2024 was a jam-packed year as far as video games are concerned. From Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Astro Bot to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Black Myth: Wukong and many more. However, amidst the limelight of these huge titles, there were some games which were overshadowed.
Undoubtedly, these games could have placed themselves in the same brackets as the previously mentioned titles. In 2025, you might be waiting for titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Elden Ring Nightreign and most importantly GTA 6, but there are some criminally underrated titles of 2024, which you should definitely try this year. Here are they:
The Thaumaturge
Don't pass on The Thaumaturge if you enjoy detective thrillers and spooky historical fiction. This turn-based role-playing game was largely overlooked, but it does have a fascinating backstory from Fool's Theory, a studio that worked on Baldur's Gate 3 and was led by a former Witcher 3 producer. Therefore, it is safe to assume that this crew is well-versed in quest design and characterization.
With his close friend and buddy Rasputin by his side, you will play in the shoes of the title thaumaturge, Wiktor Szulski, who solves numerous mysteries and regularly clashes with the Tsar's army warriors.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
This latest installment in the legendary Prince of Persia franchise features quick and fluid melee fighting and agile platforming. Fans of the genre should give this sleek, difficult experience some serious thought, even if the story components detract from it.
This revived 2D Metroidvania-style platformer version of the iconic Ubisoft franchise kicks in once you begin exploring a palace divided by time, fighting opponents, figuring out environmental riddles, and learning to platform with fluid precision.
Pacific Drive
Designed with rougelites in mind, Pacific Drive takes you on multiple runs through the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a sectioned-off mass of forest roads in the Pacific Northwest, while you avoid mind-boggling (and frequently eerie) supernatural elements like buzzsaws that skim the roads like the shark skims the waters in Jaws and crash test dummies that move when you're not looking at them.
Anyone who has barely survived one checkpoint after another in Pacific Drive can attest to the game's white-knuckle anxiety, even though it may seem odd to call a game about keeping a failing car functional one of the year's most stressful titles.
Alone in The Dark
The new Alone in the Dark is a "reimagining" of the original rather than a remake. The Derceto estate serves as the backdrop once more, while Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood play the lead parts. Although the plot itself largely recounts an original story, there are several ways in which it is similar to the original
The main bosses, animals, riddles, story writing, and environment design are all done with skill. Even the Dark Man has a pursuit sequence that is comparable to Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2, where your character will deftly turn a weapon on themselves when you fire it.
Rise of the Ronin
With a twist, Rise of the Ronin's central idea is similar to that of Wo Long and Nioh 2. In all three games, a lone warrior enters a historical battle that actually happened, but this time, the player's personalized Ronin is searching for their lost Blade Twin after a mission goes awry. However, the Boshin War in late 1860s Japan is portrayed without a supernatural bent, in contrast to Nioh and Wo Long.
Although Nioh's cast of spirit animals and mythological demons is absent from this game, Team Ninja's bold legacy is still present in battle animations, cutscenes, and uncommon opponents like eight-foot-tall bruisers brandishing enormous claws.
Arco
Arco, a combat-heavy, cinematic adventure told from the viewpoints of four indigenous characters, is described as a Mesoamerican fantasy role-playing game where every battle is a handcrafted, bullet-hellish tempest.
Since every action in Arco occurs in real time, unlike most turn-based tactics games, players must take into account both their own and their opponents' moves. It's a novel and distinctive take on the genre that compels players to think of unconventional tactics.
Slitterhead
During the semi-linear story missions set in the fictional Chinese city of Kowlong, Slitterhead places you in the shoes of a bodiless spirit that has the ability to take control of nearly any NPC. To ward off the enemies known as Slitterheads, you can utilize most bodies as puppets by floating, hovering, and then jumping into them.
There isn't much difference in these monsters, which you battle throughout the game. You have to deal with worm-like Slitterheads, baby forms that can be defeated with a single blow, and ordinary Slitterheads that are difficult to defeat. Occasionally, the Slitterheads will change into boss-like, Resident-Evil-like monsters that are harder to defeat.
Undoubtedly, these games could have placed themselves in the same brackets as the previously mentioned titles. In 2025, you might be waiting for titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Elden Ring Nightreign and most importantly GTA 6, but there are some criminally underrated titles of 2024, which you should definitely try this year. Here are they:
The Thaumaturge
Don't pass on The Thaumaturge if you enjoy detective thrillers and spooky historical fiction. This turn-based role-playing game was largely overlooked, but it does have a fascinating backstory from Fool's Theory, a studio that worked on Baldur's Gate 3 and was led by a former Witcher 3 producer. Therefore, it is safe to assume that this crew is well-versed in quest design and characterization.
With his close friend and buddy Rasputin by his side, you will play in the shoes of the title thaumaturge, Wiktor Szulski, who solves numerous mysteries and regularly clashes with the Tsar's army warriors.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
This latest installment in the legendary Prince of Persia franchise features quick and fluid melee fighting and agile platforming. Fans of the genre should give this sleek, difficult experience some serious thought, even if the story components detract from it.
This revived 2D Metroidvania-style platformer version of the iconic Ubisoft franchise kicks in once you begin exploring a palace divided by time, fighting opponents, figuring out environmental riddles, and learning to platform with fluid precision.
Pacific Drive
Designed with rougelites in mind, Pacific Drive takes you on multiple runs through the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a sectioned-off mass of forest roads in the Pacific Northwest, while you avoid mind-boggling (and frequently eerie) supernatural elements like buzzsaws that skim the roads like the shark skims the waters in Jaws and crash test dummies that move when you're not looking at them.
Anyone who has barely survived one checkpoint after another in Pacific Drive can attest to the game's white-knuckle anxiety, even though it may seem odd to call a game about keeping a failing car functional one of the year's most stressful titles.
Alone in The Dark
The new Alone in the Dark is a "reimagining" of the original rather than a remake. The Derceto estate serves as the backdrop once more, while Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood play the lead parts. Although the plot itself largely recounts an original story, there are several ways in which it is similar to the original
The main bosses, animals, riddles, story writing, and environment design are all done with skill. Even the Dark Man has a pursuit sequence that is comparable to Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2, where your character will deftly turn a weapon on themselves when you fire it.
Rise of the Ronin
With a twist, Rise of the Ronin's central idea is similar to that of Wo Long and Nioh 2. In all three games, a lone warrior enters a historical battle that actually happened, but this time, the player's personalized Ronin is searching for their lost Blade Twin after a mission goes awry. However, the Boshin War in late 1860s Japan is portrayed without a supernatural bent, in contrast to Nioh and Wo Long.
Although Nioh's cast of spirit animals and mythological demons is absent from this game, Team Ninja's bold legacy is still present in battle animations, cutscenes, and uncommon opponents like eight-foot-tall bruisers brandishing enormous claws.
Arco
Arco, a combat-heavy, cinematic adventure told from the viewpoints of four indigenous characters, is described as a Mesoamerican fantasy role-playing game where every battle is a handcrafted, bullet-hellish tempest.
Since every action in Arco occurs in real time, unlike most turn-based tactics games, players must take into account both their own and their opponents' moves. It's a novel and distinctive take on the genre that compels players to think of unconventional tactics.
Slitterhead
During the semi-linear story missions set in the fictional Chinese city of Kowlong, Slitterhead places you in the shoes of a bodiless spirit that has the ability to take control of nearly any NPC. To ward off the enemies known as Slitterheads, you can utilize most bodies as puppets by floating, hovering, and then jumping into them.
There isn't much difference in these monsters, which you battle throughout the game. You have to deal with worm-like Slitterheads, baby forms that can be defeated with a single blow, and ordinary Slitterheads that are difficult to defeat. Occasionally, the Slitterheads will change into boss-like, Resident-Evil-like monsters that are harder to defeat.
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