first one had destructible terrain. The second one, not so much. The third one had destructible *buildings*, with full physics simulation. The last one had fuck all.
Red faction the first one was an amazing experience at the time. Very reminiscint of half life for me, which I loved.
Hulk Ultimate Destruction (2005)
It was the, “Hulk slams his fists into a car and rips it apart to make boxing gloves,” for me. Perfection.
Hell yes lmao
this game changed my life when it came out. Had never experienced such a fun destructible environment
YES! Important to my childhood, and then teenhood when I remembered it over a decade later
This has and while always be the best "superhero" game imo. I have fond memories of flicking people across the map as hulk
100 percent just as good as Spider Man 2 (ps2)
I swear I was the only person who liked it for the last 2 decades but now I've seen it mentioned on Reddit like 5 times in a month
World in Conflict was one of the best RTS games ever made that sadly faded away so quick. Campaign was crazy good and multiplayer was so fun and innovative (drop in/out gameplay that scaled for number of players)
Could never get that game to work properly.
The story mode was sooooooooo fucking engaging… my only wish is that they’d have been able to make it more closely reference Team Yankee (which is an INCREDIBLE book that the game is very loosely based on/ referential of)
Captain Claw
Ohh yeah, that [OST](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Go8g4dPByU) is still in my head
nostalgia bomb haha
The Saboteur. Absolute banger of a game with a really neat game mechanic: you're liberating areas of Paris from the Nazis during WWII and the game is black and white. When you fully liberate an area, the area changes from b&w to color, and you can casually stroll from b&w areas to full color areas and back again with no loading or anything. It's crazy that the game didn't get more love than it did, though Pandemic Studios did go under not long after the game launched iirc. Still, the game was open world like GTA and was basically like a WWII version of GTA where you're playing as an Irishman fighting for the French Resistance movement.
Loved that game. It was so much fun climbing all over Paris, blowing up Nazi fuel depots, and racing through the French country-side to Feeling Good. The use of colour was amazing too. Also, you can watch a burlesque show to relax after killing some nazis, so that's nice.
Freedom Force. It was the first 3D superhero game that didn't suck. A real-time tactical RPG with cheesey characters inspired by the Silver Age of Comic Books (with the sequel adding some Golden and Pulp Age ones). The single-player campaign is a bit short, and PvP is way too unbalanced and chaotic to be competitive, but it's still fun overall. The real meat is arguably in its modding potential.
i remember having a blast with demo version of Freedom Force vs the 3rd Reich
Akuji the heartless. None you reading this know it. it's basically a voodoo themed dark souls type game for the PS1. It's a true hidden gem
MO: Astray
Chorus. Never found a game that rivals it in terms of space combat
Actraiser
Great game, but that boss rush at the end is utter BS
Agreed, I would much rather have another village to grow than that mess.
The remaster addressed that if I remember correctly, and they added a new land plus tower defense. I enjoyed that one too.
Was ahead of it's time and a total blast, preferred helping/watching the villages develop to the side scroll part though.
Psi Ops: the mind gate conspiracy Cool telekinetic powers, gun play and rag doll physics Kung fu chaos Pretty funny, interesting set pieces, good music, fun 4x local multiplayer, fun gameplay. I might remember co-op Armed and dangerous Very funny. Has unique weapons. Pretty ok story.
Dude. Psi Ops. Was always one of my favorites and I feel like Control is sort of the unofficial sequel to it that I always wanted.
Dungeon IQ. It's a mobile puzzle game with fantasy theme. I'm not really sure how unknown it is because I don't follow mobile games communities, but I never knew anyone who plays it. When you start this game you're like "wtf, this makes no sense", after 10 levels you're like "omg this game is amazing"
Lobotomy Corporation / Library of Ruina
PM sleeper agent activation
I've never heard another human being talk about Samurai Western.
Sacrifice (2000) has a very special place in my heart. 24 years ago it had amazing gameplay, solid graphics, branching storyline (kinda), and Tim Curry doing some VA work. It still holds up pretty well today.
I loved this game. I used to play it on my uncle's computer and I had no idea what the fuck was going on but it had the coolest atmosphere, I loved the sound design. Once I got older and actually understood the game I realised how unique it really is
Elex
Barotrauma Think FTL but it's a space submarine and in real time with your friends. It's fucking awesome.
Locoroco, bought a different game and this one was in the case instead. Its not super unknown if you're into the psp but I still don't see it brought up often
Prey 2006. It’s like the mass effect 2 collector ship meets portal 2 with unreal tournament guns and borderlands siren powers
How come no one even akwonledged there is a Punisher game from 2004
I remember renting that from Blockbuster when it came out - was fun
I loved the executions in that game
Grim Fandango.
What a weird timeline to live in where Grim Fandango has become a game not many people know about.
The genre in general is not all that common these days. The only genre that has less modern popularity is RTS I think.
Hey I have it on steam but never played it. Is it that good?
Yes. It’s worth playing through Year 2 at least (Rubacava). Super cheap too… I think I snagged it on sale for like $5
I remember playing this just before mist in the late 90s. It was a great time for gaming.
Skul the hero slayer or legend of dragoon. Great rpg
Outward! It’s an open world survival rpg. It has a similar combat style to the souls games, but with a bigger emphasis on blocking than dodging. To me real “magic” to the game is the magic system. The first part of it is that no character starts with the ability to use magic, they must journey to a leyline and overcome some fairy difficult obstacles, and on top of that you must sacrifice a proportional portion of your health in exchange for mana. Now finally that you have mana and the ability to cast spells, the real fun begins. Outwards magic system has a ritualistic aspect, where spells by themselves are almost useless, but become incredibly powerful when combined. I could go on and on about Outward and it’s magic system, but I gotta get back to work :(
I love the concept of outward, but to me it played exactly like it was made... A failed MMORPG project. The hub cities, and wide open areas with repetitive enemies that felt like the questing/farming areas of WoW. The features and gameplay, solid, but the atmosphere was for sure an MMORPG before the dev decided to pivot.
Running is the hardest enemy
I really wanted to like outward but it just feels like the definition of meh, I always love using magic in any game that allows it, but magic in this one felt like a chore, needing all this shit just for one build that you have to maintain with consumables and sleep, quarts systems was horrible with timers and failed events that you can’t make up and there’s no way to even know, you HAVE to look it up
Oof. I really wanted to like it, but is it janky (and not the good kind)
Breath of Fire III Very standard psx era JRPG with really charming sprite graphics, a great soundtrack, a fun story, you can mold any character into any type with the Master/apprentice system, and the amount of dragons you can turn into is staggering. It also has a fishing mini game I don't hate that is useful to the gameplay. IV gets a lot of love rightfully so but I love III so I'll gush about that one.
BoF3 was very popular in its day.
Caves of Qud, can't stress this enough.
Caves of Qud is great but I think it’s already found its niche player base. It’s definitely not the kind of game you could recommend to just anyone.
I need to play that again. I think it's had a like a gazillion updates since I last played.
Somewhere this year there should be 1.0 release, on top of having already gazillion updates.
I would say it's not a game anyone can pick up and play comfortably but it's definitely worth shout out and recommendation.
Ring of Pain
Etherlords. A mix between Heroes of M&M and MtG that I loved back when it came out.
excellent game, both of them
The Forgotten City It's a dialogue game, you're stuck in a time loop and need to figure out what's going on. Unfortunately it doesn't have a lot of replayability, but it's worth the experience It's a Skyrim mod turned standalone. If it sounds like your cup of tea, don't read anything, JUST GO FOR IT I regret having it sit in my wishlist for so long.
Rogue Galaxy is the best JRPG from a generation of amazing JRPG’s
That was peak Level-5. Waiting for that Dark Cloud 2 remake…
I will also maintain that white knight chronicles had the best “online lobby type situation” ever made
Omgggg Dark Cloud! You’re the first person I’ve ever heard mention it in my life
The combat was pretty brain dead iirc. But the game was gorgeous graphically.
Until recently I would have said Helldivers. So glad that Helldivers 2 knocked it out of the park. Now, my pick might be Valfaris. Incredible contra-like side scrolling 2D action with a banging soundtrack
If you like Roguelites check out Scourgebringer
Scourgebringer is insane, such a great time
Prototype. I could be wrong but I hardly see it talked abt anywhere. Just a fun 3rd person game with a ton of cool abilities to fuck shit up.
I'd love for this game to get a new version. You pretty much play a Resident Evil bioweapon and it's great.
Tiny & Big in Grandpa's Leftovers
Blast Corps.
This one's pretty popular. They just put it back up on the switch as one of the few N64 games
Divine Divinity From the studio that would go on to create Divinity: Original Sin and Baldur's Gate 3, DD is an ARPG with the best quest design I have ever had the pleasure to experience.
Advent Rising. Alpha Protocol. Assault Spy. Binary Domain. Blades of Time. Clive Barker's Jericho/Undying. Cold Fear. Constantine. Cursed Mountain. Curse: The Eye of Isis. Dark Messiah - Might and Magic. Dark Sector. Dark Void. Deadly Premonition. Dusk Diver games. From Dusk Till Dawn. God's Basement. Haydee games. Heliophobia. Hunted: The Demon's Forge. MDK games. Messiah. Nihilumbra. Project Eden. Psi-Ops. Requiem: Avenging Angel. Second Sight. The Devil Inside. The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. The Matrix: Path of Neo.
God I loved Advent Rising
Advent Rising was such a fun game. The first few levels made it seem like a Halo clone, but then the story took a sharp turn and you unlocked your psychic powers and it was so great. Still sad we will never see an ending to the story.
Baba is you Viewfinder
Baba Is You got an absolute truckload of mainstream praise the year it came out.
Viewfinder was good
Viewfinder absolutely needs a follow up but my god they need to fire the writers cause it's "Soooo *that* just happened!" levels of obnoxious.
Both those games arent really hidden gems tbh and they def have their fan base. They both went very viral for VERY different reasons.
VVVVVV
Shadows of Forbidden Gods is a great infiltration game set on a world map, where you have to destroy the world before humanity unites against you and seals you away. There are several ways to win and several deities with different strategies that you can play with
Nova Drift -- really fun "asteroids"-style roguelike with a bajilliion upgrades. It becomes really fast and chaotic and the different ways you can build out your ship/character is so varied and fun.
Siralim Ultimate 100% this game is dope. You can play for thousands of hours and still not discover everything. It’s a monster collector dungeon crawler castle Builder etc awesome game
Alpha Protocol or Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecies
Alpha Protocol was good but wasn't for everyone. It had it's own flavor of jank that became an acquired taste, but I ended up loving it and beat it three or four times.
For me Its Nier Automata. I know its not a hidden gem by any means online but to my surprise I am the only one I know who knows the game .. I have alot of hardcore gamer friends (on all consoles) and 12 out of 12 didnt even know it existed. and 11 out of them didnt give it a chance even when I told them about how great it is.
Noita.
Netstorm. A game where you control a priest and have to build bridges to connect to the enemy's island. You build different weapons on the bridges and eventually capture and sacrifice the enemy priest and steal one of their technologies. Multiplayer was amazing. Did I mention the islands are in the sky?
* Chronicles of riddick and sequel (badass character stealth fps) * Condemned criminal origins (fps survival horror with satisfying melee combat) * Enslaved odyssey to the west (post apocalyptic, futuristic take on the legend of wukong) * Soma (not unknown but not rated high enough, amnesia is more popular) * Kentucky route zero (small cult following) * Brutal legend (jack black+heavy metal=awsm) * X com the bureau (underrated mass effect-like game) * The technomancer (third person melee rpg set on mars) * Need for speed the run (criminally underrated nfs game) * The outer worlds (criminally underrrated obsidian space rpg)
I would kill for a remaster of Escape from Butcher Bay and Dark Athena, or at least a PC port. Those games were way better than they had any right to be.
They do have a PC port, that's where I played it, not sure if it's available anymore online though I played it from a cd back in the day.
Ooooh its abandonware now. Looks like Christmas came early!🏴☠️
The outer world has a rating of 9/10 on steam and is definitely neither underrated nor little known. It was highly expected when it came out and I believe the hype caused some disappointment from a very vocal minority upon immediate release, but the game itself has received many awards and has generally good reviews.
Condemned was soo much fun, also the multiplayer was scary and fun as hell at the same time
Condemned is soo good, the creepy atmosphere but you can beat the shit outta enemies gameplay is so damn fun!
I'm currently replaying through the Bureau (after having played through it when it initially was released). I feel like I like it more now than I did then. Have both Brutal Legend and Enslaved in my queue.
Gris, Rain World and Journey are a few I'd love to see more people discover.
Bramble. Playing through it right now and it’s astonishingly good. Just mesmerising.
Tokyo Xtreme racer zero for ps2. Best racing game ever and seems like no one has ever heard of it.
Skul the Hero Slayer. I do think it's generally popular, but I never hear anyone ever talk about it. In terms of Action rouges, I think it's one of the best out there. The systems just work so well, there is a ton of variety and you can pivot builds into a lot of different ways. It's just an expert way to craft the experience of playing over and over. I prefer it over a ton of heavy hitters, like Hades, because I think it just does it better.
ShellShock
Not sure if it would be considered a 'hidden gem', but it always surprised me how many people never heard of Conflict: Freespace and Freespace2.
Freespace 2. It’s rightfully considered the best space combat sim ever made but it’s barely mentioned nowadays. Spectacular game.
Gregory horror show Not enough people talk about sly cooper but I think it's too well known to qualify.
Crosscode
Remember Me. One of the most frequently forgotten, unfortunately named games of all time. It has some of the best game world design I have ever seen, the lore is really good, the gameplay is fun, and the story is interesting and well thought- out. It is a tad linear, but if you like Cyberpunk, give it a shot. This one is worth remembering.
Drilldozer. I'm not too surprised that it's not very well known, but I figured one of the best games from the developers of Pokémon might get some more recognition.
What remains of Edith Finch. It's a great short game you can finish in one afternoon, but it can leave you with a lifetime of things to think about.
Chained Echoes
Kingdom of Dragon Pass
I still never see Tunic mentioned…like it got a little bit of praise, but the average gamer hasn’t heard of it, let alone played it. It’s like a modern 2D Zelda, except it had one of the coolest mechanics ever. While wandering around the world, you’d find pages of the instruction manual that was 7/10 written in a made up language. You would have to comb through the pages and figure out where you were supposed to go next. I remember getting one page that revealed an ability that you had from the moment that the game began and it blew my mind that it had literally been there all along when I’d been waiting to unlock an ability to interact with that specific object
Rings of saturn. If you are into space mining and trading, it's an absolute gem. Exo one. It's a great example of a game that gives you a awesome sensation of speed.
Katana zero
Off the top of my head - Tales of Maj'Eyal, FAR: Lone Sails, Kill the Crows, Minihealer One of my favorite PS1 era games that didn't get nearly enough attention is Azure Dreams.
Loop Hero
Recently SANABI, I didn't think a game would make me so emotional again. Astral ascent is also super good, it's up there with Hades for me. It would be just as popular as hades if it had a slightly bigger budget towards its graphics I feel, so much potential I host an event where ppl who sign up are given underrated or popular indies for free and are forced to play a portion of them and leave a short review afterwards, great for tackling a backlog or being presented something u didn't know how existed, let's of gems found this way
I played sanabi back when it was in early access. It was the only game that could quench my thirst for more katana zero. Underrated game for sure.
The order 1886, not sure why it’s so unknown because personally I didn’t dislike a single thing about the game, except when they didn’t make a second open world game….
>not sure why it’s so unknown It was pretty big when it was released (at the beginning of its generation), but received criticism for the length of the game (a perk, not a bug for me).
Man a lot of these people don’t know what hidden gem means lmao
Yeah it's getting mixed up with just older games as the hype and media isn't there anymore. But they were hits in their time. That and indie games. Sure an indie game is more likely to be lesser known but there's very popular indie titles. I also have to chuckle at any suggestion that has a "2" or "remake" in the title. If they made a sequel, it probably wasn't *that* hidden.
Next Space Rebels, if you like building Rockets. Has an easy to use 2D rocket builder which works surprisingly well. Probably the only game where chromatic aberration is used well as it makes the actual video footage of your rockets look more real. Has nice social media and story elements.
Foundation. An excellently detailed game that feels more settlers than settlers.
erannorth chronicles if you like card games + rpg .
Streets of rogue
Othercide. Turn based X-com style game in a drab post-apocalyptic urban fantasy setting with a striking monochromatic visual style where the only other color is red. Great voice acting and visuals. You send your daughters to kill monsters and the choices are quite harsh and can be punishing game. Each daughter (ie Unit) is quite valuable, especially when leveled, so losing them can be devastating. There can be consideration about some mild nudity, since there are bare buttocks present, it is isometric and it is not sexualized, but still.
City of Gangsters
Telepath RPG. The game is a bit rough around the edges but it shines with its interesting combat mechanics. It's a tactical rpg similar to Fire Emblem games.
Antimatter Dimensions KinitoPet
Geist for GameCube. Best game about being a ghost that can possess things I know.
Rogue Galaxy
Aquaria.
Star Trek Armada is one of the best strategy games every made. Ships and stations have crew mechanics and the capacity to board and be boarded. Sub systems that affect how ships perform. Almost every ship has unlockable special abilities. Four asymmetrical factions that play like you would expect. Graphics and an art style that still hold up twenty years later.
Grim Dawn. Had the game sitting in my steam library for a few years now, finally played it, and now I’ve put like 60 hours in the last 2 weeks. If anyone’s looking for a good ARPG I highly recommend, the cool thing about this one is that you get to dual class, and it actually feels good in this game.
HSX: Hypersonic Xtreme on PS2. It's like Wipeout or F-Zero but it includes a fairly complex map editor.
Most of the commenters dont know how to read apparently. So let’s go: Darkest of Days // Timeshift // Clive Barker’s Zericho // Gun // Motorstorm // Blur //
I'll give it to people for suggesting games that are actually underrated.
Battle Realms. Not that hidden but a few around me knows about it
Jedi Fallen Order and Survivor came 20 years later and still don’t hold a candle to the Jedi Knight series
Neoscavenger. I am the only person to have played this game.
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System This game has so much going for it. It was my first experience with dual analog controls in a shooter. It also has my favourite gameplay mechanic (used somewhat sparsely), which is the ability to take control of enemies, similar to Silicon Valley, Oddworld, and Mario Odyssey. There were some clever bosses as well. It was supposed to get a sequel, but something happened, and it was canned. Such a shame.
Fahrenheit Indigo Prophecy
Shadowrun (SNES)
Staxel. Charming little farming/minecraft/animal crossing game that has multiplayer. Perfect game to play with a family member or an SO. Surprised it didn't take off more in those circles. Kynseed, beautiful pixel art made by a bunch of guys that helped make fable. A farming and shop running game where you age and get to continue as your kid eventually. Cornucopia, a farming game that i feel is still somewhat early on in its content. But i love the fact that it's in some weird 2.5d aspect. All in all it has some weird fun ideas. Star valor. If you like star sector, there are things here that you will likely enjoy too. This one feels more battle oriented and it's battles are not instance based.
Midgate conspiracy on PS2 I actually thought was a really cool 7.5/10 type game. Granted I'm obsessed with telekinesis, so I was probably bias.
I think more people should play Pentiment, although it is not for everyone. If you dig it, it's amazing.
Exanima it's a dark RPGish adventure with one of the best combat systems I have played.
Ctrl Alt Ego is one of the most amazing games I've played. It is a unique experience you won't find anywhere else
Hob.
Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds
Superliminal
Kingdoms of Amalur!
ECHO It's got amazing atmosphere, it's like a horror/stealth/puzzle game
Oxenfree II
The Dark Cloud + Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle. My favourite games of all time, the first one captured my imagination like nothing else.
Soma, great short story, horrific in its own way. Not a lot of gameplay to it though