Underrated Steam Games

[Lotus Victoria]

Hello, champions! Good to see you.

I'd like to make this thread for you to post your favourite underrated gems from Steam. And I really mean UNDERRATED, games that most people didn't even know about.

So, let's say: "Dust: An Elysian Tail" didn't sell like a freaking Call of Duty, but it's not underrated either. Neither is Transistor, or Machinarium, or Axiom Verge. I'm talking games like Dex, Zero Escape: The Nonary Games, Cyberpunk Bartender Action: VA-11 Hall-A and Unepic - Games that are good and nobody gave a shit at release day/nowadays, but deserve a million sales more.

If possible, provide a small review.

I'll start with Botanicula. A very cute little game with and amazing soundtrack and great puzzles. Charismatic, beautiful, and fun. You can finish it in under three hours, so it's worth your time if you like puzzle games.

And the soundtrack is truly glorious.

[Fibby76]

Eufloria - old but classic

Creeper World 3: Arc Eternal (Tower defense-type, can get intense if you're not careful)

Heroes of a Broken Land (Dungeon-crawling RPG in its purest form)

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (excellent RTS)

Kingdom: New Lands (side-scrolling tower defense type of game. Quite different and beautiful in its simple presentation)

Heart's Medicine (both of them- it's just a time-management game, but the plot got me hooked.)

Grey Goo (Also excellent RTS, with stunning cutscenes)

Hard West (if you like turn-based combat as presented in x-com or jagged alliance, but with the wild west theme, this is the game you want)

Mount and Blade: Warband (Part two coming soon! You can just wait for part 2, but if you're curious, check out the first one. It's easy to pour 100+ into this deep game)

Knights of Pen and Paper part 1 and 2 (A throwback and fun twist to the D&D days of old.)


So many more.....

[Super Kami Dende]

Valkyria Chronicles.

People who owned a PS3 may know of it, but hardly anyone I know who PC games had heard of it. Amazing turn based Strategy Game with a Great Story, Fun Gameplay and beautiful Soundtrack/Art.

[Deleted]

Dark Sector was a pretty fun TPP shooter that gave birth to the mechanic of remote batarang from the Batman games, it was one of the main gimmicks in this. I think like a top of 10 people maybe played this game, which is a shame.

[G3istly]

Your weird opener aside, I've got to agree with Unepic. I thought it was a fantastic game... until you get to the boss that's completely immune to magic so if you had been building that the whole game, you basically made it impossible to progress beyond that point. Other than that there's Endless Legend, both Overlord games, both Warlock games, the Age of Wonders games, the Eador games (except Imperium), E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy, the Disciples games, the Divine Divinity games, the original Dungeon Defenders, Dungeonmans, Dungeons of Dredmor, the Eschalon series, Factorio, Grim Dawn, anything by Spiderweb Software, Hammerwatch, Impire, Lichdom: Battlemage, Project Zomboid, Pillars of Eternity, War for the Overworld, etc. I was going to keep going but I'd end up listing off at least half of my library and that would take too long.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Valkyria Chronicles.

People who owned a PS3 may know of it, but hardly anyone I know who PC games had heard of it. Amazing turn based Strategy Game with a Great Story, Fun Gameplay and beautiful Soundtrack/Art.

I second this; it's a true gem of a game that is sadly ignored by too many people. The characters are memorable, the art style is gorgeous, the gameplay is intuitive and rewards planning, and has high replay value. It's also pretty short, being a thirty hour long game, so it's definitely worth it.

Alright, my pick:

The Banner Saga is a story driven Tactical RPG (similar to VC, but turned based unlike the above) where following a growing band of refugees driven out of their home by an invading army called the Dredge. You and your party travel on a journey to the capital of Arrberang, hoping to seek shelter. You will meet dozens of memorable people (not characters) which you will be able to develop. There's no unnecessary gameplay elements like sidequests or managing crit chance or whatever; it's a straightforward story driven game (where your choices actually impact how the story unfolds in major ways) with gripping fights along the way. Like Valkyria Chronicles, it's a pretty short game, with a first playthrough taking about fifteen-twenty hours for the first game, and same for the sequel. It barely got enough funding for the final game in the trilogy, which is slated to release next year.

[Endus]

Some good stuff I've played that seems to have flown under the radar for the most part (not AAA stuff);

Hollow Knight - This was seriously the best metroidvania type 2d platformer that I've played in YEARS. Possibly since actual Metroid games, and that's largely nostalgia. The setting is great and unique, the lore is complex and makes you work for it, the areas are both diverse and not repetitive (each couple of rooms in a zone "feel" fairly unique).

Antichamber - one of the best 3d puzzle games I've ever played. Very little hand-holding, in a good way.

The Witness - arguably a close second for me in terms of 3D puzzle games, but it's both more limited and digs into that puzzle concept more deeply and fleshes it out in big ways, so it's a bit more niche IMO. All the puzzles are basically "draw a line from A to B", but each area adds complexity and new rules and restrictions that you have to figure out as you go (they aren't explained directly). It's actually amazing how much mileage they can get out of that one puzzle concept, but I understand it might irk some people.

The Witness took some flak early on, but I think it's worth playing if you like puzzles. These were all fairly well-rated, but they seem to have flown under the radar for the most part, undeservedly (maybe I missed the hype for Hollow Knight, but it's fantastic).

[Deleted]

Banished - great world building game
Warlock - a fun strategy game by paradox, old but gold
The Stanley Parable - an exploration game with a lot of different endings and pathes to take

[G3istly]

Banished - great world building game
Warlock - a fun strategy game by paradox, old but gold
The Stanley Parable - an exploration game with a lot of different endings and pathes to take

Warlock was only published by Paradox Interactive, not created by them. If it had, there would be about a billion overpriced DLC.

[Eleccybubb]

Papers Please.
Undertale.
The Stanley Parable.

[G3istly]

Papers Please.
Undertale.
The Stanley Parable.

They asked for underrated, not overrated.

[Eleccybubb]

They asked for underrated, not overrated.

You are entitled to your opinion I guess but ok.

[Lucifer Morningstar]

I played ARK: Survival Evolved for a while and it was pretty decent. I played on unofficial servers and had a blast. Played something close to 2k hours on it. Fun times waiting between wow expansions.

[G3istly]

You are entitled to your opinion I guess but ok.

You're entitled to state the obvious I guess but okay.

[Eleccybubb]

Couple of others I'd like to mention are Breath of Death 7 and Cthulhu Saves the World. Basically they are like the old Dragon Quest games.

Dunno why but I've always found the Indie library of Steam to be the most underrated sadly. Games like Stardew Valley, Terraria and Azure Striker Gunvolt spring immediately to mind as well.

[Lotus Victoria]

Couple of others I'd like to mention are Breath of Death 7 and Cthulhu Saves the World. Basically they are like the old Dragon Quest games.

Dunno why but I've always found the Indie library of Steam to be the most underrated sadly. Games like Stardew Valley, Terraria and Azure Striker Gunvolt spring immediately to mind as well.

Well, I wouldn't call Undertale, Stardew Valley and Terraria "underrated". They've sold millions of copies (Terraria alone sold eight million copies) so they're not exactly underrated. Still, great games that deserve the praise.

Don't you have that one little game that only you seem to know? If yes, post it here!

[Eleccybubb]

Well, I wouldn't call Undertale, Stardew Valley and Terraria "underrated". They've sold millions of copies (Terraria alone sold eight million copies) so they're not exactly underrated. Still, great games that deserve the praise.

Don't you have that one little game that only you seem to know? If yes, post it here!

I don't mean by the number of copies sold. Just meant they don't seem to get as much attention as bigger games. I honestly wish Indie devs would get more of the spotlight because some of the stuff they do is amazing. Of course not all Indie games are the best and some do go down the wrong path but eh just my 2 cents.

As I said Azure Striker Gunvolt, Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World, Mighty Gunvolt, Firewatch and Papers Please.

[Endus]

Well, I wouldn't call Undertale, Stardew Valley and Terraria "underrated". They've sold millions of copies (Terraria alone sold eight million copies) so they're not exactly underrated. Still, great games that deserve the praise.

Don't you have that one little game that only you seem to know? If yes, post it here!

Yeah, there were a LOT of other games I left out because they were either AAA even if I felt they didn't get the fanfare they deserved (the new release of Prey comes to mind) or because they were indie but got HUGE notice in the market and in gaming press (Stardew Valley, Terraria).

[Eleccybubb]

Yeah, there were a LOT of other games I left out because they were either AAA even if I felt they didn't get the fanfare they deserved (the new release of Prey comes to mind) or because they were indie but got HUGE notice in the market and in gaming press (Stardew Valley, Terraria).

Have you ever noticed though the dropoff of attention seems to be a lot faster with Indie games sadly? Maybe it's just me but I sure do feel that way.

Tbh if I was playing any AAA games recently I'd mention them. Lot of my time is taken up by MMOs and Indie games these days.

[Fawkess]

Overlord 2- a Pikmin type game with a funny and interesting story

Darksiders 1 and 2- God of war hack n slash with many weapons and collectibles to unlock

Deponia series- A colorful, charming, and entertaining point and click series

Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People- One of Telltales first major point and click games, Only recommended if your a fan of the original web series/site as there are lots of jokes you probably wont understand otherwise