I’ve recently rekindled my love for Katamari Damacy and it made me wonder if there’s any other amazing cult classics out there that aren’t talked about these days. What are your recommendations?
I’m probably alone in remembering this game but I loved Hardwar back in the day. It’s an Elite style trading game set on Titan. The player pilots a ‘moth’ ,a small flying craft, between craters.
It had an interesting story that played out as you explored with areas blocked out, due to events, and made accessible later on.The developer closed doors but IIRC at least one member of the team released a patch that had been developed later on.
I played it pretty obsessively and it had a small passionate community but it wasn’t a hit.
Blade of Darkness. If you want to see the true origin of the soulslike genre, this is it. Be warned that the controls are extremely janky, though.
BladeRunner rpg by Westwood studios is fantastic
Nox (the better single player Diablo, with some incredible game mechanics, even looking at it today)
Hexplore
Imperium Galactica
Giants (this game ran like shit on every age appropriate PC, I’m kind of wondering if the engine can even run without stuttering, but it’s a fantastic game)
Gothic 1 (alive open worlds are not that new and exciting anymore, but this game has a lot of charm & an amazing sense of exploration)
The Longest Journey
Knights and Merchants (combat strategy game, the later levels are combat only and it’s very HARD)
Rage of Mages 2
Chrono Cross (probably the best jrpg of all time, but the combat system scared away many)
These are not really forgotten & qualify for being a cult classic, but merely they are old titles that the new kids have never touched:
Baldur’s Gate 1-2
Morrowind (so much better than Skyrim, it’s not even close)
Pharaoh & Caesar 3 (the city builders, there is a recently released HD remake for Pharaoh)
Oddworld: Abe’s Odessey (Much better art style & direction than in the still great remake called New and Tasty)
Jazz Jackrabbit 1 (Sonic feels soulless compared to this)
Settlers 3
Chrono Trigger (It’s not really a cult classic, because eventually all jrpg fans play this, right, RIGHT?)
Nox
Timesplitters
Def Jam 1/2
Amplitude
EarthBound for the SNES is one of my favorite RPGs. Very original for its time in terms of setting and battle mechanics. Also, Ness from Smash Bros. is in it!
Have you played Eastward? Unless I’m mistaken Earthbound is part of the game and plot. If you like Earthbound you might like Eastward. I enjoyed it even having never played Earthbound but I’m sure I missed a lot of references / analogies.
I played Eastward and really enjoyed it, even though I thought the ending was bittersweet.
I’ve heard reviews compare it to EarthBound and I guess it reminds me of EarthBound stylistically, but plays more like Zelda or something.
There’s a game within the game called Earth Born that plays like a fast-paced Dragon Quest. It’s an interesting game. :D
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Jade Empire.
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy.
Sid Meier’s Pirates.
Sands of Time has the most beautiful cutscenes, that was my favorite part of the game.
Came here to say jade empire. I had completely forgotten about it until someone mentioned it in a post on another lemmy. I promptly found it on a rom site and loaded it on to my steam deck.
Sands of Time was so cool. That series was flawed (Warrior Within was the emo-most game in an era full of emo sequels as the original audience reached adolescence), but I’m sad that it essentially got canceled by warping into AC.
Agreed. I was pretty upset that the series progressed the way it did and the third one…we just don’t talk about that.
So much time spent playing Sid Meier’s Pirates! I think there was a remake that was faithful to the original with updated graphics, and it was great times. Capture ships, attack forts, trade goods.l… just a great game.
Capture ships, attack forts, trade goods.l… just a great game.
I love games in that genre, they’re so endlessly playable. The Mount & Blade series is kind of like a more recent take on that same idea. And X4 Foundations is like that but in space.
Dungeon Keeper, Red Alert 2, Unreal Tournament.
I’m about to finish the main campaign on Dungeon Keeper, and I’ve tried the New Game+ Campaign with KeeperFX. What a blast I had when I was a child.
The last level on the campaign I’ve never beaten. It’s so horribly grindy!
The Age of Empires series, especially AOE2. There’s a nice digitally remastered version on Steam and I think it really holds up.
Wololo!
I’m not an oldschool AoE player, but I love how many people seemed to take an interest in history because of it.
Plus the way they made 3d models for the new sprites was neat! https://www.ageofempires.com/news/age-empires-definitive-edition-3d-2d-game/
That really is super cool!
Age of Mythology was my shit growing up.
Absolutely. I’m about to jump into the third one, which from what I understand is basically a remastered version of 2 with more civilizations to choose from.
I recently got a ps2 and all of the SOCOM games. I’m still working through the first game, but I think 2 was my favorite back in the day. It’s the only game I was aware of at the time that enabled voice commands to the AI, and the first one came out in 2002 I think. i wish they would reboot the series.
I’ve noticed tactical shooters have kind of sat on the back burner. There’s not a lot of selection at the moment. It’s a shame because they offer unique gameplay
