Question Mid-Week Question: What game do you love that you think has been overlooked?

[PCG Chris]

With so many people staying home and playing games, it's not a bad time to turn someone onto a game you love that has been largely overlooked.

We've got a few pieces on overlooked RPGs, overlooked strategy games, and overlooked shooters.

But we're asking you—what game do you enjoy that you think has been overlooked by the gaming world at large?

Let us know—we'll publish our answers and some from the forums on Wednesday!

 

[PCG Chris]

For me it's always gonna be Duskers -- sci-fi horror and survival strategy game where you remotely pilot drones around derelict space stations. Most of the input is done by typing in commands, which makes it feel extra cool and lo-fi. It's a very tense and spooky experience and I'm always interested in getting more people playing it.

 

[Zloth]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but Egosoft's X series. I can certainly see why it isn't well known, either. Marketing is almost exclusively word of mouth. When the games first show up, they tend to be really buggy which torches their initial review scores. They're very long games, which makes them harder on reviewers with a whole stack of games that need playing. Heck, they don't even have a proper genre to be in other than "kinda like Elite or Privateer, sorta."

But, once those games really get on their feet, they're incredible! The depth is ridiculous - particularly coming from such a small developer. You go from a little small fry, scavenging after battles and picking off scouts, clear up to being a trade empire with huge factories and a fleet of ships. And the games are fun the whole way through!

 

[Sarafan]

It's Quake Champions for me. The game deserves a big success, but it's not popular unfortunately (816 players on average in the last 30 days). It mixes classic arena shooter gameplay with heroes that have unique powers. What really matters however are not the unique powers, but the skill level of players. The game has a steep entry threshold and it's probably the main reason why it hasn't achieved success. Most of the players present a very high level, which discourages new players. But the game is still alive. It receives big updates every 3 months and provides loads of fun. I enjoy every single frag I'm able to do. If you're looking for a very good online FPS, you should give Quake Champions a chance.

 

[Hveðrungr]

It has to be HuniePop. People look down on it because "It's just a Match-3" or "It's just an anime game" or "It's just for pervy weebs", but it is so much more. It has a gripping magical realist narrative worthy of Gabriel García Márquez, with surprise twists along the trail that metatextually transcend and subvert genre expectations. It proudly promotes diversity, pioneering the option for a queer female player character at a time when many games still forced a straight male player character, and with NPCs from all major ethnic groups, be they white, black, Hispanic, Indian, East Asian, fairy, goddess, alien, or nekomimi. It has a complex simulation meta-layer involving high-tech equipment and currency trading. Its art design is stunning, and yes, it's also a really good Match-3. HuniePop: the game that has everything.

 

[Frindis]

Not many have heard about Thrones of Darkness, yet played it. From Click Entertainment, this 2001 game is an unpolished gem that borrows a lot from RPG games like Diablo (not a shocker since some of the devs worked with original Diablo) but has a lot of originality with its feudal' ish and Japan mythos theme going on. You can play up to seven characters (a nod to Kurosawa), four in a group at the same time and it ranges from ninjas, swordsmen to crazy berserkers. You roll through them, craft and upgrade stuff, and mainly hack and slash your way through the game. It got a magic system, but pretty meeh. The game is not perfect by all means, but it is entertaining to play and it brings some nuances to the hack&slash table.

 

[Zoid]

Well I was coming in here ready to say Rise of Nations but I see you already covered that one in your Overlooked Strategy Games segment. I think it was wrongly overshadowed by AoE at the time which kept it from becoming popular enough to warrant a sequel. I still hope sometimes for a sequel, or at least a spiritual successor.

 

[Rubycube99]

Heroes of the Storm... Gets some attention but not enough for such an accessible and beautifully constructed game. The matchmaking can sometimes be imbalanced but mostly the rounds are thrilling. Deserves way more cred.

 

[Biggly]

For me it's always gonna be Duskers -- sci-fi horror and survival strategy game where you remotely pilot drones around derelict space stations. Most of the input is done by typing in commands, which makes it feel extra cool and lo-fi. It's a very tense and spooky experience and I'm always interested in getting more people playing it.

OMG, this looks right up my street. I just need to navigate the obstacles and threats to my precious gaming time that my 15 month-old boy poses, before I can commit.

 

[Kotter]

Everquest 2!

 

[SWard]

Is it weird to say almost every first and second generation commercial VR game? I feel like due to the install base when the Rift, Vive and PSVR shipped there's a ton of amazing games from then (and some released now as exclusives on other VR/mobile headsets) that get overlooked. There's some stunning narrative games, amazing technological achievements and brilliant game mechanics which will never feel 'mainstream', and that's such a shame. VR games as a category for awards shows either get looped in all together, stuck firmly in the 'Party Game' cateogries or left out entirely, and there's a ton of brilliant experiences at peoples fingertips, if only the technology were available. Hopefully some of these games either get flat ports or get to be re-released after exclusives end, some real diamonds in there!

 

[tropicallazerbeams]

Betrayer is a first person survival horror exploration game set in pre-colonial America. Scared the pants off me first time I played it, ended up falling in love with it and replaying it a second time. The art style is great, story is engaging, weapons are a blast, and the stealth action is tense as a bowstring.

 

[Biggly]

For me it's always gonna be Duskers -- sci-fi horror and survival strategy game where you remotely pilot drones around derelict space stations. Most of the input is done by typing in commands, which makes it feel extra cool and lo-fi. It's a very tense and spooky experience and I'm always interested in getting more people playing it.

I bought Duskers, managed to squeeze an hour in last night. I love it! It's going to pull me away from HL: Alyx for a bit, I think. You can now consider it a little less overlooked.

 

[McStabStab]

Dungeon of the Endless. All the other Endless series games get a lot of love but this one is often forgotten.

DUSKERS is a great suggestion as well, I bought it on release and return to it often.

 

[Johnway]

The one game that comes to mind right now? valley. Probably one of the best walking simulators ever. Ok the story isn't as sentimental (its about a doomed project to come up with a new weapon hidden in the valley) but it was still a damn good story filled with damn good voice work. Mix this in with some awesome music, sound tracks, graphics and pacing it was a winner in my eyes and criminally under looked.

But best part of it all? The suit that gave you super powers. Getting bored walking? Shoot baddies. Want to run like the flash? check. Want to be some sort of Hulk jumping vast areas? Check. Want to be a bionic commando and swing from platform to platform? Check. Want to be jesus and run on water? Check. In fact it went one step better: the power of GOD was in your hands. you want to command/decide what lives and dies? it was yours.