10 AAA Games That Are Way BETTER Than You Think

10 AAA Games That Are Way Better Than You Think

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re counting down our picks for ten awesome and highly enjoyable AAA games that, for whatever reason, don’t seem to get as much love and time in the spotlight as they might deserve.

“Immortals Fenyx Rising” (2020)

It’s a bit unfair that 2020’s Immortals Fenyx Rising was heavily compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, mostly because they are completely different game experiences. While, yes, they are both colorful open-world games, Immortals Fenyx Rising features a heavier emphasis on an overarching, less ambiguous narrative, more diverse, traditional combat, and thoughtful, tangible character upgrade/progression. Simply put, Fenyx Rising is an utterly gorgeous Greek myth-inspired open-world game. Its biomes each offer plentiful puzzles, great riches and rewards, tantalizing vistas to look out upon, and creative baddies to pummel. Its story balances both epicness and cartoony hilarity near perfectly. And, its characters are well-written and fun to engage with. On top of all that is a game that just feels good to play overall since it's polished to a crisp, solid T.

“Prince of Persia” (2008)

Rebooting a beloved franchise has got to be a tough task. Fortunately, Ubisoft knocked it out of the park with this 2008 reboot of Prince of Persia. Offering up a unique cel-shaded, stylized look, a parkour-infused open-world playground, an intriguing storyline, and strong central characters, this reboot is more than the sum of its parts. The unnamed Prince, alongside a newcomer princess, Elika, join forces to stop an evil entity in this Persian-inspired world. The acrobatics and combat in this reboot feel more fluid and robust than previous entries. And while it’s a much easier game thanks in large part to Elika’s powers, it allows for parkour freedom of expression as you explorable the intricate zones, without worrying too much about platforming flops and fails. If you consider yourself a fan of the Prince of Persia franchise but somehow missed this gem, then be sure to remedy that right away; it’s a good time all-around!

“Princess Peach Showtime!” (2024)

Yes, Princess Peach Showtime is a great game, heck even an excellent game! Don’t let the naysayers fool you. Is it easy, simple, and streamlined at times? Sure. However, an easier and more simple game does not at all equate to a bad game. Not every game needs to be deep and complex to be enjoyable. Princess Peach Showtime showcases how gameplay creativity, variety, and diversity more than make up for any possible shortcomings. This is just one of the Nintendo games that is deeply fun to play through. Princess Peach is the star of this theatrical show where her transformations keep the gameplay fresh, with each stage of the various theater floors serving up a completely new way to play. From sword fighting to baking to stealth to investigations to small-scale space combat to fisticuffs, and everything in between, Princess Peach Showtime aims for variety and fun and it hits the marks, without a doubt. Plus, throw in a host of collectibles, tons of customization, a fun cartoony story, creative boss battles, and some mini-games; and what you have is a game bursting with whimsical, theatrical enjoyment from top to bottom.

“Resident Evil 6” (2012)

Yes, we all know that Resident Evil 6 is often viewed as the black sheep of the venerable RE series. However, if you allow yourself to take a step back from what made the original games so noteworthy; namely, the survival horror aspects, inventory management, and tightly-focused narratives; you will find an RE game that revels in its bombastic action and over-the-top characters and storytelling. Resident Evil 6 just wasn’t meant to be an overly horrific game, and you know what? It doesn’t need to be. Taking place across multiple chapters and character arcs, RE6 excels in gameplay variety and diversity since each scenario feels and plays different from the last. It’s a polished action-heavy survival horror game with plenty to love (especially in Leon’s chapter), even with its many missteps as a mainline entry.

“Darksiders III” (2018)

Now, we’ll be pretty frank right up front with this one: the beloved cult classic Darksiders series didn’t need to veer into Soulslike territory to remain relevant; however, that’s what happened with the series' underdog, Darksiders 3. Where the OG Darksiders was an action-adventure Zelda-like game, Darksiders 2 being a meaty, robust action-RPG, and Genesis being a top-down Diablo-esque adventure, Darksiders 3 opted to lean into the ever-popular (yet increasingly stale and overdone) Soulslike genre. Despite featuring these concepts and mechanics, Darksiders 3 still keeps the series’ dark, epic, cartoony goodness. As Fury, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, you must traipse your way through all manner of earthly, otherworldly, and hellish locales with the hopes of putting a stop to the dastardly deeds of the Seven Deadly Sins; terrifying creatures who act as the game’s central antagonists and bosses. Fury can tackle these Seven Deadly Sins bosses in any order she chooses, all set across a finely-crafted, ravaged, open-world. As long as you know you are going to get the Soulslike tropes in this game, there’s a ton to love; like the intense, visceral combat, plentiful weapons and upgrades, rewarding exploration, and robust, lengthy campaign with tons of meat on its bones.

“Mad Max” (2015)

Thank goodness 2015’s Mad Max has been treated to many retrospectives and recalculations, because what many viewed as just a potential cash grab generic open-world game is, in all reality, a deeply focused, nuanced, thoughtful, and utterly engaging post-apocalyptic masterpiece. Featuring some of the best fisticuff and boomstick combat around, a mesmerizing arid wasteland locale, deeply intense and engaging vehicular combat and customization, near-constant upgrades, and an enticing story, Mad Max is absolutely worth a play. There’s just always something fun to do in this game and to work towards. It never gets stale which might seem surprising given the desert wasteland open-world. Generously sprinkled around this world are myriad places to throw Max into mayhem. Seriously, don’t sleep on this underappreciated game if you’ve been doing so since its release many years ago.

“Silent Hill 4: The Room” (2004)

There are likely a variety of Silent Hill games that could be added to this spot in the list, but for our money, Silent Hill 4: The Room is the one that stands out as being way better than anyone thinks. The final Silent Hill game by Team Silent, The Room is both ingenious and utterly unnerving in equal measures, offering up the series’ staple challenging puzzles and exploration in tandem with disturbing, harrowing, and terrifying overarching themes, motifs, and throughlines. With a massive chunk of this game taking place in a singular evolving apartment, it's immediately set apart from other titles in the series, and not just because it’s in first-person in these actions.. It's this simple location where protagonist Henry Townshend meets some of the most horrific moments in the game. But, venturing out of the apartment into the otherworldly and hellish areas the game dishes out continues to provide plenty of gameplay surprises and terrors. Plus, uncovering the deeply dark mysteries of serial killer Walter Sullivan and his links to Silent Hill (and, of course, to Henry), will alway send a shiver down your spine. Ya, sure, the combat might be a bit daft at times and some puzzles are still too obtuse; however, there’s no denying that this game is a pure Silent Hill game through and through, and will stick in your mind long after the credits roll.

“Castlevania: Curse of Darkness” (2005)

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is such a good game and it’s a major bummer that more people don’t talk about it when discussing the best Castlevania games. Curse of Darkness is an incredibly robust and thoroughly enjoyable 3D Castlevania outing that stars Hector, who, interestingly, isn’t a part of the Belmont Clan; thus meaning his weapons, moves, and abilities differ from those of the Belmonts. Combining traditional action-adventure combat with in-depth RPG elements, Curse of Darkness is pure gothic goodness, only enhanced by top-notch music, creative, spooky, and moody world design, and plenty of macabre characters. You see, Hector is actually a Devil Forgemaster, a role that allows him to conjure deadly devils, demons, and minions to aid him in battle and exploration alike. Plus, with the game being produced and written by Castlevania series mainstay Koji Igarashi, you know you are in for a real treat; one brimming with plenty of supernatural, gothic shenanigans and horrors.

“Shadow of the Tomb Raider” (2018)

Poor Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it really never stood a chance against the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot and the excellent follow-up, Rise of the Tomb Raider. While it’s certainly not as good as either of those two games, Shadow of the Tomb Raider still manages to be an excellent entry in the reboot series, even with some design and narrative missteps. In this game, set in the Americas, Lara mistakenly and unfortunately set into motion the Mayan apocalypse. Now, it’s up to her to right her wrongs and try and fix this calamity, while also contending with the nefarious Trinity paramilitary group. Where the 2013 game and Rise opted for more focused, semi-liner experiences, Shadow went more open-world. While these open areas do often feel sparse, only really littered with rinse and repeat NPC interactions and fetch quests, the series’ hallmarks of action-combat, exploration, stealth, and full-on adventure, are all still here in spades, all polished to a T. Many aspects such as hunting, crafting, and engaging in optional content in and around the explorable Peruvian and Mexico locales still provide oodles of fun, even if the systems do feel a bit more underwhelming compared to the last two games. At the end of the day, Shadow of the Tomb Raider still tells a thrilling adventure while offering just enough engaging gameplay to keep you progressing at all times.

“Rage 2” (2019)

It’s awesome that Avalanche Studios and Bethesda brought Rage 2 to life, especially seeing as the first Rage failed to set the world on fire despite the id Software developer pedigree. Where the original Rage was a drab, muddy, and washed out (but still fun) semi-linear post-apocalyptic first-person shooter with brutal combat, Rage 2 is a bombastic, high-octane, neon-drenched roller coaster ride of post-apocalyptic goodness with some of the best FPS gunplay around. Seriously, it’s just that darn good. Exploring the open-world here is a solid time, mostly because of the aforementioned gunplay in tandem with frenetic and kinetic movement abilities. Taking out bandit dens, cleaning up bounties, and exploring myriad, powerful Arks are all a blast to engage with because each encounter with enemies never fails to get the blood pumping. Rage 2 stands out from its contemporaries, not because of its story or characters, but because of its visceral in-your-face gunplay and demolishing Ark-unlocked power abilities. Throw in a dash of self-aware and self-referential humor and plenty of vibrant colors, and you are in for a real treat with this one, especially if you are an FPS fan.

So, do you agree with our picks for this list? There are tons of AAA games that are a lot of fun to play, more so than you might think. Which AAA games do you think more people should check out? Be sure to let us know down in the comments section. Thank you for watching this video from MojoPlays. If you want to see more from us, be sure to press that subscribe button and ring that notification bell to stay up-to-date with our top-notch daily gaming videos.