Saturday, January 2, 2016

Most Interesting-Yet-Little-Known Games



At the end of every year, writers flood the Internet with lists of the "best" games, these lists often featuring the most popular blockbusters or whatever indie games happen to catch the imagination of the industry. 2015 was no exception. With half of the lists featuring Bloodborne, Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, and Metal Gear V: The Phantom Pain and the other half sharing Life is Strange, Her Story, and Undertale, what should be a moment of discovery for readers becomes instead a time of eye-rolling, as they say sighing "not another list with games I already know."  

This is not to say that these games are bad. My favorite games this year are, indeed, Fallout 4, The Witcher 3, and Undertale, and I have much enjoyed Rocket League, Splatoon, Mario Maker, and Xenoblade Chronicles X. However, these are games that everyone knows about. Instead of praising these already well known (and fun) games, I'll list what I found to be nine of the more interesting and lesser known titles of 2015. Or, at least, nine titles that I think didn't get the coverage they should have.

1. Titan Souls - a fun 2D top-down adventure title that uses elegant pixel art and follows the tradition of Shadow of the Colossus in that players fight giant bosses.


2. Axiom Verge - A great Metroidvania game.



3. Cibele - An interesting narrative about meeting people (you know, your "baes") in MMO games.



4. Black Sails: The Ghost Ship - A point and click horror survival game overlooked because of the (admittedly great) Telltale games.



5. Jotun - A breathtakingly beautiful action game.



6. UnderRail - An old-school CRPG.



7. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China - A side scrolling stealth-based Assassin's Creed game set in China.



8. Apotheon - A side scrolling action game with interesting aesthetics.



9. Not a Hero - A tactical shooter game.



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