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[StueyDuck]

If it weren't for the endgame, I would have said Dune Awakening, loved going through the game with the lads, but yeah... endgame is retarded and a grind for jobless people.

but a real hidden gem , again fantastic for co-op is Mars First Logistics. Reached it's 1.0 this year and it's a blast (and something actually different)

to throw my hat in the ring again with a second game, Lego Party is as good as, if not exceeds some mario party games and is definitely underlooked.

and a third game is abiotic factor.

 

[Team Andromeda]

South of Midnight - A brilliant DMC clone with wonderful art and music

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Avowed

 

[CashPrizes]

Absolum

 

[mèx]

It's Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo.

It's the UNSIGHTED of 2025: a top tier Zelda like if not one of the best, way better than most 2D Zeldas and it's been largely ignored.

Then we have threads about how gaming nowadays sucks, and this banger goes completely unnoticed.

 

[Gonzito]

I haven't fully checked it out yet, but I will be as soon as I'm finished Yotei.

Hell is Us

Feels like a real cult, sleeper in the making. Anyone that's played it for real knows how special and weird it is. And according to @Angry_Megalodon it might just possibly be the Metroid we all missed out on this year

I came here to write this one.

Awesome game

 

[cireza]

But it's not underrated at all, reviewed and sold both extremely well.

If anything it is overrated lol.

 

[Touch fuzZy. get BizZay]

Great game, arguably Falcom's best.

But it's not underrated at all, reviewed and sold both extremely well.

I think it's fair to say it's underrated - for example it gets slighted in rpg categories at award shows

 

[Dr Bass]

Literally just finished Absolum with the gf in co-op. Thought it was fantastic and my current goty. So much fun.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

If anything it is overrated lol.

I tried the demo twice and I couldn't make it 15 minutes before quitting. The squeaky high-pitched voices, dialog that goes on like 3x as long as it needs to, and the awkward pauses at the end of every line, it's so off-putting to me, especially coming directly from Clair Obscur.

I guess this game has its niche and they absolutely can't get enough of this stuff. But they vastly overestimate the normie appeal.

 

[cireza]

I tried the demo twice and I couldn't make it 15 minutes before quitting. The squeaky high-pitched voices, dialog that goes on like 3x as long as it needs to, and the awkward pauses at the end of every line, it's so off-putting to me, especially coming directly from Clair Obscur.

I guess this game has its niche and they absolutely can't get enough of this stuff. But they vastly overestimate the normie appeal.

I bought it and played it quite a lot, and it is as bland as it gets for a JRPG. Uninspired regions, copy pasted dungeons, super repetitive battles, uninteresting fetch quests... A complete borefest. And that battle music my god, unbearable. Voices were also super annoying, especially Estelle.

It's like people who like this have never played a competent JRPG. A good JRPG doesn't take 30 hours to initiate an interesting story, this is at best an excuse.

 

[nnytk]

Really a good game. The sequel is so easy to take to the next level that they'll crush it if executed.

More bosses, more enemy variety, and more challenging hard mode. Would easily be a GOTY contender for me.

Hmm, Hell Is Us has this weird Death Stranding x Aiden from Watch Dogs aesthetic going for itself that really does not resonate with me. What makes this game so special? The brief footage I've seen screams Ubisoft to me, I'm probably wrong?

 

[Kupfer]

I really enjoyed Mafia: The Old Country

It's a mid 70's game but it struck a nerve with me and drew me in for 11 hours into a beautifully presented world, whose design, characters, fashion, cars, weapons, soundtrack, and language come together in a way I have never seen in a game before.


Maybe I will play it through a second time; somehow it's a shame it ended so quickly.
It really follows in the footsteps of Mafia 1 and Mafia 2, and luckily not Mafia 3. It was exactly what I expected and what I hoped for.
Definitely play it in Sicilian with subtitles.

 

[nnytk]

I think Nightreign from From Software is underrated for the insane amount of chances and risks it takes. It threatened to destroy the lore and world of Elden Ring, it took the world and assets of a succesful title and brought it into a more fast paced Battle Royale type of experience. At a time when Battle Royale is not as popular as it used to be.

I think it was a very bold and daring move from From Software, also giving this to a young director, it reminds me of Nintendo and the way they allowed Splatoon to happen.

Imho, Nightreign is a bold, memorable experiment that actually works, and I'm surprised how misunderstood and undervalued it is. Even friends of mine who loved Elden Ring bounced off it almost instantly, which is a shame. There's so much potential in this kind of gameplay experimentation. And it goes against the trend of AAA games playing it super safe and trying to please everyone.

Edit: I know it sold +2million copies, but still, underappreciated for its boldness.

 

[Danjin44]

I'm surprised how misunderstood and undervalued it is. Even friends of mine who loved Elden Ring bounced off it almost instantly, which is a shame.

I'm not sure it's misunderstood, I know exactly what it is but I'm just not in to it because it goes against everything I love about Elden Ring.

The reason I like games like Elden Ring and other Souls games is to take my time to explore and make progress with my build at my own pace but in Nightreign is all about rushing through levels like speed runner, find gears as fast as you can, beat the boss and lose all the weapon and level you gained and do it all over again for next boss.

The whole speed running and roguelike stuff is not what I want out of my games…..also the fact this game designed around playing with other people completely turns me off from the game.

 

[Poppinfresh]

Blade Chimera is a Metroidvania hidden gem, but in a year with Silksong, Ender Magnolia and Metroid Prime 4 as competition it's just bound to be forgotten even by genre enthusiasts, it's a fantastic game though.

I bought this based entirely on your post. Hope it's good.

 

[Rocinante618]

I tried the demo twice and I couldn't make it 15 minutes before quitting. The squeaky high-pitched voices, dialog that goes on like 3x as long as it needs to, and the awkward pauses at the end of every line, it's so off-putting to me, especially coming directly from Clair Obscur.

I guess this game has its niche and they absolutely can't get enough of this stuff. But they vastly overestimate the normie appeal.

Tried the demo as well. Played on KBM lol and I must say, excellent controls. Dialogue was lmao, I was skipping most but I do think it's AI translated, most likely Claude. I read "you're exactly right!" so many times.

Combat was kinda fun but bruh so many mechanics. I don't have a lot of opinions about this as I don't generally play a lot of JRPGs ( I have played exactly 5 of them lol - Persona 5R, Octopath 2, FF7 Remake Part 1, Yakuza 7 & Fantasian) and I think this combat is too complicated and confused to be fun but I don't think this is a problem as it feels like this game is 80%+ dialogue and 20% combat lol.

Idk it's not funny and crazy like Yakuza 7, not simple and classic like OT2, not soulful like FF7, not unique like Fantasian and not stylish like Persona 5R. It's extremely anime and niche.

 

[PlayStaytion]

Star Wars Outlaws. I'm not going to defend a 9-9.5 games cause it's silly at this point.

 

[Poppinfresh]

Wuchang got review bombed at launch but the last month or so it's at like 90% positive. The more removed we get from the controversy and censorship the more people just realize it's a really good Souls game.

It's probably my favorite non-From Souls game at this point. I really, hope they make DLC or a sequel to it.

I personally like this game waaay more than E33.

Trails deserves all of the accolades that E33 is getting.

I found E33 to be extremely mid.

 

[Shtof]

Gotta say Blue Prince, even though it's highly rated already.

But you have to give it a couple of hours to get into.
Once you do, you'll feel that spark of genius that only comes from solo creators/designers.

And trust me, I've never been a fan of puzzle games.

 

[Danjin44]

Trails deserves all of the accolades that E33 is getting.

I found E33 to be extremely mid.

I enjoyed E33 but people saying this game out class any other game is crazy to me.

People heavily criticized FFXVI for feeling more like an action game than RPG and despite having turn based combat I feel the same way about E33.

Because in this game parry/dodging it's too useful and powerful which overshadows any part of the game. No matter what enemy or boss you face your number one solution to their attacks is parry/dodge which basically this game mostly rewards you reflexes like an action game.

 

[nnytk]

I'm not sure it's misunderstood, I know exactly what it is but I'm just not in to it because it goes against everything I love about Elden Ring.

The reason I like games like Elden Ring and other Souls games is to take my time to explore and make progress with my build at my own pace but in Nightreign is all about rushing through levels like speed runner, find gears as fast as you can, beat the boss and lose all the weapon and level you gained and do it all over again for next boss.

The whole speed running and roguelike stuff is not what I want out of my games…..also the fact this game designed around playing with other people completely turns me off from the game.

Well you can have both the exploration and taking your time in regular Elden Ring, AND play Nightreign for the alternative style It's hard to go back to regular Elden Ring tbh, movement feels slow and clunky.

I thought I wouldn't like it either, but I ended up loving it, surprisingly. But hey, I also really understand your point of view. Regarding online and coop, I have a bunch of very close friends that I also play coop with - so Nightreign was a perfect fit for us.

 

[Danjin44]

Well you can have both the exploration and taking your time in regular Elden Ring, AND play Nightreign for the alternative style It's hard to go back to regular Elden Ring tbh, movement feels slow and clunky.

I thought I wouldn't like it either, but I ended up loving it, surprisingly. But hey, I also really understand your point of view. Regarding online and coop, I have a bunch of very close friends that I also play coop with - so Nightreign was a perfect fit for us.

I understand but it's not surprising for people like me who enjoyed Elden Ring but don't like Nightreign because it's not the same game.

Elden Ring is mostly single player RPG while Nightreign is MP focus roguelike.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

These four games. (actually 3 as one is in early access).

• Tempest Rising
• Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo
• Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream
• Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days (Early Access)

I'm waiting til cursed yoyo is cheap. I liked the demo but my indie backlog is ridiculous. It's gotta be something I really want to get close to launch.

 

[Markio128]

I can't think of one that I've played. I do need to try Hell is Us and Atomfall at some point though.

 

[grvg]

Surprised no one has mentioned The Alters yet.

Guess that game really didn't pan out.

It didn't help that when I saw the cover I immediately thought it was a gay dating sim.

The actual game was unique and incredibly interesting, but other people certainly had the exact same first impression experience as I. The only thing that saved the game for me was the fact that I visit gaming enthusiast forums and learned that it was not, in fact, a gay dating sim.

 

[dorkimoe]

I played this for 100 hours

man this game had me hooked. I never played the first, but thanks to the glory that is gamepass i gave this a shot. I need to go back to it

 

[yurinka]

Lumines Arise

 

[Arsic]

Hmm, Hell Is Us has this weird Death Stranding x Aiden from Watch Dogs aesthetic going for itself that really does not resonate with me. What makes this game so special? The brief footage I've seen screams Ubisoft to me, I'm probably wrong?

The above comment that it's similar to Metroid in some ways isn't far off.

It's not souls like combat, only a few bosses. It's heavy on exploration and sense of discovery with no quests markers of any kind, and you need to listen to NPCs or read things to solve puzzles/advance.

It's got a very dark world showing the evil that war brings. It's definitely AA with some jank but the atmosphere is great, and just seeing the story unfold is cool.

It's not overly long and doesn't overstay it's welcome.

 

[Arsic]

But was not a commercial success despite of good and credible reviews and good metacritic score from reviewers and users because allot of gamers judge it at once as boring walking sim.

The fact you can confidently say DS2 is underrated is insane to me.

It does not compute man.

 

[Kacho]

I guess I would pick Cronos. Great game that sold poorly.

 

[Poppinfresh]

Lumines Arise

I've had my eye on this one because I loved the original game on the PSP, but $40 seems a bit steep for this sort of puzzle game.

 

[Uncle Moe]

I guess I would pick Cronos. Great game that sold poorly.

Bloober Team understands that resource scarcity is a key ingredient in heightening tension. I can't remember the last time I was so nervous playing a survival horror game. Though it overstays its welcome (I could have done without the penultimate chapter, and its irritating boss fight, especially) I enjoyed the thoroughly creepy Cronos and would recommend it to fans of the genre. The sequences set in Poland's communist-controlled past were especially fascinating. Not a setting often seen in games.

 

[ValiantInstance]

I'll go for Dying Light The Beast. It's a perfect sequel to the first game in every way but the stink of 2 killed a lot of the hype. If you give it a go you won't be disappointed.

 

[Uncle Moe]

Then we have threads about how gaming nowadays sucks, and this banger goes completely unnoticed.

Pipistrello is packed with old-school charm and new-school mechanical complexity. The yo-yo is a treat to use, and the devs are to be applauded for devising so many cool things to do with it. I was also surprised (and pleased) to discover that the game offers a stiff challenge, though the difficulty ramps well.

I complain too often about the industry's woes, real though they are. Pipistrello makes me hopeful for the future of the medium.

 

[Lokaum D+]

You go chop a tree and your friends cheer on you while a boss battle theme composed by Nobuo Uematsu plays in the background.

Fun videogame.

what is this game about ? i was looking for a better looking Stardew kind game, is this what i m looking for ?

 

[Lightbreak]

It's Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo.

It's the UNSIGHTED of 2025: a top tier Zelda like if not one of the best, way better than most 2D Zeldas and it's been largely ignored.

Then we have threads about how gaming nowadays sucks, and this banger goes completely unnoticed.

Tried the Steam demo and is a solid game and is a fresh spinoff, thanks for this. I love metroidvania so im in!

 

[Rafaguilera]

Pipistrello and the cursed yoyo

The best forgotten gem of 2025 and one my favorites games this year.

It deserved so much a nomination for best indie of the year at the TGA.

 

[Rafaguilera]

Tried the Steam demo and is a solid game and is a fresh spinoff, thanks for this. I love metroidvania so im in!

Even if it was labeled by the developers themselves as a ''yoyovania'', I felt it was structured much closer to Zelda than Metroid.

Anyway, fantastic game!!!

 

[balls of snow]

Old Skies is fantastic as I barrel through the end after getting distracted earlier this year. Such a contemplative story on time travel. The simplistic graphics did its job but what made me pick it back up and basically ignore Metroid for a few days were the dialogue and va which if not for Dispatch is the best in class. Sad vibes all around.

 

[Witchilich]

Surprise that no one mentioned this.


The SNES version have been fan translated and someone is working on a Saturn translation. Hope we get a fan or official translation for the Switch version. I also hope Tokimeki Memorial 2 gets ported to Switch and it receives the fan translation patch.
Mira Kagami best girl by the way.

 

[Minari]

 

[El Hee-Ho]

what is this game about ?

Oh boy, I'll do my best. TLDR: it's a "numbers go up" kind of game.

You have multiple classes, some dedicated to fighting (warrior, mage, etc), some dedicated to gathering resources (miner, fisher etc) and some dedicated to spending those resources for making better gear for your other classes, or decorations for your town (carpenter, smithy etc).

Core of the game is that you go out on adventures with a party of you and 3 other NPCs (which also have those classes), gather resources and spend them when you are back in town. The loop of "kill -> gather -> build -> repeat" is super tight and feels very rewarding, game's very addicting. The key here is that everything has a level: your classes have level, the gear has a quality level, and each enemy and each resource gathering spot also has a level. So you want to improve your weapons and gear as much as possible to try and overcome the level limitation, so you can earn a lot of exp so now you have more level so you can make better gear so you can gather better stuff... and suddenly it's 7 AM and you stink of vice and pride.

Then, there's different context for those adventures you go on: you have the main story, which is exploring some islands while meeting funny and charming characters, with my favorite part being a parody of Ocarina of Time. Then there's the randomized dungeons, a main dungeon with multiple floors, and finally there's a vast open world to explore also filled with stuff to find. There's content for hundreds of hours.

And aside from engaging with the main loop of "kill -> gather -> build -> repeat" you also find blueprints while exploring, rescue new party memebers and if that's not enough, there's also an Animal Crossing kind of town building where all the characters you've rescued spend their time fucking around.

Also the music is great. Downside for me is that the game is quite easy and too "safe" and for kids: you won't fight against zombies, skeletons nor demons, but rather bees, carrots and bugs.

Still, the game is super fun and a great time sink. If you have a wife or kids the game also has coop.

i was looking for a better looking Stardew kind game, is this what i m looking for ?

Game has no romance and the farming is quite barebones. I think it's a different kind of game, but still a "comfy" game if that's what you are after

 

[RafterXL]

I'm not sure it's misunderstood, I know exactly what it is but I'm just not in to it because it goes against everything I love about Elden Ring.

The reason I like games like Elden Ring and other Souls games is to take my time to explore and make progress with my build at my own pace but in Nightreign is all about rushing through levels like speed runner, find gears as fast as you can, beat the boss and lose all the weapon and level you gained and do it all over again for next boss.

The whole speed running and roguelike stuff is not what I want out of my games…..also the fact this game designed around playing with other people completely turns me off from the game.

Exactly, it's not misunderstood. The fact that we know what Nightreign is, is why many of us Elden Ring fans don't enjoy it. I play Souls games for the gameplay, of course, but it's also because it's a desolate, isolating experience in a world I get to explore and learn about. As you say, speed running and roguelike is the antithesis of that, which is why I personally can't stand the game. In fact, the most fun I've had playing Nightreign was downloading a bunch of mods off of Nexus to completely get rid of the speedrunning elements, but then it still lacks all the gameplay and appeal that Elden Ring had because it's not designed to play that way.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

Only will comment on what I played, but 3 games come to mind:

- Thank Goodness You're Here
- The Midnight Walk
- DOOM: The Dark Ages

 

[dorkimoe]

what is this game about ? i was looking for a better looking Stardew kind game, is this what i m looking for ?

you can literally do anything. You can cook, harvest, be a fighter, fisher, carpenter. Highly recommend this

 

[ssringo]

I'll throw in AI Limit. The game had a slow start thanks to releasing the same day as Khazan, which took a lot of attention away. But word slowly got around and it currently has better user reviews than Khazan.

I think it captures the great feeling of exploration and discovery that al ot of Souls likes fail at (or dont focus on). It's one of my favorite in the genre.

 

[Roy_goodguy]

From all the good games I played this year I don't feel like any of them was underrated.

Now, Blades of Fire? I only played the demo.. but I really liked it, I feel like there might be a hidden gem here, I need to check it out sometime.

 

[Kacho]

It's Pipistrello and the Cursed Yo-Yo.

It's the UNSIGHTED of 2025: a top tier Zelda like if not one of the best, way better than most 2D Zeldas and it's been largely ignored.

Then we have threads about how gaming nowadays sucks, and this banger goes completely unnoticed.

Between the colors and animal characters I assumed this was a ResetEra game.

DonkeyPunchJr BennyBlanco have either of you played it? Thumbs up, thumbs down?

 

[DaciaJC]

A niche game, from a small team, a little janky in spots, but basically invents a new sub-genre: the Leadership RPG. You are the commander of a rifle company in WW2 and deal with everything that entails. It's hard to fully describe without playing it, but imagine:

Disco Elysium + Band of Brothers + Wargame

There's just as much dialogue as Disco, with you constantly making decisions that affect basically everything. Morale, supplies, objectives, who lives and dies. You have to be mindful of your own stress, the stress of your subordinate officers, the feelings of your men, the expectations of your commanders, on and on. This happens before and after scenarios and during missions. Stuff you do early on can come back around 15 hours later.

Everything feels extremely authentic as there are hundreds of historical photos used in the game. A lot of the situations are based on real memoirs and it all feels real because of it. There's even a prolonged section where you basically do a mini-game of office work and managing your people during R&R. The game doesn't shy away from anything, it hits on PTSD, loss, grief, anger, war crimes (by both sides, even you perhaps), and the horrors of war. But also the funny parts, the camaraderie, the surreal moments.

I highly, highly, recommend the game if that sounds at all interesting. The actual combat gameplay is solid as well, it takes a bit to get into it but is a really good tactical game that punishes bad judgment. The biggest downside is probably getting through the initial tutorial section. Thematically it works great, you're in boot camp, but it's kinda messy in presentation (explanation videos from the dev that feel like they should have been dropped in beta).

I know that's a long post, but I really appreciated this game and how unique it is. I thought it was vaporware for like 5 years, then it actually came out, and it even more shocking it was really good! They are doing a DLC that adds new campaigns from additional perspectives, can't wait for it.

Very cool mention!