Click this link sponsr.is/bootdev_Ghostcharm and use my code GHOSTCHARM to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. That’s 25% off your first month or your first year, depending on the subscription you choose. What are some of your favorite obscure games?
Of these I've played- And very liked- Anachronox, Blade of Darkness and Nox. Don't have a good handle on how obscure a game is, though. At least when it's not at either extremes.
I'm so here for this dude. The last one was a joy, I was reminded of some good memories of playing Geist while my dad watched over a few summer nights because he had broken his leg at work and we were bored, its crazy we actually rented it from blockbuster because thats how my dad and I tried out new games back before there were lots of reviews and videos of gameplay online...Man. If youve gotten this far I am trying out Septerracore, and Im hoping to pick up another game from this list hopefully. Thanks again for the sweet videos Ghostdude.
Another obscure game I'd recommend is DemonCrawl, which is a semi-recent Steam/PC puzzle game, and possibly the most slept-on game of all time. In short, DemonCrawl is a Minesweeper roguelite with RPG elements. You participate in "quests", which consist of completing several Minesweeper levels back-to-back, but to alleviate some of the infamous randomness of Minesweeper, you can also choose classes and find items which help you manipulate the game board. Over time, you can level up classes and discover more items to expand your options. There is a similar appeal to games like Binding of Isaac, where most of the time the game is very well balanced, and you rarely become so overpowered that you can ignore the skill-based elements of playing well, but occasionally you can itemize your way into some super broken builds. The music is super chill too. It's basically Minesweeper but better, so in my mind it should be better known for improving one of the most popular games of all time.
Love the video, Here is a suggestion list (Steam) Cave of Qud (You are going to die, so try not to get too attached to one run) Paradigm (Do you feel like playing a game that has a Sloth in it?) Decarnation (Emotional damage, warning some severe content in this one) WazHack (I have never managed to get to the bottom of the dungeon) Golden Light (I barely know what is going on in this one, but it sure is something) Fates of Ort (This got a feeling, a nice one) Wrought Flesh (An interesting game mechanic) Paper Beast - Folded Edition (Chil strange World) The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (Do you like to be British and be a "Grave robber"?) Hypnagogia: Boundless Dreams (The title says all it needs) Bleak Sword DX (The dark souls one) The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo (Wonderful animation) (GOG) XIII (Like reading a comic book as a fps) SaniTarium (You are insane, and the world probably is also) Clive Barker,s Undying (Horror fps, with a lot of personality) Beautiful Desolation (This game is set in the distant future in Africa.) Arx Fatalis (Gobling taxes,and backing )
@@PlatinumAdventures Thanks :) A tip is, If you ever think there are no games to play, go through your Steam Discovery queue and use the filters it provides to sort out what you see as junk, and if nothing interests you after that, Gog,s libery is pretty dame big at this point, I just started playing "The Suffering" a game a remember seeing as a young boy, and now I can play it upscaled and in nice FPS heh.
Little correction about Henry Hatsworth. It was made by Quantum Rift and not EA. EA only published it. Quantum Rift made a couple other very high quality platformers that have a distinct feel to them that Henry Hatsworth has. Monster Tale on DS, a metroidvania style game, was the other DS game they made. Then there was Epic Mickey on 3DS. A bit of an omage to Castle of Illusion.
You're mistaking with DreamRift studio, Quantum Rift doesn't exist. And DreamRift indeed developped Monster Tales and Epic Micker Power of Illusion, but not Henry Hatsworth. Henry Hatsworth was developped by EA Orlando. But as DreamRift studio is located in Orlando, we may assume that they're made with former EA Orlando members that left or, as the studio was founded in 2009 and the game released the same year, they may have been subcontractors.
I've never heard of ANYONE talk about Anachronox. One of the best games of that 6-7 year period between 1998 - 2004. Amazing time for PC games in particular, Giant: Citizen Kabuto, Max Payne, Deus Ex, Black & White, Serious Sam, Fable -- so many bangers.
Battlezone 1998 is pretty obscure. I was fascinated by the demo and bought that game on launch day. Dominated quite a bit of my childhood, and to this day I feel it is the pinnacle of FPS/RTS hybrids, with Command and Conquer Renegade pulling a close second. BUT, here's my REALLY obscure contribution. And so far, I haven't seen it mentioned in the comments. Also, there are VERY few TH-cam videos covering this game. Star Crusader. That game so thoroughly dominated my childhood, that I existed SOLEY in that fantasy universe for almost 5 years. I even made my parents call me Roman, after the main character. I win the obscurity challenge.
I used to play RTS a lot back in the day. I distinctly remember one of them. Knights and Merchants, an incredibly chill and slow game with catchy MIDI music. You start with a small castle filled with resources, some laborers that can build roads and buildings and some serfs that transport resources where they're needed. You have to build a school to train different kinds of villagers to do all kinds of jobs, and their respective buildings so they can do their work, all connected to the main castle through roads, and also a dining hall so they don't die of hunger. Then, when you have a steady production of weapons and armor, and your village is self sufficient, you build the barracks and start training soldiers. Combat was kinda wonky iirc, I was mostly enthralled by watching my villagers working in their jobs, enjoying the ambience sounds and the music. I searched for it and apparently it's on Steam and even has a remaster made by a dedicated fan. I'll have to try it sometime soon.
Woah! Your "Good job man, you're doing great" shook me to the core as I indeed listened to the video as I was working on layouting my book and I really really really needed to hear a few words of encouragement right now. That second right there was as eery as it was good. Thanks man. For the boost of spirits and for an awesome video.
Another banger video! Genuinely my favorite series - I agree, PS2 is a hidden gem machine - Curse Eye of Isis seems like my kind of game. Real world lore + detective is my thing. Play Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. One of the best narrative games I've ever played. - There is a narrated playthrough of Conquests of the Longbow by OneShotEye, which is insanely cool. - I think it's time I play an SRPG/Tactical RPG
I'll repeat what I said in the last video, but some of mine include but are not limited to: Hellsinker, Ashes 2063, Little Fighter 2, DX Ball 2, Dragonshard, Digital Devil Saga, AirXonix, Shinobi Ps2, Hinokakera, Kings Bounty the Legend, Ar Tonelico 2, Splosion Man, Hydro Thunder, Soul Nomad, Tale of Alltynex, Sacred 2, Tiny Thor. And of course, many more.
If you like Tear Ring Saga but want something a lot more strategic and unique then i fully recommend you check out the sequel Berwick Saga, in fact you can skip the first game completely because Berwick is set a millennium after the first game. It's essentially a strategic rpg wet dream, it has an 8 grid system, less emphasis on stat and more towards strategic usage of units, less randomness, far more difficult, and has a story that rivals even Final Fantasy Tactics, Berwick Saga is perhaps one of the best strategy rpg game out there and it's a damn shame it's so obscure. The game deserves more so if you like Tear Ring Saga, Fire Emblem, and strategy rpgs in general then please try out Berwick Saga i assure you you won't regret it
Three Kingdoms: Fate of the Dragon - an RTS game set in the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. I remember it for being a random game I found on disk, and picked it up cheap (genuinely about £2-£3) from a secondhand market stall. I've never seen it since. I remember it being different because you had to worry about supply lines and morale in your armies, as well as needing to promote your officers correctly to ensure their loyalty remained high. It felt like a cross between Age of Empires and Crusader Kings.
I love the final speech, once i realized just HOW MANY GAMES there are out there that people dont talk about i was floored, rts games i feel theres a lot that are super obscure and one i would recommend more as playing a franchise is the Earth 21XX series (the numbers go from 2140 to 2160 ) where you can see the games evolve alongside the industry as the graphics improve and quite frankly each game changes up the formula somewhat with the first one being mostly standard but haveing apperantly excellent AI for the time and the other 2 adding to it with either a story element or gameplay wise
I remember buying Anachronox at an Electronics' Boutique(way before the rebrand to EB Games) knowing nothing about it, but being really intrigued by the PC box art and description. I couldn't stop playing it until I completed it.
Hammerfight: the setting and the lore charmed me, i would draw weird worm monsters in my notebooks all the time. It also incentivized me to learn english so i could understand what was even happening.
Hell yeah, Hammerfight. For the uninitiated, it's a chaotic but satisfying action game where you control a flying vehicle thingy with your mouse, and your weapons are physics-enabled flails, hammers, and swords attached to said vehicle.
This was the one that came to my mind, too. Its unique physics-based combat is what captivated me for a long while, spinning boulders and blades to SMACK your enemy is just so incredible
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue for the ps1. Classic jrpg and holder of one of my top 10 spots to this day. A tale as old as time; a boy who pines for adventure, a girl with sacred purpose, and a band of randos with a host of issues both relatable and blown up to epic proportions. No time paradoxes, no multiverse confusion, no gimmicks or distractions. Just you, your allies, and a story to unfold.
Was really surprised you mentioned Tear Ring Saga. I rewally love this game even though I haven't played it to completion yet. But a lot of it is what I would considered my ultimate Fe/Strategy game. I wish we got what was more or less originally suppose to be an continuation of Kaga's original world. Since a lot of the references were very intentional as this was set in the same world as the first 4 Fe games. Heck, one of the minor characters is actually a pretty major character from 1 and 3, but under a different name. Also Child of Bridget is peak strategy rpg archer!
It's very admirable that you've made videos like this to give your audience an expanded view of good games that would otherwise go unseen because most people would rather just stick to what's already popular.
A few gems I'd like to add that I don't really see mentioned are: 1. Giants: Citizen Kabuto An innovator of it's time for third person shooters/FPS around 2001, in some cases hilariously British Humored Game where you can play as a squad of (eventually 5 mercenaries), a Naked-ish? Magic Priestess Woman, or a Giant Kaiju! 2. Dragon Seeds A true Gem from the PS1 era with a great Jungle Soundtrack is a creature collecting/battling expanded take on rock paper scissors in a sense with 2-3 more steps! 3. Heart of Darkness a grim ps1 era platforming game that can be very challenging about a boy who needs to rescue his dog from shadow monsters.
Yo, Giants: Citizen Kabuto! One of the RTS oddball trio that stick in my mind alongside Brütal Legend and Sacrifice. Loved the humor, script, animations and acting of the devs' other game, Armed & Dangerous.
Wendy every witch way! I used to watch the live action movies religiously as a kid and had a few of the games. Casper friends around the world is what I remember the most (I still own my original copy from 2000), but you unlocked some forgotten memories by reminding me of this! Wish I would have never gotten rid of most of my GBA stuff. Going to replay WEWW this weekend for sure now! Thanks!
Anacronox was an incredible 13 hour movie that I was more than willing to sit through the slow combat to watch. The stranded Ship scene was amazing writing and each character is great. Solid highlight.
I LOVE The Unfinished Swan! One of my favourite little moments is the little nod to thatgamecompany & Journey. Also, I had completely forgotten Black Knight Sword until now, so thank you. I had downloaded the demo on my PS3 but by the time I got around to looking for the full game I couldn't find it, for some reason, so I gave up on ever finding it again. You've reminded me of its existence now, though, so I'm gonna go find it.
Some (more or less) obscure games from my past (a lot of these are from the Xbox 360's Summer Arcade era); 'Splotion Man & Ms. 'Splotion Man: A goofy and light-hearted platformer where you control the result of scientific experiments gone wrong, making a living 'sploding man! You can triple jump in this game, but each time you do, you fizz out a bit more, until you got no more explosions to boost your jumps with. Fun and shenanigans are sure to follow! Also has a great co-op campaign! Shadow Complex: A metroidvania with a more near-future setting, featuring Nolan North VA'ing the main discount Nathan drake. Great 2,5D game with a lot of polish! The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile: An edgy side scrolling beat em up with fast and fluid combat and Gorey black/white aesthetics. Had a sequel later on. Trials HD: It was like the flash games from Miniclip but with HD graphics, custom track making and a ton of levels. Many sequels have followed! Castle Crashers: THE side scrolling beat-em-up with tons of color, action and slap-stick humor! Rayman 2, The Great escape: Ubisoft did their mascot dirty in later years, but this was a platformer that could stand toe-to-toe with Mario 64 in my opinion. Awesome levels, great variety and a sassy protagonist, without limbs! What else could you ask for. X-men Origins Wolverine Video Game: Surprisingly, kick-ass game tie-in to the ass movie from 2009. Hack and slash, go full feral Wolverine! Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones: Not sure if this counts on here, but another series that has fallen to the wayside. This was peak Prince of Persia for me, with an engaging story, fun platforming and combat, and epic boss fights for the time. But I was one of those weirdos who also liked the reboot from 2008, despite the repetitive nature of it.
Ooooh man, Cyprien's Chronicles is on here! And Henry Hatsworth too! Why, i must immediately sing Banson's Aria to celebrate! When I first listened to the Evil Twin OST some... five years ago, there were points that very much went through my emotions. It wasn't really a stinging, as it was like a grip in parts of my mind that could have its formless digits dig much deeper if so desired. It's such a distinct sound identity of some whimsy, sadness, loneliness, times of joy and fascination and nostalgia. It made me uncomfortable and yet intrigued me in a unique way compared to other gaming soundtracks. Game's got a surprising lot of history to its world which alongside the art and music and atmosphere helps the fascination. I very much like these videos and lists and I thank you for the effort and time you put into making them. I duly hope that Kya: Dark Lineage and the Zeno Clash series may make their way onto this one day. Who knows, perhaps Folklore, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Papetura, Strangeland and Knight's Contract as well.
Anachronox!!!! Never thought I'd hear that theme again. Was sold on the art style reading a then outdated PC Gamer magazine and fell in love with the art. Didn't actually play it until the mid 2010s. Play it.
alundra for the ps1, its a 2d zelda clone but it has its own sauce. A village with a dark hidden secret, A big adventure, lots of dungeons and BANGIN music - I highly recommend to any retro enthusiasts, I'm not a big zelda guy but this game slaps
Oh my goodness! Wendy: Every Witch Way! This was my first game on the GB color. My mom got this for me as it was on sale and I was mad because I didn’t get Pokemon like all the cool kids at school. Let me tell you, I loved that game to death and played it over and over. I think it was the game that made me explore more obscure games in the future. I’m so happy that my mom got it for me!
OMG man, I remember playing Blade of darkness as a kid. I tried finding it when i was a teenager but with no luck, so much so that i thought that i made up the game. Thanks for finding this game, i gotta replay it again
Damn you did it again lol, i was halfway through the video and then you mentioned Demon Stone. Basically the same story as with BoD. Your video really lives up to the title.
In all honesty; two obscure games I don't see very many people mention that were particularly interesting to me are games that I feel SHOULD be discussed more. Graffiti Kingdom: A 3D Action Platformer with a Drawn To Life sort of mechanic where you're able to draw your own creatures Pirates - Legend Of The Black Buckaneer: Another 3D Platformer but this one has some pretty interesting mechanics I feel. I do hope people talk about these games because frankly? I don't think there's too many videos on them
I'll add to the list some jewels: Kingdom Under Fire the Crusaders, and its sequel, KuF Heroes (the most metal tactics game with both hero unit and army control); Spartan Total Warrior (which to this day I consider to be the better God of War); Dungeons & Dragons Heroes (the best couch co-op hack and slash ever); Dark Cloud 2 (the densest and most rewarding jrpg and city builder, maybe ever); Dungeon Siege II: Broken World (Diablo-like, but you get to control an entire party at once!); and Lost Planet 2 (with the most replayable multiplayer co-op I've experienced)
I just watched your other video on obscure games and ended up liking, commenting, and subscribing because it was such a good video. You made me want to go play like 4 of the games you covered. And just as I got done watching it I was like "man, I wish there was another video like this one" And then BOOM, this video is the top recommendation to play next
One of my favorite games from the Sega Genesis era that no one seems to remember: Rings of Power. It was an open world isometric RPG and had some very interesting ideas (e.g. their take on necromancers). It could be very difficult as there were no guard rails to keep you from entering areas you weren't prepared for, but I like that sort of thing. Another really interesting one was Metal Saga for the PS2. Who doesn't want to fight a tank battle against a house-sized hermit crab?
I can't believe how many beautiful quality games you show here that I've never heard of! It legitimately feels like in a parallel universe all these games were big hits and it's an anomaly that they never caught on in ours. I'm blown away by the lengths you went for this and the editing is perfect as always.
There's loads to discover out there, both old and new. Do you have any favourite genres? I may be able to tell of some cool lesser known games as well.
Baroque: A Japanese only first person roguelike, legacy, dungeon crawler set in a post apocalyptic setting and you the player are attempting to unravel the mystery at hand. Also has a god tier OST.
I enjoy the remake version more and it has more content, but those who hate the anime aesthetic might reject it on that alone. It has stellar music though.
Bomb rush cyberpunk. Waited years for a Jet Set Radio Future game from sega, I’m just glad that someone was able to capture how amazing that game was with more polish. I would recommend anyone to play Bomb Rush Cyberfunk if you want to relive the old Xbox days. I give it a 8/10
L4D lead dev was also Nox's lead. Nox is a mechanically far superior take on the "real-time dungeon crawler" genre than Diablo. Classes, combat systems, enemy, & level design all leagues ahead of Diablo, creating more of a "Quake-like" fast paced & systems-based fantasy combat game. Its obscurity is largely due to lacking the addiction slot machine loot system of D2 & leaning away from all "cheap" addictive mechanics that suck people into a grind loop. Diablo was designed from the ground up as a money-making exploitative system. Was originally supposed to have a physical "trading card" game with codes that unlocked stuff in the game. Truly diabolical stuff.
I won't say much on 'em, Ghost, but here's a few games that I hope you're able to take a gander at and enjoy; Bandit Kings of Ancient China: Old NES strategy game based on a pretty neat novel, Gao Qiu a bastard, the soundtrack is one of the best on the NES. Kenshi: Quietly the best sandbox RPG for PC for over ten years, sad robots and rude bandits, Beak Things will haunt your nightmares. Beep for the heropedia please. Sacrifice: Third Person strategy game, great voice cast, tons of replayability, Mandy Gaming reviewed it. OFF: Surreal RPG maker game, Hit ghosts with a bat to purify the world. Lisa: RPG maker game with a fun combat system. Be nice to Terry, please protect Terry. Lots of heavy content and sadness, but also a fish lawyer with a gun.
A claymation game that has a demo and has yet to be released is Ballad of Bonky. Very fun, funny writing, and the combat takes inspiration from pinball. You smack enemies with a stick and they bounce around, dealing damage to others like a projectile.
Great vid Ghost. There is this action game for the PS2 that for the life of me I can't remember its name. The game is a 3rd person action, horror, shooter game set in a kind of steampunk world, but it is infused with a biomechanical element that makes it really unique. The biomechanical aspect is sort of like Scorn but less fleshy and with PS2 graphics. The game play was like God of War 2 + Metall Gear Rising Revengeance. You can change your attacks and as you beat the enemy's. The enemies are kind of demon like but not because of the biomechanical steampunk art style. I remember the whole game looking kind of a greyish silver color, almost like the whole world was covered in a semi clear coat of gunmetal. If anyone knows what I am talking about, please let me know what it's called
On the topic, here is a list of obscure videogames *I* recommend. 1. Dominions 6: Rise of the Pantokrator Imagine smashing together a War Game and God Game together with the level of complexity rivalling Dwarf Fortress. *I DO NOT RECOMMEND* if you're a casual gamer, but I highly recommend checking out Dominions 6, specifically 6, on TH-cam. *There are no tutorials in the game itself.* 2. Small Saga I do not recommend it if you're either A. Homophobic or B. someone who cares too much about politics. It is basically Berserk but in the universe of Ratatouille. It's genuinely amazing and the music is fire! There's even a song all about Humanity screwing itself over! 3. Grim Quest A mobile and PC videogame. It's a simple RPG with dark lore reminiscent of Warhammer and Dark Souls. It's quite simple and I recommend it to casual gamers or lore enthusiasts. 4. Vintage Story Imagine Minecraft but with RLcraft already installed and eldritch horrors affecting spacetime itself! iirc it's still in Early Access. I do not recommend it if you can't handle crafting items by chiseling them pixel by pixel just to make a knife. There's a pretty cool Blacksmithing system too. 5. Night in the Woods A very deep, amazing, nostalgic, and downright sad Story game. It's less of a game and more of an experience. I do not recommend it if you're not mentally all there but if you are and want relatable or at the very least realistic characters (ironically) then I highly recommend NITW. 6. Bug Fable Tbh I don't know much about it myself but imagine that one pixar Ant movie but with more lore and with Paper Mario RPG stuff. 7. Dark Messiah Imagine Oblivion but with significantly less RPG and more Action. You can kick the absolute shit out of enemies. No, I mean it. Kicking is an actual thing and it's a viable method to fighting. 8. Hero's Hour A fairly simple Turn-based Strategy game with RPG elements based on Heroes of Might and Magic. There's plenty of factions to play as and dozens if not hundreds of different units and even spells to throw around. I recommend the DLC too as it adds more factions, units, and changes several things of the factions. Also during battles, your army is completely visible and they fight independently with limited control from you. Let's say you had 50 pikemen and enter a battle with 5 orcs. You can see those 50 pikemen and 5 orcs going at eachother to fight! Although if your army is too big and your selected Faction's hero doesn't have the proper perks or skills, not all of your army will be deployed into battle but put into reserve.
Additional info because TH-cam is devolving and I can't see the text when I'm editing: Small Saga is a RPG with Milestones instead of the traditional XP system meaning there is no grinding, Characters will only level up during or after events or big moments. Small Saga, Grim Quest, and Bug Fable are all Turn-based RPGs. Dominions 6 is technically turn-based.. But every turn happens at the same time Also if you want a short and simple review of Dominions 6, look for the one with an elf slave in the thumbnail 💀 To clarify, the review by a TH-camr named Br0leg
Additional info about Dominions 6 for those that care: It is not a generic strategy game. There are no such thing as High Elves or Dwarves or Orcs. Instead, it has arabian Genies, indian Monkeys with either demonic Rakshas or angelic Yakshas, biblical cannibal Giants and even both biblically accurate and inaccurate Angels! The world of Dominions 6 is separated into three different Ages, the Early, Middle, and Late. Each Age dictates the amount of Magic, Monsters, Men, and Prosperity for the world. The Early Age is a time of giants, magic unequal, and angels or demons casually walking the earth, a lot of the playable Factions/Nations use either Bronze or sometimes even Stone Age equipment. In contrast, the Late Age is the rise of Humanity, Blood Magic, and Steel. The races of old are dead or dying out, Eldritch horrors and Devils of the Inferno are taking over, and the descendants of not-Rome have become an apocalypse of ghosts and shadows. Magic is at its weakest but Mages themselves are at their most numerous and cheapest to employ. Each and (almost) every nation of Dominions 6 is inspired by real world Mythology, History, or even Tabletop RPGS that the developers played. Also Dominions 6 and all its predecessors and its sister series, Conquest of Elysium, are literally developed by *TWO GUYS* And a single school of Magic, let's say Conjuration, probably has vastly more spells than all the magic spells in a game like Skyrim. There are even incredibly powerful Magic Rituals that affect the world map itself such as creating a Second Sun, stealing the Sun, drowning the world in darkness, or even making ALL living things age faster. Look me in the eyes and try to argue that Dominions 6 isn't an incredibly detailed and complex videogame. Is it fun? Definitely for certain people but Dominions is definitely not a game for everyone.
Something I find interesting about the Dominions games(at least the ones I played) is the more realistic level of control you have during battles, even though the setting could have easily justified otherwise.
Thank you so much for mentioning Middens, I will sing this game's praises to the moon and back! There are actually two more games in the series, Middens is part of a trilogy- Gingiva, which is also free, and Where They Cremate the Roadkill, which is $11 on Steam. EDIT: And The Unfinished Swan too? Two of my favorites in one video!
Kururin Paradise (and the Kururin series), games that didnt leave japan where we play a blue duck on a mission to rescue his family Our ship is a straight line turning on itself like a clock, the goal is to navigate through maze-like levels without hurting the walls (resulting in losing 1/3 of our health bar)
Killer7 is always a game i recommend to ppl that like obscure games. It's my favorite GameCube game of all time and still holds up imo. Another under the radar and obscure game is Extermination. It takes place at a research station in Antarctica, it's basically the film The Thing in videogame form. It's a survival horror game for the ps2 and also still holds up.
Austin Eruption released a video today that mentioned Evil Twin, and boy, his opinion of the game couldn't be more different from yours, I found that so fascinating, how one's perspective can change so much.
Good list, check out Mango, Creatura, Glitch Daddy, any Candice DaBebe game, Darold the Doomer, Juice Galaxy, Dread Delusion, Supermarket Times, I know your address, Critters for Sale, any game developed by Lu, we're spoiled for choice in obscure/weird/unique games nowadays, unlike the early console era. Great time to be alive.
Shadow watch. The style, replayability, bullshit sightlines that screw you over constantly, the great soundtrack. It's so good. That one chokepoint on a specific hong kong map that would screw you over every time was a bitch.
Another fun video Another few games for you Space Rangers HD: A war apart- Weird, semi real time semi turn based RPG/action game? Its a weird genre mix, but its good if janky Geneforge series- Its all turn based RPGs.. all kinda old. The originals were better than the more modern ones on steam but its hard to get the old ones anymore. Still very very original setting for an RPG and very cool 8 bit adventures 2- very fun RPG, love letter to old SNES style rpgs. I dont think you need to play the original which is a bit harder to get into given its more based on NES games. Its really fun though Kingsway- Its a weird RPG game that played like its running an old windows operating system, its very unique and pretty fun Immortal Defense- Its a very strange tower defense game, actually interesting story though it can be visually overwhelming. Still a really good game. King of Dragon Pass- A very fun like.. high fantasy civilization builder RPG ish.. you will lose your cows multiple times. Fun though. Its just neat to see all the weird lore everywhere. I of the Dragon- a very neat dragon simulation game, you play at guarding a village and fighting an evil power of sorts. I am kind of hesitant to reccomend though, it was horribly unstable like 10 years ago on that OS on modern OS it might be almost impossible to play, good game, but careful if you try it.
Legend of Legaia. The story, world building....watching the virus on your arm slowly grow and evolve as you got stronger....such an amazing game. Also not obscure, but lost to time....Suikoden. so many great systems and characters. Great game.
I never saw the first one in this series but I have to now that you mentioned Puppeteer!!!! That was the game that popped into my mind when you asked at the beginning. I caught the trailer for it randomly and when I actually played it I was blown away by the absurd amount of charm coming from every corner. Had a smile on my face the whole time, that game really left an impact on me.
Opoona and Henry Hatsworth are excellent additions to this list. Both are very hard to find, good games, and very affordable. I would rush to eBay to buy a copy if you don't own these games already.
Baja Racing 1000 for the ps2. Its the one and only racing game I ever played and I played it religiously from when I was very young until I was in about sixth grade. It was the first time I actually had to grow up to beat the game, as I was not dextrous enough with a controller to do some of the tasks in the game or comprehend some of the strategy needed to beat some of the races.
I still got the box of Prince of Qin complete with the manual book that give way more detail of NPC and characters that are based on historical Chinese people living in that time period
I don't recognize any of these games and after watching hope to find some interesting ones to play! Edit: Middens, Anachronox, Nox, Blade of Darkness, Black Knight Sword, Demon Stone, Glyph, Evil Twin, and Primal Light all piqued my interest.
First "Obscure" games that come to mind: Septerra Core: Western-made Biopunk FF7 inspired by Babilonian mythology. Ultra Fight Da!! Kyanta 2: A sensory overload of a 2D fighting game where every character is broken beyond belief. Has rollback netcode and a small but hardcore competitive scene. Project: Absentia: A doom-engine fps that looks like a Newgrounds shitpost made by an edgy 14 yo. Extremely dumb, and extremely fun. Brush Burial: A trippy immersive-sim where you play as a strange fae creature and rob human bandits and complete puzzle dungeons. Chasm: The Rift: Russian Quake-clone from 1997. The difinitive "slav-jank" title. For FPS sickos (although if you're one of those you probably know about Chasm by now). Radiant Historia: A DS-only fantasy timetravel JRPG where each choice creates an alternate branching timeline you can freely jump between in order to progress. Vernal Edge: 2D pixel-art metroidvania with DMC-inspired combat. Storyline is wonky but everything else is very well done. Zortch: A short, humorous, retro-style fps. Kind of has a Unreal x Quake 2 feel to it. Chop Goblins: A speedrunning FPS you can beat in about 30 min if you take your time. Lunacid: Indie-King's Field made by a solo-developer. Low-poly but visually stunning. The music is incredible too.
Thanks for the Opoona mention! It's one of my favorites! I was just wondering about Dual Hearts recently and thinking about how it's got so Little coverage til now
The only game on here I've actually played myself (or even heard of) was Dewey's Adventure, and while it may not be the greatest game ever made, it was really interesting for its time especially for what I assume was supposed to be a little kid's game but man, I can't imagine any child playing that game without destroying their Wii-mote and/or TV lmao. I mainly played its level-creator and multiplayer with my bestie, just making wacky levels and messing around in them.
The first one that comes to mind for me is a game called "The Norwood Suite", a sort little game that I adore. The devs other games are also wonderful, their recent one is the game "Betrayal at club low".
While I recognized a few titles in the last video, these were some truly obscure games, literally have not heard of any of these! An obscure game from my childhood that me and my brother always used to play was Iggy's Reckin Balls for the N64. Just a very wacky racing game.
OH my god, I thought I was the only one that loved Nox. The game was great, especially early online before all the bad updates. Deathmatch was great, running around casting and hearing others cast. I miss WestWood Studios, people will never understand how good things were.
Question 1: Beyond Good & Evil. Thank you gamestop guy. He recommended that over shadow of the colossus (whoch i also played but later when i grew). Main point beyond good and evil is so GOOD
TH-cam recommended your first "Obscure Games I Recommend" video to me today and I'm super glad it did! Just finished watching both and I love your style and presentation. Thanks for all the great recs! Also I'm a huge Opoona fan, thrilled to see it on your list!
I have very similar thoughts wrt Black Knight Sword with the game Soul Sacrifice (and it's update release Delta). It's a game locked on the PS Vita that can be boiled down to "Edgy Monster Hunter with Wizards" but man if you like that sort of thing then this game was good. It had all these various lore entries for each monster and even each stage that just nailed the vibe of dark fairy tales (which was a major theme of the game) without every going into a cartoonish "What if Alice from Alice from wonderland was doing drugs actually" level of it. Unfortunately as mentioned it is locked on the PS Vita with no current sign of ever getting a port to PC or anything else.
Oh wow! I have been trying to remember what Dual Hearts is called for years! Memories of the Santa level in particular stuck in my head, but I could never describe the game in a way that made sense to anyone else.
another badass video, thanks for turning me onto all these wonderful gems!! have you even played silent bomber for ps1 or the saga series for wonderswan color? what about freedom force on steam? hope you enjoy them if you havent tried them
I cant remember hearing about the original xbox game Brute Force. It was a weird tactical squad shooter with a crocodile alien heavy gunner, a redhead sniper and two other characters that i cant remember. Feels like a fever dream. Also Kingdom under Fire: Crusaders for the same console. A light rts combined with dynasty warriors hack and slash in a dark fantasy setting.
As far as onsite games go, I can only think of 3 that I played. iNinja, and that’s only because the previous video reminded me that of its existence. Split Second for the PS3, and Brink, also for the PS3. Idk if those two are actually obscure, but I never knew anyone else of all my friends who had those games
0:10 killer 7 You can say it's obscure or not, it is the first thing to come to my mind when you asked . Killer 7. This game is fucking obscure. Whether it's famous or not, it's obscure af
Unfinished Swan was an early walking-simulator masterpiece and they're second one What Remains of Edith Finch is even better! P.S: If you're in Portugal get your hands on the Portuguese translation, it's quite beautiful.
Have a look at Guardian's Crusade. It's not the best of JRPGs but it's a really good cute look into the genre for younger folk and it's still got a decent enough story to capture the hearts of adults. Very underrated. I remember being so bad at it as a kid I got stuck at the first boss then went back to it a couple years later and played through it start to finish within a week.
Dawn of Magic (or Blood Magic in some regions) is a very obscure PC exclusive ARPG that I adored back when I played it in 2007-2008, it was made at that time when a lot of small studios were making straight up Diablo plagiarism, but this was one of those like Titan Quest that had something very special and enjoyable about them. Sadly it's gone from all storefronts at this point, and the only thing left is a pretty bad standalone expansion that they released as Dawn of Magic 2. In addition to this, the first game uses old Starforce DRM, and it's become very difficult to find even cracked downloads just because people would rather not deal with potentially bricked Windows installations due to the awful DRM implementation. Hope you cover it at some point
Click this link sponsr.is/bootdev_Ghostcharm and use my code GHOSTCHARM to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. That’s 25% off your first month or your first year, depending on the subscription you choose.
What are some of your favorite obscure games?
Of these I've played- And very liked- Anachronox, Blade of Darkness and Nox. Don't have a good handle on how obscure a game is, though. At least when it's not at either extremes.
caves of qud
I'm so here for this dude. The last one was a joy, I was reminded of some good memories of playing Geist while my dad watched over a few summer nights because he had broken his leg at work and we were bored, its crazy we actually rented it from blockbuster because thats how my dad and I tried out new games back before there were lots of reviews and videos of gameplay online...Man. If youve gotten this far I am trying out Septerracore, and Im hoping to pick up another game from this list hopefully. Thanks again for the sweet videos Ghostdude.
Actually; Transcendence. Space sim-roguelike thing I've played a lot. Free with paid expansions, many mods.
Another obscure game I'd recommend is DemonCrawl, which is a semi-recent Steam/PC puzzle game, and possibly the most slept-on game of all time. In short, DemonCrawl is a Minesweeper roguelite with RPG elements. You participate in "quests", which consist of completing several Minesweeper levels back-to-back, but to alleviate some of the infamous randomness of Minesweeper, you can also choose classes and find items which help you manipulate the game board. Over time, you can level up classes and discover more items to expand your options. There is a similar appeal to games like Binding of Isaac, where most of the time the game is very well balanced, and you rarely become so overpowered that you can ignore the skill-based elements of playing well, but occasionally you can itemize your way into some super broken builds. The music is super chill too. It's basically Minesweeper but better, so in my mind it should be better known for improving one of the most popular games of all time.
No fluff, no over-editing, chill tone of voice, and actually obscure and interesting games. Thank you very much for the high-quality video!
Love the video, Here is a suggestion list
(Steam)
Cave of Qud (You are going to die, so try not to get too attached to one run)
Paradigm (Do you feel like playing a game that has a Sloth in it?)
Decarnation (Emotional damage, warning some severe content in this one)
WazHack (I have never managed to get to the bottom of the dungeon)
Golden Light (I barely know what is going on in this one, but it sure is something)
Fates of Ort (This got a feeling, a nice one)
Wrought Flesh (An interesting game mechanic)
Paper Beast - Folded Edition (Chil strange World)
The Excavation of Hob's Barrow (Do you like to be British and be a "Grave robber"?)
Hypnagogia: Boundless Dreams (The title says all it needs)
Bleak Sword DX (The dark souls one)
The Many Pieces of Mr. Coo (Wonderful animation)
(GOG)
XIII (Like reading a comic book as a fps)
SaniTarium (You are insane, and the world probably is also)
Clive Barker,s Undying (Horror fps, with a lot of personality)
Beautiful Desolation (This game is set in the distant future in Africa.)
Arx Fatalis (Gobling taxes,and backing )
Wow so many games i've never heard of. Thank you so much for sharing!
@@PlatinumAdventures Thanks :) A tip is, If you ever think there are no games to play, go through your Steam Discovery queue and use the filters it provides to sort out what you see as junk, and if nothing interests you after that, Gog,s libery is pretty dame big at this point, I just started playing
"The Suffering" a game a remember seeing as a young boy, and now I can play it upscaled and in nice FPS heh.
Literally seconds before Anachronox came up on the video I was thinking "Anachronox really should be on this list somewhere".
Little correction about Henry Hatsworth. It was made by Quantum Rift and not EA. EA only published it.
Quantum Rift made a couple other very high quality platformers that have a distinct feel to them that Henry Hatsworth has. Monster Tale on DS, a metroidvania style game, was the other DS game they made. Then there was Epic Mickey on 3DS. A bit of an omage to Castle of Illusion.
You're mistaking with DreamRift studio, Quantum Rift doesn't exist. And DreamRift indeed developped Monster Tales and Epic Micker Power of Illusion, but not Henry Hatsworth. Henry Hatsworth was developped by EA Orlando. But as DreamRift studio is located in Orlando, we may assume that they're made with former EA Orlando members that left or, as the studio was founded in 2009 and the game released the same year, they may have been subcontractors.
I've never heard of ANYONE talk about Anachronox. One of the best games of that 6-7 year period between 1998 - 2004. Amazing time for PC games in particular, Giant: Citizen Kabuto, Max Payne, Deus Ex, Black & White, Serious Sam, Fable -- so many bangers.
Battlezone 1998 is pretty obscure. I was fascinated by the demo and bought that game on launch day. Dominated quite a bit of my childhood, and to this day I feel it is the pinnacle of FPS/RTS hybrids, with Command and Conquer Renegade pulling a close second.
BUT, here's my REALLY obscure contribution. And so far, I haven't seen it mentioned in the comments. Also, there are VERY few TH-cam videos covering this game. Star Crusader. That game so thoroughly dominated my childhood, that I existed SOLEY in that fantasy universe for almost 5 years. I even made my parents call me Roman, after the main character. I win the obscurity challenge.
I used to play RTS a lot back in the day. I distinctly remember one of them.
Knights and Merchants, an incredibly chill and slow game with catchy MIDI music. You start with a small castle filled with resources, some laborers that can build roads and buildings and some serfs that transport resources where they're needed. You have to build a school to train different kinds of villagers to do all kinds of jobs, and their respective buildings so they can do their work, all connected to the main castle through roads, and also a dining hall so they don't die of hunger. Then, when you have a steady production of weapons and armor, and your village is self sufficient, you build the barracks and start training soldiers. Combat was kinda wonky iirc, I was mostly enthralled by watching my villagers working in their jobs, enjoying the ambience sounds and the music.
I searched for it and apparently it's on Steam and even has a remaster made by a dedicated fan. I'll have to try it sometime soon.
THANK YOU! I have spent years looking for this game!
Woah! Your "Good job man, you're doing great" shook me to the core as I indeed listened to the video as I was working on layouting my book and I really really really needed to hear a few words of encouragement right now. That second right there was as eery as it was good. Thanks man. For the boost of spirits and for an awesome video.
Another banger video! Genuinely my favorite series
- I agree, PS2 is a hidden gem machine
- Curse Eye of Isis seems like my kind of game. Real world lore + detective is my thing.
Play Great Ace Attorney Chronicles. One of the best narrative games I've ever played.
- There is a narrated playthrough of Conquests of the Longbow by OneShotEye, which is insanely cool.
- I think it's time I play an SRPG/Tactical RPG
I'll repeat what I said in the last video, but some of mine include but are not limited to: Hellsinker, Ashes 2063, Little Fighter 2, DX Ball 2, Dragonshard, Digital Devil Saga, AirXonix, Shinobi Ps2, Hinokakera, Kings Bounty the Legend, Ar Tonelico 2, Splosion Man, Hydro Thunder, Soul Nomad, Tale of Alltynex, Sacred 2, Tiny Thor.
And of course, many more.
If you like Tear Ring Saga but want something a lot more strategic and unique then i fully recommend you check out the sequel Berwick Saga, in fact you can skip the first game completely because Berwick is set a millennium after the first game. It's essentially a strategic rpg wet dream, it has an 8 grid system, less emphasis on stat and more towards strategic usage of units, less randomness, far more difficult, and has a story that rivals even Final Fantasy Tactics, Berwick Saga is perhaps one of the best strategy rpg game out there and it's a damn shame it's so obscure. The game deserves more so if you like Tear Ring Saga, Fire Emblem, and strategy rpgs in general then please try out Berwick Saga i assure you you won't regret it
If you like Tear Ring Saga but want a brave lance that hits 8 times in a row, play Vestaria Saga.
Three Kingdoms: Fate of the Dragon - an RTS game set in the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. I remember it for being a random game I found on disk, and picked it up cheap (genuinely about £2-£3) from a secondhand market stall. I've never seen it since. I remember it being different because you had to worry about supply lines and morale in your armies, as well as needing to promote your officers correctly to ensure their loyalty remained high.
It felt like a cross between Age of Empires and Crusader Kings.
I love the final speech, once i realized just HOW MANY GAMES there are out there that people dont talk about i was floored, rts games i feel theres a lot that are super obscure and one i would recommend more as playing a franchise is the Earth 21XX series (the numbers go from 2140 to 2160 ) where you can see the games evolve alongside the industry as the graphics improve and quite frankly each game changes up the formula somewhat with the first one being mostly standard but haveing apperantly excellent AI for the time and the other 2 adding to it with either a story element or gameplay wise
I remember buying Anachronox at an Electronics' Boutique(way before the rebrand to EB Games) knowing nothing about it, but being really intrigued by the PC box art and description. I couldn't stop playing it until I completed it.
Im your biggest fan plz come to seyda neen 🙏🙏🙏🙏
😂
Fargoth:
Please come to Seyda Neen, I have a feeling you and I are about to become... VERY close.
grim username
Me, dagoth ur, vivec, and fargoth waiting for ghost charm at seyda neen
So confused
Hammerfight: the setting and the lore charmed me, i would draw weird worm monsters in my notebooks all the time. It also incentivized me to learn english so i could understand what was even happening.
Hell yeah, Hammerfight. For the uninitiated, it's a chaotic but satisfying action game where you control a flying vehicle thingy with your mouse, and your weapons are physics-enabled flails, hammers, and swords attached to said vehicle.
This was the one that came to my mind, too. Its unique physics-based combat is what captivated me for a long while, spinning boulders and blades to SMACK your enemy is just so incredible
And the worms, you can't forget the worms
Nox is the reason I love a "Charge" ability on any warrior. From the scream to the mobility, it just feels so right.
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue for the ps1. Classic jrpg and holder of one of my top 10 spots to this day. A tale as old as time; a boy who pines for adventure, a girl with sacred purpose, and a band of randos with a host of issues both relatable and blown up to epic proportions. No time paradoxes, no multiverse confusion, no gimmicks or distractions. Just you, your allies, and a story to unfold.
Was really surprised you mentioned Tear Ring Saga. I rewally love this game even though I haven't played it to completion yet. But a lot of it is what I would considered my ultimate Fe/Strategy game.
I wish we got what was more or less originally suppose to be an continuation of Kaga's original world. Since a lot of the references were very intentional as this was set in the same world as the first 4 Fe games. Heck, one of the minor characters is actually a pretty major character from 1 and 3, but under a different name. Also Child of Bridget is peak strategy rpg archer!
It's very admirable that you've made videos like this to give your audience an expanded view of good games that would otherwise go unseen because most people would rather just stick to what's already popular.
A few gems I'd like to add that I don't really see mentioned are:
1. Giants: Citizen Kabuto
An innovator of it's time for third person shooters/FPS around 2001, in some cases hilariously British Humored Game where you can play as a squad of (eventually 5 mercenaries), a Naked-ish? Magic Priestess Woman, or a Giant Kaiju!
2. Dragon Seeds
A true Gem from the PS1 era with a great Jungle Soundtrack is a creature collecting/battling expanded take on rock paper scissors in a sense with 2-3 more steps!
3. Heart of Darkness
a grim ps1 era platforming game that can be very challenging about a boy who needs to rescue his dog from shadow monsters.
Yo, Giants: Citizen Kabuto! One of the RTS oddball trio that stick in my mind alongside Brütal Legend and Sacrifice.
Loved the humor, script, animations and acting of the devs' other game, Armed & Dangerous.
so glad to see someone mention giant: citizen kabuto. not talked about enough imo, spent a loooooot of time on the first two levels as a wee boy
Wendy every witch way! I used to watch the live action movies religiously as a kid and had a few of the games. Casper friends around the world is what I remember the most (I still own my original copy from 2000), but you unlocked some forgotten memories by reminding me of this! Wish I would have never gotten rid of most of my GBA stuff.
Going to replay WEWW this weekend for sure now! Thanks!
Anacronox was an incredible 13 hour movie that I was more than willing to sit through the slow combat to watch. The stranded Ship scene was amazing writing and each character is great. Solid highlight.
I LOVE The Unfinished Swan! One of my favourite little moments is the little nod to thatgamecompany & Journey.
Also, I had completely forgotten Black Knight Sword until now, so thank you. I had downloaded the demo on my PS3 but by the time I got around to looking for the full game I couldn't find it, for some reason, so I gave up on ever finding it again. You've reminded me of its existence now, though, so I'm gonna go find it.
My favourite thing about this video is the Fur Fighters music playing over Ring of Red. Now *there’s* a game that needs more love.
Some (more or less) obscure games from my past (a lot of these are from the Xbox 360's Summer Arcade era);
'Splotion Man & Ms. 'Splotion Man:
A goofy and light-hearted platformer where you control the result of scientific experiments gone wrong, making a living 'sploding man! You can triple jump in this game, but each time you do, you fizz out a bit more, until you got no more explosions to boost your jumps with. Fun and shenanigans are sure to follow! Also has a great co-op campaign!
Shadow Complex:
A metroidvania with a more near-future setting, featuring Nolan North VA'ing the main discount Nathan drake. Great 2,5D game with a lot of polish!
The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile:
An edgy side scrolling beat em up with fast and fluid combat and Gorey black/white aesthetics. Had a sequel later on.
Trials HD:
It was like the flash games from Miniclip but with HD graphics, custom track making and a ton of levels. Many sequels have followed!
Castle Crashers:
THE side scrolling beat-em-up with tons of color, action and slap-stick humor!
Rayman 2, The Great escape:
Ubisoft did their mascot dirty in later years, but this was a platformer that could stand toe-to-toe with Mario 64 in my opinion. Awesome levels, great variety and a sassy protagonist, without limbs! What else could you ask for.
X-men Origins Wolverine Video Game:
Surprisingly, kick-ass game tie-in to the ass movie from 2009. Hack and slash, go full feral Wolverine!
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones:
Not sure if this counts on here, but another series that has fallen to the wayside. This was peak Prince of Persia for me, with an engaging story, fun platforming and combat, and epic boss fights for the time. But I was one of those weirdos who also liked the reboot from 2008, despite the repetitive nature of it.
Ooooh man, Cyprien's Chronicles is on here! And Henry Hatsworth too! Why, i must immediately sing Banson's Aria to celebrate!
When I first listened to the Evil Twin OST some... five years ago, there were points that very much went through my emotions. It wasn't really a stinging, as it was like a grip in parts of my mind that could have its formless digits dig much deeper if so desired. It's such a distinct sound identity of some whimsy, sadness, loneliness, times of joy and fascination and nostalgia.
It made me uncomfortable and yet intrigued me in a unique way compared to other gaming soundtracks.
Game's got a surprising lot of history to its world which alongside the art and music and atmosphere helps the fascination.
I very much like these videos and lists and I thank you for the effort and time you put into making them. I duly hope that Kya: Dark Lineage and the Zeno Clash series may make their way onto this one day. Who knows, perhaps Folklore, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom, Papetura, Strangeland and Knight's Contract as well.
Anachronox!!!! Never thought I'd hear that theme again. Was sold on the art style reading a then outdated PC Gamer magazine and fell in love with the art. Didn't actually play it until the mid 2010s. Play it.
The story alone is worth it, and the cutscenes are a cherry on the top.
That ending though 😐
It deserves the Nightdive treatment.
@@phaedruslive I wouldn't be mad if it did, but it hardly sold well back in the day. Partially the reason why Ion Storm went under.
alundra for the ps1, its a 2d zelda clone but it has its own sauce. A village with a dark hidden secret, A big adventure, lots of dungeons and BANGIN music - I highly recommend to any retro enthusiasts, I'm not a big zelda guy but this game slaps
Oh my goodness! Wendy: Every Witch Way! This was my first game on the GB color. My mom got this for me as it was on sale and I was mad because I didn’t get Pokemon like all the cool kids at school. Let me tell you, I loved that game to death and played it over and over. I think it was the game that made me explore more obscure games in the future. I’m so happy that my mom got it for me!
Big recommendation for Felvidek! It has an enchanting art style fun jrpg-style combat and is set in an alternate 15th century Slovakia.
OMG man, I remember playing Blade of darkness as a kid. I tried finding it when i was a teenager but with no luck, so much so that i thought that i made up the game. Thanks for finding this game, i gotta replay it again
Damn you did it again lol, i was halfway through the video and then you mentioned Demon Stone. Basically the same story as with BoD. Your video really lives up to the title.
In all honesty; two obscure games I don't see very many people mention that were particularly interesting to me are games that I feel SHOULD be discussed more.
Graffiti Kingdom: A 3D Action Platformer with a Drawn To Life sort of mechanic where you're able to draw your own creatures
Pirates - Legend Of The Black Buckaneer: Another 3D Platformer but this one has some pretty interesting mechanics I feel.
I do hope people talk about these games because frankly? I don't think there's too many videos on them
Graffiti Kingdom is amazing. It is a sequel to Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color. Also amazing.
I'll add to the list some jewels: Kingdom Under Fire the Crusaders, and its sequel, KuF Heroes (the most metal tactics game with both hero unit and army control); Spartan Total Warrior (which to this day I consider to be the better God of War); Dungeons & Dragons Heroes (the best couch co-op hack and slash ever); Dark Cloud 2 (the densest and most rewarding jrpg and city builder, maybe ever); Dungeon Siege II: Broken World (Diablo-like, but you get to control an entire party at once!); and Lost Planet 2 (with the most replayable multiplayer co-op I've experienced)
Posted after work about to go to bed. You spoil me ghostcharm.
FR
I just watched your other video on obscure games and ended up liking, commenting, and subscribing because it was such a good video. You made me want to go play like 4 of the games you covered.
And just as I got done watching it I was like "man, I wish there was another video like this one"
And then BOOM, this video is the top recommendation to play next
One of my favorite games from the Sega Genesis era that no one seems to remember: Rings of Power. It was an open world isometric RPG and had some very interesting ideas (e.g. their take on necromancers). It could be very difficult as there were no guard rails to keep you from entering areas you weren't prepared for, but I like that sort of thing.
Another really interesting one was Metal Saga for the PS2. Who doesn't want to fight a tank battle against a house-sized hermit crab?
I can't believe how many beautiful quality games you show here that I've never heard of! It legitimately feels like in a parallel universe all these games were big hits and it's an anomaly that they never caught on in ours.
I'm blown away by the lengths you went for this and the editing is perfect as always.
There's loads to discover out there, both old and new. Do you have any favourite genres? I may be able to tell of some cool lesser known games as well.
God I love learning about obscure niche video games nobody has ever played‼️
Baroque: A Japanese only first person roguelike, legacy, dungeon crawler set in a post apocalyptic setting and you the player are attempting to unravel the mystery at hand. Also has a god tier OST.
There are a few cool vids covering this game on the net.
Dungeon Chill did a really good video on Baroque if i'm not mistaken.
But what about the mobile frogger clone they made for it in 2022?
@@jurtheorc8117 and Ragnarox
I enjoy the remake version more and it has more content, but those who hate the anime aesthetic might reject it on that alone. It has stellar music though.
An hour of videogame recs?!?!? You spoil us Ghost
Bomb rush cyberpunk. Waited years for a Jet Set Radio Future game from sega, I’m just glad that someone was able to capture how amazing that game was with more polish. I would recommend anyone to play Bomb Rush Cyberfunk if you want to relive the old Xbox days. I give it a 8/10
L4D lead dev was also Nox's lead. Nox is a mechanically far superior take on the "real-time dungeon crawler" genre than Diablo. Classes, combat systems, enemy, & level design all leagues ahead of Diablo, creating more of a "Quake-like" fast paced & systems-based fantasy combat game. Its obscurity is largely due to lacking the addiction slot machine loot system of D2 & leaning away from all "cheap" addictive mechanics that suck people into a grind loop.
Diablo was designed from the ground up as a money-making exploitative system. Was originally supposed to have a physical "trading card" game with codes that unlocked stuff in the game. Truly diabolical stuff.
Any day that Ghost Charm uploads is a good day.
Xanadu Next, an amazing Nihon Falcom arpg with amazing ost, good mechanics and cozy vibe
I whole heartedly recommend trying a little gem called Northern Journey. A nice little adventure fps seems right up your alley.
I won't say much on 'em, Ghost, but here's a few games that I hope you're able to take a gander at and enjoy;
Bandit Kings of Ancient China: Old NES strategy game based on a pretty neat novel, Gao Qiu a bastard, the soundtrack is one of the best on the NES.
Kenshi: Quietly the best sandbox RPG for PC for over ten years, sad robots and rude bandits, Beak Things will haunt your nightmares. Beep for the heropedia please.
Sacrifice: Third Person strategy game, great voice cast, tons of replayability, Mandy Gaming reviewed it.
OFF: Surreal RPG maker game, Hit ghosts with a bat to purify the world.
Lisa: RPG maker game with a fun combat system. Be nice to Terry, please protect Terry. Lots of heavy content and sadness, but also a fish lawyer with a gun.
My "obscure" recommendations:
-Alice: Madness Returns // $9.99 on Steam
-Heroes of Might & Magic IV // $9.99 on Good Old Games
A sequel to this so soon? A truly lovely gift.
Black Knight Sword mention hell yeah
A claymation game that has a demo and has yet to be released is Ballad of Bonky. Very fun, funny writing, and the combat takes inspiration from pinball. You smack enemies with a stick and they bounce around, dealing damage to others like a projectile.
Great vid Ghost. There is this action game for the PS2 that for the life of me I can't remember its name. The game is a 3rd person action, horror, shooter game set in a kind of steampunk world, but it is infused with a biomechanical element that makes it really unique. The biomechanical aspect is sort of like Scorn but less fleshy and with PS2 graphics. The game play was like God of War 2 + Metall Gear Rising Revengeance. You can change your attacks and as you beat the enemy's. The enemies are kind of demon like but not because of the biomechanical steampunk art style. I remember the whole game looking kind of a greyish silver color, almost like the whole world was covered in a semi clear coat of gunmetal. If anyone knows what I am talking about, please let me know what it's called
On the topic, here is a list of obscure videogames *I* recommend.
1. Dominions 6: Rise of the Pantokrator
Imagine smashing together a War Game and God Game together with the level of complexity rivalling Dwarf Fortress.
*I DO NOT RECOMMEND* if you're a casual gamer, but I highly recommend checking out Dominions 6, specifically 6, on TH-cam.
*There are no tutorials in the game itself.*
2. Small Saga
I do not recommend it if you're either A. Homophobic or B. someone who cares too much about politics.
It is basically Berserk but in the universe of Ratatouille. It's genuinely amazing and the music is fire! There's even a song all about Humanity screwing itself over!
3. Grim Quest
A mobile and PC videogame. It's a simple RPG with dark lore reminiscent of Warhammer and Dark Souls.
It's quite simple and I recommend it to casual gamers or lore enthusiasts.
4. Vintage Story
Imagine Minecraft but with RLcraft already installed and eldritch horrors affecting spacetime itself! iirc it's still in Early Access.
I do not recommend it if you can't handle crafting items by chiseling them pixel by pixel just to make a knife. There's a pretty cool Blacksmithing system too.
5. Night in the Woods
A very deep, amazing, nostalgic, and downright sad Story game. It's less of a game and more of an experience.
I do not recommend it if you're not mentally all there but if you are and want relatable or at the very least realistic characters (ironically) then I highly recommend NITW.
6. Bug Fable
Tbh I don't know much about it myself but imagine that one pixar Ant movie but with more lore and with Paper Mario RPG stuff.
7. Dark Messiah
Imagine Oblivion but with significantly less RPG and more Action. You can kick the absolute shit out of enemies. No, I mean it. Kicking is an actual thing and it's a viable method to fighting.
8. Hero's Hour
A fairly simple Turn-based Strategy game with RPG elements based on Heroes of Might and Magic.
There's plenty of factions to play as and dozens if not hundreds of different units and even spells to throw around.
I recommend the DLC too as it adds more factions, units, and changes several things of the factions.
Also during battles, your army is completely visible and they fight independently with limited control from you. Let's say you had 50 pikemen and enter a battle with 5 orcs. You can see those 50 pikemen and 5 orcs going at eachother to fight! Although if your army is too big and your selected Faction's hero doesn't have the proper perks or skills, not all of your army will be deployed into battle but put into reserve.
Additional info because TH-cam is devolving and I can't see the text when I'm editing:
Small Saga is a RPG with Milestones instead of the traditional XP system meaning there is no grinding, Characters will only level up during or after events or big moments.
Small Saga, Grim Quest, and Bug Fable are all Turn-based RPGs.
Dominions 6 is technically turn-based.. But every turn happens at the same time
Also if you want a short and simple review of Dominions 6, look for the one with an elf slave in the thumbnail 💀
To clarify, the review by a TH-camr named Br0leg
Additional info about Dominions 6 for those that care:
It is not a generic strategy game. There are no such thing as High Elves or Dwarves or Orcs.
Instead, it has arabian Genies, indian Monkeys with either demonic Rakshas or angelic Yakshas, biblical cannibal Giants and even both biblically accurate and inaccurate Angels!
The world of Dominions 6 is separated into three different Ages, the Early, Middle, and Late.
Each Age dictates the amount of Magic, Monsters, Men, and Prosperity for the world.
The Early Age is a time of giants, magic unequal, and angels or demons casually walking the earth, a lot of the playable Factions/Nations use either Bronze or sometimes even Stone Age equipment.
In contrast, the Late Age is the rise of Humanity, Blood Magic, and Steel. The races of old are dead or dying out, Eldritch horrors and Devils of the Inferno are taking over, and the descendants of not-Rome have become an apocalypse of ghosts and shadows.
Magic is at its weakest but Mages themselves are at their most numerous and cheapest to employ.
Each and (almost) every nation of Dominions 6 is inspired by real world Mythology, History, or even Tabletop RPGS that the developers played.
Also Dominions 6 and all its predecessors and its sister series, Conquest of Elysium, are literally developed by *TWO GUYS*
And a single school of Magic, let's say Conjuration, probably has vastly more spells than all the magic spells in a game like Skyrim.
There are even incredibly powerful Magic Rituals that affect the world map itself such as creating a Second Sun, stealing the Sun, drowning the world in darkness, or even making ALL living things age faster.
Look me in the eyes and try to argue that Dominions 6 isn't an incredibly detailed and complex videogame. Is it fun? Definitely for certain people but Dominions is definitely not a game for everyone.
Something I find interesting about the Dominions games(at least the ones I played) is the more realistic level of control you have during battles, even though the setting could have easily justified otherwise.
Thank you so much for mentioning Middens, I will sing this game's praises to the moon and back! There are actually two more games in the series, Middens is part of a trilogy- Gingiva, which is also free, and Where They Cremate the Roadkill, which is $11 on Steam.
EDIT: And The Unfinished Swan too? Two of my favorites in one video!
Kururin Paradise (and the Kururin series), games that didnt leave japan where we play a blue duck on a mission to rescue his family
Our ship is a straight line turning on itself like a clock, the goal is to navigate through maze-like levels without hurting the walls (resulting in losing 1/3 of our health bar)
Killer7 is always a game i recommend to ppl that like obscure games. It's my favorite GameCube game of all time and still holds up imo. Another under the radar and obscure game is Extermination. It takes place at a research station in Antarctica, it's basically the film The Thing in videogame form. It's a survival horror game for the ps2 and also still holds up.
Austin Eruption released a video today that mentioned Evil Twin, and boy, his opinion of the game couldn't be more different from yours, I found that so fascinating, how one's perspective can change so much.
Good list, check out Mango, Creatura, Glitch Daddy, any Candice DaBebe game, Darold the Doomer, Juice Galaxy, Dread Delusion, Supermarket Times, I know your address, Critters for Sale, any game developed by Lu, we're spoiled for choice in obscure/weird/unique games nowadays, unlike the early console era. Great time to be alive.
Bro you sound exactly like Nitrorad. The way y’all talk and put emphasis on parts of your sentences are the same.
Thanks for the vid! Love this
Shadow watch. The style, replayability, bullshit sightlines that screw you over constantly, the great soundtrack. It's so good. That one chokepoint on a specific hong kong map that would screw you over every time was a bitch.
Another fun video
Another few games for you
Space Rangers HD: A war apart- Weird, semi real time semi turn based RPG/action game? Its a weird genre mix, but its good if janky
Geneforge series- Its all turn based RPGs.. all kinda old. The originals were better than the more modern ones on steam but its hard to get the old ones anymore. Still very very original setting for an RPG and very cool
8 bit adventures 2- very fun RPG, love letter to old SNES style rpgs. I dont think you need to play the original which is a bit harder to get into given its more based on NES games. Its really fun though
Kingsway- Its a weird RPG game that played like its running an old windows operating system, its very unique and pretty fun
Immortal Defense- Its a very strange tower defense game, actually interesting story though it can be visually overwhelming. Still a really good game.
King of Dragon Pass- A very fun like.. high fantasy civilization builder RPG ish.. you will lose your cows multiple times. Fun though. Its just neat to see all the weird lore everywhere.
I of the Dragon- a very neat dragon simulation game, you play at guarding a village and fighting an evil power of sorts. I am kind of hesitant to reccomend though, it was horribly unstable like 10 years ago on that OS on modern OS it might be almost impossible to play, good game, but careful if you try it.
YES, Ring of Red! My FAVORITE game of that era.
Legend of Legaia. The story, world building....watching the virus on your arm slowly grow and evolve as you got stronger....such an amazing game.
Also not obscure, but lost to time....Suikoden. so many great systems and characters. Great game.
I never saw the first one in this series but I have to now that you mentioned Puppeteer!!!! That was the game that popped into my mind when you asked at the beginning. I caught the trailer for it randomly and when I actually played it I was blown away by the absurd amount of charm coming from every corner. Had a smile on my face the whole time, that game really left an impact on me.
Opoona and Henry Hatsworth are excellent additions to this list. Both are very hard to find, good games, and very affordable. I would rush to eBay to buy a copy if you don't own these games already.
my obscure recommendation is Recoil from 1999, the best tank game ever made
Baja Racing 1000 for the ps2. Its the one and only racing game I ever played and I played it religiously from when I was very young until I was in about sixth grade. It was the first time I actually had to grow up to beat the game, as I was not dextrous enough with a controller to do some of the tasks in the game or comprehend some of the strategy needed to beat some of the races.
I still got the box of Prince of Qin complete with the manual book that give way more detail of NPC and characters that are based on historical Chinese people living in that time period
I don't recognize any of these games and after watching hope to find some interesting ones to play!
Edit: Middens, Anachronox, Nox, Blade of Darkness, Black Knight Sword, Demon Stone, Glyph, Evil Twin, and Primal Light all piqued my interest.
First "Obscure" games that come to mind:
Septerra Core:
Western-made Biopunk FF7 inspired by Babilonian mythology.
Ultra Fight Da!! Kyanta 2:
A sensory overload of a 2D fighting game where every character is broken beyond belief. Has rollback netcode and a small but hardcore competitive scene.
Project: Absentia:
A doom-engine fps that looks like a Newgrounds shitpost made by an edgy 14 yo. Extremely dumb, and extremely fun.
Brush Burial:
A trippy immersive-sim where you play as a strange fae creature and rob human bandits and complete puzzle dungeons.
Chasm: The Rift:
Russian Quake-clone from 1997. The difinitive "slav-jank" title. For FPS sickos (although if you're one of those you probably know about Chasm by now).
Radiant Historia: A DS-only fantasy timetravel JRPG where each choice creates an alternate branching timeline you can freely jump between in order to progress.
Vernal Edge:
2D pixel-art metroidvania with DMC-inspired combat. Storyline is wonky but everything else is very well done.
Zortch:
A short, humorous, retro-style fps. Kind of has a Unreal x Quake 2 feel to it.
Chop Goblins: A speedrunning FPS you can beat in about 30 min if you take your time.
Lunacid: Indie-King's Field made by a solo-developer. Low-poly but visually stunning. The music is incredible too.
Thanks for the Opoona mention! It's one of my favorites!
I was just wondering about Dual Hearts recently and thinking about how it's got so Little coverage til now
0:40 Ohhhh I can totally recommend the Magic one.. hella fun.
I can't believe i forgot about God Hand! It has rpg elements mixed with a beat em up. Such a classic game!
The only game on here I've actually played myself (or even heard of) was Dewey's Adventure, and while it may not be the greatest game ever made, it was really interesting for its time especially for what I assume was supposed to be a little kid's game but man, I can't imagine any child playing that game without destroying their Wii-mote and/or TV lmao. I mainly played its level-creator and multiplayer with my bestie, just making wacky levels and messing around in them.
The first one that comes to mind for me is a game called "The Norwood Suite", a sort little game that I adore. The devs other games are also wonderful, their recent one is the game "Betrayal at club low".
The horror game literally entitled “Obscure” and Dark Earth!, though I haven’t played the second title, it has such interesting concepts
While I recognized a few titles in the last video, these were some truly obscure games, literally have not heard of any of these!
An obscure game from my childhood that me and my brother always used to play was Iggy's Reckin Balls for the N64. Just a very wacky racing game.
Nox was such an amazing game, and the online team PvP was so fun when I was a kid.
OH my god, I thought I was the only one that loved Nox. The game was great, especially early online before all the bad updates. Deathmatch was great, running around casting and hearing others cast. I miss WestWood Studios, people will never understand how good things were.
Question 1: Beyond Good & Evil. Thank you gamestop guy. He recommended that over shadow of the colossus (whoch i also played but later when i grew).
Main point beyond good and evil is so GOOD
Blade Of Darkness is freaking on point. That game was so good. I played as the knight and the amazon...great skillsets
This is absolute FIRE yt content that I am here for.
TH-cam recommended your first "Obscure Games I Recommend" video to me today and I'm super glad it did! Just finished watching both and I love your style and presentation. Thanks for all the great recs!
Also I'm a huge Opoona fan, thrilled to see it on your list!
I have very similar thoughts wrt Black Knight Sword with the game Soul Sacrifice (and it's update release Delta). It's a game locked on the PS Vita that can be boiled down to "Edgy Monster Hunter with Wizards" but man if you like that sort of thing then this game was good. It had all these various lore entries for each monster and even each stage that just nailed the vibe of dark fairy tales (which was a major theme of the game) without every going into a cartoonish "What if Alice from Alice from wonderland was doing drugs actually" level of it. Unfortunately as mentioned it is locked on the PS Vita with no current sign of ever getting a port to PC or anything else.
Oh wow! I have been trying to remember what Dual Hearts is called for years! Memories of the Santa level in particular stuck in my head, but I could never describe the game in a way that made sense to anyone else.
another badass video, thanks for turning me onto all these wonderful gems!! have you even played silent bomber for ps1 or the saga series for wonderswan color? what about freedom force on steam? hope you enjoy them if you havent tried them
The first thing that really comes up when the word Obscure comes up. Well a GBA game called Boktai the Sun is in your hands!
27:00 hey i know this song.... ooooh its from the water playlist :)
I cant remember hearing about the original xbox game Brute Force. It was a weird tactical squad shooter with a crocodile alien heavy gunner, a redhead sniper and two other characters that i cant remember. Feels like a fever dream. Also Kingdom under Fire: Crusaders for the same console. A light rts combined with dynasty warriors hack and slash in a dark fantasy setting.
DUDE, i had a Dual Hearts demo disk and loved it, i could never remember what that game was called though so thank you!
Immaculate vibes as always, hope your week treats you kindly Ghosty :)
As far as onsite games go, I can only think of 3 that I played. iNinja, and that’s only because the previous video reminded me that of its existence. Split Second for the PS3, and Brink, also for the PS3. Idk if those two are actually obscure, but I never knew anyone else of all my friends who had those games
0:10 killer 7
You can say it's obscure or not, it is the first thing to come to my mind when you asked . Killer 7. This game is fucking obscure. Whether it's famous or not, it's obscure af
give this video all the engagement becasue I want more of it! Great job
A Ghostcharm vid on a friday afternoon what a treat
"A Robot Named Fight" also needs some love and recognition.
Unfinished Swan was an early walking-simulator masterpiece and they're second one What Remains of Edith Finch is even better!
P.S: If you're in Portugal get your hands on the Portuguese translation, it's quite beautiful.
Have a look at Guardian's Crusade.
It's not the best of JRPGs but it's a really good cute look into the genre for younger folk and it's still got a decent enough story to capture the hearts of adults.
Very underrated. I remember being so bad at it as a kid I got stuck at the first boss then went back to it a couple years later and played through it start to finish within a week.
Dawn of Magic (or Blood Magic in some regions) is a very obscure PC exclusive ARPG that I adored back when I played it in 2007-2008, it was made at that time when a lot of small studios were making straight up Diablo plagiarism, but this was one of those like Titan Quest that had something very special and enjoyable about them. Sadly it's gone from all storefronts at this point, and the only thing left is a pretty bad standalone expansion that they released as Dawn of Magic 2. In addition to this, the first game uses old Starforce DRM, and it's become very difficult to find even cracked downloads just because people would rather not deal with potentially bricked Windows installations due to the awful DRM implementation. Hope you cover it at some point