8 Misunderstood Games You Should Play NOW 🎮✨
There are some games that are simply misunderstood when they're released to the public. There may be strange stories about their development, or initial reviewers may not "get" what makes a game special. It happens!
However, there are many amazing games that players have either avoided or not continued due to these misconceptions. If any of the games we mention below are ones you've been avoiding because you had the wrong idea, maybe it's time to give them a fair chance! 🎮✨
1. Death Stranding
I'm pretty sure you already knew that Death Stranding would be the first title on this list. Following the departure of game creator Hideo Kojima from Konami, leaving the franchise behind Metal Gear that made him famous, it was time for something new and different.
However, Death Stranding may have been a little too much different so that people could really understand what the game was about. They criticized it as a "walking simulator," and it seems like people think it's just a game where you carry packages from point A to point B, which is technically True. However, that's like saying DOOM consists of walking from the beginning to the end of a level, bypassing a fairly significant set of obstacles along the way.
The journey in Death Stranding is your main enemy, but there's also plenty of action, and it's a game where you get what you give. You can play it as a stealth action game, a survival horror game, or a weird third-person city-building game. It doesn't really care. as You fulfill your goals, and it offers you a ton of toys, skills, and tech trees to explore as you wish. Once the game gets you hooked, there's nothing else like it, and I'm really looking forward to the next sequel. 🚀
2. Spec Ops: The Line
Unfortunately, this game was removed from online stores in 2024, but if you already bought it on Steam, for example, you can still play it. You can also find used Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 copies out there, though those prices may be rising as a result of its retirement!
As for the game itself, Spec Ops: The Line It's widely considered one of the most important military shooters of all time, but not because of its minute-by-minute gameplay. It's a perfectly functional cover-based third-person shooter, but what really sets it apart is how it handles war and combat, which stands in stark contrast to how many games of its ilk glorify armed conflict.
Maybe you dismissed this game because, at first glance, it seems like just another brown shooter from the seventh generation of consoles, which is known for some very brown and lackluster games. If that sounds familiar, then it's time to jump back into this game and prepare for something very special. 🌟
3. Nier Automata
I'm going to be direct and say that Nier Automata It's one of my favorite games of all time, so I may be a little biased after nearly 200 hours of playtime split between Steam and my Nintendo Switch. Still, I'm not alone in my love for this rare and particular title, and the game has received plenty of critical acclaim.
And yet, I see many players dismissing this game because they don't really understand what it is. To an outside observer, Nier Automata can seem like just another anime-style game, heavy on aesthetics, which may turn off those looking for a deeper experience.
The irony is that this game is one of the most profound experiences I've had in the medium on multiple levels. From the depth and flexibility of the combat system, to the heartbreaking, philosophy-filled story, and the haunting music and art, Nier Automata is as close to a video game masterpiece as I can imagine. 🎼🎨 If you had any doubts about it based on trailers or screenshots, trust me when I say this is an essential title to play.
4. Dark Souls
Dark Souls and the "Soulsborne" genre of which it's a part, may be the most misunderstood game on this list. People tend to think of Dark Souls as simply a harsh, difficult game made for masochists, and it doesn't help that many of the people who play these games are actually masochists who like to display that fact online as a kind of gaming credential.
However, the truth is that Dark Souls isn't actually a difficult game, but rather one built around a death mechanic where you're supposed to learn from your deaths before attempting that part of the game again. Players have been trained to think of progress as moving forward quickly, and that death is failure, but Dark Souls measures progress differently; death is just another part of the game and isn't a sign of failure at all. Once you get into the right mindset, the game is both rewarding and fun. ⚔️🌌
5. Final Fantasy 8
Final Fantasy 8 For some reason I can't fathom, it's underappreciated by modern Final Fantasy fans. Despite selling almost as much as the famous and beloved seventh installment and receiving good reviews at the time, the game's reputation has been tarnished over time.
This is a real shame, because, if you ask me, this was a better game than Final Fantasy 7 when it came out, and it still is today. Much of the game's criticism revolves around the magic "junctioning" system, and how people simply didn't get along with it.
That's the main way this game is misunderstood, and if you pay attention to the in-game tutorial and the information it provides, you'll realize that the junctioning system is one of the most rewarding in JRPG history. Sadly, it seems like many players are simply following an inefficient and tedious path to connecting magic and building their characters, completely ignoring the tools the game offers them. 🛠️
If you've been avoiding this installment in the seminal JRPG series, it's time to give it another look. 👀
6. Prey (2017)
Prey is a 2017 immersive sim from legendary specialists Arkane Studios that somehow wasn't bought into the community that loves this style of game. I'm not entirely sure where the misunderstanding arose, as I would expect those who love their previous games, such as Dishonored and Arx Fatalis, look it up. Part of this may be that the game shares its name with a 2006 title from Human Head Studios that uses the same game engine as DOOM 3 and Quake 4.
That 2006 game puts you in the shoes of a Native American character who is abducted by aliens along with his girlfriend, and who was playing with portals a year before GLaDOS. ☠️🔦
Aside from the idea that you wake up on a space station and need to fight aliens, the two games are unrelated, but I guess a lot of people thought it was a reboot of the original game, which was pretty divisive when it came out in 2006. Whatever the reason for its poor sales and lack of attention from gamers, Prey (2017) is a amazing game and possibly Arkane's best work to date. So if you care about immersive sims at allYou owe it to yourself to play this one. 🛰️
7. Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs may look like another clone of GTA at first glance, but this game has a completely different lineage (it was originally part of the series True Crime) and has very little in common with Rockstar's open-world crime sims. Sleeping Dogs is a much more compact experience, with a smaller world to explore, but its story and gameplay make up for it when it comes to quality and drama. 🎭
The game has relatively little gun action, but a lot of martial arts and driving. So even the gameplay feels very different from a GTA game. It's like playing inside a John Woo movie. The good news is that the "definitive" remastered edition is widely available and often sold at a low price. It's worth playing for the story alone, but the game is a lot of fun whether you're interested in the narrative or not! 🥋🚗
8. No Man's Sky
No Man's Sky It got a very unfair shake upon release, thanks to a mix of over-expectations and misunderstandings between the game people were expecting and the one that actually released. To say this hurt No Man's Sky is an understatement, but today there's no trace of the original game left, as the developers have been working to make it the game people thought they would originally receive. 🌌🔄
If you were burned out on No Man's Sky almost a decade ago, then there's never been a better time to give it another shot. It's even available on more platforms now, though the promised iPad version still hasn't come out, despite my constant letters asking for an explanation.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I could mention several notable titles that deserve recognition, such as the reboot of Prince of Persia of 2008 or Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningBoth games failed to gain their due due to misunderstandings about what they were trying to achieve, or audiences with misplaced expectations. All of these games teach us an important lesson about second chances. 💫
