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Underrated or Underappreciated Games more people should play.

tommib

Member
Outcast

The first true fully 3D open world game that we all know and love today.

Sucks the remake didn’t really make a splash.

And of course that OST. One of the best ever.

Played hours and hours of this through a pirated CD that a friend left at home. I would listen to the soundtrack while studying since you can play it on a CD player. Game looked incredible at the time and was so open. Revolutionary stuff that the history books ignore.
 

laynelane

Member
These games have great music, stories, settings/world building, and characters.

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As well, if you like turn-based combat, in-game secrets and bonuses, and one of the hardest optional bosses ever in a JRPG - then these games have you covered.
 

Daniel Thomas MacInnes

GAF's Resident Saturn Omnibus
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Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer on Gameboy Advance (2001, Hot Gen Studios)

This is one of the absolute best videogames that you've never played. It appeared on the GBA at the same time as its bigger cousin on PS2 and Xbox and, as a result, was all but ignored by videogame press and players alike. The game probably sold less than a hundred copies and remains highly obscure. That's a crying shame, because it's easily the best of the Tony Hawk-inspired extreme sports games on the Nintendo portable, the most playable and versatile, the one best suited for a platform that really wasn't built for 3D polygons but was stuck with far too many games that used that weird overhead 3/4 angle to simulate 3D space.

Basically, if you've ever played the surfing mini-game from Epyx's California Games, then this is the "modern" version of that. Controls are very nimble and fast, allowing you to cut, carve and spin with ease, shooting into the air to pull off several aerial tricks, then dive into the barrel for some really risky special moves to finish out that 100,000-point combo.

There are many different beaches with unique properties. Some flow left, others right. Some beaches reward aerial moves, others score high inside the tunnel. You have to adapt to each location in order to win competitions. Simply using the same three moves over and over won't get you very far.

In addition to the competitions, there are stage-specific challenges that award you new surfboards when you complete them. They begin easily with simple moves and short combos, but then become more challenging and demanding. Some special moves require really precise timing to pull off, something like tapping a shoulder button before hitting A, but doing it in a fast gliding motion, that sort of thing.

Finally, a full tutorial mode is available that shows you all the moves and lets you practice them. That is an absolute must for a game like this and I find it especially helpful when playing after a years-long absence. I did fully complete the game with at least one character back in the day, but I've forgotten half this stuff by now, so when I pop it into the Nintendo DS, it takes a couple runs for the muscle memory to kick back into gear.

In any case, this is really fantastic fun. Visuals are superb, especially the water animation. The audio is good and isn't too annoying, but does feature a lot of "surfer dude" quips as you're playing. It's all part of the charm. You can't go wrong with this one, and it's still very cheap. Indeed, I've seen the price on used copies go down, so this is definitely one to get.
 
Donut County
You move a little hole around the landscape. When things fall into the hole it gets bigger letting you get bigger and bigger things. Sorta like Katamari Damacy
 

Vagswarm

Member
Almost all Front Software games pre Demon Souls. You know, stuff like Echo Night, King's Field, Lost Kingdoms, Otogi. Some of those are a little rough at first, but once you get used to them they are very fun and interesting games.
Wow, I was wondering what that game was called (Lost Kingdoms). Every time someone mentions a similar name I think that's what they are talking about, but it never is.

It could've been more fleshed out but I enjoyed it. Just picked it up on a random rental.
 

Belmonte

Member
Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX2)

Fallout 1 (PC)

God Hand (PS2)

Urban Reign (PS2)

Contra Hard Corps (Mega Drive)

Elex (PC)

Earthbound Beginnings (NES)

Metal Max series

Shin Megami Tensei in general
 
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StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Dante's Inferno was a really good game, should be a remake.
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Underrated game.

Ran at 60 fps too. A total God of War rip off 2 rungs down the ladder, but still a decent game worth trying. It's on Game Pass too. Make note to play the game at higher difficulty levels as the easier one makes enemies easier and more importantly changes the game making some traps disappear.
 
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ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
- Gravity Rush
 

Boy bawang

Member
Rain World.

It's like it came from another dimension or timeline - hardcore, brimming with creativity, and featuring the best AI in video games period.

The amount of adrenaline you will get from it is only comparable to Dark Souls games

Personally, i put it right next to and sometimes above all time classics like Deus Ex, Resident Evil 4, mgs series, Zelda lttp, Demon/Dark souls etc.

I will forever shill this game


Very cheap on Steam

I came here to post this. Probably my favorite game of the past decade.
 
Left Alive by Square Enix.

People hated it and said it was broken and horrible etc etc, but it wasn't. It had issues, but it just plopped you into this incredibly dangersou world and you died a lot, but it had such intensity, was fucking awesome when you figured out how to survive it, had brilliant music and an actually great story.

The character design and voice acting was also up there.

Fuck me, now I feel like replaying it again. That's the thing though. Once you beat it, you get to turn on some shit that should have been there from the start. Like one shot from the gun kills the enemy. Perfect. They can kill you with barely a shot, so why not go the other way too? Anyways. I'm off, time to replay Left Alive.

I've come to be wary of that kind of commentary and take it with a generous dose of skepticism. Especially, when coming from biased sources. So many decent games have been unjustly written off as "Terrible", "horrible", "unplayable" etc. due to one or few minor kinks or even sheer incompetence. Some people have a tendency to be overly hypercritical on the most minuscule things and exaggerate shit out of proportion.

Anyway, I already got it (Left alive) in my backlog.
 
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Spaceman292

Banned
Left Alive by Square Enix.

People hated it and said it was broken and horrible etc etc, but it wasn't. It had issues, but it just plopped you into this incredibly dangersou world and you died a lot, but it had such intensity, was fucking awesome when you figured out how to survive it, had brilliant music and an actually great story.

The character design and voice acting was also up there.

Fuck me, now I feel like replaying it again. That's the thing though. Once you beat it, you get to turn on some shit that should have been there from the start. Like one shot from the gun kills the enemy. Perfect. They can kill you with barely a shot, so why not go the other way too? Anyways. I'm off, time to replay Left Alive.
You can't be serious
 

Trogdor1123

Member
I was going to specifically mention

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Such incredible atmosphere. Yeah, it plays slowly, but once you synchronize with its rhythms, it's so easy to get lost within.

And I never miss a chance to mention this gem:

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I know it was favorably received, but with so many games on PC, P&C and otherwise, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle. One of the best games I've ever played with such amazing atmosphere and a lovingly hand-touched feel, both in terms of story and music/aesthetics. (only made by 2 people - a Swedish couple) And the narrative is so deep and has tons of room for interpretation. I think about this game often. A genuine work of art. If you love Alice in Wonderland or the ilk, and have any tolerance for point n click, you should definitely play it.

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If you love Platinum and/or beat-em-ups like God Hand, this is criminally underappreciated imho.

So many more, but that's a little contribution.
I really like kings field too! They need to do another!
 
Are you sure you played it?

Hey man, his taste just might not jive with yours. Apparently, it seems like you don't think too highly of Left alive, but the dude at least saw something in it that he enjoyed in and you didn't. Taste in gaming is subjective. One thing you might dislike might be liked by someone else and vice versa.
 

Gp1

Member
MechWarrior 5 - Mercenaries with the dlc.

After a rough launch they fixed most of the low budget/indie like problems of the game, added content, some gameplay adjustment, a new sandbox mode, good mod support and now its awesome entry to the series. Since most of the reviews are about the original version, this one will definitely fly under everyone radar.

I can't recommend enough, especially because it's on Gamepass.

Another game that I've bought recently and suffer from the same thing is Ghost Recon Breakpoint. At launch this game was a clusterfuck of bad market practices. Now we got at truckload of content (specially with the dlcs) and a huge amount of gameplay adjustment options that can makes the game goes from a arcade game loot shooter like The Division to a very competent tactical/survival shooter and everything in between. More games should adopt this.
 
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SpiceRacz

Member
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Atmospheric horror-themed first person shooter that is a bit less corridor shooter than other FPS games at the time and more adventure game.
 

Kimahri

Banned
Are you sure you played it?
Yeah. I am. I remember being frustrated a lot, but overall being so sucked in by the atmosphere that I presevered, and ended up having a lasting experience.

I'm not here to change your mind, but if you're gonna be like that I have no further interest in talking with you.
 

Fbh

Member
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It's by CDPR and part of the Witcher franchise, so hardly some niche unknown game. But it seems to have really flown under the radar for many people (partially because they attempted to launch it as a GOG exclusive). I've talked to a lot of people who loved the Witcher 3 and weren't even aware this one exists.

It's basically an RPG based around Gwent. But since it is single player and the actual card game isn't a part of the context, they can really flex the rules and mechanics in a lot of fun ways. So you do everything for fighting dragons, avoiding falling boulders, chasing down enemies or infiltrating places in unique Gwent matches where more than half of the encounters introduce new rules and unique cards specifically designed for that single encounter. Keeping things fresh and making it feel like a mix of a card battle game with puzzle game.

And to go along with it you have a nice art style and an enjoyable story with pretty good writing, great characters and solid voice acting. There's also a lot of Witcher style decisions, often involving two morally grey options instead of the traditional "good or evil" you get in most games, and while most of them don't have a major influence on the overall plot they can still have a notorious impact on your resources and deck as some of your party members (who join you in the form of powerful unique cards) might disagree with you to the point they leave the party. It's one of the first games where I sometimes really struggled deciding between what I actually wanted to do vs trying to keep some really useful party members happy.

Not enough people have played Outer Wilds as far as I'm concerned.

What an incredible game and it leaves Game Pass this week...!



Outer Wilds is incredible. Easily one of the top 5 games of the gen to me.

It has been a long time since the way a game is designed has really left such and impression on me .
I don't even want to say much as to not spoil it, but the way progression is achieved through observation, exploration and uncovering new information instead of having to find some new tools or upgrades is truly amazing.
 
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Alebrije

Member
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Atmospheric horror-themed first person shooter that is a bit less corridor shooter than other FPS games at the time and more adventure game.
The end was a little bizarrre, among the best 3DO games ...also would recomend :
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Finally this game deserved more "love" :

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Saber

Gold Member
Space Station Silicon Valley for N64

Pretty neat take for a 3D plataform and changing robot animals was an interesting concept. Each robot has his own moveset, strong points and weakness.
 
Battle Chasers: Nightwar

/closethread

Loved my time with this game. Good stuff.

I'll throw in Tyranny (2016). Replaying it again now. Not your average setting, not your average premise (playing as a member of an 'evil Empire', think Stormtroopers).
A bit clunky with its systems but I have a blast with this game.
 
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Tschumi

Member
Vanilla WoW! I know Classic was fun for you guys, but it's over now and Private Servers are actually better - raids tweaked to make them more of a challenge, dynamic respawns to combat high pop, more focused GMs, more transparency - they just need more numbers! Go, check out an Azeroth that can entertain you consistently!
 
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