Top 5 Underrated Video Games That Need More Love (Showdown)

I’ll admit I’ve fallen off with Pokemon franchise in recent years and have only recently gotten back into catching ‘em all, but back in the early days I would eagerly seek out any and all Pokemon content available, and by far one of my favorites - even more than the mainline games - was the Pokemon Pinball series, particularly the Ruby & Sapphire version. While the original Pokemon Pinball on the GBC felt like a great “proof of concept”, Ruby & Sapphire gave the spin off title the overhaul and attention it deserved. Catching Pokemon using the pinball mechanics ended up being far more strategic and complex than it initially appears and still manages to recapture the thrill of catching a new Pokemon without constantly searching the grass and hoping for the best. It’s an actual crime this series never got any more entries, but we’ve got almost a dozen Mystery Dungeons!

Tactical RPGs are dime a dozen these days, so what separates this low-fantasy epic from your average Fire Emblem? The characters aren’t exactly genre-defining, the combat doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and the English voice over…leaves a lot to be desired. So why recommend it? Short answer - the writing. The narrative here is so tightly constructed, so brilliantly paced and tackles politics, war, religion and enslavement with much more care than you’d expect from a JRPG. It was honestly engrossing, especially with its branching stories and choices that actually held major consequences. Square Enix might be making all the wrong decisions as of late, but hopefully they’ll wise up and realize that they have a real gem on their hands here!

Anyone familiar with the channel will hear me lament the open-worldification of recent arcade racers, but back on the PS2, the genre was in its prime and one of my favorites to kick back and spend the weekend with was undoubtedly Rumble Racing. Combining elements of not only classic arcade racing but also Mario Kart style power-ups AND a Tony Hawk style trick system, in which you could perform aerial acrobatics with your vehicle for additional speed boosts. There was something simplistically satisfying about memorizing the many tracks and unlocking increasingly outlandish vehicles. Much like one of my other favorite arcade racers, there have been numerous attempts to recapture this style, but none have managed to nail the formula the way Visceral Games -yes the Dead Space Visceral Games- did on the PS2 with this severely underrated racing gem.

Speaking of exquisite writing. From a Skyrim Mod all the way to a fully-fledged title, this game takes the time loop mechanic seen in so many other games and makes wonders with it, all held together by a gripping story that needs to be experienced by everyone. The numerous ways in which players can take advantage of traveling back to the past to further their investigation and overcome obstacles is expertly handled, while the dialogue choices, side-quests and ancient Roman aesthetic are a delight to explore. To the extent that discovering each and every ending is required gaming! For a debut title, this is marvelous, and I can’t wait to see how the developers build on this foundation going forward.

Although at first glance, Oxenfree doesn’t appear as anything more than another side-scrolling indie project from a first-time studio. But once you start the adventure of a group of teens stranded on an island filled with increasingly spooky and aggressive otherworldly entities, it’s hard to put it down. You wouldn’t think a game told from a 2D perspective could manage to be creepy or unsettling, but as the story progresses and you become more attached thanks to amazing and realistic dialogue interactions, it rises above what could easily have been a B-movie grade concept into a tale that keeps you guessing until the very end. The clever dialogue tree and use of the old school radio to contact and open portals to the “other side” is exquisite. The sequel cannot get here soon enough.

Finding a good FMV game is a needle in a haystack type of deal. Some are shoddy and poorly put together, while others lean towards self-indulgence to such an extent you’d sweat they were going for an Oscar. Which is why it’s such a joy to find something as brilliantly self-aware and cheesy as Contradiction. As a detective investigates a small English village following a sudden murder, players have to piece together the greater story by finding contradictions in the statements made by every suspect. Just when you’d think it’s on the verge of becoming tedious, it throws in a crazy cult and pure meme material just for good measure.

Heavily inspired by the works of Stephen King, Alan Wake and his search for his wife in a small mountain town becoming increasingly overrun by demonic shadow creatures became the basis for nearly all of Remedy’s increasingly outlandish and complicated narratives. Even with your trusty flashlight always in hand and pockets full of Energizer batteries -yeah in game advertising was a big thing in this game- the title still managed to be intensely creepy. It’s a mixture of horror and action that hit all the right marks for me as I attempted to unravel a mystery that had been ambiguous for over a decade. Alan Wake 2 is by far one of my most anticipated games of 2023 and I may have verbally squealed at its reveal trailer a couple years ago. Okay, I definitely did.

I completely agree with what everyone has said about Rift Apart – it’s the best Ratchet and Clank experience to date. However, in regards to my favorite title from previous generations, it’s undoubtedly Ratchet’s time as an intergalactic gladiator! The story is certainly more self-contained and is lacking the usual side characters, but when it comes to the weapons, sense of humor, challenges and thrill of shooting down giant robots in the ultimate cosmic bloodsport, it can’t be beaten. Plus, the armor is top tier. Hey, I’m all about the cosmetics, alright!

Years before we would explore the post apocalypse with Joel and Ellie, we were battling the robot uprising with Monkey and Trip. A modern retelling of the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West, Ninja Theory managed to pull together talent that would make some modern blockbusters blush, with the king of mo-cap Andy Serkis bringing Monkey to life and a script by Alex Garland and a vibrant colorful apocalyptic world when the rest of the video game industry was obsessed with brown and gray environments. Odyssey to the West is full of exciting set piece moments and combat that’s both punchy and impactful, plus every encounter ends with a close-up of Monkey’s rage filled face surrounded by machine scrap that is glorious to watch every single time. One of my favorite video games of all time, it will unfortunately never receive its planned sequel because none of you played when it was released.

Even though there’s a sequel on the way, if there’s one title that deserves a boost in popularity, it’s the one about cat war orphans taking down the anthro Third Reich in a giant, sentient tank. Ah, I love Japan. Believe it not, this is actually a tactical RPG, with a combat cycle that I never grew tired of! Every fluffy, traumatized resident of the monstrous tank brings something new to the battle, while having just enough personality to make them endearing…at least to the extent that it will give you pause when given the choice to sacrifice one of them in order to power a deus ex super-cannon that helps you take down any of the bosses in one hit. Because that’s an actual mechanic in this game, and it is as horrifyingly gripping as it sounds. Also, the music is breath-taking!
I suddenly feel very old looking at the year differences between what we consider underrated. Let us know what showdown you’d like to see us do next down in the comments. I’m going to go lay down.