The 10 Greatest Video Games Nobody Talks About

The nature of gaming is such that some games, like The Legend of Zelda or Call of Duty, have bigger fan communities than others. This is generally because they're part of a bigger zeitgeist, attracting hundreds of thousands of players for their industry-shaking innovations, or their addictive multiplayer modes keep fans coming back for more. But sometimes, the biggest games aren't necessarily the best. There are countless underrated games that, for one reason or another, simply didn't catch on and attract the wider fandom they deserved. Maybe they were marketed awkwardly. Maybe they came out at the wrong time. Maybe they had flaws that could've been resolved in a sequel. Regardless of the cause, though, these are ten games that have innovative concepts and unique ideas, but don't generate nearly as much buzz as they should.

9. Spec Ops: The Line

SPEC OPS: THE LINE is Anything But A Generic Shooter It may be that most players assumed Spec Ops: The Line was just another generic military shooter - its title certainly doesn't give too much away. But in reality, it's a thoughtful political thriller that completely bucks typical action game narratives by putting the player at the center of moral quandary after moral quandary. It's surreal, challenging, and ultimately harrowing, with the player forced to make decisive choices about the morality of their own actions. Reviews were incredibly positive about its story, but critiqued its gameplay, which was a little lacking in polish, and fairly generic compared to other shooters. Still, it's worth playing, even today on the strength of its story alone. It's more Metal Gear than Gears of War.

8. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

El Shaddai Is A Gorgeously Crafted Hack-And-Slash If you ever wondered what Devil May Cry might look like if it were set in Heaven instead, look no further. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is a 2011 action game with art by Sawaki Takeyasu, the character designer on the original Devil May Cry (and a little game known as Okami). El Shaddai features an irresistible, gold-dipped art style - distinct, yet typical of Takeyasu's work. It's kind of like God of War if it had its roots in a different religion. It's propped up by an excellent combat system with a surprising level of depth (although perhaps not too surprising if you're into Devil May Cry), El Shaddai's weakness is its story, which is notoriously confusing and difficult to follow. If you're into that sort of thing, though, you'll find a lot to love here.

7. The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories

The Missing Is A Mature Platformer From A Bold Creative Voice Most people know Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro for Deadly Premonition, his weird, janky, occasionally genius pastiche of Twin Peaks. But after that, SWERY made an entirely different kind of game - a bizarre, ultraviolent, but ultimately moving platformer called The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories. You play as J.J. herself, as she searches for her missing best friend, Emily, on whom she harbors a secret crush. Things quickly get weird as she discovers her own immortality, and is forced to brutalize herself repeatedly in order to solve a series of platforming puzzles. It's weird, it's ugly, and it's gross, but it's also emotionally honest and boldly transgressive in its discussion of discrimination and compulsory heterosexuality. It's also a really unique kind of game - although it exists in a familiar genre, its gameplay and visuals are different from everything else you've ever played.

6. Vampyr

Vampyr Gets A Slow Start, But Speeds Up Quickly Why does nobody talk about Vampyr anymore? It was a hit for about two seconds in 2018, when it was first released - players praised it for its dark atmosphere and unique game mechanics. In this horror RPG, you play as, well, a vampire, let loose in a sandbox of Victorian London. You have to study your victims carefully, coming to understand their routines and relationships in order to remain undetected. It turns into a brilliant game of social engineering, far deeper than its rather simple combat betrays.

5. Nier

Nier Might Be Better Than Automata Okay, everybody knows Nier: Automata, PlatinumGames' 2017 RPG about robots with feelings and their discontents. Its philosophical musings, satisfying action combat, and multiple endings made it a critical and commercial success over time. But its predecessor, variously called Nier, Nier Replicant, Nier Gestalt, and Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139, is deserving of some of that acclaim - if not more of it. Original Nier takes a more emotional (though no less philosophical) approach to a similar plot, with a few connections to Automata peppered in. It's a solid action RPG with an excellent story, which I found was often better executed than the sequel's. The remaster - ver.1.22474487139 - is readily available on modern platforms, and makes many improvements to the original version's lackluster combat.

4. Dark Messiah of Might and Magic

Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic Got Overshadowed Developed by Arkane Studios, who then went on to make Dishonored, Deathloop, and is still hard at work on Marvel's Blade, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is a 2006 medieval fantasy RPG, set in the wider Might and Magic roleplaying universe. In short, Dark Messiah is a lot of fun to play, and it was ahead of its time in terms of how it allowed players to develop their characters, and use environmental hazards to gain advantages in combat. It's divided critics for almost 20 years: while some praise its degree of player freedom, combat, and sandbox elements, others criticize it for its repetition and cliche story. It was also overshadowed by The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, which mesmerized players just a few months earlier.

3. Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs Is The GTA Clone To End All GTA Clones How easily we forget just how thoroughly the gaming market was inundated with "GTA clones," games where you explored massive open-world recreations of cities, stealing cars and using them to commit heinous acts of violence. Few games actually developed the GTA clone formula, though, beyond one or two unique twists, apart from the brilliant Sleeping Dogs. Set amid a conflict between the Hong Kong police and the Triad gangs, Sleeping Dogs has you play as an undercover police officer who plays both sides of the story. It blends immersive (albeit scaled-down) GTA-style exploration with Yakuza-inspired brawler combat, where you use environmental weapons to deal comically absurd amounts of damage to your enemies. It's unique, it's clever, it's engaging, and most importantly, it's a lot of fun. Sleeping Dogs was well-received and sold fairly well, but its sequel was ultimately canceled.

2. Tunic

Tunic Is A Glorious Isometric Adventure There's nothing quite like Zelda, but few imitators have come closer to scratching the same itch than Tunic. Released in 2022, Tunic is an isometric adventure game where you play as an adorable cartoon fox, who sets off on a journey to find a mythical crystal. Tunic is simple, yet satisfying: combat is easy to pick up, but surprisingly challenging. There are tons of secrets littered all throughout the world, which reveals itself to you slowly as you unlock new routes and new items. Perhaps the coolest part of Tunic, though, is the in-game manual - written in a fictional constructed language, you obtain pages of it over time, and are forced to uncover secrets and hidden mechanics through context clues. As a fairly niche indie, Tunic flew under the radar, but it deserves greater recognition.

1. The Secret of Monkey Island

The Secret Of Monkey Island Is An All-Time Adventure Game If you balk at the idea of playing a point-and-click adventure game in 2025, then go ahead and scroll on now. But if you're willing to open your heart to a type of game that's mostly become outdated, then The Secret of Monkey Island is worth your time. A brilliant, hilarious, swashbuckling pirate journey, The Secret of Monkey Island has you seeking adventure on a remote island, while simultaneously falling in love. It's a well-rounded and entertaining story, with some amusing and satisfying point-and-click gameplay laid on top of it. Although an instant classic in its day, The Secret of Monkey Island has been largely forgotten, in no small part because point-and-click games are more or less obsolete. But it's still worth playing, even 30-plus years later.