The gaming industry has been riding a wave of success for decades now, as the form of entertainment continues to grow in popularity and prominence. The financial growth of the industry is reflected in the games themselves, as video games today have farsuperior visuals, improved sound design,better-written stories, and are simply much bigger and more complex than they used to be, to the point where it’s hard to believe thatAdventureandGhost of Tsushimawere released just four decades apart.
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Because of gaming’s constant growth, games from years past that still hold up today are worth celebrating. When looking back just ten years, it’s easy to find games that still hold up today, despite being overlooked at the time.
6Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Linewas released at a time when shooters were dominating the gaming industry, with franchises likeCall of Duty,Battlefield, andGears of Warall booming in popularity. Consequently, numerous studios churned out shooting games to try and cash in on the hype.
Because of this,Spec Ops: The Linestruggled to gain much attention, as its run-of-the-mill gameplay made people quick to dismiss it, as there were so many other shooters releasing around the same time. However, the game graduallybuilt a cult followingfor its story, which differentiated itself from most shooters at the time for depicting the horrors of war in truly unsettling and disturbing ways. Unfortunately, many of the game’s messages about war are still relevant today.
5Hitman: Absolution
UnlikeSpec Ops: The Line,Hitman: Absolutionhad a ton of hype leading up to its release, as it was the first game in theHitmanseries since the iconicHitman: Blood Moneyfrom 2006.
IO Interactive shook up the classicHitmanformula withAbsolutionbyreducing the openness and level of freedom from previous games in favor of more railroaded missions and objectives. This move generated backlash from fans, who were essentially hoping for a repeat ofBlood Moneybut with new levels and updated graphics.
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Many fans are now starting to appreciateHitman: Absolution, however, as the critically-acclaimedHitmantrilogy that was released between 2016 and 2021 has a lot of similarities to the 2012 game, which is now seen as a bridge between the classic and modern styles ofHitmangameplay.
4Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3is on this list for a similar reason asHitman: Absolution.Like thestealth game,Max Payne 3received backlash from fans who were upset that the game moved away from its classic gameplay style in favor of a more modern approach.
However, another similarity withHitman: Absolutionis that now the dust has settled, and the initial disappointment over unexpected gameplay changes has subsided, so people are finally able to appreciate the game for what it is.
3Dragon’s Dogma
Dragon’s Dogmais anopen-world action RPGwith a high fantasy setting. The game was first released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 before an enhanced version titledDragon’s Dogma:Dark Arisenwas released on the same consoles along with sporadic releases on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch over the years.
Dragon’s Dogmawas ahead of its time, as it essentiallyoffered a Souls-like experiencebefore the term Souls-like even existed. The game’spunishing difficultywas a deal-breaker for many people in 2012, though now that FromSoftware has reminded mainstream audiences about how rewarding challenging games can be,Dragon’s Dogmais finally starting to get the respect it deserved in 2012.
2Sleeping Dogs
Unfortunately for United Front Games and Square Enix,Sleeping Dogsis no stranger to lists with words like “underappreciated” or “underrated” in the title, as the game struggled to sell in 2012 and was also overlooked by some critics.
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Sleeping Dogsis a spiritual successor to theTrue Crimeseries and puts players in awonderfully well-designed open-world set in Hong Kong. Along with its Hong Kong setting, the game also differentiated itself from other open-world games with its martial arts combat. Due to the popularity of the open-world genre today and how cheap the game can be bought now,Sleeping Dogsis an easy game to recommend for anyone in search of an action-adventure bargain.
1Okami HD
ŌkamiandSleeping Dogsoften go hand-in-hand in lists such as these, as they’re two of the most underappreciated games of all time. As the name suggests,Ōkami HDis an HD remaster of the originalŌkamithat was first released in 2006 on PlayStation 2 before arriving on Nintendo Wii a couple of years later.
Among those who have played the game through to completion,Ōkami HDis considered to be one of thegreatest action-adventure games of all time. However, far too few people have completed the game than what it deserves, as the game has always struggled to sell, and it admittedly has a frustratingly slow opening couple of hours.
The compliment “it’s likeZelda” has been used so much over the years that it’s basically lost its meaning, thoughŌkami HDis a game that is certainly deserving of the comparison, as many people put it on par with some of Link’s best adventures, includingOcarina of Time.
