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Now that we are starting a new generation, what are some of your hidden gems from this era?

Fbh

Member
Lethal League Blaze is really fun if you have people to play with.



It's basically a fighting game but instead of hitting your opponent directly you have to hit them with a ball. It's one of those games that's instantly fun when you pick it up, and a group of inexperienced players can quickly start enjoying it. But then it also has good depth and a high enough skill ceiling that there's plenty to master if you really want to get into it.
 
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Pantz

Member
s7ApslJ.jpg


Hard to describe aside from just rattling things off...
Turn based JRPG, early 90's hip hop music vibes, Neo-Tokyo, anime girls with guns who curse a lot, sweet pixel art, surprisingly interesting take on turn based combat with a boom box mechanic, Borderlands style loot system with colored rarities and flavor text.
Don't expect TOO much, but this game really hit some JRPG sweet spots at certain points that I haven't felt in a long time. The story is a little weak and not the best translation but it's also short and painless to get through.
 

teezzy

Banned
Fae Tactics is my GotY 2020. It felt and played like a hidden gem PS1 title in the best way possible. So much so, that I completely forgot about Monster Crown which came out right about the same time and I was actually more hyped for.




Also, maybe not a hidden gem, but Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order was certainly overlooked more than it should've been given the pedigree.

Definitely a diamond in the rough where the jank can be infuriating, but everything else... god it was so close. I definitely recommend throwing either your Series X/S or PS5 at it if you dont have a nice PC.

When it plays well, my lord, does it play well. Rivals KotOR for best Star Wars game ever.

 

Rockman33

Member
NextMachina - ps4 - all around awesome game.

recore - Xbox - a lot of kinks that needed to be worked out, but the core loop was super fun.
 

cryogenic7

Member
Rime is fantastic, really shockingly good.
Days Gone was criminally underrated.
Nioh 2 though... man its combat simply takes the Souls' style to a whole level above. It is the absolute best there is. The sheer breadth and depth of the systems is unparalleled. Its a tragedy that it seems to be selling less than its excellent predecessor, because its even bigger and better.
I'm just waiting for the PS5 remaster due in Feb.
 

Labadal

Member
From the 2013-2020 era, I would have to highlight the following games:
Tale of Wuxia
Tale of Wuxia: The Pre-Sequel
Ho Tu Lo Shu
SaGa Scarlet Grace
Underrail
Blackguards
Troubleshooter
God Wars
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Metro is an impressive hidden gem to casuals and could easily slide into game rotations.
 

Cracklox

Member
A few that I don't see talked about much, but probably not as niche as some of the other mentions

Agents of Mayhem. Had a heap of fun with it. It bombed hard at release, and I picked it up for $8 earlier this year. Has its issues, but I really enjoyed the combat, characters and vertical AF open world. Got 35 odd hours for that 8 bucks, so money well spent

Darksiders 3 was another game with pedigree that released like a wet fart. I loved it though. Favorite of the 3. Also, I played it when it was free on PSN+ so that was a major bonus

Vampyr I thought was really good too, that hardly anyone seems to talk about. Interesting take on Vampires. Combat was a bit janky, but I liked most everything else about it.

Senuas Sacrifice. Short, but stunning. And it does some real interesting stuff to mess with you

Lastly, seeing a few mentions for Plague Tale in here. I just picked it up earlier today (before seeing this thread) and got through the first few chapters, and liking what I've played so far. I'll likely barrel through it in the next few days. Looking forward to it even more now
 
It might not be vastly overlooked, but if you haven't you should try out What Remains of Edith Finch.

Grand Kingdom is a fun Japanese strategy RPG with adorable art style.
 

The Fartist

Gold Member
Not quite hidden but The Last Guardian is a masterpiece that I wish sold 10 million+ copies so we can get another game from Team ICO. 🤷‍♂️
 

crozier

Member
I’m going to add Onrush. It’s super-cheap right now on the PlayStation Store too. Just be aware, it’s not a racing game per se.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
Hyper Light Drifter
In a sea of wannabe SNES/Genesis "newtro" games - HLD is the only game that actually stands toe to toe with the 16-bit greats.
 
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Ravix

Member
A few that come to mind:
13 Sentinels
Sakura Wars
Catherine Full body
The Trails in the Sky remasters
Valkyria Chronicles 4 as well as VC1's remaster
Gravity Rush 1 and 2
 

Camreezie

Member
Prey
Mad max
Days Gone
Wolfenstein The New Order
Alien Isolation
Gravity Rush 2

I know they are all fairly big games and some well marketed but I dont think they were played by as many people as they should have
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
I still don’t feel like enough people have played Vanquish. It came out on PC last gen so I count it.


I finally gave it a shot few years ago on pc... I did't liked it. Overstayed it's welcome with bullet sponges etc.

Can The Last Guardian be a hidden Gem? I feel that not enough people played this amazing game
Soma too
 

SinDelta

Member
I will add - Pretty much all of Vanillaware. Did not have any idea just how good they actually were until I started playing their games.

Dragon's Crown Pro - Which is one of the best fantasy games I've ever played with a ton of interesting lore shown via the various quests and side quests.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir - Also one of the best fantasy games I've ever played, with a stronger plot focusing on the characters.
One of the most optimistic yet devastating endings I've ever seen in a work of fiction.

And Thirteen Sentinels, which is a love letter to science fiction and is currently shaping up to be one of the best sci-fi epics I've ever played (and one of the best stories period.)
 
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fatty

Member
I still don’t feel like enough people have played Vanquish. It came out on PC last gen so I count it.



This and Bayonetta are on sale at Best Buy for $20 for the 2-pack, great deal.

PS4:

Xbx:

I have Vanquish (still on my backlog), otherwise I would be picking it up.
 
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Lots of excellent ones already mentioned, so I'll add Flinthook. Not difficult to see why it was overlooked: yet another pixel art roguelike platformer in a vast ocean of pixel art roguelike platformers. The 'hook' of swinging around isn't anything profound, either, but every aspect of this game is fine-tuned to perfection. Feels like a Nintendo-quality platformer IMO.

LikableDishonestKoalabear-size_restricted.gif
 

CatLady

Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
The three that caught off guard were:

Battlechasers:

RPG, TB combat, old school 'left side of screen vs right side of screen'. Cool concept, interesting game

Mutant: Year zero, road to Eden
Mutant was the best 'strategy' xcom game i've played since xbox. It worked amazingly well. Thoroughly looking forward to a sequel

Operencia: the stolen sun
A first person game where you could only walk in 'grid' fashion, using simple but effective battles. It really came in to it's own with the puzzles, which were beautiful, frustrating and so old school that it would make George Stobbart and Guybrush Threepwood smile.

Operencia saved the generation for me. It was just that diamond in the rough, the perfect little gem that I enjoyed from start to finish.

And the best part? All three of those games were on Gamepass.

I grudgingly gave each of these games a shot on Game Pass even though I didn't think I would like any of them. I ended up liking each one of them very much.

Great picks, wish I'd thought to include them!
 
I grudgingly gave each of these games a shot on Game Pass even though I didn't think I would like any of them. I ended up liking each one of them very much.

Great picks, wish I'd thought to include them!
I'm glad you enjoyed them.

I hope more people try these games and support the devs. The charm, quality and love in the games shines through 🙂
 

RedVIper

Banned
Nova Drift

An arcade space combat game, had quite a little bit of fun with it, the controls took a bit getting used to but once you get the hang of it you can pull off some really satisfying stuff.
 
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Paltheos

Member
I feel a little conflicted listing this here, considering it has one of the highest like/dislike ratios on Steam, but I want to shout out A Hat in Time as possible platformer of the generation. The game is universally praised and endlessly fun, but it so seldom comes up in any discussion (in any of the places I've frequented anyway).

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Dick Jones

Gold Member
Concrete Genie. Gorgeous game that doesn't outstay its welcome. Sometimes games don't need to be 50 hour epics. A relatively short game with an engaging story about bullying, with great visuals, blew alot of AAA games out of the water. It would have fit in perfect with the creative ps3 game stable of Journey, the Unfinished Swan, Rain and Flower. Get it on sale if you can and enjoy it.

I know ill get grief for this but unironically Knack 2 is a good game. The first one was decent but not special and the second one deserves a shot.
 
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