The 10 Most Underrated Games Of This Gen

This generation has been absolutely amazing. But today CoG will look at the 10 most underrated games of this gen.

[UltraNova]

The order was definitely unfairly treated by the "press". As for the rest of the list I remember most of them being reviewed quite accurately retrospectively speaking.

[VTKC]

I like The Order. It was too short but i enjoyed it. There was some loose ends in the story I think. It was awhile ago when I played it. I suspect something went wrong with the budget perhaps?

I hated Deus EX though. god all mighty I was playing it and playing it and was just thinking "its just the beginning, you will like it once you get into it...." I gave up as I was about 3 hours in. Just not my cut of tea I guess. (I not saying the game is trash. So calm the cluck down fanboys before you lot start weighing in.)

[UltraNova]

Yes The order was very short, it should have been twice as long. Lets hope Sony gives this IP a second chance.

DE: Mankind Devided was boring I agree but mechanically sound at least.

[patrickman]

Hopefully, a sequel will come to PS5.

[S2Killinit]

It was longer than the original gears of war I believe.

[conanlifts]

@s2killinit
"It was longer than the original gears of war I believe."
The average completion time of gears of war was 9 hours vs 7 for the order. This is according to how long to beat. The other difference is that gears of war has other things to do such as online multiplayer. The order has nothing else to do.

Having said that I would like a bigger sequel as I enjoyed the game.

[Fist4achin]

I think they were purposely setting up a sequel for The Order. I thought the game was fantastic.

[Xaywhat]

The graphics in The Order is still some of the best I’ve seen. I got it for 8$ and recall just thinking to myself “WOW”. The gameplay wasn’t bad but it was short. I really do hope that studio gets to expand on their ideas.

[Gazondaily]

The Order was a thoroughly shit game with good visuals and audio.

[IamTylerDurden1]

The Order was a short game, but not a bad game.

Unfortunately the media woefully misrepresented it as a Gears clone, when in fact, it was closer to a cinematic adventure.

The nonsensical Gears comparison, the length to price controversy, and the overblown QTE criticism ultimately sealed The Order's fate and sunk the review scores.

If people went in blind, with no preconceptions and no knowledge of price, the reception would've been dramatically different.

Wipe away all the bullshit surrounding the game and it's a high brow, high quality production that entertains.

Who cares if it's fairly cinematic, or if it has QTEs? It's not Gears of War, not a Tell Tale game, it's The Order 1886 and it isn't confined to any specific archetype.

The visuals set a new benchmark back in 2015.

The voice acting was superb and the sound design was excellent.

The story was very good and characters like Galahad and Tesla were excellent.

The combat was solid for a game of its ilk. The coverbased shooting worked as advertised, and I enjoyed moments where cinematics and gameplay were entwined. Such as the White Chapel encounter.

Weapons were creative and fun, sometimes featuring an exciting secondary fire. There should've been more weapons, but the weapons on display were truly awesome. The arch cannon, the air blast rifle, and the thermite minigun stand out.

[Edgelordsupreme]

@IamTylerDurden1

In what world is The Order high brow? The enemies were clones of each other, the stealth sections are so simple someone blind, deaf and dumb could finish them, the boss encounters all worked the same and were incredibly anti climactic.

Oh Lord Hastings is a vampire!? Wow, I'm shocked that wasn't obvious from the first time he was on screen. If this is what constitutes high brow in the video game story space, then we deserve all the ridicule we get.

[SolidGamerX]

The Order was a good game with incredible visuals and great audio.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Edgelordsupreme

The acting, the world, the lore, the setting, the score/audio, the art, and presentation are what made it high brow. When I said high brow I wasn't referring to the gameplay. If I was trying to pump the gameplay I'd say "high quality" as it is a more apt term, but I wasn't.

The Order was a classy, tasteful production, hence why I called it high brow. Do u understand?

The Order was never meant to be Gears of War, it is its own entity, and it's allowed to have whatever style of gameplay it wants.

Did u kill Life is Strange or Heavy Rain for having QTEs and limited gameplay? The Order isn't exactly like those games, but it shares cinematic similarities. It had more gameplay than those games and less gameplay than Gears, but a stronger narrative than Gears.

IDGAF what u think, but the White Chapel encounter/boss fight/experience was phenomenal. U break it down to a QTE, but the entire experience was a gorgeous blend of cinematics, gameplay, and quick-time. Call it what u want, the result was incredible. I do agree that the final boss was an anticlimactic fight with repeated mechanics.

The Order didn't master or revolutionize gameplay, but the combat was adequate, and the overall production was a sweet mix of cinematics, combat, and quick time blended together with intriguing lore, a fabulous setting, and a wonderfully acted narrative. I loved it.

[TK-66]

@IamTYlerDurden1

"The acting, the world, the lore, the setting, the score/audio, the art, and presentation are what made it high brow."

How much longer are people going to spout this bullshit narrative? The story and lore is incredibly shallow, some of the worst level/enemy design this generation from a major publisher, and incredibly bland gameplay. Tell me hows the Lycans and Vampires are unique or worth any attention in The Order 1886. Even the politics of the game was boring as fuck, and made little use of historical/mythical figures in the narrative.

The game was judged fairly. It has good actors reading a bland and uninspiring script, and shallow gameplay masked by good animations and graphics. This game can only be praised in the manner you're doing if you've never played a TPS or read a half-decent book. If you find quick-time events to be an experience that is "phenomenal", then I question how similar can't be achieved by a cutscene; at this point you've backed yourself into a corner as you have to admit cutscenes can accomplish similar to quick-time events now.

"The Order was a classy, tasteful production, hence why I called it high brow. Do u understand?"

You sound like an American who places some sort of authority in an English accent. How about you defend your claims about the script and world building?

[darthv72]

I've played the order, quantum break, mad max and my daughter really likes little nightmares. All of which have their flaws but otherwise very enjoyable games that get a lot of flak.

I'd add in recore as an honorable mention as that one is also an enjoyable game with some flaws. But then again... no game is truly "perfect" (some are better than others though)

[Tear111]

Ryse + DaysGone those two games were underrated
They have one of the best visual, graphics, story telling and great gameplay despite some issues that can be fixed

[giovonni]

Yeah man, Ryse wasn’t as bad as reviewers were making it out to be I even tried it with Kinect, and was surprised how well it worked. Also Quantum break was another good title. The mechanics weren’t my favorite, but the story, and over all experience was great.

[EmperorDalek]

The Order was trash, it got scored too high if anything.

[Orionsangel]

I loved it while it lasted. It played like RE4 but better controls. It was far too short though and plotholes were left unresolved. The game just abruptly ends as if they ran out of money. Similar to what happened with Bakshi's LOTR animated film.

[robtion]

Great list of games. A lot of my favourites from this gen.

Alien Isolation, Mad Max, Dishonored 2, The Order, The evil within 1 and 2 are all awesome. Little nightmares was also great (the ending).

I would add Sunset Overdrive.

[UltraNova]

Sunset had potential but wasn't embraced by gamers, unfortunately.

[Fist4achin]

It wasn't released onto other consoles and didn't have a shot.

[UltraNova]

Fist,
Are you one of those people who still believe exclusives dont sell?

[Unspoken]

LoL embraced by gamers? Or shunned by Sony fans? Lol

[Christopher]

I feel SSO was kind of Insomniac's version of Bulletstorm. Not much substance, just entertaining gameplay that felt like it sat around longer than needed and greatly needed more to hold the attention of most gamers.

[UltraNova]

Unspoken,

Welp welp, cry me a river.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Dishonored and Evil Within! ❤

[ShinjukuSon]

Valkyria Chronicles 4

[theshredded]

Deus Ex Mankind Divided is such a brilliant game that is under appreciated.

[sander9702]

No it was a huge disappointment and wasn't even close to as good as the old ones. I'm pretty sure even Totalbiscuit was disappointed by it before he died and he was a huge Deus Ex fan.

[theshredded]

The Prague setting was perfectly executed. Sure the game had weak aspects like the characters and the abrupt ending but everything else was vastly improved. I feel like the developer was rushed to meet the deadline so the story felt cut short and lacking. Yet the game is still among the best this generation and is brimming with depth and detail.

[Fraggle1987]

Agree 100%

[IamTylerDurden1]

Deus Ex MD deserved better.

My List:

Days Gone

Detroit - the Quantic/Cage controversy definitely affected the scores. Detroit deserves better than a 78. It's a joke that Tell Take games and LiS Before the Storm scored higher.

The Order

Knack 2 - dramatically improved over the original, critics under-scored it due to the negativity surrounding the first game. Knack 2 got better scores, but nowhere near the scores it deserved. Great visuals, excellent combat, a wide variety of beautiful environments, and the implementation of a robust skill tree. The co op was excellent as well.

Driveclub - the game demanded to be re-reviewed

GT Sport - turned into a great game yet many still judge it on the mixed reviews it received 2yrs ago

FARPOINT - one of the the best FPS in VR. Great visuals, a legit story, probably the best controls/AIM integration in VR/PSVR, and excellent free DLC that really expanded the game and enhanced the co op/mp. SP, co op, great visuals, great controls, FREE DLC, and it scores a 70? That was complete bullshit, it deserved at least an 80. Many VR games suffered from bs reviews. Arkham, Rush of Blood, Skyrim, DC VR, ect.

God of War III Remastered - it was an early gen remaster of a legendary game. They upped it to 1080/60 and improved some textures and character models. The game looks gorgeous and runs great. IDK what people were expecting? I guess some thought $40 was too high a price, but Sony eventually dropped it to $20 and the game itself deserved better than an 80. Play it now, it still looks phenomenal, significantly better looking and running than even Ascension.

Wolfenstein The New Order - critics expected a shallow shooting gallery, but to their surprise it was a modern classic. Needless to say the scores were not indictive of it's quality.

Orcs Must Die Unchained - while it did receive decent reviews, they should've been better. However, the bigger problem is that people just didn't pay attention to it, nor did the media give it any publicity. Orcs Unchained was the best tower defense game I have ever played and it was free. I only ever spent $5 on the game to receive a new character. I unlocked every character, every item, all tier 5, and essentially mastered the game without spending a dime on currency. It is a grind, but an enjoyable one. The devs also implemented a creative mp and co op mode and supported the game with annual events, new characters, and holiday themes. The visuals were good and the gameplay was superb. The characters were varied and the traps were extremely well implemented. It lent itself to a huge variety in strategies and play styles. It was one of my favorite games this generation, but it shutdown because it wasn't profitable enough. Too bad people didn't pay attention to it, it was great. I always had hoped to get the plat as well..

[philm87]

Mass Effect Andromeda. Can't believe how much this got slated.

[UltraNova]

As a standalone game its was ok, a solid 7/10 but as a sequel to one of gamings best and most loved RPG IPs, it was abysmal.

[UltraNova]

Shaggy,
Re-reviews are a slippery slope though since some devs will take advantage of this and just release games at any state, working or not...

Just look at a similar situation with Activision purposefully leaving monetization out of their games for the first few days of release so they can avoid possible point deductions and the inevitable bad word of mouth that will ensue.

We cannot trust companies.

[Juusterey]

And in general they rubbed people the wrong way
on twitter for example

[IamTylerDurden1]

Andromeda got what it deserved. It was a shell of it's former glory. Characters were uninteresting, the story wasn't engaging, it had technical issues, and a horrible MT focused mp, which I guess was there before, but still. No sp dlc either. Edmonton didn't even develop it. It did have beautiful environments and the jetpack was nice.

[Christopher]

Gameplay was okay, but the characters and story were far from underrated. You got people who are professionals and all I'm dealing with for story with them is their insecurities written a la CW tween TV show.

[Relientk77]

- Dishonored 2
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- Shadows: Awakening
- The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 1, 2, & 3
- Tales of Berseria

[Christopher]

Didn't Plague Tale get pretty good reviews, though? 81/100 is good, I thought.

Shadows: Awakening was okay, but felt really dragged out for me.

Dishonored 2 also has an 88/100 on metacritic, I don't feel that is undeserving or bad and I love the series overall.

I think the bigger issue is how overrated many games are, not how underrated others are.

[Juusterey]

Loved the order
one of the only games i've ever finished in 1 sitting

[Edgelordsupreme]

Well it was short enough to finish in one sitting.

[The_Sage]

If you're dedicated to sitting and playing a game for 8 hours straight, you really dig it. I would also say that The Order is the best looking game ever made. Drive Club is up there too. Please don't just hit disagree if you in fact do disagree, tell me what game looks better. Maybe I've missed something.

[warriorcase]

Probably one of these "The 10 most xxxx" lists I actually agree with. There could be some more hidden gems but all these games were great.

[william_cade]

Can't really disagree with this list. Little Nightmares and Frost Punk are 2 solid games that got almost no attention.

[ClayRules2012]

I sure hope The Order receives a sequel on PS5. There’s so much potential there, and I wanna see more of these characters, the world, and see the gameplay (which was really good, minus the werewolf fights/stealth sections) improved upon.

Overall, loved the story (although it could’ve been longer) and the characters were likable. The visuals still today look incredible “in my opinion” and the setting was a breath of fresh air. Loved the game, regardless of a few shortcomings.

[Germaximus]

The Order isn't underrated. It sucks ass.

[Chumdiddy]

Frostpunk, Tetris and Dishonored 2 are valid. The rest kinda sucked and were properly reviewed. Within reason at least.

The rest were much more bad than good.

[EDKICK]

Dishonored 2, Alien Isolation, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, and Quantum Break are all great choices.

I'd add Hyper Light Drifter, Banner Saga Trilogy, Sunset Overdrive, Prey, Mass Effect Andromeda, Dandara, Observer, and Vampyr.

[windblowsagain]

The order had awesome visuals and characters\weapons and audio. Had some decent game play. But was too confined and not fleshed out enough.

I would like another one on PS5 same as there needs to be another Motorstorm and Resistance. on ps5. Make it happen Sony.

Alien Isolation was a Great game and easily the best Alien game i've played. The visuals/sound and quality was there for all to see. Would like another game by the same studio in that universe.

[Kavorklestein]

I've never met a person who played Isolation who didn't enjoy it. It is my fave Survival Horror Game of all time.

[KickSpinFilter]

Gonna add Driveclub to that list also

[xRacer74x]

Speaking of Garbage their it is. Its beautiful garbage but plays like garbage. Specially when you compare to other racing games released at that time.

[Silly gameAr]

You say Mad Max, was highly underrated, but call Driveclub garbage? Interesting stuff.

[xRacer74x]

@Silly gameAr, I love racing games. I bought the PS4 specifically for Driveclub. When it did finally eventually release man what garbage it was.

[KickSpinFilter]

No way game plays awesome after all the updates and server updates.
Sure...it was bad out the gate, but they totally turned it around and became one of my favorite racing games of all time. It's a great mix of Arcade/Sim
Not Arcade, not Sim and not Sim/Arcade
I can tell you never played it, or at least did not come back after fixes.

[xRacer74x]

@KickSpinFilter, I so wish that was true. I would not have wasted the time I did on it.

[xRacer74x]

Mad Max was awesome. Highly underrated

[KillBill]

Ha... people still trying to say 'The Order: 1886' was underrated. Tell you what... I think it was even overrated for how poorly it did what it was supposed to do. The boss fights alone were a gross negligent developers... "I just tossed in repetitive QTE to fill the game out" moment.

And 'Alien Isolation'... really? No way he actually played that game and thought it was good! I bought the game and was so pissed at how bad it was. It was simply a hide and seek game from an alien which didn't even do that justice.

[Hardiman]

I must say for a game to be as short as it was it wound up showing a world and lore that could easily carry a series to many games.

Yes some of the mechanics were clunky but so were some in Red Dead 2 but that's besides the point because those things can be ironed out and with so many narrative possibilities it seems like a huge missed opportunity if it doesn't see a more fleshed out sequel!

[Flewid638]

The Order wasnt underrated. It was rated accurately.....and I loved that game. lol.

Doesnt mean you have to be in denial about what it was.

[SyntheticForm]

This.

[rainslacker]

I think the game was unfinished, and Sony pushed it out the door. Too many things in the game pointed to that.

The game was good other than that.

I think people unfairly focused in on one thing to criticize....the length....and that became the crux of all their argument for why the game was good. I can agree with people that the lycan fights were poorly executed, and even the repetative AI to some extent, but the length and saying that it relied too much on QTE just made it obvious that people hadn't played it. I can see how one could complete it in 5 hours, but not if they actually watched the cut scenes, and played the game normally. I finished in 12 myself, while doing a bit of exploring for collectables.

Enjoyed the game, and think overall, it probably deserves the score it got, just don't agree with the way the criticism was elevated to epic proportions.

[cyberFUTUR3]

DishonoUred... lol
Even if I'm french I know how to write it.

[opc]

Tetris was rated incredibly highly pretty much all around.

[TheEroica]

The order apologist thread in full effect... What a garbage game. Have some respect for yourself folks.

[brando008]

Loved The Order, Mad Max, and Deus Ex. Currently having a blast in Dishonored 2.

The Order was a great game that was bashed for its length. Yes it was over-priced, but what was there was still exceptional.

Mad Max came out at the same time as MGSV iirc. The game nailed the atmosphere of the universe and expanded on the lore, not to mention how much of a blast ripping across the wasteland was.

Deus Ex: MD I really enjoyed, though I kind of understand why many felt let down. I thought it built upon the mechanical foundation of Human Revolution, and the story felt more narrow and focused, yet admittedly not as grand and encompassing as the other games.

Dishonored 2, I don't even know. I guess it's like the article said, there just wasn't as much buzz at the time. It's a blast to play in 2019 and I'm digging into the lore much more.

I'm sure I'll get some vehement replies disagreeing with me, but to each their own.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I got Dishonored 2 at launch and it's epic ❤

[carcarias]

I enjoyed The Order and felt it was treated unfairly. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was soooo good it was one the most underrated.

I think Mad Max was treated more harshly, imho. Batman-esque combat (though not as good) courtesy of Warner Brothers, a large world to explore, plenty of upgrading that really had an impact on gameplay, visuals and sound that really evoked the setting and good driving.

Evil Within 2 was NOT directed by Grandmaster Shinji Mikami, that's why it felt so different. Sloppy research from the writer but hey, he's only 19, bless. People are often split as to which one was better, I myself much preferred the first so no, for me, EW2 was not underrated.

Dishonored 2, Deus Ex Mankind Divided scored fairly well with critics. Alien Isolation won the Bafta GotY. I'd argue these games weren't underrated, unless you think they're absolute classics.

I thought Quantum Break was 'meh'.

Haven't played the others.

[monkey602]

The Order had and still has potential but it is not by any stretch of the imagination and under rated game. It was a great concept very poorly executed.

Alien Isolation was an incredible game.

Mad Max was a very enjoyable game too.

[mandingo]

The Order is not Underrated

[AK91]

I'm going to be that guy and say Dishonoured is spelt as 'Dishonored' but other than that great list although I personally think Mad Max doesn't belong on that list.

[NotoriousNicholas]

I just want to say thank you to all for really this article I made! I didn't expect the reception to blow up and the comments to be so nice. Once again thank you so much and I hope you enjoy more of my articles in the future 😊

Twitter: @NotoriousNichol

[NotoriousNicholas]

*really enjoying
P.S My honorable mentions are Plague Tale: Innocence, Sunset Overdrive & Telltales: Batman 😉

[TheEroica]

It is absolutely ridiculous that a bland half a game like the order is now being touted by revisionist history Sony fans 5 years later as underrated Impossible. So weak.

[SierraGuy]

Ah go play your switch.

Had the order game been developed by Nintendo you'd be praising it like the second coming of the Messiah.

Get bent ...uncharted mops the floor w anything developed by Nintendo. 🖕

Just sounds like your mad it's exclusive and too cheap to buy a PS4.

[TheEroica]

Uncharted. Lol.

My poor ps4 has become a doorstop in recent years. :( so in some respects yeah I have a ps4, but the thick layer of dust on it says otherwise.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

The Order 1886 and Wolfenstein: Youngblood which is the GOAT

[BlaqMagiq1]

Gravity Rush 2 is THE most underrated game this gen.

[Chexs1990]

I really liked The Order.
It was too short and the werewolves were boring to fight, but the story was awesome and the setting was good.

The biggest issue I had with it, was that it felt like an origin story to something bigger. It even ended leading into what would be considered the "main story".

[BrettAwesome]

I think both Mad Max and Mankind Devided are both infinitely better than The Order

[OB1Biker]

All reviews are underrated. They would have much more value and quality content if they didn't have these random numbers they try to justify.