What do you think are the most Underrated games of all time?

[Rangaman]

So while there's another "MOST OVERRATED GAMES EVARRR" thread going on, I thought it would be nice to focus on the positives in life instead. More specifically, games you found underrated. Maybe they didn't do well commercially or weren't particularly liked by critics, but whatever the case, this is a celebration of the not-quite-so-well-known faces in the videogame industry.

Personally, I always thought Blinx the Time Sweeper should've been more respected for at least trying to be a bit different (though perhaps that's what put people off). Yes, it's a bit clunky but it had originality and charm and I think those shine through the crappier bits.

 

[Hawki]

Similar to "overrated," almost anything can be "underrated," but I'll nominate the following:

-Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (it's the black sheep of the franchise, but it's actually my second favorite Advance Wars game)

-Diablo III (or rather "over-hated")

-Doom 3 (favorite Doom game)

-Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (sandwiched between Blazing Sword and Path of Radiance, and largely forgotten)

-Halo 5: Guardians (similar to D3, more "over-hated" than "underrated")

-The World is Not Enough (N64...sort of, it's more that it never escaped GoldenEye's shadow, and while I consider GoldenEye to be superior, TWINE is pretty fun as well)

-Paladins (bit early to call, but while it's existing in Overwatch's shadow, I can't deny that the game is damn fun in its current state)

-Resident Evil 5 (a bit too actiony for me, but I feel this game gets more flak than it deserves)

-Too many Sonic games to count since SA1, both 2D and 3D (this could make a subject in of itself, but I've never bought the idea that Sonic just stopped being good after S3&K. I've noticed that since Sonic Mania, people are now saying that Generations and Colors are crap as well, so it seems that it's a case of constantly moving the goal posts)

-Aliens: Colonial Marines (I like this game. Bite me.)

I'll be honest, it's a tough list, because there's a fine line between being overlooked and being underrated (in fairness, Sacred Stones is more the former than the latter), but these are the ones I can think of from the top of my head

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Any Ninja Theory game, if I'm honest.

Granted, there were problems with the games that they've made since they tend to be a little clunky. Heavenly Sword should have never used motion controls because that shit was infuriating.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was fun, but it got weird in places.

The story in both of those games were great, and when I get the cash, and time, I really want to play Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.

 

[Chewster]

Condemned: Criminal Origins was pretty good. If they'd had a better investigation mechanics, the game could have almost become a classic of the genre.

Shadows of the Damned also. I'm a huge Suda 51 guy and I loved No More Heroes but I thought SotD was legitimately one of the funniest games I played last gen. Lollypop Chainsaw was decent, ridiculous fun but the humour didn't quite get me as much as SotD did.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

-The Last Guardian
It's just about the perfect combination of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus

-Battleborn
It's so much better than Overwatch

-Binary Domain
It's far better than the sum of its parts

Medal of Honor: Warfighter
-The single player is shit but its multiplayer was, perhaps, the best of last-gen. Great controls featuring leaning and sliding along with really balanced guns.

Resonance of Fate
-Great little JRPG with a pretty good battle system that a sequel could've expanded on. Its story structure was also great and a breath of fresh air as it was actually structured like Firefly where you were doing a bunch of interesting odd jobs vs saving the world for the millionth time.

-Mercenaries
Still the best open world game ever made

Any Ninja Theory game, if I'm honest.

I don't get why they get shitted on so much. Heavenly Sword was better than God of War 3 in every way.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Heavenly Sword was better than God of War 3 in every way.

*snort*
Really?

I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of GoW3, but worse than Heavenly Sword in every way... EVERY WAY?!

 

[laggyteabag]

BioShock 2 - Usually seen as the bastard child of the BioShock series, as it is not made my Irrational.

The story isn't as good as BS1, and that is okay (though Minerva's den is great), and more Rapture is always great, even if it can be seen as a little repetitive from the first game, but the combat is easily the best in the series, and should be played just for that, if anything.

 

[Buffoon1980]

-Battleborn
It's so much better than Overwatch

Aw, you stole mine. While I'm not going to say it's objectively better than Overwatch, I much prefer it in every way, and I really think it should have found a wider audience. It was a perfect example of a game being overlooked because gamers and commentators just love to say 'Aw man, Game X totally destroyed Game Y' rather than 'Well, I prefer Game X but that doesn't mean Game Y can't also have an appeal'.

Other underrated games? Every Final Fantasy after X. The BlazBlue series (not exactly underrated, just doesn't have the audience it deserves). Every Call of Duty of recent years, because it's cool to hate them. Basically every game from a series that used to be well loved, because expectations cloud judgement.

 

[SirSullymore]

Two that come to mind for me are Battalion Wars for GG (and its Wii-quell) and Codename S.T.E.A.M. for 3DS.

 

[Squilookle]

I could have sworn there's as many 'underrated' threads in the archives as 'overrated' ones, and a quick search found this to be so.

-The World is Not Enough (N64...sort of, it's more that it never escaped GoldenEye's shadow, and while I consider GoldenEye to be superior, TWINE is pretty fun as well)

Interestingly enough while I was there, I saw an old post of yours that had this to say:

-The World is Not Enough: As in, "the N64 James Bond game that wasn't GoldenEye." No, it's not as good as GoldenEye, but IMO, it's still solid, does its own thing, and actually surpasses GoldenEye in some areas (e.g. bots in multiplayer).

And while Goldeneye will always have the top spot in my heart, I have to wholeheartedly agree. Especially about the multiplayer. The multiplayer level designs were some of the best of the whole console generation, and while most weapons didn't have much punch, versing a full roster of bots with the weapons set to explosives was always a riot. Overall it was clunkier than GE, true, but still a fantastic effort, and far better than the ps1 port of the same game and the abysmal Tomorrow Never Dies game.

​

 

[Bealzibob]

My kind of thread.

-Odd World: Stranger's Wrath
One of the best shooters/western games ever made. Better than RDR which is saying a lot.

-Aliens Vs Predators (2010)
Genuinely fantastic campaign from 3 different perspectives. Pvp that captured the feeling of Aliens perfectly.

Metro games get a lot of appreciation but I don't think it's to the degree they deserve. They are at the very top of story based shooters.

-Final Fantasy Advanced Tactics
Overlooked due to being the gameboy version but a damn stellar game. Perhaps the FF game with my most hours put into amusingly.

-Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
Kinda of in the weird genre of things like Jak 2/3 it's a action adventure shooter which was incredible. Kinda like a spiritual successor to Conkers Bad Fur Day at times.

 

[American Tanker]

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. And pretty much any decent air combat game in general(don't get me started on Ace Combat...); but I'm citing Crimson Skies specifically because it's just an incredibly awesome game with so much going on. The aircraft designs are all unique and each plane flies differently and comes with its own special weapon. There are massive dogfights with dozens of enemy planes, and you even take on enemy zeppelins that are studded with all manner of defensive turrets. And the setting is a fascinating alternate history 1930s that ties all this awesomeness together and makes it make sense.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

"Overrated" and "Underrated" are often subjected, but ok I'll go along with this.

-Too many Sonic games to count since SA1, both 2D and 3D (this could make a subject in of itself, but I've never bought the idea that Sonic just stopped being good after S3&K. I've noticed that since Sonic Mania, people are now saying that Generations and Colors are crap as well, so it seems that it's a case of constantly moving the goal posts)

People are actually saying that? What the hell? I haven't played Colours, but I thought Generations was good. I wish they'd remade more classic levels, but overall it was still a fun game.

Resonance of Fate
-Great little JRPG with a pretty good battle system that a sequel could've expanded on. Its story structure was also great and a breath of fresh air as it was actually structured like Firefly where you were doing a bunch of interesting odd jobs vs saving the world for the millionth time.

I couldn't get past the dungeon where you had to escort this artifact thing, but yeah it was a pretty good game with likable characters and an interesting battle system. Even though the one main character was voiced by the same actor who voiced Edge Maverick from Star Ocean: Last Hope, but I won't hold that against him.

-Aliens Vs Predators (2010)
Genuinely fantastic campaign from 3 different perspectives. Pvp that captured the feeling of Aliens perfectly.

I had a lot of fun with that game. I loved playing as the Xenomorph. I only wish the Alien and Predator campaigns were longer.

 

[Myria]

Donkey Kong 64 -- Mostly forgotten, but to me it was probably the best N64 3D platformer.

Pokemon Puzzle League -- Another mostly forgotten N64 game. A Tetris-attack style game with a Pokemon skin.

Voodoo Vince -- Despite the recent remake, still mostly forgotten. Deserved more attention than it got either time.

Deus Ex: Invisible War -- Never have understood the hate this game gets, really enjoyed it myself.

 

[CaitSeith]

ZombiU

It's understandable. Brainless zombie shooters were everywhere (with people mixing them with survival horror), the survival horror genre is normally underrated and, well, it was on Wii U. Still, very few people (like Yathzee) seemed to give it a fair chance. It wasn't until it was ported to PC when it got a more positive reception (but the original still is underrated)

 

[Jamcie Kerbizz]

Bruce Lee
x-com: Apocalypse
Star Wars Galaxies
Civilization: Beyond Earth
Battleborn

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Used to have this on the Wii;


Bug kung-fu! [small]Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper??[/small]

Adding...
Rollers of the Realm; pinball with a story, characters and voice acting! Also you get to launch your loyal, loving dog companion at 100 km/h in pinball form towards your enemies.

Rain World; difficult, but very detailed world and interactive eco-system that really requires some community and wiki knowledge to appreciate the extent of ways you can survive. Apparently you can even befriend almost any predator with a highly cautious series of actions. The devs are working on a more accessible mode for those wanting less danger and more exploration.

Of all time? Oh...ok. [small]AC Unity?[/small]

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

-Aliens Vs Predators (2010)
Genuinely fantastic campaign from 3 different perspectives. Pvp that captured the feeling of Aliens perfectly.

I had a lot of fun with that game. I loved playing as the Xenomorph. I only wish the Alien and Predator campaigns were longer.

I actually have fond memories of the 1999 PC Alien vs Predator, which seems to have been mostly forgotten, sandwiched as it was between the more well known/popular Jaguar AvP and PC AvP2. Mostly because I really enjoyed playing the multiplayer.

The balance between the 3 races was horrible, but if you played Xenomorph and got good at it, you became this engine of pointy death, stealthily sneaking closer, then bounding off walls and closing distances in the blink of an eye for the kill. Unless you're up against another good Xenomorph player, in which case it became more a ludicrously frantic jousting game of trying to keep track of the other while you yourself try to find a blind angle to attack from.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was fun, but it got weird in places.

Enslaved was amazing, if for the characters alone; voice acting and writing made for some of the most memorable and believable characters of last gen, imho.

Condemned: Criminal Origins was pretty good. If they'd had a better investigation mechanics, the game could have almost become a classic of the genre.

Condemned AND Condemned 2: Bloodshot are my two favorite scary games (doesn't really feel right to call them "horror" games, but I guess technically they are.) The investigation mechanics were leagues better in 2, but the story really went off the rails. I didn't mind at all, but it was a sticking point for a lot of people. Either way, I've always wanted a third installment.