Most underrated games of the 2010s?

[FakeSympathy]

Well here we are, just few days left on the last of 2019. We had a SHIT load of games released this previous decade. While everyone can agree certain games like Witcher 3, Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 2, and Skyrim are absolute the best, there are certain games I feel that deserves unfair treatment. Granted, these games aren't that great, but I feel there are elements to the games that makes it so much more than earning 0/10 on review sites. Here are few games that I think are underrated.

Bioshock II

Yes, this is the weakest of the series. The multiplayer kinda sucked. However, I find BS2 story to be rather decent. The characters you meet are just as amazing. The ability to dual wield weapons and plasmids were kinda cool. The city of rapture looks just as depressing as the first game did. Except it now looks worse after the events from the first game.
Dragon Age II (2011)

The story and the characters are the weakest points, which was really disappointing considering how good DAO was. I also agree with the most that the backtracking through the same map over and over again was boring. However, the graphics look quite good for a 2011 game. The combat is more fast-paced, and I feel UI is easier to navigate. I personally feel the limited customization of companion gears was for the better, as I don't have to constantly worry about whether to keep or sell the old equipment. I also thought the two DLCs were nice

Mass Effect 3 (2012)

Okay, the "multiple endings" sucked, I'll give it that. But I see people talking about nothing but the endings whenever I look up the reviews. I feel the game does an amazing job up till the ending. The whole time, I felt the dread of the reapers taking over the galaxy, and felt the hopelessness of fighting a losing war. However, the companions were still fun to interact with (Garrus and Liara, ftw), and the sci-fi shooter gameplay was really fun.

Dead Space 3 (2013)

Wow, a third EA-published game in a row on this list. Yes, the horror elements don't quite work in DS3, and you can get OP rather quick by grinding. However, I feel this was a good conclusion to Isaac's journey. The new planet is atmospheric and beautiful at the same time. The combat is super fun, especially those nightmare sections during co-op. Shame that Visceral closed down after leaving the game on that stupid clifhanger in the DLC.

Dark Souls 2 (2014)

This was probably the first game where I was lied about the graphics. Aside from the downgraded graphics, I agree that the progression was linear and the bosses weren't that interesting. However, I'll be damned if I wasn't tempted to explore more, only to get my ass handed. Having a steady 30 fps was amazing at the time (remember the fps drop in Blighttown?), and the dual wielding/power stance was a new addition imho. The weapons and gear designs were more superior, and the four ring slots was nicely done as well. Loved the three DLCs.

Batman Arkham Knight (2015)

Yes, the PC launch was absolutely disastrous. Yes, the Arkham Knight reveal was lame. And Yes, the batmobile/tank overstayed its welcome. However, I feel this was a worthy conclusion to the Arkham saga. Gotham City looks absolutely gorgeous, and details on the new bat suit (sounds of raindrops hitting the cape while gliding... holy shit) is amazing. The combat is so fluid and awesome. And the Joker performance by Mark Hamil is nothing short of amazing

Final Fantasy XV (2016)

The music and world are absolutely beautiful. The road trip-esque style of world exploration was amazing. Sure the story and some of the characters sucked, but there were others to make up for them. I was and still is one of the people who defends this game's combat. IDK, maybe I was getting tired of turn-based combat after so long, especially after FFXIII trilogy crap. Shame on what happened to the dlcs episodes; the few episodes that came out were actually quite decent.

Call Of Duty: WWII (2017)

Look, I know it's cool to hate on COD franchise. In fact, I hated this series too when I saw it kept releasing future-setting sci-fi games. Once I heard the franchise was going back to WWII, I was really excited. While the campaign is definitely the "Band of Brothers" type of campaign that we've seen dozens of times over, I thought the characters you were really nice. And that Espionage mission in Paris was amazing too. I actually enjoyed the multiplayer, simply for the reasons that there were no wall walks, jet packs, sliding, or any future tech bullshit. Just some good ol' boots-on-ground matches

Far Cry 5 (2018)

The villains and the story were rather disappointing. Eden's gate was really a disappointing cult, and the Seed family was rather bland. But goddamn is this game beautiful. There weren't a sing part of the open world where I wasn't impressed. Every part felt like a giant national part in the US. And the combat with various weapons and gears? Don't even get me started. Outpost liberation missions were still amazing. It also allowed for some of the most hilarious kills in the series.

Kingdom Hearts 3 (2019)

Look, I love KH series. I really do. I even defended some of the most cringiest and stupidest dialogs. But this game draws the line. Some dialogs are REALLY bad, like they need to explain plots from previous games in a VERY SLOW PACE. I get that you are trying to make newcomers catch up, but goddamn stop treating the players like idiots. The bosses were disappointing as well, as almost all the bosses are some giant heartless design that looks stupid. However, to this game's credit, each disney worlds are amazing to explore. It was finally nice to explore Hercules world, and the addition of newwer movies were nice as well. Just like FFXV, combat, while easy and floaty, was very fluid. This game also features some of the best keyblade designs and abilities in the series.

Whew, that was quite a list. Here's hoping that there will be more better-scored games in 2020s

 

[BrawlMan]

Call Of Duty: WWII (2017)

Look, I know it's cool to hate on COD franchise. In fact, I hated this series too when I saw it kept releasing future-setting sci-fi games. Once I heard the franchise was going back to WWII, I was really excited. While the campaign is definitely the "Band of Brothers" type of campaign that we've seen dozens of times over, I thought the characters you were really nice. And that Espionage mission in Paris was amazing too. I actually enjoyed the multiplayer, simply for the reasons that there were no wall walks, jet packs, sliding, or any future tech bullshit. Just some good ol' boots-on-ground matches

Is zombies mode unlocked from the start, or do have to beat the campaign first? I plan on getting the game used tomorrow. I picked up Battlefield 1 earlier as part of a buy 2, get 2 free from GameStop.


Vanquish - Though that might have changed now that it's on Steam and getting re-release on console. The game did not get any ads from Sega at all. What the hell, Sega? This is the best cover shooter ever made and kills the competition in the game play. The only thing that comes close is Quantum Break, which plays like a worse version of Vanquish.

Platinum's other titles - Wonderful 101, Mad World, and Anarchy Reigns.

Asura's Wrath - The game might have done better if Capcom not made the true ending DLC. That said, it's the best dad game ever. Yes, better than Dad of Boi in terms of spectacle and character. Asura is everything Kratos wished to be. If Capcom ever re-releases this game with all the content on disc, I'll be a happy man.

Bulletstorm - Despite the three weapon limit (fixed in new game+ in the updated version), this is still one of the more unique shooters that refused to be completely like COD/Gears. Other than regenerating health, the game is a better Duke Nukem game, than Duke Nukem Forever. Bulletstorm is literally Mad World and Wild 9 as an FPS. It sucks we never got a sequel. Like Vanquish, it's never wise to end on a sequel hook.

Evil Within 2 - How you should improve in a sequel. 2 makes EW1 look almost like a joke in comparison. Better story, better characterization, and better use of a semi-open world. With plenty to explore and to be awarded for making the risks to grab new items or weapons. EW1 was basically RE4 meets Inception beat by beat. EW2 solves this by going the semi-System Shock route. This system works to EW2 advantage. EW2 did not have good sales, due to coming out at a busy time; in combination with some wary reputation of the first game's problems. Do not sleep on this game. I found it a better Resident Evil game, than 7. Hell, it's almost as good as RE2Remake.

 

[Dalisclock]

Assassin's Creed 3(2012)

Don't get me wrong, it has some serious pacing problems, the Frontier is far too big and takes too long to fucking traipse across over and over again, and has numerous indication that the devs clearly ran out of time and had to ship what they had. However, the story is nicely done, Haythem is fun to watch despite the fact he's a major league asshole(but one who makes the best case for the Templars in the entire series) and Connor is a nice counterpoint to Ezio(and I feel like I'm one of the few people who actually likes Connor). Not only that, the game isn't afraid to point out that despite the sentiment, All men certainly weren't considered equal in Revolutionary Era America, which is quite different then current day "IT'S NOT POLITICAL!" UBISOFT.

THe Homestead system was a nice distraction from the main plot and even Desmond got to be an far more interesting character. It's just too bad it took 5 fucking games to get him there and then they killed him.

 

[BrawlMan]

Assassin's Creed 3(2012)

Don't get me wrong, it has some serious pacing problems, the Frontier is far too big and takes too long to fucking traipse across over and over again, and has numerous indication that the devs clearly ran out of time and had to ship what they had. However, the story is nicely done, Haythem is fun to watch despite the fact he's a major league asshole(but one who makes the best case for the Templars in the entire series) and Connor is a nice counterpoint to Ezio(and I feel like I'm one of the few people who actually like Connor). Not only that, the game isn't afraid to point out that despite the sentiment, All men certainly weren't considered equal in Revolutionary Era America, which is quite different then current day "IT'S NOT POLITICAL!" UBISOFT.

THe Homestead system was a nice distraction from the main plot and even Desmond got to be an far more interesting character. It's just too bad it took 5 fucking games to get him there and then they killed him.

You know Joker's "It's not about the money, it's about sending a message.". Yeah, Ubisoft went in to the opposite direction. EA, 2K, Activision, and Ubisoft's balls all dropped off. Lost them in the toilet and flushed away.

Side note, this is why I dropped AssCreed. The present/future plotline I always hated, and the fact Desmond gets killed off 5 games later proves my point. I'm glad you had fun with 3 though. I mentioned this many other posts, but I stopped after Brotherhood, and see little reason to get back in the series. They all play too similar to each other aside from Origins and Odyssey.

 

[Lufia Erim]

- Labyrinth of refrain. 1st person dungeon crawling Jrpg. Most people won't touch a game like that. But it is really good.

- Tales of Baseria. Another Jrpg. Easily one of the best Jrpgs this gen. Throw out your safe Dragon quest games, Tales of baseria blows all of that out of the water. Stellar story, characters and mechanics, this game is what every Jrpg should strive to be.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I have a very difficult time seeing any commonly known game or a game belonging to a well known series as being notably underrated, definitely not underrated enough where it'd qualify being on a top 10 list. We have so many underrated games that few people even know exist due to just how underrated they are, despite being way better games than other ones that are pretty highly rated.


Couple of series of the top of my head:


Legend of Heroes series (both trails in the sky and trails of cold steel trilogies...well steel is a tetralogy but the fourth game is out only in Japan for now haha)

Blazblue/Guilty Gear Xrd series (people talk about stuff like MK or Street Fighter way more, despite being way worse)

Project x Zone series (a game where you can have Azure Kite, Kos-Mos, Dante, Jin Kazama and Bruce Willis fighting against a gurren lagann style mech)

The SAO games (did you dislike the SAO anime's story but thought it had promise initially? well, whoever made these games agreed with you cause they changed how the story unfolds into it being an actually good one! the gameplay is decent too, reminiscent of .hack in the best ways possible)

Tears to Tiara 2 (single best straight up epic fantasy story, bar none, gameplay also does a nice job improving the Srpg formula, people keep mentioning fire emblem games as though they're good when we have this gem exist and it's just baffling, but again, people just don't know of it)

Ar Nosurge: Ode to an unborn star (a prequel of the Ar Tonelico series, the series with the best music in gaming. They have created a whole new fictional language that they had their singer/composer Kokia make songs for, some of them purely in the fictional language, some of them in a mix of it and Japanese, though that applies to all the Ar games, Nosurge in particular does an amazing job at incorporating the player into the game, and I don't mean the hero, I mean "you", because of the way the plot works you the human playing the game end up in essence "possessing" the characters you play as (one of them is a robot built to house your trans-dimensional signals, the other is just a dude), so in some parts of the game the other characters talk to you and judge your motives for behaving how you do, including about whether you're deriving fun out of their misery and a bunch of deep cutting questions, all in all, if you've never had an argument with a videogame character, this is a good place to look)



So yeah, there are more, but these will do for now. I doubt most people would have even heard of all of them, I'd be happy if even one of them is known, cause they're all masterpieces in their own terms and deserve being rated higher way more than a freaking bioshock or KH or FF game does lmao.

 

[Dalisclock]

Assassin's Creed 3(2012)

Don't get me wrong, it has some serious pacing problems, the Frontier is far too big and takes too long to fucking traipse across over and over again, and has numerous indication that the devs clearly ran out of time and had to ship what they had. However, the story is nicely done, Haythem is fun to watch despite the fact he's a major league asshole(but one who makes the best case for the Templars in the entire series) and Connor is a nice counterpoint to Ezio(and I feel like I'm one of the few people who actually like Connor). Not only that, the game isn't afraid to point out that despite the sentiment, All men certainly weren't considered equal in Revolutionary Era America, which is quite different then current day "IT'S NOT POLITICAL!" UBISOFT.

THe Homestead system was a nice distraction from the main plot and even Desmond got to be an far more interesting character. It's just too bad it took 5 fucking games to get him there and then they killed him.

You know Joker's "It's not about the money, it's about sending a message.". Yeah, Ubisoft went in to the opposite direction. EA, 2K, Activision, and Ubisoft's balls all dropped off. Lost them in the toilet and flushed away.

Side note, this is why I dropped AssCreed. The present/future plotline I always hated, and the fact Desmond gets killed off 5 games later proves my point. I'm glad you had fun with 3 though. I mentioned this many other posts, but I stopped after Brotherhood, and see little reason to get back in the series. They all play too similar to each other aside from Origins and Odyssey.

Syndicate rather annoyed me with the set up premise of "What if the Templars controlled the British Empire at the peak of it's power? and then did jack squat with it and went with "Here's a list of dudes. Kill them. Also, you run a gang now so here's an excuse for melee battles". When you include Karl Marx in a game and he's just kinda there, it feels like someone got neutered.

I can't say you're wrong to feel the way you do. Brotherhood took 2's nicely compact experience and began feature creeping which the series can't seem to ever shake off, it's just that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Revlations felt a lot like brotherhood but with bombs, Ottomons and the hook blade(which has two parts: A hook and a blade).

Black Flag was amazing, though ironically more because of it being a Pirate game in the AC universe rather then being a true AC game(and Rogue showed that you can't really make that work thrice, because I'm counting Freedom Cry as Black Flag 2.5 here).

Hell, I've had this weird relationship with the series where I'll get into it, play like 2-3 games in a couple months and then get burned out on it and give it up for a few years, convinced its blow it's wad and then it'll make a comeback(Black Flag, Origins). So I'll go crawling back to it for another cycle of love and disenchantment.

And I still haven't gotten myself to play Unity yet because I burned out playing Syndicate, Origins and Odyessy over the course of 6 months. I'm on the fence if I'm going to bother with the probable viking one because I know it's likely to be bloated and messy like Odyssey and Origins were(especially Odyessy) and the only thing holding my interest is if they do something really cool with it, either storyline wise or mechanically.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I don't know if Dragon's Dogma is actually underrated since it's gotten quite the cult following in the years since its release. But seeing as Capcom will likely never make a sequel to it it certainly isn't valued as much as I wish it was.

Also, Okami for the Switch with touchscreen controls. Never have I seen a port of game feel this at home on a system. The touchscreen controls make this game 10 times better to the point where if I'd never heard of the game till now I would've figured it was made specifically for the Switch. It's like the original game was stuck to a wheelchair, but the Switch magically healed its legs. And I'm surprised I haven't seen more fanfare for this immensely improved version of the game.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I don't know if Dragon's Dogma is actually underrated since it's gotten quite the cut following in the years since its release. But seeing as Capcom will likely never make a sequel to it it certainly isn't valued as much as I wish it was.

Also, Okami for the Switch with touchscreen controls. Never have I seen a port of game feel this at home on a system. The touchscreen controls make this game 10 times better to the point where if I'd never heard of the game till now I would've figured it was made specifically for the Switch. It's like the original game was stuck to a wheelchair, but the Switch magically healed its legs. And I'm surprised I haven't seen more fanfare for this immensely improved version of the game.

Capcom did make a sequel for Dogma but it wasn't what we'd hope for. It was an MMO using the assets of the first game, I believe it's already closed its servers too due to low user base. It was JP-only after all.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Assassin's Creed 3(2012)

Don't get me wrong, it has some serious pacing problems, the Frontier is far too big and takes too long to fucking traipse across over and over again, and has numerous indication that the devs clearly ran out of time and had to ship what they had. However, the story is nicely done, Haythem is fun to watch despite the fact he's a major league asshole(but one who makes the best case for the Templars in the entire series) and Connor is a nice counterpoint to Ezio(and I feel like I'm one of the few people who actually likes Connor). Not only that, the game isn't afraid to point out that despite the sentiment, All men certainly weren't considered equal in Revolutionary Era America, which is quite different then current day "IT'S NOT POLITICAL!" UBISOFT.

THe Homestead system was a nice distraction from the main plot and even Desmond got to be an far more interesting character. It's just too bad it took 5 fucking games to get him there and then they killed him.

You can say that AC3's storyline is underrated, and I'd agree wholeheartedly. It might be the most mature storyline of all the AC games to date. However, gameplay and mission structure and design is just shit on an STD ridden stick. You tried playing through it recently? Not a single mechanic in the game works as you'd expect it to and the missions are extremely boring.

 

[Dalisclock]

Assassin's Creed 3(2012)

Don't get me wrong, it has some serious pacing problems, the Frontier is far too big and takes too long to fucking traipse across over and over again, and has numerous indication that the devs clearly ran out of time and had to ship what they had. However, the story is nicely done, Haythem is fun to watch despite the fact he's a major league asshole(but one who makes the best case for the Templars in the entire series) and Connor is a nice counterpoint to Ezio(and I feel like I'm one of the few people who actually likes Connor). Not only that, the game isn't afraid to point out that despite the sentiment, All men certainly weren't considered equal in Revolutionary Era America, which is quite different then current day "IT'S NOT POLITICAL!" UBISOFT.

THe Homestead system was a nice distraction from the main plot and even Desmond got to be an far more interesting character. It's just too bad it took 5 fucking games to get him there and then they killed him.

You can say that AC3's storyline is underrated, and I'd agree wholeheartedly. It might be the most mature storyline of all the AC games to date. However, gameplay and mission structure and design is just shit on an STD ridden stick. You tried playing through it recently? Not a single mechanic in the game works as you'd expect it to and the missions are extremely boring.

I replayed it when the remastered edition came out earlier this year.

It has some rather good missions but it has way too many "training" missions. Sadly the game doesn't really start picking up until the Siege of Boston like halfway through the game. But then there's the whole prison arc in New York which is...not good, and the ending mission feels very, very rushed and patchy. Pretty much everything after the battle of the chesapeake is a steep drop in quality.

I replayed AC4 just afterwards and that game is so much better designed. You have to play through one rather short sequence before getting your ship and then you can more or less go fuck around as a pirate(barring a few...do a few chores for your ship and then you're set loose). It also fixes the problem AC3 had where Boston and New York look almost identical to each other and aren't terribly interesting at that, whereas in AC4 Nassau, Kingston and Havana are all visually distinct and have character to them.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Capcom did make a sequel for Dogma but it wasn't what we'd hope for.

Yeah I know, and I try not to think about it.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I will also back up Labyrinth of Refrain being underrated. The gameplay is enjoyable but what really sells it is the story, world and characters. The world has a very dark tone but doesn't hit you over the head with it, it has a very good fantasy, mystery story in it and I really like the central characters. It's also one of only two game stories I've played to have a homosexual romance that didn't feel like forced pandering but instead had actual heart to it.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Far cry 5 was underrated? Its metacritic is in the 80s, it sold gang-busters and was nominated for awards for 3 years straight. The only controversy I can find associated with it is the whole 'far-right' Cults.

For me it'd definitely be Space Marine, South Park Stick of Truth, Amnesia a Machine for Pigs(God if I could relive the first playthrough...), Fallout 4, and maybe A Hat In Time

 

[Trunkage]

3 Dishonoreds and Prey. Arkane Studios struggling financially after 3 great games makes no sense to me. They should be selling like gang busters

Watch Dogs 2. After the angst ridden orginal, Ubi turns around, listens to it fans and tries to create something we'd enjoy. Full of stereotype friends that has their story flip the stereotyping on its head. Nothing is more fun then sending in enemy gangs to fight while you sneak between them to gather an objective

It's not without it's flaws but I feel like Ubi actually tried this time

Edit: Sleeping dogs. Arkham combat but better, including using the environment to takedown enemies. You have to do enough good because you're a police officer but have to be bad enough to be part of thr gang. It's an interesting tension

 

[Worgen]

I'm gonna say Borderlands 3 since it looks like everyone is mentioning aaa games. It seemed to mainly get passed off as just another borderlands game with borderlands writing and borderlands gameplay. But really, it just felt so much better then the other games, the weapons have much more character and being able to change fire modes on them is really neat, all the characters abilities feel more unique then they do in the other games, the shooting feels better, the driving feels better. The whole game just feels like the epitome of what borderlands can be and the writing is still good, its still entertaining, its still as blunt as hell, the new big bads are no handsome jack but they are fine as jerks to kill.

I look forward to it coming to steam so I can finally actually get it, I only played it at my friends house when I was visiting her and ended up spending way too much time playing it.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Hmm, tricky tricky tricksy. I want to be hipster and go indie, but everyone is doing the biggies and will think I'm a hipster for trying to break away. Rain World it is! Not sure why it didn't get the attention of the "it doesn't hold your hand" and "git gud" crowd, but it certainly ticks those boxes. Might be the fragility of the player creature not providing enough combat options to look cool and macho at gittin gud. Might be the ease at which progress can fall away from you or lack of proper marketing. Might be the total vagueness towards any of its mechanics. Actually, it might not be that underrated. I appreciate it though, despite uselessness at maintaining a solid opinion.

 

[Hawki]

I actually lost my original post, so here's an abridged version. Note that I'm including "overhated" with "underrated" in this context

-Aliens: Colonial Marines (I don't know why this game got so much hate while Isolation got so much praise)

-Heroes of the Storm (the most unique MOBA I've played, sadly it never took off)

-Halo 5: Guardians (again, never got the hate for this game)

-Metroid: Other M (there's plenty to dislike about this game, but it is nowhere near as bad as many claim it to be)

-Battlefield V (including it here solely for the fact that the outrage over female soldiers was, and still is, rediculous)

-Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (I know, I know, I haven't played a CoD game since the original WWII era, but damn if I didn't enjoy this game. I...look, popcorn is nice to have sometimes, alright?)

 

[BrawlMan]

I actually lost my original post, so here's an abridged version. Note that I'm including "overhated" with "underrated" in this context

-Aliens: Colonial Marines (I don't know why this game got so much hate while Isolation got so much praise)

Probably cuz of major false advertising and the fact they did not promise on what they deliver at all. The game became okay-ish after several patches, but that does that make up for all the lying and deceit. Not to mention that game had been in development and switched developers for about over a decade. Till this day, Randy Pitchford still makes pathetic excuses about the game. After that major incident, gamers(casual and hardcore alike) became more aware of when greedy publishers make false promises. You should have seen the demo by this point. It doesn not even come close to resembling the final product in any form. This is old news; you should already know why.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I actually lost my original post, so here's an abridged version. Note that I'm including "overhated" with "underrated" in this context

-Aliens: Colonial Marines (I don't know why this game got so much hate while Isolation got so much praise)

-Heroes of the Storm (the most unique MOBA I've played, sadly it never took off)

-Halo 5: Guardians (again, never got the hate for this game)

-Metroid: Other M (there's plenty to dislike about this game, but it is nowhere near as bad as many claim it to be)

-Battlefield V (including it here solely for the fact that the outrage over female soldiers was, and still is, rediculous)

-Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (I know, I know, I haven't played a CoD game since the original WWII era, but damn if I didn't enjoy this game. I...look, popcorn is nice to have sometimes, alright?)

Other M is in a weird place where it's a game all about the gameplay (which is pretty fun, definitely not the best thing team ninja put out but not bad by any means) but which is remembered purely because of its story aspects, as though Metroid was next to Final Fantasy and MGS in the realm of story-based games and everyone expected something to rival those games, which was always baffling to me. Also the criticisms people had over it seemed to come from a perspective of ignorance towards the ideals of Japan pertaining to women so it was easy to overlook like you do when a random dog barks as you walk past its yard so due to that the game never really felt that underrated. Just an average game in possession of a cult hate-following. Kinda like how other games which are also average have cult fan followings.