Overrated/Underrated

[axiomenterance]

Name one game that you feel is overrated and one game that is underrated. Remember that overrated doesn't mean bad and underrated doesn't necessarily mean masterpiece. 

Overrated - Half-Life 2 - This is a good game but too much has been made of it. I am a huge fan of the first one and was really excited for the 2nd one when it was released but even though I enjoyed it I felt like and still do feel like it was too influenced by Halo. Vehicle sections were always boring and weird me to with there being no hands on the steering wheel looking like the car or the boat is driving itself and a battle sections with NPC's helping you in a fight felt very forced. Good game with good level design but I actually prefer the first one.

Underrated - Sunset overdrive - Man no one played this game and I couldn't get any of my friends to play this game. I guess it was just too weird for most even though reviews were favorable. To me it felt like if you combined Dead Rising with the movement of Jet Grind Radio. I loved the super bright colors especially coming out of the gray scale 7th generation of games that they were known for. The flow of combat was a blast... literally. It's not a classic but if you want something different in your video game diet I highly recommend this weird, mindlessly fun underplayed gem.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Ahhh Sunset Overdrive.  What a deliciously great game.  The visuals, rail mechanics remind me if jet set radio and ratchet and clank had a baby.  It deserves a 2nd one.  I played it. It was my first XB1 game. And brought me into that generation with glory

I will answer this with the preface that these are solely my opinion. I respect what others like.


OCARINA OF TIME

Overrated - Theirs many. Ocarina of time stands out.. OCARINA OF TIME to me. Is in the shadow by a large margin to even the contemporaries on its own console. Majoras mask was darker, grittier and had better plot
 Metacritic has it above EVERYTHING and thats pure nostalgia goggles.  It's graphics and exploration cant touch windwaker. Its battle and crafting system isnt even close to BOTW and it uses the n64 controller which is basically a hard plastic razor circle attarched to some forbidden boomerang.  Its not even top 5 Zelda games and that should be universally agreed upon but I guess im in the minority.  Theirs not one thing it does better than BOTW. Not one.


Anything Pokemon made after 2016



Underated - The game fracture for ps3 and 360.  Its so underrated nobody knows what it is. You raise the terrain to access new areas. You literally morph the dirt to form tamps and cover mid battle. It was truly ingenious. Always gonna shout it out. 

Also the game stray for ps5, loaded for ps1, state of Emergency for ps2 and crash team racing which has its cult following. But not like Mario Kart 64 does.

[kamikazekeeg]

Name one game that you feel is overrated and one game that is underrated. Remember that overrated doesn't mean bad and underrated doesn't necessarily mean masterpiece. 

Overrated - Half-Life 2 - This is a good game but too much has been made of it. I am a huge fan of the first one and was really excited for the 2nd one when it was released but even though I enjoyed it I felt like and still do feel like it was too influenced by Halo. Vehicle sections were always boring and weird me to with there being no hands on the steering wheel looking like the car or the boat is driving itself and a battle sections with NPC's helping you in a fight felt very forced. Good game with good level design but I actually prefer the first one.

Underrated - Sunset overdrive - Man no one played this game and I couldn't get any of my friends to play this game. I guess it was just too weird for most even though reviews were favorable. To me it felt like if you combined Dead Rising with the movement of Jet Grind Radio. I loved the super bright colors especially coming out of the gray scale 7th generation of games that they were known for. The flow of combat was a blast... literally. It's not a classic but if you want something different in your video game diet I highly recommend this weird, mindlessly fun underplayed gem.

Sunset Overdrive was an insanely underrated game.  When it came to PC, I picked it up and had a ton of fun with it.  Around that time was the first Spider-Man game on Playstation I believe and there were points where I was having just as much, if not more fun than Spider-Man with Sunset Overdrive.  I loved it enough, I got the physical release for it too just to show my love for it lol

Overrated - Gonna leave this blank for the moment till I think of one...

Underrated - Death Stranding - This might be a stretch because it is a successful and critically acclaimed game that is getting a sequel and movie, but I feel like a lot of people played the early 2 chapters of the game, which is kinda the weakest part of the experience and were like "This is neat and weird, but I'm good" and didn't get to the actual proper main game as that first area of the game is almost a tutorial zone that you spend 5 to 10 hours in before you get to the next area and then everything fully opens up.

Having recently replayed it in prep for the sequel, it just brings to the forefront on how good it is.  Yes it's weird and it's got too many cutscenes and most of the game is just walking places, but there's so much detail to the game, the intricacies to the actual walking part, there's a lot of options for traversal and ways to make deliveries easier, while dealing with the threats of Timefall rain and BT's and enemies that want your packages, all with this crazy, intense, story and super interesting characters.  The gameplay loop is also wildly addictive to me.

[bikingjahuty]

Overrated: Earthbound


I have tried multiple times over the last twenty years to get into this game and don't understand all the hype it receives in nearly every corner of the internet. There are people who seemingly worship this game and will tell you with a straight face it's the best JRPG of the 90s, or at least a top 5 RPG on the SNES. The game has some serious competition on the SNES, and it's hard to argue that Earthbound does anything better, or in some cases, even half as good as many of its rivals on that console. I always find this game boring, bland looking most of the time, pretentious, and just annoying. I feel like a group of people who really, really loved this game built up its mystique on message boards starting in the late 90s and into the 2000s, and by the time retro game collecting began to gain traction in the later part of the 2000s, this game's reputation as this amazing JRPG had outgrown the actual merits of of the game. Whenever I say this I always have a lot of people disagree with me, but I feel confident in calling it overrated given how many times I've genuinely tried to understand this game and its appeal, and failed each time.


Underrated: Resident Evil 6


There might be a better example I'm not thinking of, but in terms of games that get a ton of unwarranted hate and are often looked down upon (unjustly imo), it's hard to think of a better example than RE6. I actually expected to hate this game as much as 90% of most other people online when I first played it, but in the end I liked it more than even some older RE games I've played. Yeah, it's essentially what you'd get if Michael Bay directed an RE game, but for what it's worth, the game has a great story, excellent visuals, cool bosses and enemies, and pretty tight gameplay. There are some annoying aspects to the game and it's honestly a bit too long, but it's hard to fault it in many other ways.

[bikingjahuty]

Overrated - Half-Life 2 - This is a good game but too much has been made of it. I am a huge fan of the first one and was really excited for the 2nd one when it was released but even though I enjoyed it I felt like and still do feel like it was too influenced by Halo. Vehicle sections were always boring and weird me to with there being no hands on the steering wheel looking like the car or the boat is driving itself and a battle sections with NPC's helping you in a fight felt very forced. Good game with good level design but I actually prefer the first one.

I love HL2, however I will fully admit it's not a great sequel. In some ways it's almost like a reimagining of the first game, a sort of "what if" scenario that almost feels like it takes place in a parallel dimension. Other than several characters from HL1 and obviously the resonance cascade acting as a beacon for the Combine to invade earth, it's hard to see any sort of link between HL and HL2. With that said, I actually prefer HL2 by a fairly wide margin over the first game, but both are awesome in their own way.

[randomstranger]

Overrated: Fable(: The Lost Chapters).
Aside of the aesthetics, there is really nothing special about it. Just a mediocre action RPG even for the time. Releasing it in the same year as KOTOR II, years after Morrowind, Gothic or Deus Ex and still advertising it as revolutionary. It revolutionized nothing, at best it did its homework.

Underrated: Vanquish
A short, corny, but really entertaining game.

[undertakerprime]

Overrated: Halo (the entire series)
IMO, it only became popular because of the multiplayer. I never play multiplayer, and as a single-player game, Halo is boring as f***. Had to force myself to finish the first game, then rented Halo 2 and quit after 5 minutes because I could tell it was more of the same.

Underrated: Vice Project Doom
It’s criminal how few people seem to know about this game. One of very few NES games to combine multiple genres (action, shooting, driving) and make them all FUN (I’m looking at you, Bayou Billy). And it has Ninja Gaiden-style cutscenes to boot.

[Cartagia]

Overrated: The Metal Gear Solid games.  Tonally whiplash galore, cutscenes that are way too long, clunky weird controls and "aren't I so clever" mechanics.  I could probably deal with any one of these by themselves, but as whole they just don't work for me.

Underrated: 2017's Prey. Hugely fun, incredibly well designed.  Just had the bad luck of coming out in one of the all-time great gaming years.

[bikingjahuty]

Overrated: The Metal Gear Solid games.  Tonally whiplash galore, cutscenes that are way too long, clunky weird controls and "aren't I so clever" mechanics.  I could probably deal with any one of these by themselves, but as whole they just don't work for me.

Agree on this. I desperately want to get into this franchise, but the things you mentioned, along with various other things, as well as me not being the biggest stealth game fan have held me back from becoming a bigger MGS fan. Funny enough, the best MG game I've ever playing was Rising, which is a completely different type of games than the core games which is probably why I enjoyed it lol. I also think Hideo Kojima is a massive edgelord and a lot of his acclaim as a developer comes across as very pretentious.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Overrated: The Metal Gear Solid games.  Tonally whiplash galore, cutscenes that are way too long, clunky weird controls and "aren't I so clever" mechanics.  I could probably deal with any one of these by themselves, but as whole they just don't work for me.

Agree on this. I desperately want to get into this franchise, but the things you mentioned, along with various other things, as well as me not being the biggest stealth game fan have held me back from becoming a bigger MGS fan. Funny enough, the best MG game I've ever playing was Rising, which is a completely different type of games than the core games which is probably why I enjoyed it lol. I also think Hideo Kojima is a massive edgelord and a lot of his acclaim as a developer comes across as very pretentious.

Damn I feel like im in the twilight zone lol. Chef's kiss to all these takes. When Death Stranding came out. It was basically walking simulator 9000. Met with tons of criticism. The game was pretentious slop (to me) and it was met with memes and some criticism but Hideo Kojima not only makes things like that but he also somehow bullies his own player base into believing they are the wrong ones when its met with outrage or negative reviews. With quotes like 

"We were met with some criticisms in America. Perhaps because it is a difficult concept for certain groups to grasp" womp womp womp womp.  (Insert adults speaking in peanuts noises)   

And many other tirades basically assuming that American gamers are incapable mentally of having an IQ sufficient of appreciating his art. The game is just vanilla. Hideo Kojima is impressive for his indipendent work. And how much he loves his art. But he is incapable of constructive criticism. And down talks his core playerbase.  As if hes the god of games and we are all his plebian peasants.


Neil Druckman is entering close to that level. And Im afraid rockstar will do the same.  Developers get too big and do what THEY want not what the player wants. Well try buying your own game then lol.

[bikingjahuty]

Overrated: The Metal Gear Solid games.  Tonally whiplash galore, cutscenes that are way too long, clunky weird controls and "aren't I so clever" mechanics.  I could probably deal with any one of these by themselves, but as whole they just don't work for me.

Agree on this. I desperately want to get into this franchise, but the things you mentioned, along with various other things, as well as me not being the biggest stealth game fan have held me back from becoming a bigger MGS fan. Funny enough, the best MG game I've ever playing was Rising, which is a completely different type of games than the core games which is probably why I enjoyed it lol. I also think Hideo Kojima is a massive edgelord and a lot of his acclaim as a developer comes across as very pretentious.

Damn I feel like im in the twilight zone lol. Chef's kiss to all these takes. When Death Stranding came out. It was basically walking simulator 9000. Met with tons of criticism. The game was pretentious slop (to me) and it was met with memes and some criticism but Hideo Kojima not only makes things like that but he also somehow bullies his own player base into believing they are the wrong ones when its met with outrage or negative reviews. With quotes like 

"We were met with some criticisms in America. Perhaps because it is a difficult concept for certain groups to grasp" womp womp womp womp.  (Insert adults speaking in peanuts noises)   

And many other tirades basically assuming that American gamers are incapable mentally of having an IQ sufficient of appreciating his art. The game is just vanilla. Hideo Kojima is impressive for his indipendent work. And how much he loves his art. But he is incapable of constructive criticism. And down talks his core playerbase.  As if hes the god of games and we are all his plebian peasants.


Neil Druckman is entering close to that level. And Im afraid rockstar will do the same.  Developers get too big and do what THEY want not what the player wants. Well try buying your own game then lol.

Kojima gives me the impression his house is filled with pictures of himself in various poses that he stops to admire on a regular basis. As for Druckman, he seems similar, but in a champagne socialist sort of way. Like he believes his writing is revolutionary when in fact it falls inline with 90% of the other Blackrock ESG fueled crap passed off as entertainment.

[vivigamer]

Overrated - Anything from FromSoftware (Souls/Elden Ring etc.)

Their philosophy on difficulty does not appeal to me. I want to enjoy a gaming experience, not to easy to where it's a breeze but not too difficult to where it becomes frustrating - of course, all FromSoftware games fall into the latter. Whenever I state this the quick response is to "GET GUD!" well I haven't got time in my life to waste hours on a single game with purposefully built high hurdles. Beyond the difficulty I don't care for the way they handle story through hidden notes are lore around the locations, I just find it bland. But what really offends me is the last effect the games have on the industry, games like SIFU & Crash Bandicoot 4 have a followed suit on their difficulty & both were miserable experiences! I played SIFU on their easier mode but then it just became joke! There was no happy medium so the game was just not fun to play. It's also very telling in Crash 4 how they have a costume with Crash wrapped up in bandages...

Underrated - The Bouncer (PS2)
I. LOVE. THIS. GAME! It has Squaresoft storytelling & style with a budget to boot! The game is short so it suffered the same backlash The Order 1886 got with it's length/cutscene ratio but I will defend it by saying you can experience more of the story on 3 playthroughs - Actually, it is best to just select 1 character throughout the campaign rather than swap between each fight. The combat is a little floaty but serviceable and the game has a great pace and feels like playing an action movie! It's also the best example of a 3D Beat 'Em Up I can think of! It's a genre which I want to see have more decently budget titles but sadly nearly all modern Beat 'Em Ups are nostalgia throwbacks - There was SIFU, but as I said it was let down with the difficulty balance. The cutscenes keeps the journey fresh and it's a fun game to finish in an evening. I see the Bouncer slagged off at every mention and I really wish it had more love.

[vivigamer]

Underrated: Resident Evil 6

There might be a better example I'm not thinking of, but in terms of games that get a ton of unwarranted hate and are often looked down upon (unjustly imo), it's hard to think of a better example than RE6. I actually expected to hate this game as much as 90% of most other people online when I first played it, but in the end I liked it more than even some older RE games I've played. Yeah, it's essentially what you'd get if Michael Bay directed an RE game, but for what it's worth, the game has a great story, excellent visuals, cool bosses and enemies, and pretty tight gameplay. There are some annoying aspects to the game and it's honestly a bit too long, but it's hard to fault it in many other ways.

I really like RE6, once you accept it is more of an action game it's a blast! While a little bloated I really do like the narrative for Chirs's campaign. The controls are tight & with Mercenaries Mode there is tons of replay value. it also helps to play co-op. I'm glad we got RE7 but I appreciate RE6 for what it is.