10 Great Video Games That Deserve More Credit Than They Get
Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck is a writer for Collider. He grew up creating lists, stories, and worlds, which led to his love of anime and video games. He attended Sheridan College where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Game Design. Lucas and his group won 1st place for technical innovation at LevelUp Toronto 2023, and he was also an intern for the Oakville Film Festival of Arts.
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Video games are more popular than ever, and that is thanks to a dedicated community and the constant evolution of games themselves. From modern masterpieces like Red Dead Redemption 2 to classics such as Final Fantasy VII, this medium continues to grow and put out even more popular titles. However, in today's world, it is hard for games to simply be good, with many fans being disappointed when a game is a 7 or 8 out of 10.
It seems that only the clear Game of the Year candidates get any recognition anymore, leaving plenty of good games to fly under the radar. That is why this list will feature ten great video games that don't get the credit they deserve based on popularity compared to critical acclaim, gameplay, design, narrative, visuals, and fan opinion. Games can be good, and that is okay; not every title needs to be a revolutionary masterpiece.
'Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy' (2021)
Marvel is anything but underrated, and this popularity has led them into the video game industry, including an adaptation of one of their heavy-hitter IPs. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy follows the ragtag group of heroes years after a galactic war. After a series of events, the group accidentally releases an intergalactic cult that threatens the galaxy, and the only way to stop it is by putting aside differences and working together.
Despite being a game about famous characters, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy didn't become a major hit like other superhero games. However, it is just as good, if not better. It suffered from proximity to another recent Marvel game that was a mess, but Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy boasts an impressive cast of characters with phenomenal writing that more fans should appreciate.
'The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword' (2011)
The Legend of Zelda is a critically acclaimed franchise that is never short on credit, but some games get a bit more hate than necessary, such as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. On an island in the sky, Link is a knight in training who descends to the surface to rescue Princess Zelda, captured by the demon lord. First, however, Link must defeat Demise.
Most Zelda titles are cultural video game events, and while Skyward Sword had the potential to become one, the buggy motion controls made it arguably the worst 3D Zelda game. However, it still possesses some of the best aspects in the franchise, such as the perfectly designed and themed dungeons, a touching story, phenomenal music, and the remaster fixed the combat, making it a worthy Zelda masterpiece.
'Bugsnax' (2020)
2020 was a weird time when plenty of games were delayed due to the pandemic. This should mean that the ones released were popular, but that wasn't the case for Bugsnax. The titular creatures are food-like animals inhabiting the nearby region, and when a journalist comes to interview an explorer about these creatures, he finds the town fractured and the creatures on the loose.
Bugsnax is a bright, goofy, and charming video game, but this aesthetic gave fans the impression that it was a kids' game. On the contrary, it proved to be a surprisingly mature experience that tackled adult themes such as depression, also featuring dark undertones. Bugsnax will catch players off guard with its finale and its overall Lovecraftian vibe that needs more credit.
'Return of the Obra Dinn' (2018)
Historical video games aren't the most popular, but this genre is home to plenty of masterpieces, including the indie game Return of the Obra Dinn. Set in 1807, the titular merchant ship drifted ashore only to reveal that all of its 60 crew members were either dead or missing. The player is an investigator with a magical pocket watch that reveals the exact moment of a person's death, and the player needs to use it to learn their fates.
Return of the Obra Dinn is a historical game with a maritime aesthetic unlike any other game, plus it uses the mystery to ramp up the tension. What's more, this game boasts one of the greatest art styles in video games, with the use of shadows and light creating a striking visual style. Return of Obra Dinn is a magnificent historical game that doesn't get the love because of its experimental style, but that is exactly why it needs more credit.
'The Forgotten City' (2021)
Most of the games on this list are lesser-known titles, and The Forgotten City is another game that, despite its lack of fame, is quite remarkable. Players control a time traveller who is pulled into an underground Roman city where people are turned to gold if they misbehave. Gamers must go through this time loop, stop the curse, and save everyone.
The Forgotten City is a must-play title with one of the most underrated narratives ever. The game exploits its time loop mechanic to the fullest, slowly building the story. Using the philosophical ramifications to further explore moral dilemmas not usually seen in mainstream video games, The Forgotten City is a narrative masterclass that flew under everyone's radar.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Fantasy World Do You Belong To? Middle-earth · Grand Line · The Continent · Camp Half-Blood
Pick your magic, your crew, where you want to wake up and who you would rather be fighting, and we will tell you which world you actually belong in. Four are open to you: an ancient kingdom living through its last good age, an endless sea full of pirates, a continent that pays people to kill monsters, and a summer camp where the Greek gods are extremely real and mostly a nuisance.
💍Middle-earth(Rings of Power)
👒Grand Line(One Piece)
🐺The Continent(The Witcher)
🔱Camp Half-Blood(Percy Jackson)
01
What kind of power do you want? Every one of these worlds runs on a completely different sort of magic.
02
Who is travelling with you? Nobody gets through any of these stories entirely on their own.
03
Where do you want to wake up tomorrow? The best fantasy is usually just somewhere you would genuinely like to live.
04
How are you making a living out there? Even in fantasy somebody has to pay for the horse.
05
There is something in the woods. What do you do about it? All four of these worlds keep something unpleasant out there in the dark.
06
Who is the villain of your story? The enemy tells you far more about a world than the hero ever does.
07
What do you actually believe in out there? Every world hands its heroes one rule and asks them to hold onto it.
08
A thousand years from now, how are you remembered? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your world.
The Map Is Drawn Your World Is…
Four worlds and four completely different ideas of what a good life looks like. This is where you belong, what it would ask of you, and what you would get back in return.
Middle-earth
You belong somewhere old enough that the mountains have names and somebody can still tell you who gave them. Middle-earth is for people who think the right thing is worth doing even when it will not be finished in their lifetime.
- This is the only world on the list where doing good is understood as a very long defeat, fought anyway, by people who will never see how it ends.
- You are drawn to grandeur, to white cities and deep forges and the sense that almost everything you touch is older than your entire family line.
- The Rings of Power is set in the last good age before it all goes wrong, which gives every quiet scene in it a slightly unbearable weight.
- You would take the hard road, and you would take it on foot.
The Grand Line
You want the sea, a crew, and absolutely nobody telling you where you are allowed to go. The Grand Line is the world for people whose main ambition in life is finding out what is over there.
- One Piece has run for decades on one very simple engine, which is a group of people who each want something impossible and have decided to go and get it together.
- You collect people. Your ideal crew is a set of misfits who were each written off somewhere else before you turned up and offered them a better idea.
- The world is enormous and deliberately ridiculous, and the emotional gut punches land harder because of that rather than in spite of it.
- You would set sail knowing the map runs out, which is more or less the entire point of it.
The Continent
You would rather be feared and useful than liked and useless. The Continent is a world where the monsters are the straightforward part of the job and the people are where it all gets complicated.
- Witchers get paid to do what nobody else will and resented for existing at all, which is a trade most people would refuse and you would probably accept.
- You have no real illusions about which side is the good one, largely because on the Continent that question tends to have a disappointing answer.
- The best of these stories are not about the fighting. They are about somebody with a rigid code being repeatedly cornered into caring about people.
- You would take the coin, finish the job properly, and be out of town before the story got told wrong.
Camp Half-Blood
You want the myths to be real and loose in the actual world, and you want to find out at about thirteen that you were never anywhere near as ordinary as everybody kept telling you.
- Percy Jackson takes the oldest stories we have and drops them into car parks and diners, which makes the gods considerably funnier and a great deal worse.
- You would be the kid every school gave up on, who turns out to have been built for something nobody thought to test for.
- The series is genuinely about friendship rather than destiny, and it says so out loud every time a prophecy tries to get in the way.
- Camp Half-Blood is the real fantasy here: a place where the thing that made you difficult everywhere else is the thing that makes you belong.
'Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle' (2017)
Nintendo is very protective of its franchises, which is why they try to ensure they are all the best they can be. One rare instance they outsourced an IP is with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. When a strange device merges the Mushroom Kingdom with the world of Rabbids, Mario, Luigi, and Peach must work with these bizarre creatures to defeat enemies and restore both worlds to their original states.
It is rare for Nintendo to leave Mario in the hands of others, but Ubisoft proved that maybe they should, because Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is an unexpected delight. The tactical turn-based combat is surprisingly engaging and allows for plenty of strategic thinking while remaining a bright and charming experience. On top of this, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is a hilarious video game that makes the most out of its once-in-a-lifetime crossover.
'Pillars of Eternity' (2015)
Fantasy is arguably the most popular genre in gaming, but because there are so many, plenty of classics get overlooked, like Pillars of Eternity. Set in the dark world of Eora, this fantasy game follows a party and their adventures across the world in the middle of a technological renaissance. The player is a watcher, meaning they can see souls, but this slowly drives them insane, leading them to understand the inner workings of the system to solve an ancient conspiracy.
Pillars of Eternity features one of the most unique video game worlds and power systems, with soul science being woven into the worldbuilding, lore, and narrative. The deep philosophical themes help establish the world and the story, moving along nicely for an overall experience that is too good not to get more credit.
'Vampyr' (2018)
Vampire games usually make for amazing, atmospheric experiences, but there aren't enough heavy hitters out there that get the recognition they deserve; Vampyr is the perfect example. Fans play as Jonathan Reid, a blood transfusion expert in London in 1918, who suddenly turns into a vampire. He still wishes to help his patients, but in the position he is in, it is hard to put aside his vampiric impulses and thirst for blood.
Vampyr often gets overlooked because of its supposed clunky gameplay, but it has so many other perfect aspects to make up for that, including the citizen system. This means every NPC has a backstory, history, and relationships, meaning players need to weigh their morals and determine who or when to eat. This approach makes Vampyr one of the most intelligently designed video games that truly tempts players to be evil.
'The Evil Within 2' (2017)
The horror genre is a staple of video games, but some modern classics still fly under the radar, like The Evil Within 2. Set years after the first game, the protagonist learns that his daughter, who was supposedly dead, is actually alive. He must plug back into the nightmare situation to fight monsters and creatures in the overrun world of Union in order to save his daughter.
The first game was infamously clunky, leading many to skip The Evil Within 2, even though it fixed everything about the original. This revamped formula includes a semi-open world that elevates the survival horror aspects to make everything scarier and tenser. The Evil Within 2 also features an emotional narrative on top of its unsettling nature to create a complex masterpiece that everyone should play.
'Mad Max' (2015)
There are plenty of video games based on movies, but they are rarely anything to write home about. That usually means the good ones, like 2015's Mad Max, also don't get the credit they deserve. The titular character is robbed and left in the unforgiving wasteland to die. With no care, Max teams up with a mechanic to build the ultimate war machine and take his revenge on those who wronged him.
Since it came out on the same day as another famous game and is based on a film, no one played Mad Max or gave it any credit, which is unfortunate considering how good it is. The open world is well-designed, and the vehicle traversal and combat are extremely satisfying. Mad Max also includes melee combat that rivals the best action games, creating an overall rewarding experience. It's a hidden video game masterpiece that comes close to perfection; sad that so few seem to acknowledge it.
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