I’ve recently rekindled my love for Katamari Damacy and it made me wonder if there’s any other amazing cult classics out there that aren’t talked about these days. What are your recommendations?
Blade of Darkness. If you want to see the true origin of the soulslike genre, this is it. Be warned that the controls are extremely janky, though.
My answer to that question is always “King of Dragon Pass”, a narrative/management game that is unlike anything else out there. It got a spiritual successor with “Six Ages”.
I just grabbed it on Steam for $2! Looking forward to trying it out.
Have fun! It’s a weird little game, but I am always happy when it finds some new players.
Ultima Underworld 1 and 2. These are ancient RPG games going right back to the dawn of PC gaming. The first one was the first PC game with a true 3D world where you could look up and down and there were two slopes rather than just steps. The control scheme takes a little getting used to as it was before WSAD+mouse look had become established. Spells are made by combining runes which you find about the place. It also has things like repairable weapons and armour, the need to sleep and eat as well as the normal RPG stats and levels.
Skies of Arcadia. Two words: sky pirates. Coupled together with a beautiful overworld filled with hidden discoveries, charming characters, fun ship combat, and excellent music. You can’t go wrong with either the original Dreamcast version (higher quality music, VMU minigames) or the Legends remastering on the Gamecube (an additional story quest, less frequent random encounters - the original is somewhat relentless with these).
Dungeon Keeper, Red Alert 2, Unreal Tournament.
You’ve just described my childhood
A blessed childhood indeed!
I’m about to finish the main campaign on Dungeon Keeper, and I’ve tried the New Game+ Campaign with KeeperFX. What a blast I had when I was a child.
The last level on the campaign I’ve never beaten. It’s so horribly grindy!
Ogre Battle on the SNES is the original auto-battler. I would really recommend Ogre Battle 64 though, not only is it one of the very few RPGs on the system but it’s got really unique gameplay. It’s got its flaws but I’m such a sucker for the character designs and job/class system that it’s still my favorite game to this day.
I loved Ogre Battle 64. To date, I can’t remember playing anything else quite like it.
Love the OG Ogre Battle. I played that game like crazy. I always appreciated how you could revisit locations for loot and battles.
One of the later SNES games called Secret of Evermore!
It’s kind-of a spiritual successor to Secret of Mana, but with a more sci-fi bent.
I love this game! Always loved how the dog changed to match the setting.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is one that instantly comes to mind. It surprisingly still has a very active competitive playerbase, mostly comprised of slavs that have been playing it since they could read words on a computer screen. Another one that I’ve personally can’t stop playing, is the first Warhammer 40K:Dawn of War game with it’s expansions and mods. It’s just so good, and I wish a modern version with a modern engine could be made. I don’t trust Relic to do that tho.
Other than that, there’s a myriad of old console and arcade games that are still excellent. Super Metroid, SEGA Rally, shmups like Dodonpachi and Mushihimesama, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike… there are really way too many to count.
Dawn of War is so iconic. I hear the unit quotes in my head so clearly.
„Robinsons Requiem“, available on GoG.
It’s a survival horror first person rpg with a semi realistic health system. It’s creepy and hard and so goddamn good. I’m am actually surprised that it gets mentioned so rarely because I would not know of any other earlier game with those now so ubiquitous survival mechanics.
Vanquish, best “cover” shooter that I’ve ever played, really wish it’d get a Switch port and that Platinum would revisit it.
Sliding around on jets, going into slo mo to hit weak points, vaulting cover and initiating slomo, it’s all so fucking fun and visceral.
Imagine if Bayonetta and Gears of War had a baby, and then that baby devoted an entire button solely to smoking a cigarette during a gunfight.
EarthBound for the SNES is one of my favorite RPGs. Very original for its time in terms of setting and battle mechanics. Also, Ness from Smash Bros. is in it!
Such a weird game! The artstyle and just the “weirdness” of it is out of this world.
I’m not a fan of turn-based battles, but this is one of the few games (including Chrono Trigger) where it’s legitimately fun. To this day I still think about it.
Have you played Eastward? Unless I’m mistaken Earthbound is part of the game and plot. If you like Earthbound you might like Eastward. I enjoyed it even having never played Earthbound but I’m sure I missed a lot of references / analogies.
I played Eastward and really enjoyed it, even though I thought the ending was bittersweet.
I’ve heard reviews compare it to EarthBound and I guess it reminds me of EarthBound stylistically, but plays more like Zelda or something.
There’s a game within the game called Earth Born that plays like a fast-paced Dragon Quest. It’s an interesting game. :D
Aquaria is one probably not too many people played to make it a cult classic, but it has a dedicated following of people that love it. Was pretty popular as a 2d indie adventure. I never thought I would like it, but was glad I gave it a try. 😊
It’s a phenomenal metroidvania too. The visuals might be off-putting at first, but the game has so much soul. Excellent music too.
Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines. Dated, needs mods to run, but the fact that there’s still a community patch being made for it after all this time says a lot. Haven’t really heard much about it since the sequel crashed and burned, which is sad because no game has really given me the same atmospheric vibes. It was (is?) really special
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Nothing really captures the atmosphere of a good WoD game quite like bloodlines. The combat is, let’s face it, pretty dogshit, but the writing, worldbuilding, and especially the voice talent and direction are some of the best out there to this day. The game just oozes charisma and flavor, and the pacing of the main quest juxtaposed with the black comedy of so many of the side characters’ goings-on makes it the kind of experience that just pulls you in.
I know Bloodlines 2 will eventually release, likely sometime in the next 2-3 years because paradox just began to spin up their socials again, but even if it weren’t stuck deep in Devhell I get the feeling it just won’t have the same punch B1 did. Granted, B1 was just as rocky on its own day 1 and it didn’t pick up the cult following until well after release, and with the help of a dedicated, loving community that tore it down and rebuilt it from the ground up. We can only hope that community love is still here and willing to make B2 the best game it can be. Time will tell.
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force.
- It’s a first person shooter from a venerable studio in the genre, Raven Software.
- Put out during their “golden age”, before Wolfenstein and Singularity flopped and uncle Bobby sent them to work in the Call of Duty mines.
- Really cool selection of sci-fi guns, some of them pretty unique.
- Campaign is essentially a prototype for Quake 4. It was built by the same internal team at Raven.
- It has a more interesting story than Quake 4.
- It’s an early example of a game that lets you choose your sex. NPC dialog changes to reflect this.
- The whole cast of Star Trek: Voyager lends their voice talent to the game, including Jeri Ryan.
It also has a sequel, made by another studio. Elite Force II isn’t quite as good, but it is still worth playing if you like the original. It loses the female protagonist option, likely because it was 2003 and the story had a love triangle. It’s a visual powerhouse though, really pushing the limits of the Quake III engine far beyond what many people likely thought possible.
Ooh I forgot about this. Elite force is one of the few games that I’ve actually finished. I thought the graphics were gorgeous for the time with lots of believable alien worlds. The characters are engaging and the missions never felt repetitive.
- Shenmue: Rereleased with a wonderful port on PC/Xbox One/Playstation 4 in 2018, it’s an investigative adventure game that takes place in a small town in Japan in 1986. The thing that sticks out to me about it is how unlike any other game in its class before or since, it feels like an authentic depiction of a regular-ass suburb from that period, from people who lived in similar places growing up.
- Freespace 2: Space dogfighting game that gets right to the point, feels intense, and while you’re there you find yourself in the middle of an excellent sci-fi radio drama. Holds up great today when you pair your purchased GOG copy with the fan-maintained Freespace Open Source Project engine. Joystick + Keyboard control recommended, but Mouse + Keyboard is fine!
