7 Underrated Games Only Real Gamers Have In Their Collection

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:05]Yes. Hello. You've caught me packing all of the essentials for my upcoming holiday.

[00:00:14]That's right. After nearly 2 years of filming these Friday features back to back, I'm taking some time off. So, I'm leaving the team to deal with almost everything in my absence. And I'll come back to do the last bits at the end because, you know, I'm the real voice of these videos. the true gamer that keeps the walls from falling in. And yet, despite all of that, I am still massively underrated. It's a bit like those video games you adore that you'll go to bat for time and time again, but never seem able to convince people they're worth playing, even though they absolutely are. There could be hundreds of reasons why, but it doesn't really matter. The point is, those games deserve more respect. Huh, maybe that's the angle for this video. So, here are seven games only real gamers have in their collection that only real gamers appreciate AND THAT YOU'LL MISS WHEN THEY'RE GONE.

[00:01:11]>> Why would they ever be gone?

[00:01:13]>> Anyway, let's get started.

[00:01:16]I say we start with Returnal. Think about it. Housemark managed to create a brand new world that took the bullet hell intensity of Reser Gun and Next Machina and built it into a 3D rogike you literally can't put down. But the fact I can talk about a game this essential and still people look at me like I'm a dog trying to discuss particle physics means it has to be underrated. And to be fair, any game caught between the launch of PS5 and God of War Ragnarok was always going to slip under the radar, which is a shame because Returnal is still a standout of the PlayStation 5 catalog to this day.

[00:01:50]Despite recently celebrating its fifth birthday, people wore parasites instead of party hats. There were obelite candles. Hyperion played a towering oporatic version of Happy Birthday, but then regrettably fired waves of energy balls at all the guests. It smartly reconfigures the balletic arcade action Housemark is known for into a looping roguelike. And then its master stroke, it maps the psychologically fractured story of lost scout Seline onto that loop, offering a breadcrumb trail of emotional insight that makes tantalizing half sense of the otherworldly biomes and bosses that constitute the core game. I mean, it's an actual masterpiece. And that is why Returnal is an underrated game that only real gamers own. It's not underrated.

[00:02:34]>> What do you mean?

[00:02:35]>> It's not underrated.

[00:02:36]>> What do you mean?

[00:02:36]>> It's a AAA game. By definition, it can't be bigger.

[00:02:39]>> All right. Well, what do you think is underrated?

[00:02:41]>> Ouxenfree. To start with, it's an indie game, which means it's underrated by default. And who doesn't love a coming of age narrative adventure presented in watercolor that leaps right off the screen and into your heart. It doesn't hurt that it also features some of the best and most realistic dialogue I've ever come across in a video game before.

[00:02:57]Yeah, Oxenfree was doing time loops before it was cool. The story follows Alex and Co.'s investigation of supernatural going on across Edward's Island, haunted by the ghost of its only former inhabitant and drenched in mysterious military activity. But it's when everything starts to get weird and strained friendships start to fray that the writing starts to really come alive.

[00:03:15]These characters aren't just video game NPCs. They're fully realized, complicated people that you can't help but feel for. That's why it's the perfect underrated.

[00:03:22]>> Isn't Auction free critically acclaimed?

[00:03:25]>> Yeah. I mean, you can literally play it on your mobile phone.

[00:03:27]>> Yeah. And it's got a sequel.

[00:03:29]>> Fine. Forget it. Then >> you know what game you can't play on your mobile phone? Marvel's Midnight Suns. The amazing tactical RPG from the team behind the XCOM series. Another underrated game, by the way. And when I say brilliant, I do mean in every sense of the word. Innovative deck building combat, check. Engaging story filled with your favorite superheroes, check.

[00:03:50]Relationship simulation that I definitely don't enjoy even more than the other two things. Oh, check. When a game is this mechanically satisfying and comes served with this many cherries on top, I find it baffling that hardly anyone has played it. The pedigree alone should be enough to convince people that it deserves a place in everyone's collection. Let alone the fact that it's flipping brilliant. But it's not everyone's collection. Only the collections of a true game. You can't be calling a Marvel title underrated.

[00:04:18]That's like saying that Titanic is your favorite underrated movie.

[00:04:22]>> Yeah, it is my favorite.

[00:04:23]>> Oh, platinum it.

[00:04:24]>> NO ONE CARES. SAYS.

[00:04:26]>> SO, what even is an underrated game?

[00:04:31]>> What about Bombra Shyber Funk, which is such a hidden gem, it's the spiritual successor to an underrated retro game that only real gamers have in their collection. This cell-shaded love letter to Jetet Radio's hyper futuristic Japan is so fabulously throwback, it could only be more naughties if it were Dave's music taste. Just kidding, Dave. Limp Biscuit's still super cool.

[00:04:54]But like all things style, it comes in waves. And now that 2000's fashion is cool again, it feels like the perfect time to introduce gamers to this low-key classic. Think about it. How many other games let you play as an amnesiac graffiti artist that has his head chopped off by a vinyl record or roller blade through an oil rig to the coolest soundtrack ever? None, basically. And if you haven't done those things, then you're not a real gamer because >> platinum that one, too.

[00:05:22]>> Shut up. Well, hang on. I'm really good at games and I've got the Platinum, so it must be for real gamers. And I've platinum another Crabs Treasure, so it's clearly a game that real gamers have in their collection. It's also flipping great. And before you start making jokes, it's not because I only really enjoy Hard Souls likes. And yeah, it is that, but it's also lots of other things, including massively underrated.

[00:05:45]It's a vibrant underwater adventure filled with whimsical characters and general silliness of the sort not usually found in these tough as nails action adventures. You won't stop grinning the entire time your claws are chomping through the other crustations on the ocean floor. Anyway, none of that actually mattered because I can prove it's an underrated gem with simple algebra. It's very simple. You take souls like you times that by sea creatures if you could spell >> two minutes later. If you take that, multiply it by PSN completion rate over rewards plus X over Y times by four.

[00:06:23]Remember that bit has to be in brackets.

[00:06:24]>> Alex, please. This stopped making any sense hours ago. It's been 2 minutes.

[00:06:30]Hold on. Alex, you have the platinum for My Name is Mayo.

[00:06:33]>> Oh, yeah. Oh, well.

[00:06:37]So, we have nothing.

[00:06:41]Not quite nothing. 13 Sentinels Eegis Rim is a game most of you probably haven't heard of, but it's honestly one of the most interesting games I've ever played. Made by Atlas, the developers behind the Persona series. It's 50% real-time strategy, 50% sidescrolling adventure, and 100% bonkers. You play as 13 teenagers that fight in mechs to stop a kaiju from ending the world. It's classic anime stuff. Put that to one side, though, and the nonlinear presentation of the story that you have to piece together from each individual character's perspectives creates one of the most emotional roller coaster rides of a plot this side of a Metal Gear game. Seriously, do yourself a favor and check this out because it absolutely slaps on all levels. So, what do you think?

[00:07:22]>> Good idea, Joe.

[00:07:23]>> Yeah, good job. But you know what? That can go in, but we have still only got one game after all this. How on earth are we going to decide another six games?

[00:07:34]Isn't it obvious it's Death Stranding 2?

[00:07:37]>> I can't believe they missed it. Hideok Khjima's incredible sequel may have appeared on countless game of the year lists, won loads of awards, and been nominated for many more, as well as taking the most prestigious prize in gaming by being my game of the whole generation. But it deserves more, and that's why it's an underrated game only real gamers have in their collection.

[00:08:00]>> I'm sorry. The comments are going to absolutely destroy us if we put their Stranding 2 in it. This is an absolute joke.

[00:08:06]>> Agreed. But if we can't agree on what makes an underrated game, then how the hell are we going to finish this list?

[00:08:13]>> I mean, at this rate, we're not even going to finish the video.

[00:08:16]>> Yeah. And Rob, if we miss this Friday, you are so fired. What if What if we make this the video?

[00:08:26]That is the stupidest idea I have ever Well, apparently that was seven underrated games only real gamers have in their collection. I don't buy it. But if you enjoyed this video, then make sure to give it a like and leave a comment about what games you think are underrated gems down below. And if you want to see more silliness like this and keep up to date with all things PlayStation, then make sure to subscribe and click the notification bell. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.

[00:09:04]Great song.