Underrated games
I made an overrated games list, so it’s only fair to give a shoutout to the titles I like, but are rarely discussed for whatever reason.
27 Games
The best Star Wars game.
This obscure arcade game was designed to be a non-violent Pac-Man clone, which it nails. As the name implies, you control a bubble and must absorb sink objects like food crumbs and grime while dodging razor blades, brushes, and roaches. The more you absorb, the bigger you become, which eventually allows you to safely exit the stage. If this sounds familiar, that is because Bubbles is Katamari Damacy before Katamari Damacy. And it’s not like this title executes the concept worse because its so much older. Bonus points are awarded for growing bigger than what is required to reach the next stage without dying, but the trade-off is being a bigger target for obstacles. When you’re large enough to leave the stage, you can also knock brushes around. If they land in the drain, more points will be awarded. Overall, one of the best Pac-Man derivatives.
Most shooters like to make the player feel powerful, but Xevious explores the perspective of a fighter pilot. The uncertainty of what enemies will appear, where they will appear, when they will appear, and the formation they will take are all nailed perfectly here. The droning soundtrack, slow-moving screen, and repetitive backgrounds suggest a battle of the mind, a determination to carry out your duty in the face of near-total isolation and destruction.
My favorite arcade game. Nothing quite matches the thrill of not knowing if a cat will cut you off or if you will make it to the safety of a trampoline. It is cat and mouse gameplay figuratively as well as literally, expanding on the single screen perspective of Pac-Man. Top that off with excellent graphics, terrific sound design, and an unforgettable soundtrack, and you have the pinnacle of the maze genre.
Awesome arcade puzzler. I like it even more than Tetris because of the variety of objectives.
There is no other game like ActRaiser. The city building and action platforming are admittedly not special on their own, but when combined, it makes for a one-of-a-kind experience. Everyone needs to play this, not only to see why combining disparate genres can work, but also to remind us why video games are art.
Short and mostly easy, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is one of the most creative Mario games. Going inside a whale, robotic mario, yokai temple, ant-infested tree, giant house, and outer space, before Galaxy?! COME ON!! This came out on the Game Boy and yet it blows NSMB out of the water!
I don’t get the hate for this one. The levels are much bolder, the new demons fit in perfectly with the old ones, and it’s beyond satisfying to super shotgun foes at point-blank range. A more forgiving checkpoint system would have been nice in some levels, but overall I found it much more memorable and fun than the first game.
I honestly think this is the best GBA Castlevania, though it’s still very flawed. Several of the bosses are overly tanky and the DSS cards should have been made less random on a first playthrough so players can easily experiment with them. That said, the difficulty was mostly spot-on for a Castlevania game. I think systems encouraging experimentation are more effective when the game is challenging. Otherwise, what’s the point? This is where Harmony and Aria dropped the ball, even if their systems were easier to utilize. Circle also has the better replay value, as NG+ offers several different modifications, one of which provides all the DSS cards at the start.
I have a lot of nostalgia for this one, so it’s hard to give a fair recommendation. If you like the idea of a 3D platformer starring Pac-Man, give this a shot. Don’t go for 100% though. Like Yoshi’s Island, the journey is at its best when you’re not collecting everything and take in the visuals and music while bouncing through levels. Don’t be fooled by its cute appearance either. It will challenge you, though not always in a fair way, and you’ll see what I mean if you play it. Still, there’s more good than bad.
Returns deserves a remake on home consoles. The level design is still great and Donkey Kong Island has never felt more alive. There’s a sense of progression and cohesiveness here that its bombastic sequel never recaptured. The forced motion controls and one-hit kill rocket levels are super easy to fix and would go a long way to help others appreciate this gem.
Hot take: The Last Story is better than Xenoblade Chronicles. The story of the latter is far more ambitious, but it could have worked just as well, if not better as a movie or TV series. While the same can be said for The Last Story, its gameplay is much more satisfying. You’re not spamming the same abilities over and over. Every fight is a test of skillful coordination with your party. Nothing highlights this more than the bosses, which often have specific weaknesses that can only be exploited by specific party members. Refreshingly, the game is only 25-30 hours long. I wish most modern RPGs didn’t last 50+ hours. I don’t see how players don’t get bored with their gameplay. Story can enhance a game, but it shouldn’t be all it has to offer.
I was able to play this online and locally with friends, but I also played through the entire game in single-player. While I enjoyed the multiplayer more, I still had fun in single-player. I think the puzzles and level design are very good, especially since you can wear different costumes to enhance certain items or obtain more hearts. Coordination is not only encouraged, but required to complete the game. If this came out on the Switch and Nintendo actively supported it with free updates adding more challenges, I think it would be more fondly remembered.
To an extent, I understand why this was forgotten in favor of Tropical Freeze, but I don’t believe the comparisons are entirely fair. There are so many features Impossible Lair has to distinguish itself. The in-depth hub world, extensive difficulty modifiers, Baby Mario health system, and the final level being available from the start all contribute to this. The individual levels admittedly don’t have a lot of unique gimmicks, but they’re all well-designed, fun to play, and it’s cool playing a radically different version of the level you just played. It’s a clever way of recycling content. I want to see more platformers that feature in-depth systems outside of the gameplay we all expect, particularly with hub worlds.
While it does have very noticeable flaws, Origami King’s emotional beats hit me like no other game from 2020. It’s also a game I look back on to remind myself of the power of surprise. Origami King seemed so far removed from its RPG ancestors that I was actually hesitant to play it. But after some contemplation, I decided to jump in and was rewarded with some of the best surprises and music of the last few years. While it isn’t my favorite in the series, mostly due to the lack of unique character models, it was just as quirky, amusing, and fun to play as the classics. There were even a few things I thought this title did better, such as the exploration, dense level design, and partners only staying with you during their chapters instead of tagging along and having no further character development. Note: I haven’t played Sticker Star or Color Splash, so I completely understand why longtime fans will dislike or pass on Origami King. However, if you’re willing to view this as its own game, I think you’ll at least find it interesting.
