What are the cult classics of the current gen?
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Valkyria Chronicles, Catherine, Bayonetta, Demon's/Dark Souls, and Vanquish are the ones that come to mind.
I'm not sure if Journey qualifies with all of the GOTY awards and consistently being one of the highest sold games on PSN.
I'm not sure if Journey qualifies with all of the GOTY awards and consistently being one of the highest sold games on PSN.
It's definitely Alan Wake. People were very slow to pick it up, and they were pleasantly surprised to have done it. A real cult classic if you ask me. Not perfect by any standard, but remarkable in it's own unique way.
Not to be a jerk, but Persona hasn't really done anything new besides ports of PS2 games with extra content. It's not bad, but nothing noteworthy either. Atlus is pretty cool though.Fox12 said:
Square Enix isn't all bad, they released plenty of interesting RPGs and other games on the PSP and DS. And let's not forget that they distribute more western titles like Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, and even Batman Arkham Asylum through Eidos.
Hmm, now back to the original question. Lost Odyssey. I think it's worthy of being called a cult classic.
Platinum Games thread? Platinum Games thread. When Bayonetta 2 was announced I'm pretty sure the world stopped turning for a second. Bayo 1 and MGR did sell pretty good, though, so not sure they count.
So if they don't count, Alice: Madness Returns and Deadly Premonition are the more example ones I've seen.
So if they don't count, Alice: Madness Returns and Deadly Premonition are the more example ones I've seen.
Cult classics, in the simplest sense, are games which are generally well received and liked/loved by a small group of players, but were poor performers in terms of critical or commercial success. That's the main defining criteria, but they may also be quite niche in their appeal (eg. setting, story), released with bugs/lack of QA, have a dedicated (player-driven) community and in previous years, be a licensed game (eg. Aliens, Star Wars, etc).Maximum Bert said:
Examples from the past include (in no particular order):
- Advent Rising: The first of a planned trilogy, with comic and PSP tie ins. Sadly the commercial performance saw it scrapped after a single title, for which I'm very sad (particularly with the cliff hanger ending following an emotional story).
- Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines: Troika's third and (ironically) final game was forced out by Activision before it was ready. The early source engine with hacked together AI and numerous other factors meant it came out full of bugs and issues which 3 months in beta and QA would've helped. The result was poor commercial success, Troika's insolvency and the last VTM game that will ever be (barring CCPs MMO).
- Beyond Good and Evil: How this game failed to make a commercial impact escapes me. It was a polished masterpiece and was acclaimed by critics and players alike. Sadly it didn't materialise into sales and was shelved. However a sequel is apparently in the works.
- Psychonauts: Tim Schaeffer made a great game here, but players didn't buy it. Those who did play it however, almost unequivocally loved it.
- The Witcher: The sequel probably made a bigger impact and with lifetime sales climbing, it's questionable whether or not this still qualifies. But for the first couple of years after release, this was a lesser known, lesser played RPG which was harder, adult-themed and deeper than most current gen titles.
Of this generation, I would say:
- Alpha Protocol: Stupid checkpoints, stupid hacking minigame, sometimes questionable VAing, bugs aplenty, inexplicable regenerating armour and invisibility...still, an espionage thriller RPG with choices that make a tangible difference, interesting relationships and gameplay mean tonnes of replayability. (I still don't know how to get Scarlett on the boat at the end. Always end up with Mia or Heck).
- Dragon's Dogma: Despite being an AAA title from Capcom with lots of polish, it never succeeded that well. Capcom's first real attempt at RPG, at sandbox and at sandbox RPG. Very enjoyable though with some flaws. Shame it never made it to PC, nor did its sales prompt a sequel. I'd like to see a sequel with major improvements, a larger world and quicker travel (admittedly the travel system itself was intentionally a part of the game and story, but it get tedious after a while).
I think by definition, the Souls series are THE cult games of this generation.
However, to answer your topic question in more detail (excluding any title that didn't get a boxed retail copy for the sake of brevity):
Alan Wake, Catherine, Dragon's Crown, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Everything by Suda 51, Everything by Tim Schafer, Mirror's Edge, the Metro series, Madworld, Ni No Kuni, Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles and the Zero Escape games qualify as well, I think.
However, to answer your topic question in more detail (excluding any title that didn't get a boxed retail copy for the sake of brevity):
Alan Wake, Catherine, Dragon's Crown, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Everything by Suda 51, Everything by Tim Schafer, Mirror's Edge, the Metro series, Madworld, Ni No Kuni, Vanquish, Valkyria Chronicles and the Zero Escape games qualify as well, I think.
Valkyria Chronicles
Bayonetta
Demon's Souls
Dark Souls (Not sure though, this one actually sold pretty well)
I also want to say Disgaea 3,4, and D2, but the series has been around since the PS2 so I can't really count them.
Then there's Journey which also sold pretty well. But I want to add it because I really liked it.
Bayonetta
Demon's Souls
Dark Souls (Not sure though, this one actually sold pretty well)
I also want to say Disgaea 3,4, and D2, but the series has been around since the PS2 so I can't really count them.
Then there's Journey which also sold pretty well. But I want to add it because I really liked it.
It's hard to say now, because by definition a cult classic has a fairly small fanbase, that either becomes vocally loyal later on or amasses a lot more followers later. So it's yet to be seen, but I'd definitely bet on Alan Wake and Brutal Legend. Both "non-indie" games that didn't have massive budgets or press, and appeal to more niche groups in terms of gameplay and themes (but these are groups who really don't have anywhere else to go for those wants).
Games I'd hope became cult classics to validate my own inexplicable affection for them? Enslaved, because I really did like it, and Brink, because I would love to see a fan rig up a more playable version of it--it had some great concepts.
Games I'd hope became cult classics to validate my own inexplicable affection for them? Enslaved, because I really did like it, and Brink, because I would love to see a fan rig up a more playable version of it--it had some great concepts.
Last I heard, Dragons Dogma was very likely to have a sequel on the PS4. Not right away at launch, but still coming to it.KingsGambit said:
OT
Mirrors edge! It came out and was recognized as being something new but not very good. Then all of a sudden its released on PC and everyone begins singing its name from the rooftops. It even has a sequel on the way now.
Blood Bowl is another cult classic title from this gen. I never played it, but a bunch of friends LOVE it. Fantasy football with minotaurs and dark elves? Good times for all!
Oh, and Divinity 2. This game got average reviews as its launch felt very rushed. But you know what? Its an enjoyable and unique Wrpg that is an odd mix of a 2004 bioware game, a hub world action/rpg, and Dragons. If you can put up with some of its flaws you could easily have 25+ hours of decent rpg on your hands.
Persona didn't revolutionize the genre, but Atlus are the only ones making consistently great JRPG's at the moment. Also, though not revolutionary, Persona beats anything Square has released in almost a decade. While I'm aware Persona games were technically ps2 games, the last one was released two years after the ps3 was released, so I consider it "current gen" in terms of time frame.Dead Century said:
Alan Wake, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Deadly Premonition, Overlord... Mirror's Edge, Darksiders?
Some odd suggestions for cult in this thread too, CoD 4 and Dark Souls? Crazy talk.
I have one to set the cat amongst the pigeons; Duke Nukem Forever! Quite liked it myself and thought it came in for some harsh and undue criticism, not that it was faultless by any stretch of the imagination though.
Some odd suggestions for cult in this thread too, CoD 4 and Dark Souls? Crazy talk.
I have one to set the cat amongst the pigeons; Duke Nukem Forever! Quite liked it myself and thought it came in for some harsh and undue criticism, not that it was faultless by any stretch of the imagination though.
if not restricted to consoles, but just era, The Witcher
consoles, Demon's Souls and Mass Effect will always stand out for me and i quite liked Enslaved, debating buying it for PC
consoles, Demon's Souls and Mass Effect will always stand out for me and i quite liked Enslaved, debating buying it for PC
It can't really be decided yet, right, seeing as not enough time has passed?
I thought cult games were ones which are usually REALLY obscure, and suddenly gain a following years after their release.
For instance, ICO, as mentioned on the first post, always had its followers, and was still fairly mainstream, even though it didn't sell as well as expected.
I thought cult games were ones which are usually REALLY obscure, and suddenly gain a following years after their release.
For instance, ICO, as mentioned on the first post, always had its followers, and was still fairly mainstream, even though it didn't sell as well as expected.
Cult classics, generally, are out of the mainstream eye (unless forced there, I'm looking at you, Rocky Horror Picture Show). Minecraft is so huge that even non-gamers have at least heard of it. On the flipside, I wouldn't even know what Deadly Premonition is if I hadn't had it thrust into my hands by a friend of mine.Sleekit said:
Catherine and Valkyria Chronicles, for sure. the latter even received quite a bit of recognition for being "the greatest game no one played" back in its release year. XD
For whatever reason, japanese games fell under harsh scrutiny with western gamers somewhere between the PS2 and current gen, and this dismissal lead to the diamonds being overlooked along with the chaff.
For whatever reason, japanese games fell under harsh scrutiny with western gamers somewhere between the PS2 and current gen, and this dismissal lead to the diamonds being overlooked along with the chaff.
I thought predicting the future cult classics makes one a "proper hipster", per se... I don't know...Terramax said:
OT: Catherine (it's been said multiple times already)
3D Dot Game Heroes (the Minecraft of Zelda)
Child of Eden (alongside Rez, in my opinion)
Hyperdimension Neptunia (and its two current sequels, mkII and Victory)
And, the only one I thought of that probably doesn't count, given the circumstances, is Skullgirls... But, then again, "who knows what the future may hold..."[footnote]A bird told me that, refering to the third installment of a particular game series...[/footnote]