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 have a very specific genre of games that i absolutely adore and i’d suggest anyone interested take a look at them asap. the genre is japanese ps2 horror games, with standout titles being silent hill, fatal frame, haunting ground, rule of rose, and siren
I recently watched a Twitch streamer play through all of the Fatal Frame games. It was a wild adventure. I heard that there’s a new Fatal Frame game coming out sometime soon and I’m stoked to check it out.
Fatal frame is kind of hit and miss for me personally, but it’s definitely a well treasured part of the ps2 j-horror genre
Gothic 1 and 2. Weird control scheme you have to get used to, but very good games world building snd character wise. Can be quite challenging with the combat, but quest allow tons of ways to solve problems.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.
Jade Empire.
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy.
Sid Meier’s Pirates.
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.
Sands of Time has the most beautiful cutscenes, that was my favorite part of the game.
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.
That was such a cool game! I remember I had this really weird fixation on marrying the Governer’s daughter from Curacao.
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.
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.
One of the later SNES games called Secret of Evermore!
It’s kind-of a spiritual successor to Secret of Mana, but with a more sci-fi bent.
I love this game! Always loved how the dog changed to match the setting.
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
Nox
Timesplitters
Def Jam 1/2
Amplitude
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.
- Shenmue: Rereleased with a wonderful port on PC/Xbox One/Playstation 4 in 2018, it’s an investigative adventure game that takes place in a small town in Japan in 1986. The thing that sticks out to me about it is how unlike any other game in its class before or since, it feels like an authentic depiction of a regular-ass suburb from that period, from people who lived in similar places growing up.
- Freespace 2: Space dogfighting game that gets right to the point, feels intense, and while you’re there you find yourself in the middle of an excellent sci-fi radio drama. Holds up great today when you pair your purchased GOG copy with the fan-maintained Freespace Open Source Project engine. Joystick + Keyboard control recommended, but Mouse + Keyboard is fine!
I don’t think it’s fair to call it a cult classic just yet since the game is rather recent, but eventually i think Kenshi. It’s a really fun game although very grindy and i’m not even sure which genre it belongs to. Also it’s very moddable to fit even more to your preferences. It’s been quite a while since i played it, but i’ll share a little story: I started the game for the first time and i wanted to make a “waifu squad” consisting of only women so i did. Worked my ass of mining copper and selling it in order to hire more ladies. Eventually my two ladies started to build a base near where i was mining copper and then one day, the “prayer day” (or whatever it was called) came and an army of crusaders came to spread the word of god. The bishop asked my main lady if there was any men in this settlement and of course i answered no there is none. To them it was blasphemy to not have any men in a settlement and the army slaughter my two ladies like it was nothing. Too bad i lost this save since i’ve gotten a new PC because i would’ve wanted to go on with my vengeance story, but maybe i’ll fire it up again.
It’s a really fun game although very grindy and i’m not even sure which genre it belongs to.
Absurdist sandbox?
It’s a game I’ve never managed to get into, but it can be rather wild to watch others’ antics.
Was the experience you described multiplayer or were those NPCs?
They’re NPCs. Not sure about mods, but the base game doesn’t have any multiplayer.
Dungeon Keeper, Red Alert 2, Unreal Tournament.
You’ve just described my childhood
A blessed childhood indeed!
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!
Maybe Shenmue and maybe Unreal Tournament 2004 :D
Absolutely UT 2004. I reinstalled it a couple years ago and it holds up quite well. Especially the Onslaught (a classic Battlefield-like) game mode is still so much fun. And the bots aren’t just braindead idiots. They really want your guts, so you don’t need other humans for a good time. They even insult you over voice chat!
…plus, the female announcer…
And the voices when you kill too much people… ultra kill, mega kill haha
I’d heartily recommend Fallout 1, with a less enthusiastic recommendation for Fallout 2
Just going to be that guy here but Fallout is neither forgotten nor a cult classic.
Edit just to be more productive: Arcanum is a classic isometric RPG that fits the post much more accurately imo.
Oh Arcanum is a great pick!
And you’re right, Fallout’s not exactly forgotten - although it was a cult hit at the time, and I’d argue the original still is in a way.
I’m gonna agree that the first two are more or less forgotten/less discussed than the newer games.
Happy to see my boy Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura in there.
If you are not averse to 90’s isometric PC RPGs, it is a breathtaking journey through fantasy industrial revolution. Think mages, flintlocks, steram engines, and wonderfully elaborate facial hair. But also, think side-quests so good, they’d be the main attraction in some lesser games. Think evocative world-building scored by entirely by melancholic cellos, violins and violas. Think quests without any other markers than the clues indicated in your journal.
It’s not balanced by any means, you’ll need community patches for it to not die on you the second it launches, combat is good neither in the turn by turn or real time mode, and in the last stretch, the game looses quite a bit of its momentum. It takes quite a game to make all this unimportant in the face of everything else it does perfectly.
Ogre Battle on the SNES is the original auto-battler. I would really recommend Ogre Battle 64 though, not only is it one of the very few RPGs on the system but it’s got really unique gameplay. It’s got its flaws but I’m such a sucker for the character designs and job/class system that it’s still my favorite game to this day.
Love the OG Ogre Battle. I played that game like crazy. I always appreciated how you could revisit locations for loot and battles.
I loved Ogre Battle 64. To date, I can’t remember playing anything else quite like it.
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?)
My answer to that question is always “King of Dragon Pass”, a narrative/management game that is unlike anything else out there. It got a spiritual successor with “Six Ages”.
I just grabbed it on Steam for $2! Looking forward to trying it out.
Have fun! It’s a weird little game, but I am always happy when it finds some new players.
