00:00With the gaming industry bigger than ever, kicking out multi-million dollar projects
00:03left and right, it's hard keeping up with every last thing you should play.
00:07On the flip side though, you've got more options than ever. More games that have
00:10associated fanbases or passionate followings screaming that a certain title didn't get
00:15its due. The more time passes, the more the collective spotlight
00:18because that wider set of people just don't know what they're missing.
00:24I'm Scott from WhatCulture.com, and these are 9 seriously underappreciated video games.
00:299. The Enemy Within
00:31Interestingly, the second season of Batman was really Telltale Games' swan song. The Walking
00:37Dead saw two episodes released before the studio closed, and the rest went off in a handful
00:41of other directions. Batman was that studio's final game from the original creative run,
00:46and what a way to go. Season 1 of Telltale's Batman was genuinely phenomenal, putting you
00:51in the shoes of Batman and Bruce Wayne in a way that no other work of fiction has ever
00:55attempted. It made for a fascinating dynamic as you knew a potential boardroom decision
00:59as Bruce could mess with Batman's duties and vice versa. Season 2 then continued that
01:04formula but improved on it. Bruce was forced to go undercover and infiltrate a gang consisting
01:09of Bane, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn, and the Joker. The story and choices tested
01:14how far you were willing to go to maintain your cover, whilst also making you feel sympathy
01:18for the Joker, no small feat. It was Telltale Games firing on all cylinders, at everything
01:24they always did better than the competition. The Enemy Within is a fantastic Batman slash
01:28Bruce Wayne story that subverted expectations and had you reeling at every decision that had
01:33to be made. Troy Baker's Bruce-Bat combo is low-key an all-timer, and I think it'll
01:38only get more appreciated as we move forward.
01:41A sequel to Sony's breakout JRPG was never a sure thing, but Ni No Kuni 2 is a beautiful RPG
01:49that does lack the heart of the original, whilst making up for it with better gameplay and a more
01:54robust world. If you never played the first Ni No Kuni, it was a mesmerizing JRPG that tasked
01:59you with collecting familiars, then battling, almost like Pokemon or Persona. What really set Ni No Kuni
02:04apart, however, was its heart-wrenching story, told with Studio Ghibli-style animated cutscenes
02:09that were just endlessly charming. The sequel then features even better gameplay, a more
02:13interesting world, lots more familiars, and a fun town-building mode. Yes, it missed those
02:18Ghibli cutscenes and the touching story, but Ni No Kuni 2 remains one of the most recommendable
02:23and gorgeous RPGs of the modern day.
02:267. Grease
02:27Graphics will never trump gameplay entirely, but if we're making a pie chart of reasons to
02:33play Grease, it's definitely 80% that god-like art direction. An absolutely wondrous paint to
02:39style backed by an impactful story told entirely through visuals, gameplay borrows small parts
02:44of a metroidvania structure, including light platforming and various abilities you'll unlock
02:48over time. Speaking of over time, this initially launched on Switch and PC, though 2019 saw one
02:54hell of an upscale over on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro. With the game now running at 4K with locked
03:01FPS framerates also available on PS5, if you want a literal feast for your eyes that's a joy to play
03:07through and explore, Grease is that game.
03:106. Firewall Zero Hour
03:12Languishing for a couple of years after launch, 2018 was the breakout year for virtual reality.
03:17In particular, it was a banner year for PlayStation VR, which saw incredible games like Astro Bot Rescue
03:23Mission and Moss. It was also the year we got the best console VR shooter so far, Firewall Zero Hour.
03:29Others had attempted to make FPS games in VR, such as Bravo Team, but Firewall was the first on
03:34PlayStation that made you feel like you were really in the firefight. Gritty, tactile and addictive
03:39when it comes to making you actively think of different ways to approach firefights, you'll
03:43physically take cover or play the angles game against someone in hiding to just pop a headshot.
03:48Solid graphics help immerse you in the action, and every time you see a bullet coming square at your
03:53face, your heart will skip a beat. Firewall was a huge stepping stone for PSVR when it comes to how
03:58these kinds of experiences can really work and elevate the genre itself.
04:015 Detroit Become Human
04:05Somehow the forgotten Quantic Dream Game, despite an insane budget, production values and fact it has
04:10a very dedicated fanbase, Detroit Become Human is a story told from multiple perspectives you need
04:15to experience yourself. Detroit circa 2038 is a city revitalized by the advent of androids as human
04:21helpers. Think iRobot, but much more lifelike. Three androids, Kara, Marcus and Connor, find themselves
04:27intrinsically linked in a world that is on the brink of a revolution. It's a story that works
04:31surprisingly well once you have to make decisions as one character that affects the other, even if
04:36the whole thing is insanely heavy handed when it comes to drawing on racial subject matter across
04:41the board. The elephant in the room is obviously that Detroit and David Cage's writing played too
04:45fast and loose with incredibly sensitive topics, not to mention Cage's reputation plummeting in recent
04:50years alongside a string of ugly accusations. It'll be on each player whether or not they're comfortable
04:55separating these elements from the game itself, as in the latter's case tracking a collective
05:00player base's choices in this context and seeing which branching story paths you missed or committed
05:05to can be very satisfying. 4. Vampyr
05:09Vampyr is set in 19th century England, and puts you in the shoes of Dr Jonathan Reed, who's just
05:14contracted vampirism. You then play the game struggling with the need to feast versus the morality of
05:19killing your patients for sustenance and some fancier unlockables. As you can imagine with this
05:24coming from the minds of Life is Strange and Remember Me, Vampyr is more about storytelling
05:28and worldbuilding than it is gameplay. This dark and twisting story is reflected in the gloomy and
05:33claustrophobic streets of London, which makes for a refreshing tale in a world overflowing with sequels
05:39and safe bets. Vampyr has atmosphere in abundance, and what it lacks in polish and occasionally repetitive
05:44combat, it more than makes up for with style, uniqueness and supremely well written characters.
05:493. Guardians of the Galaxy
05:52The best Marvel game that isn't Insomniac Spider-Man titles, but deserves to be up there with
05:57them, Guardians of the Galaxy suffered a terrible initial gameplay demo at E3, and then a completely
06:03flat marketing rollout that didn't accentuate its positives whatsoever. What Square Enix appeared to
06:08show off was a thrown together cash grab almost feeling like Avengers DLC being sold for full price.
06:13What Guardians actually is though, is an incredibly well written character piece from some key
06:17minds behind Deus Ex. Optional side missions and conversations are on the level of Mass Effect,
06:22and the overall story here gets incredibly emotional and unique in tackling themes of fatherhood,
06:27and what it even feels like to know a group of people have your back no matter what. Yes,
06:32combat gets repetitive, but it's serviceable enough, and nowhere near the majority of what you're doing.
06:37This is a game that prioritises its characters, fun soundtrack, neat dialogue options, and above all,
06:42that specific Guardians tone. It's clear creative director Jean-Francois Dugard got the source
06:47material and knew exactly how to elevate it. Eidos Montreal's Guardians of the Galaxy is the best
06:52Guardians of the Galaxy thing we've had so far. 2. Florence
06:57Florence tells the most realistic tale of a relationship ever seen in video games. The ups,
07:02the downs, the joy, the melancholy. It's incredibly moving, but it was initially exclusive to mobile,
07:07and that meant flying completely under most people's radars. Thankfully, it's now on Switch,
07:12and this touching story focuses on Florence falling for someone and the days and weeks that follow.
07:17You'll go from start to finish in around 40 minutes, with Kevin Penkin's gorgeously carefree,
07:21occasionally sad soundtrack carrying you through. Made to be a drop-in short story of a video game
07:26centred on dating in a city, there isn't much in the way of gameplay, but every mechanic serves to
07:31make playable the various mindsets and realities of a relationship where some things fit and others
07:36don't. Making the mundane interesting and nailing a tight artistic vision,
07:40Florence joins the likes of Unpacking and The Artful Escape as brilliant indie gems that really
07:45stick with you. 1. A Way Out
07:48It took it takes two to really catapult Joseph Farris into the limelight, and that was after
07:53Critical Darling Brothers' A Tale of Two Sons initially turned heads. However, there is a release
07:58in the middle that far less people seem to care about. A Way Out then pits you and a friend,
08:02be it local or online, as two prison inmates who band together to try and escape. The crux is that
08:07the whole game takes place in split screen, with each player performing unique actions or making
08:12decisions about how to approach situations, affecting the other in real time. As would become more obvious
08:17across It Takes Two, Joseph Farris has endless ideas for dual agency in an interactive space,
08:23and here you'll do everything from stealth sections to over-shoulder shooting, car escape chases,
08:27to mini-games like playing Kinect 4. Honestly, it's just awesome. With a far,
08:32far tighter runtime, and personally a more enjoyable story than It Takes Two,
08:36A Way Out is more than recommendable if you like what Farris brings to the gaming table.
08:41And those are just a handful of totally underappreciated video games. Let me know
08:45your favourites down in the comments below, and please subscribe to the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast.
08:49For now, I've been Scott from WhatCulture.com, and I'll catch you soon.
08:57Bye.
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