Looking for some games that I may never have heard of or good recommendations like from the show good game.
Enlighten me fellow ozbargainers with your hidden gems in the gaming section.
Underrated Hidden Games?
AlienC on 01/11/2016 - 08:42
Comments
Deadly Premonition
Which platform?
PS4 and PC mainly. XB1 if there are any good exclusives. Not really interested in Nintendo unless the legend of Zelda and splatoon is really good.
Basically been kind of out of the loop for the past 1.5 years.
And want to know more..
I am basically looking for the next great big thing that will blow me away and can spend hours in it just marveling at the epic scenery and gameplay.
I have looked at most of the great big hit releases over the past few years off the top of my head I checked out darkest dungeon / monument valley / don't starve / banished / prison architect / all the horror games here pretty much most or all / also any big title games that hit the YouTube let's play scene / most online fps cod clones and battlefield clones etc / dead by daylight / some strategy games / a few smaller indie rpg games like sword coast legends and torment numenara / some novelty games like fortunes tavern / tabletop simulator / some poker games um yeah the list goes on..
Something like ARK or No Mans Sky or similar was supposed to do be the next open world but list hitter but alas we all know how that went.
My last awesome nostalgic game I would say was WoW and other assorted blizzard games which was ages ago and is also getting very outdated now graphics wise and content wise although RTS gaming had seen a very big big decline probably because of lack of skilled content developers or fall in popularity i basically an underground scene these days shadowed by the relatively "new" moba genre can't blame them though mobas are and can be fun although sometimes toxic.
I am hoping that the next big thing revolutionises gaming somewhat be it rpg RTS open world management dancing music racing or other somewhat etc
With 4k on the horizon and maybe also even vr if it properly takes off and surpasses the close up visuals and motion sickness obstacles I can see another great adventure possibly hopefully arriving in the next hopefully six months or six years again this is all just speculations so…
For now I just want something nice and new and neat to pass me the time.
I do like exploring and adventuring.. love my PvP and online so WoW and cod was my last fix.. although nothing wrong with offline as well just getting sick of the android city war building "simulator" clones .. aren't we all so
I wonder what will be my next endeavour.. fellow gamers of the night can you help me?
Honestly the thing you're looking for is never a 'hidden' game, because the games that have enough budget to have an open world game, have enough budget to TOOT THE HYPE HORNS BEST GAME EVAR, and then you've heard of all those. But do you really want to dive into the most oversaturated genre there is? Since the success of Skyrim, Uncharted and Minecraft, almost every game in recent times has been a combination of the three: You're a white male in his mid thirties in a sandbox and there's crafting elements, go.
The games that 'revolutionise' gaming are never EVER the games that say they're going to before they release. Ubisoft drop that word, as well as "innovative" for everything they release, and they do nothing but rehash concepts and characters, and even copy whole maps. It won't blow you away if the developers say that it will, so cancel your pre-order now lest be disappointed later.
The sandbox game that everyone wants does not exist; I find myself waking up thinking that I'd really like to play a game where every character in the world is a human player and all interations are humanised, but games that aim for this just end up demonizing other players like cases like Rust and Haven and Hearth and GTA, because I forgot before the exchange that people are dicks.
Your list of things you're interested in seem very much driven by the industry. Multiplayer, sandbox, higher resolutions. But the fact of the matter is that if this is your endeavour in 2016 then you need to abandon variety. And in the videogame medium, if you lose variety then what's the point in playing more than just a single videogame for the rest of all eternity. I often joke that the industry would be better if EA, Activision, and Microsoft's various studios got together and created one gigantic shooting game so that there isn't 4 iterations of barely different shooters (mechanically) every single year, which would reduce oversaturation and let people finally try to experiment with new concepts. But that's an insane fantasy that's never gonna happen. Videogames are not being made for people who enjoy videogames, anymore, and whilst that's a bizarre sentence, it's entirely true. Even the more hardcore themed games are being made 'accessible' to people who may not necessarily play many games, often to the detriment of long-time fans and people who play more than 3 videogames a year.
The thing is, this whole thought of security is holding back the games industry, and it's not going anywhere. The big guys aren't going to put all their money on a totally original, crazy, whacky new idea because of the cost involved in creating a videogame for the spoilt Xbone PS4 generation; they expect the cripsest of models, the smoothest of animations. Something that needs a 100 man team, 5 years, and $400,000; they're not going to invest that in, say, a game about a psychic boy who goes to magic camp that might not sell very well (At least Psychonauts retroactively got the love it deserved, and Psychonauts 2 is definitely being made). I prefer the games made with passion and creativity, rather than the colour-by-numbers the industry has boiled down to. "Does it have the Eagle Vision, the repelling scene, the tailing mission, and the counter button, the crafting mechanics, and the RPG elements? Okay then ship it".
I spammed a massive list of games that I am bias'd-ly fond of below: Most notably none of them are built the way they are because the industry demands it of them, but because the developers wanted their games to be that way. A developer who decides what their game is, is far better than a developer who lets trends decide what their game is, and therefore makes the game more worthy of a purchase. You can only play so many similar games before they all blend into one amorphous blob of trends and gimmicks, and disgusting "graphics-above-gameplay" dev mentality.
Yes I'm a hipster. But I don't let hype decide what I spend my money on anymore because of constant disappointment. They can only get me so many times before I wisen up to their crap. And, whilst Metacritic may not be the best source of unbias reviews, these recent games consistently get below 70's from user scores for fully legitimate reasons. The reason I am so disappointed in videogames recently is because I love them so much and they've dropped into mediocrity consistently, to the point where I'm worried if they'll ever get back to where they where in 2010 and prior.
TL;DR; If you want to be surprised by a game, stop looking in the main stream, because you're not going to find it. These games have to be safe, accessible, easy, and contain mostly small words, else the kids and teens won't buy all the DLC. The difference between indie and AAA shouldn't be viewed with such a harsh lens; a videogame is a videogame no matter if it had 300 drones work on it or a single brilliant dev.
Awesome reply man I read every word of it.
And yes I heavily know that feeling it is atrocious.
I guess I am just looking for my last single awesome RTS because since Warcraft and rise of nations nothing has seemed to fill that void
@FrankMcFuzz: I think hidden is the wrong word I am just looking for a game that I may have overlooked or missed in my extensive but somewhat not thorough travels. Underrated could maybe have been a better name but alas I do not know. Ah well what's done is done haha lol todaloo mf'ers!
@AlienC: Well I personally would recommend Undertale, especially if you've ever played Earthbound. It's a game that I found last year when I was filling up with cynicism from the current industry doing things the way they've been doing them recently. Whilst not for everyone, it's funny, charming, got a good soundtrack, and contains a pretty meaningful message. It is tumblr-bait, though, and the fanbase is often likened to that of FNAF's… Also, somehow, it won the GameFAQ "Best Game Ever" title last year, despite only coming out last year, lol.
Lol, on the exact same note, you should play Earthbound if you haven't. It's a great retro SNES JRPG about a boy who goes on a journey…. To save the world from a galactic calamity, and it's very, very, very weird. It's defined as a cult classic, and those games are always the most interesting. Perhaps if you haven't played either, you should play Earthbound, then Undertale. You could probably pick up the SNES emulator for Earthbound pretty easy these days, unless you want to buy the digital version on the Nintendo eShop. I would definitely recommend those.
The only reason Earthbound isn't known by everyone everywhere as a fantastic retro RPG is because Nintendo hardcore borked their advertising campaign because they got way too cocky with their high sales of Zelda, Metroid and Mario SNES games, and had a campaign going for Earthbound that seemingly criticised the game in their ads…. And thus began the long string of Nintendo doing things that made no sense!
@AlienC: Also, if you're looking for an RTS, though this will be a massive undertaking for you, I heartily suggest Dwarf Fortress. It's a management game where you build a settlement, and practically started the genre that it's become.
Notable Dwarf Fortress inspired games are:
Gnormoria
Prison Architect
Rimworld
MinecraftIf you've played any of these and found them to your liking at least somewhat, you ought to give Dwarf Fortress a try at least, considering it's free forever, and infamously, the most in depth videogame on the planet.
Yes, we are all on the road crew. Our backs are killing us.
These are my hedge trimmers. They help me maintain my hedge.
I can listen to any phone conversation that I want, but do not because of my sense of professional responsibility.
When my husband drinks excessively, I may threaten him with this rolling pin, although we are still very much in loveUnfortunately I got bored of dwarf fortress after a few days or hours
The game I want to play or make will make dwarf fortress and all of its ancestors look like age of empires or civilisation when I am finished it in the next century or whatever haha lol
@AlienC: Well, by the time Dwarf Fortress is actually finished, it'll make the game you're talking about look like that.
@AlienC: …We probably will be lol. But then, certainly the one guy developing it will die eventually too lol
Not new but if you never played it morning I'm is the best elderscrolls game, so much world detail. Books ect lore to explore.
Two most underrated I've played current gen are Pikmin 3 and Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth.
What about Ms. Pikmin?
No Man's Sky.Oh, sorry, you were talking about games that are better than they advertise, and the game itself is hidden, not the development company.
Horribly contrived, and beating a horse's skeleton by this point. 1/10.
True but I guess it is better than playing no man's sky
OpenTTD
G.R.A.V ( one official server now )
Constructor ( a new HD version is coming out in 2017 )
ParagonCatherine is one of those that slipped me by for many years… On PS3 & XBox 360, crackingly good puzzle game.
I liked the game and wanted to follow the story but the puzzle part started getting too hard for me so I gave up.
The game was free for PS3 years ago.
Bastion
Toki Tori 2
Here's a big old list of titles. I've tried to give them a little description of what you're getting into, but keep in mind that this is my pick of games that are some of the most unique.
Dwarf Fortress (Free, best game I've ever played)
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, IVAN, Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, ADOM, NetHack, Caves of Qud (All free roguelikes, really good games by themselves, and each incredibly distinct from one another. Hope you loooove ASCII text.)
Undertale, but it's likely not for you if you're not an active game player and don't enjoy thinking outside of the square or think about YOUR FEELINGS (Also not recommended if you hate great soundtracks)
Wonderful 101 on Wii-U, my favourite game of the generation because it has the uniqueness that was prevalent last generation but entirely missing this gen. ALSO IT HAS MORE COLOURS THAN GREY AND WASHED OUT BLUE AND RED, WOAH unheard of.
RimWorld; it's Dwarf Fortress for regular people who can't see into the matrix.
Kerbal Space Program and Factorio. Great for those who love to optimise and re-engineer
Terraria, Mount and Blade, FTL….. These have nothing to do with one another, but I have over 100 hours in all three and most people who own it have the same.
Stardew Valley, it's Harvest Moon for 2016
Papers Please…. It's a paperwork simulator, and it's more engaging than half the shooters I've played since 2010
Yeah, sure, these are mostly indie titles, but they're also great, in my opinion and the opinions of many others. Some of these aren't particularly kept secret, but I just thought I'd dump a big old list of incredibly varied and worthwhile games that hadn't got a mention as of yet.
I think that you are me because this post is just spot on!
I'd rather play a weird game about being an Octopus as a father, a game about denying people entry to your country with a BIG RED STAMP, and a game about hairy sociopath dwarves punching cats in the face than one game every year about shooting a guy with a gun until he falls down repeat x8000. :D
I left out a bunch of strategy and roguelike games that I absolutely adore on steam, but I'm sure you get the point! There's gotta be at least one in that list that you'd get a kick out of! I, personally, am playing Kerbal Space Program at home at the moment, and despite my frustration at my rockets never working as intended, I'm still enjoying my time with it!
Haha yeah too right man too right. Cod clones are just that nowadays. I have most definitely moved on from the intense and repetitive scene that is online shooters.
I mean don't get me wrong they most definitely have their time and place but I just want something now that I can just turn on and sit in my comfy arm chair maybe open the window and let the mountain breeze in (i live now in the blue mountains) and play a few hours of until I fall asleep haha lol sans repeat..
I also used to love a good strategy game but alas the last one I truly enjoyed was the heroes of might and magic series which has somewhat gone downhill IMO.
I hear dawn of war 3 is on its final way but tbh it just looks like a repetition of the previous installments with just new fancier graphics :(
Still nothing scratches that itch that is the original aoe and rise of nations gaming 0ad comes close but it is still just a clone unfortunately :(
Ah well here's to the future and here's to hoping!
holds up glass
May we live long enough to see another great day in gaming
Hurrah hurrah… Huzzah
@AlienC: As far as Warhammer 40K goes, they have a Left 4 Dead clone that's coming out this month, and I'm quite interested in that :D That's called Space Hulk: Deathwing, for reference. But, again, it's gone back into first person shootin' realm lol.
A game I liked, but may be 'eh whatever' to a rts fan is Infested Planet; it's basically the RTS version of Starship Troopers. Lots of horde monsters and having to stay on your toes to manage alien swarms.
If you like strategy of a more turn-based variety, I would definitely recommend Battle Brothers or Banner Saga 1 and 2. And if you are okay with base management and playing a bit of an old game, I would recommend one called "The King Of Dragon Pass", a game I'm sure is one of the best games ever but I cannot penetrate it's impenetrable wall of lore and obtuse management lol.
Thanks for your recommendations some of these seem like great games for my tastes and preferences.
Yeah infested planet caught my eye too looks like a great simple td/rts/rpg hybrid kind of like creep world or whatever that other defend against the alien hive clone was.
I used to like majesty but it started to get stale and no one really made a spiritual successor to it :(
This is list of simply fantastic games. Every time I see you comment about The Wonderful 101 I feel a pang of guilt for owning a Wii U for so long, and never properly playing that game.
You should feel 4 more pangs if you enjoy Bayonetta or Pikmin, and you've STILL never played 101 :O
And another dozen if you ever enjoyed Power Rangers!
4 more pangs felt…
I've just sunk a few hours into RimWorld! Definitely more accessible than DF - but still seems to have plenty of depth for me to sink my teeth into.
Games that I've been waiting to get on sale include:
Grim Dawn (similar to Diablo 3 (Blizzard) and Path of Exile (free to play on Steam))
Divinity Original Sin and Divinity Original Sin 2 (just recently released) http://store.steampowered.com/search/?snr=1_4_4__12&term=divinity+original+sinHappy gaming !
2 great survival games off steam.
The long dark.
Fire watch.
Can be had on sale with decent % off.
I ended up watching fire watch like a movie through a few videos on YouTube.
Was a great story imo can imagine it must be ten times more fun when playing it in person.
Yet to see read or try the long dark might give it another YouTube watching treatment if the story seems appealing or interesting to me.
Thats what got onto firewatch.
The long dark was a reccomended title through steam ehich for a few dollars was worth a try and is great.
The story is a bit basic BUT its all about the gameplay of survival and when i gave it a first go i was like what the hell do i do then it hit me…. do what ever it takes to live.
Good luck
Haha nice that actually sounds good a pure survival game is rare these days with a semi half decent story
Cheers thanks
Teslagrad/Ether One are 2 of my favourites, basically any game from Soedesco is pretty cool and a little uncommon imo
Not really underrated or hidden but: Portal 1&2, The Stanley Parable, Wildstar (now F2P), the new WoW xpac is great, Bioshock series, Fallout 3/NV/4, dishonored.
Its hard for me to re enter or enjoy the mainstream as most games I have either already played the previous installments and moved on or I can tell from the get go or trailer how my next 30 hours are going to be or last.
I am looking for something that I haven't heard of or that will just completely blow me away something underrated or hidden beneath the pile of triple AAA or widely journalised and reported and replayed releases.
Dead for daylight was the last game that really caught me by surprise although while essentially an arena 1v4 clone it had some new elements that broke the stale first or third person arena "shooter" category.
As a kid games like trap gunner and vigilante 8 twisted metal and pa rappa the rappa used to always catch my attention as they weren't what I would call generic or "normal" I just never got bored with them and would always come back for more but I know this is pretty much just heading into personal preferences territory which makes none to zero sense to the outsider so I will just stop haha lol.
Hard for me to get back into wow as my family used to give me negative experiences and feelings towards it so I have got previous trauma from that haha lol unfortunately. Ie I still get flashbacks of the fights we used to have when I used to play it a lot and neglect my school studies which I did and highly somewhat regret now :(
The Saboteur. And to be honest, I think it beats GTA in a manner. Just my opinion.
Haven't played many PC games for a few years either. Just upgraded my video card recently so looking to get back into PC gaming.
Some good ones I would recommend
Assasins Creed Chronicles (china, India, Russia) 2015/16
Shadow Complex Remastered 2015
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty 2014
Dragon Age: Inquisition 2014
Alan Wake + Alan Wake's american nightmare 2012
Deadlight 2012
Limbo 2010
Dragon Age: Inquisition 2009
Need for Speed Undercover 2008
Overlord: Raising Hell 2007
Enclave 2002
Planescape Torment 1999
Little Big Adventure 2 - 1998
Little Big Adventure: Twinsen's Adventure - 1994Little Big Adventure 2 is free now on gog.com! And those two games are some of my favourites ever.
You have some great taste in good gamings
I tip my hat to you dear kind sir
tips hat
PS4: Dragon Quest Builders - much funner then I expected
Empyrion Galactic Survival
Now playing The Witcher series. Incredible.
That is definitely on my to do list.. a bit hard for me to get into it though after watching a few other similar games in the genre
Hand of Fate. Action/adventure game with a card-based story/gameplay mechanic that I've never seen before. Slightly let down by clunky Arkham-style combat (only very slightly) - the game has a really unique feel that worked for me. Made by Brisbane-based devs to boot. A sequel is due out in the near future that I hope can smooth out some of those rough edges.
Overwatch
until dawn
Psychonauts