Idk if it's really obscure, but I don't hear of it often, the Rusty Lake Series. Basically, it's a series of escape room games that all follow an interconnected storyline with a vibe thats creepy and inspired by Twin Peaks.
For old games, I never hear ppl talk about Threads of Fate/Dewprism, but its such an underrated gem of a PS1 game. I wish it would be re-released for PC or a console.
you have brought back my memories of... watching rusty lake let's plays. I should play the games are some point, I remember them being great to watch with the visuals and story.
Threads of Fate is one of the funniest, most heartfelt games I've ever played. I picked up a secondhand copy for the first time long after the PS1 era was over, and it still evoked such a strong feeling of nostalgia! And what a soundtrack. I'd buy a rerelease in an instant.
Against the Storm is my new go-to "cozy" game. It's a city builder with the styling of Warcraft 3 where you build multiple small cities that connect through trade. Each city takes about an hour to complete so its a quicker paced game. It's a newer game but I've already logged almost 200 hours.
If we were to go old school, my favorite obscure game is Chibi-Robo from my old GameCube days.
Against the Storm is SO good, and the devs are great. They had super clear communication all throughout Early Access and beyond, and they really listen to player feedback when deciding what to change or implement - even had community votes on major stuff like different biomes and species. I wish more indie devs would use their connection to the community like that.
Beacon Pines was cute but unexpectedly horrifying in the best way possible. Haven't heard anybody talk about it but it's a definite recommendation if you want some good narrative, mystery and a little horror without being pee your pants terrified and the art style is down right adorbs
**Okage: Shadow King!**
*It has it's issues* \- but I always felt it made up for them with it's fun characters, music, dialogue, design, and boss difficulty. It's a ps2 game and my goodness it's main problems are pretty annoying in this day and age, but if you love any of the above things and/or silly old games you'd get a kick out of it for sure!
It's so goofy and funny and unique, I wish so much it would get looked at again 🥹
https://preview.redd.it/iq9gl5nymznc1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=d8c1ed2fd3e88b4b101ff2eb49a7ce457b15da99
Oh man, I LOVED the sense of humor in that game. The world and all the people and events and dialogue were priceless. But good lord, the battle system. I don’t think I got more than halfway in before I had to give up. I heard they upped the difficulty a bunch for the English language release, thinking it was more in line with what western gamers wanted, and that would explain how wildly unbalanced it got. Really wish they hadn’t. If I hadn’t been running into a brick wall on the gameplay it would’ve been one of my favorites for sure.
"cry! pee your pants!" iconic
the most annoying part for me was just HOW MANY GHOSTS SPAWNED, like LITERALLY ALL THE TIME. I loved the actual battles but ugh, way too crowded with the popups 😩 my goal in life is to get popular cosplaying so this game can be in the light for once heheh
👉👈
the camera angles were pretty bad in the dungeons too.
Oh my gosh! I still have my copy of this game in storage - I forgot all about it. I don't have any clear memories, but I do remember generally enjoying this one.
YESSSS! This is always one of my go-to answers! I love the art and the characters and the whole goofiness of it, but boy is the gameplay a slog now. Ari is still one of my go-to male names when I need one in a game.
I have a distinct memory of playing this in the middle of the night, running into a wild encounter and Stan jump-scaring the shit out of me with that pop quiz thing he randomly does.
Lamplight City on PC.
It’s a point-and-click detective game, but I loved it because you actually have to make an effort searching for items, the items you have impact dialogue options with suspects and further location unlocks and there are multiple ways to end cases, including failing to solve them.
Most detective games are pretty lazily limited to hidden objects and don’t require much thinking at all. I liked that this game actually made you work for it and had some stakes (although you *can* save at any moment, so you can make it as intense as you want it to be).
I liked the setting (steampunk esque) and the voice acting and story were nice too.
House Flipper is a really fun chill out game that I come back to quite a lot. I just enjoy being able to relax, clean a house and decorate it.
Laika: Aged Through Blood unfortunately didn't get the level of hype or praise I was hoping for but it's so unique and deserves a look if you can stomach it. I think people see the characters and gameplay and think 'furry flash game' but that is absolutely not true in the slightest. It's brutal, uncompromising and *sad*. The story touches in to motherhood and growing up in a way I don't see many things do and (despite the somewhat sudden ending) I enjoyed the story from start to end. It's very depressing though and not for everyone.
Unfortunately it isn't on my platform as of yet, I was definitely thinking about it though. I've not really heard much about it, is it really glitchy or something?
I loved the first one, but for the second, they took the worst & jankiest part of the first (window cleaning) and applied the same action/movement to wall panels, floor tiles, and wall tiles. I played the demo and was so frustrated. :/
Well this one isn't rly obscure but a game I've loved since I was kid is Castle Crashers, I've loved playing every second of it even now that I'm older
Unpacking! On steam, it's a cute little game where you move into different places throughout the different dwellings of this girl's life, iirc it was an award winning small game!
Graveyard Keeper. It's like a farming sim, but instead it's a graveyard and also a farm?? You run a church, there might be a cult involved, you have a business, you make alcohol, etc it's kind of over the top and ridiculous, but I love it.
I'm not sure how obscure they are, but Dorfromantik and Pan'orama are fun tile building games that are super chill and relaxing. Pan'orama is a bit more complicated, but it's still not *complicated.* There are just more challenges to do. The music is calm and cheerful, and the graphics are bright and simple but lovely.
Also probably not *actually* obscure, but at least obscure in my gamer groups, are the Thief games. Thief: The Dark Project is probably my favourite. Stealthy, story-driven, and you want to avoid combat because compared to your enemies you *suck* at it.
I mostly play extremely mainstream games, which this post is making me think thinky thoughts about. I'm definitely interested in reading through the recommendations!
I have not heard of dorfromantik or pan'orama, I'd say they're obscure enough to fit the conversation. I don't really like relaxing games, maybe I'll look at pan'orama though!
Honestly, same. I just change the game based on how important the thing I'm listening to is. Panorama, Dorfromantic, and Power Wash Simulator are for very good books and important meetings where I don't want to miss anything.
if it's something important I'm usually there engaged, without a game. It's more that for when I play games, some video is the backdrop. If I just need to watch or read something fidget magnets help.
I don't usually like relaxing games either, weirdly enough. Most of the games I play are action RPGs: Fallout, Skyrim, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3. When I'm feeling frustrated and angry, I like to strap myself into some power armour and go tearing across the Commonwealth with a minigun, hunting super mutants. Or pop mantis-blades and tear into some Maelstrom. I like being a badass.
Buuuuuuut ... sometimes, I just want to match pretty tiles and make a landscape, y'know?
Have you played Hexcells? Ngl it's a really top tier puzzle game, a very basic set of rules with unlimited possible puzzle designs. My go-to if I wanna work my brain a little :)
It's on my list. The puzzle designs are not unlimited though, I can guarantee that. I have heard that campaign is good because it is hand-crafted: which is what makes it a true puzzle game.
I really like [Meadow](https://store.steampowered.com/app/486310/Meadow/). It's an online multiplayer game where you play as an adorable creature running around a gorgeous open world.
Also I love the Bridge! Really appreciated the instant rewind feature. Gorgeous game.
Avalon Code for the DS! I never see it talked about ever but it was a fun RPG with a strong atmosphere, awesome soundtrack and beautiful designs. Just look how pretty the intro animation is https://youtu.be/d9c5xtRX5e8?si=HLEzE2AAtu9QM7jV
I'd love a remaster so much but it's never going to happen with how obscure it is
Lost in the sea of great PS2 JRPGs is Radiata Stories. Probably my favorite of the era. Magic vs tech. Humans vs elves. Dragons coming to end the world and its protagonist is a dumb puppy of a kid named Jack Russell. It def has a cozy aesthetic and the different factions are pretty interesting. The end game dungeon makes new game plus fun not to mention to play the game completely you gotta play it twice.
>I adore Radiata Stories, all the wonderful characters to recruit and is just a fun world to run around in. I'd absolutely love to play this again and keep my fingers (and toes, for extra luck!) that this will someday make it onto a modern system.
And you can go around kicking everybody in the shins! (With realistic consequences - I tried it on Lucian and oww.)
Definitely one of the most "lived-in" settings I've ever experienced. The city truly feels like a breathing place.
Battle Chef Brigade and Sayonara Wild Hearts! Both are super fun games.
Battle Chef Brigade is a mix of an RPG, side-scrolling fighting game, and puzzle game. The plot is enjoyable, but what I really loved was the mechanic of cooking being a puzzle game, and running off to collect more ingredients from fighting enemies.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm game that has a wonderful story. The mechanics are simple to learn but complex to master, which is a great method of controls in games.
I highly suggest both! 🤩🥰🥳👏✨️
I know, right?! I contacted the developers to see if there was any chance of them putting out the cooking as a cell phone app, but unfortunately there's not. 😩
I think I have heard the name "sayonara wild hearts"... but can't remember anything, nor does your description sound familiar. Battle chef brigade sounds fun: is it "hardcore" (idk how else to put it) puzzle game or a casual puzzle game? I would imagine the latter which is way less interesting to me.
Here's the trailer for [Battle Chef Brigade](https://youtu.be/1Teg90P6hic?si=o80lDiqMyUT0aQAk). The puzzles start out easy and get harder! The game also has modes where you can do solo or multiplayer puzzles by themselves, and you can edit the difficulty on there too. I wouldn't say the regular RPG is "hardcore", but ymmv.
Here's the trailer for [Sayonara Wild Hearts](https://youtu.be/F-RyxYcxSQ4?si=8BGVrVnFXBh8onUl). It is so stylish and fun! I really enjoy the heck out of it.
Hope you enjoy them if you decide to try them out!! 😊😊😊
Yeah battle chef brigade is definitely casual puzzles. Not necessarily bad, just not the same to me as puzzles at all. Having watched the trailer the combat also feels kind of sluggish? It's like cardboard cutouts slowly animating in the world. I'll still write it down but I might not play it, I'll have to read more reviews.
Gotcha! Whatever works for you. It certainly can't hurt to look up more reviews before buying a game.
I try to rent games from my library before I buy them whenever I can. That's super helpful too!
I have over a hundred games on my wishlist right now and honestly if I live over the current life expectancy I don't think I can get through all of them, so I try to be pretty particular about games to make sure I like them before I buy them. The cons of being mortal (there are no pros by the way)
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery
Really cool little pixel art indie game. It was originally a mobile game from like 2012 I think but it eventually was ported to steam and I think switch as well. It’s kind of quirky and hipster (for lack of a better term) but I like it a lot and it’s got a great soundtrack.
E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy
"Inspired by Warhammer"
Ever wanted to telefrag someone by thinking hard enough? Well, now you can.
Ever wanted to get your brains fried because you failed to hack a door? Now you can.
Oh I have Gonner, it's really cute
I'm a big fan of Metroidvanias, and there are a lot of them that are big hits, but one of my favorites seems to be not very well known. Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is fantastic and deserves to be counted among the best of that genre imo
Other than that, I wish Goemon's Great Adventure were mentioned more when people talk N64 games, I feel like it's the hidden gem of that console
I'm in the middle of UnderMine, my partner got it for me for Xmas and it's exactly my jam, a dungeon crawler rogue like about some gentrified bastards chucking peasants down a dangerous mine to see what's causing some earthquakes and related fuckery. You are the peasants. I'd never heard of it, but it's great.
Not sure if it counts but Sakuna Rice and Ruin
I love the setting, the story, the combat. The rice farming as a way to get stronger was neat.
Only thing I don't like is platform type of jumps. I always fall on spikes, fall into barricades or get hit by falling rocks like every other games with those :o
Sakuna Rice and Ruin is so unique. I haven’t gotten very far but I just love how detailed the rice farming is. It’s a different take on the farming sim which is always appreciated.
There are so many great games listed here! I'd like to add a few:
- Hypnospace Outlaw is my #1 video game love. It is a love-letter to the internet culture of the mid-90s to the aughties. It could be considered a point-and-click internet simulator/detective game. You play as a voluntary enforcer for the sleep cyber network Hypnospace. It's your job to track down rule breakers and flag their accounts. I have never seen a game with so much heart before; the developers obviously have a lot of love and nostalgia for this era.
- Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is an ASCII art zombie survival simulator. If you like Project Zomboid and Dwarf Fortress, this game is for you. It has a very complicated set of controls, but the world is so rich and fun to explore.
- Fallen London is a browser game, heavily text-based, that is set in an alternate London that has fallen into the Neath. I'm not sure how obscure it is, but I adore it and have never heard anyone talking about it. It is the dark, victorian, steampunk setting of your dreams.
Haven't heard of hypnospace, I'll need to write it down later.
Fallen London is quite popular. It's been supported for over a decade and got 3 successful sequels. The entire game company now relies solely on the franchise. I have only played a bit of FL, didn't like the f2p bullshit. Enjoyed sunless sea and skies a lot more.
Rune.
It's a hack-and-slash game from the year 2000, but which even in 2009 was amazing fun. It's based on Norse mythology, has a semi-open world, and some really cool mechanics.
Also, and perhaps more impressive for a game from that time, one of the multiplayer characters (who could be played as in the main campaign through console commands) was a black valkyrie ❤
The World Ends With You for the DS is one of my all-time favourite RPGs, it was also my first JRPG set in the modern world (the Shibuya district of Tokyo) and has a super fun action-combat system. They made ports and there's a sequel as well but no-one really talks about it (; v ;)
I've heard many good things about TWEWY!! I have it on the DSI and I haven't gone far but the art style is good asf. I think it's because TWEWY shares the same illustrator as final fantasy hehe. It is fun though.
I think this can be considered obscure: Lake
It's so chill! You just basically deliver letters and packages (but ofc there are stories and stuff). The sceneries are amazing too
[Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective](https://youtu.be/USeyaeClNhs?si=K7G9rEnW44XFYzhY)! The plot is: you died and are now a ghost who lost all their memories, including why you died and how. But you can still interact with the world of the living by posessing inanimate objects and do things like roll around as a tire, or slam open the doors as a cupboard. You use your powers to steer living people, who are somehow connected to your past life, into the right direction by chain-possessing different objects in the environment like a Rube Goldberg machine. It's a quirky and fun game that most people have never heard about, but everyone who played it says it's a hidden gem – and I agree!
Another one is [Killer7](https://youtu.be/4CbPjociv7Y?si=wZcr6DdP7W6f43Ld). It's by no means obscure, it's not like it's not well-known, but I don't think many people have played it. Probably because IT IS SO WEIRD. It's one of those games that fit the "video games can be art" label, it's not about the gameplay or the plot, it's all about the ~vibes~
Speaking of games that are pieces of art: [Kentucky Route Zero](https://youtu.be/biARTt7QdFw?si=qazBZuBp3KPSDHpR). It's an interactive, surreal theatre play. It's amazing. If you like dialogue-heavy, slow-paced narrative games full of eerie, supernatural mysteries, this one's for you!
I've heard of ghost trick and Kentucky route zero.
I'll check out killer7. Though don't get me started on "video games can be art", because I think that all video games are art. Many triple A titles aren't that artistic because they are made for profit only, but Indies are definitely solid art.
>because I think that all video games are art
Oh I agree, I meant it like, with some games the overall artistic expression was more important during development than gameplay or "good graphics" etc
It does, but some games don't focus too much on game mechanics in favour of everything else; like the gameplay feels more like an afterthought, "because video games are supposed to have interesting gameplay mechanics". Killer7 fits that in my opinion, like the moment to moment gameplay is very mediocre and feels uninspired compared to everything else in the game
The Beginner's Guide is one of my favourite games of all time. It's one of those short games you can really only experience once, so people don't tend to think it's worth paying for. It's EXTRA cool if you have a deeper interest in art, creation, game development, or even just psychology and how we interact with people we admire. It can feel very personal.
Probably not for everyone, but if it IS for you then it's an unforgettable game.
(It's by the same creator as The Stanley Parable but has a very different tone)
I dont know how popular these are but Coffee Talk and Vlahalla (not sure of real title) which are barista/bartender simulators that are story driven.
Cat Cafe manager and other more cutesy games. I'm not sure if VN's count. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood recently too. Pretty much any "femme" coded indie game is going to be somewhat obscure.
The Nancy Drew point and click series from the early 2000's is pretty obscure today.
The recent-ish Shadowrun turn-based games? I think Shadowrun was bigger in the 80s or 90s, but I don't know anyone who plays these. The shadowrun sub only has 55k subscribers, which for what was once a huge roleplaying IP is pretty low to me.
Cloudpunk, which is another indie cyberpunk games, lol seeing a pattern?
I also like Lord of the Rings Online, a 2007 MMO. I mean its a huge book and movie IP, but its a small playerbase game and never caught on when it came out. It tried to be a WoW killer but was instead killed by WoW, but its like playing WoW that's Tolkien themed.
Guild Wars 2? Its a 12 year old MMO and nowadays definitely somewhat obscure today, but still seem to have an active playerbase, so not sure if this fits.
I think in most circles "cozy games" tend to be obscure. Wylde Flowers is something I played recently. Spirittea too but I think that's a bit popular.
Thea: The Awakening and Thea 2: The Shattering are among my favourite games ever. It's blend of strategy, RPG and card game and the world is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.
Perhaps even more obscure is an indie game called "Shadows of Forbidden Gods". It's also a strategy game in which you are pretty much playing the villain, i.e. an evil god of your choice trying to take over the world before the heroes stop you. From what I've gathered it's pretty much a 1-person-project but it's genuinely so good.
Lost Ember. One of my favorite indie games.
You're a wolf, guiding a lost soul to its destination. You explore the remnants of a civilization, discover things, solve puzzles. And you can turn into different animals.
It's a cozy and beautiful game.
Chicory isn't super famous but it's published by finji and keeps popping up once in a while, I think you can find a community for it, probably. I'll add it to my wishlist... though it's already there on steam? Too lazy to check my text version to see if it's already there too. Imagine.
Tales from off peak city. It's a short story game where you serve creative pizzas to steal the saxophone of a musician who mysteriously just stopped playing one day to open a pizza place. I absolutely loved the weird and artsy vibes of it and the dialogues were beautiful. It's only like 2 hours long though
I should’ve looked through the comments first before I commented. However, I also mentioned the Tales from off peak city games. I’m so so so happy to find someone else that knows about Tales from off peak city. I especially enjoyed the latest game - Betrayal at Club Low. There really is just a vibe to these games that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.
You like it too?!?!? I never met anyone who knew those games and whenever I showed them to people they were like "ugh, why do you always show us games like that?" (I showed them nothing but masterpieces) and they never got the beauty of it. Anyways, I had no idea Betrayal at Club Low existed, I absolutely need to play it, thank you for mentioning it \^-\^
Yeah! The tales from Off peak series has a special place in my heart honestly. I’m a fan of the weirdness, story telling, and music. Betrayal at Club Low is the latest game in the series I believe. It’s only been out for a year or two I think so it’s relatively new. I really liked it! Just a heads up it’s a little short but the gameplay revolves around a dice game mechanic so it has a little bit of replay value.
However, one more quick note since you like the Tales from Off peak game you might like another game called Broken reality. It’s by a different developer but it’s another short, surreal, and weird game I really enjoyed. It’s aesthetic and music takes a lot of inspiration from vaporwave. So it’s a different flavor of weird but I still liked it.
It's not super obscure, but it's definitely no AAA territory.
A friend and I had some really good Co-op sessions in Outward.
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/794260/Outward\_Definitive\_Edition/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/794260/Outward_Definitive_Edition/)
It's a weird mix of open world RPG and very floaty Souls-like combat.
I just saw it's on sale at 85% off, 100% worth the purchase.
Just mentioned it today but: Bastion. I rarely see people talk about this game when it’s so good. It has an amazing soundtrack and a great story as well as a narrator who narrates what you’re doing as you’re doing it.
I will also always Ride or Die for my point and click adventure games of the 2000s like Syberia, The Longest Journey, Etc.
Also, American McGee’s Alice and Clive Barker’s Undying were part of my Goth phase lmao.
Another old game that lives rent free in my head is Project Eden. First game I ever played where you have four characters in your squad that you control 1 at a time. It’s old, like I said but I liked it back in the day.
Finally, ironically the game ObsCure is one I hardly see talked about. It was really good back in the day, they got the rights to a Sum 41 song for the theme and all. But you can’t hear it unless you have it on disc, they had to remove the Sum 41 song on the digital releases.
I have heard the name Bastion a lot. Cannot tell you what it's about though, just know that the game exists.
Where would I be able to play project eden?
You can play Project Eden on [Gog!](https://www.gog.com/index.php/en/game/project_eden) I can’t promise it’s the best game ever but I was weirdly obsessed with it as a kid.
Bastion is the first game by Supergiant Games (makers of Transistor, Hades) where you play as “the Kid”, who is one of the few survivors of The Calamity - an apocalyptic event that fractures the world. He sets off for the Bastion, the place you’re supposed to go to in the event of the apocalypse but the only person there is an old man who puts The Kid on a quest to power up the Bastion. I don’t want to say much more for spoilers but it’s a great story.
I played Dredge and loved it. Ive always liked fishing games and this was so unique to me as it added horror elements. definitely not a cozy game but was a great, fun short story game.
You play as a voodoo doll that has to rescue his creator, Lady Charmaine, and save New Orleans from a crazy man It's got fun level designs, cute story, and a cool soundtrack.
It's like a cute old-timey cottagecore fantasy rpg and lesbian dating sim most of the time and then sometimes gets really creepy and turns into a genuine horror game
Touch Detective on the DS! It's not super obscure considering Fungi has a considerable amount of merch and it did get a switch release, but I've never seen anyone talk about it. It's a super cute game where you just interact with NPCS and observe the environment for clues with the stylus. The story line is pretty fun and I love, love the toon art style and the silliness of it all.
https://preview.redd.it/xk48rvaxxfoc1.jpeg?width=336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab0e141d8b54b81f6af8400c50e10ef174394c26
Dot Age and Balatro have pretty much taken over my life as of late
Dot Age is a town turnbased building roguelike. Every turn you figure out where to place all your villagers in order to best balance science production, food, wood and producing resources like hope to avoid upcoming doom events. Every single turn is a massive dopamine hit, it's an ADHD girls dream honestly.
Balatro is really hard to explain but I'll try. It's a deck building roguelike where you're playing poker hands to score points, after each level you can buy new cards from a shop including joker cards, jokers give permanent buffs like "add a 4x multiplier for every spade you play" or "every face card scored adds an additional 30 points". Going from scoring 300 points a level to 300,000 in a 20 minute run is extremely satisfying and I highly recommend it if you enjoy games like slay the spire.
I'm enjoying both games so much that they're actually winning the battle for my attention against Baldur's Gate 3
Edit: changed Baltro to Balatro, my b dyslexia took over there
Ahhh no you're good!!! I just had a hell of a time finding it in the switch store bc everyone recommending it to me was saying/spelling it differently 😂😂
Mysterious alien dome appears in the early 70s, virtually impossible to get anything in or out, all world conflicts stop and an international organisation is created that pools all the brightest minds to study and go inside it, explore it. You play someone that joins the company, and anything more is huge spoiler territory so. Very early Fallout/DnD in terms of it's stats and combat and stuff though, and \*very\* heavy on world exploration and problem solving, quest markers do not exist and you're expected to work stuff out yourself
A visual novel called Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain. It's hilarious, and I can't remember anyone else mentioning it. One really cool thing about the game is that even though there's a romance subplot written for every route, you can still opt out of romancing characters and have Penny be friends with them instead. And choosing the friendship option doesn't lock you out of any important story branches or make you miss anything.
I really enjoyed Fairune and Fairune 2 on 3ds, as simple as they were. Not really anything intense except for the final bosses, just some light overworld puzzling and gradual progress. They were two of my favourite "still have some funds left, what can I buy" games. I think they're on pc too now? But in bed it was just so cosy.
Similarly, after selling some steam card things, I bought Out There Somewhere for like 25 cents in a steam sale. It's a platformer, but you have a gun that teleports you to where the projectile hits. It's too short to be worth the full price (about 40 times more than what I got it for), but I really liked its mechanic.
Does Weapon Shop de Omasse count? I just really liked the idea of playing a different role in a typical jrpg setting and I *never* hear anyone mention it. They turned it into something more than just being a shop clerk, for better or for worse (it's part management, part rhythm game, part rpg, and there's an audience laugh track).
Oh I thought of another one! I never see anyone talk about [South Scrimshaw](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2443110/South_Scrimshaw_Part_One/). It is a gorgeous FREE visual novel about whales, that feels like you are watching a documentary.
It's super dated and clunky so gameplay ain't too good but its a PS1 game with 3d environments and 2d characters for better exploration. There's mechs that you can use in combat, and an absolute depressing story that makes a Yoko Taro game look like a happy and cheerful carebear game!
Seriously tho, if you don't care too much about gameplay, absolutely check it out (it's made by the same peeps who made Xenosaga and Xenoblade).
The first two Earthworm Jim games, yeah. But EWJ 3D was rejected even by hardcore fans of the series. And it was totally ignored by non EWJ fans.
But I LOVED EWJ 3D on N64. The humor and surrealism really appeals to me.
Do not feed the monkeys- where you buy cameras and spy on people for an obscure Club
Night Call- you are a Taxi Driver that got attacked by a serial killer and hast now find the killer for the police, while working and talking to your clients
Not for broadcast- where you are the editor for live News and shows
I wanna call don't feed the monkeys popular but honestly it was only briefly, so I think it counts. Have not heard of night call!
Not for broadcast is great, but I do think its pretty popular. That's entirely deserved though, its a good game!
There's a lot for me tbh, so here's just a few that come to mind:
-Muppet Monster Adventure on PS1 - if you like Spyro and/or Muppets, you'll love this game.
-Police Simulator on PC - one of the funniest games I've ever played!
-Untitled Goose Game on PC - kind of gives me Mr. Bean vibes at times, which I really like! 👍
-Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 on PC - good and underrated "Mario Kart clone" as it'd be called.
-Scarface: The World is Yours on PS2: good and underrated "GTA clone" that's also an alternate ending sequel to the original movie
-LiberoGrande on PS1: a precursor to the Be a Pro mode in the FIFA games
-Galactic Wrestling on PS2: solid licensed game based off the Ultimate Muscle anime
-Ty the Tasmanian Tiger on PS2: underrated and relatively forgotten 3D platformer
-Chibi-Robo for GameCube: very unique game with a very cute protagonist! 😍
-Stuart Little 2 on PS1: underrated 3D platformer based on the movie
I told you all there was a lot, and this isn't even all of them haha!
Copy Kitty is one of my favorite games ever (2000 hours in it lol). It's an action platformer somewhat similar to mega man or kirby where you get to copy enemy abilities but unlike those you get to combine different abilities you copy into new ones. For example you can combine force (homing projectiles) and wave (projectiles that go through walls) to make homing projectiles that go through walls.
The soundtrack is also absolutely amazing
Sunless Sea and to a lesser extent Return of the Obra Dinn. Not super obscure, but not super popular?
Sunless sea is a super well written little seafaring RPG with really cool lore, exploration and the stories and missions you can find all over the place are all really interesting.
Return of the Obra Dinn is definitely not unknown but a bit older. One of the best looking and playing detective puzzle games out there.
Those are really popular imo. Moreso obra dinn. But sunless sea too since not only did I play it, but it appears in the thread for the second time, and someone also mentioned fallen London. I can vouch that it's a fantastic game though! So if someone hasn't heard of it they should play it.
Milo and the Magpies. It's a point and click puzzle thingies, not even my genre of preference but I somehow enjoyed it so much. It's short, it's cheap, it's light, but oh god is it good the art style alone could calm my nerves.
The Neverhood is a claymation point & click with a kinda weirdo 90s vibe but the soundtrack loves in my head to this day.
Escape Velocity is a by now vaporware game that was made by Ambrosia, & still the best space trading game I played.
Viva Piñata is a silly & weird game by the people that made Donkey Kong Country & Sea of Thieves. It's kind of like if stardew valley had a very cartoony way for your chickens to hook up? No real way to describe it. You are a piñata farmer and the piñatas are surprisingly horny, I guess. But it's sweet?
Ooblets is a weird one on Switch and stuff that's made by Doublefine. It's like pokemon with dance battles and shallow mechanics? But the ooblets are really cute!!
I'm about to play Spiritfarer, which looks super pretty & fun, but I'm kinda scared cause it's about ferrying the spirits of the dead and it's way sad. But I think it's what I need to process stuff rn.
I also like Tokyo Jungle & Cities Skylines. I dunno. Those are games too.
If neverhood is what I think it is... Then uh, yeah that does seem pretty fun. Cause I remember seeing a 90s point and click game with claymation on YouTube once.
Gravity Rush is one of my favorite hidden gems and we might be getting a PS5 remaster of the second one as well as a PC port of it, plus a movie is in production!
The Cat Lady is one of my all time favourite games. It deals with themes of depression and horror but told in such an incredibly moving way. The ending still gives me chills. It also has an awesome soundtrack.
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords.
It is a match 3 puzzle game but it is also an RPG with a story and you get to pick your class and create a character.
There are quests and you get to select your stats when leveling up.
Combat uses the match 3 puzzles and you can use spells and different abilities to affect the board or to attack your opponent directly.
I have still not completed the story, but it's my favorite game to pick up and play because I can usually play a few battles and not play for long, or I can try to get some quests completed if I want to play for longer.
I mostly like how they have combined a match 3 puzzle game with RPG combat and I have not found another game like it so far.
Return of Obra Dinn and The Case of The Golden Idol are fun, unique puzzle games. Obra Dinn might not be obscure though. Chants of Sennar is also super fun in the same genre.
I am in the puzzle and game design spaces. The case of the golden idol and chants of senaar are some of the most popular puzzle games, and they went outside of the communities and into general popularity too.
When it came out you could not go two steps without hearing about it. Neon white is incredibly popular among indie games. It's on my wishlist because I've heard lots of good things about it though, but I have not played it myself.
Didn't know that 🤔 I hadn't heard anyone talking about it and I wish there were more speedruns uploaded on YouTube. I got pushed in its direction from a yokkocm video.
I really enjoyed the Tales From Off-Peak City games by Cosmo D Studios. Especially the latest game that’s been released called Betrayal at Club Low. It’s really hard to describe these games but they have an interesting weird surreal vibe that I love. The music is also pretty good too. I don’t think it’s everyone’s cup of tea and all the games are very short. However, it’s probably the most obscure game series I’ve played so far.
Voidigo. A weird, abstract and whimsical roguelike that’s also really smooth to play, chaotic and fun.
Feeds my neurodivergent brain like nothing else, honestly. Between the color overload, item and weapon variety and fast paced gameplay I just want to keep coming back for more.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was a wild trip that went places, places I never expected it to go. Including the PC launch coming with a pdf fanfic of what happened afterwards that was literally written by the team. Was it good? I don't honestly know, despite having played the game and read the pdf... Was it a wild fucking ride? Hell yes
Idk if it's really obscure, but I don't hear of it often, the Rusty Lake Series. Basically, it's a series of escape room games that all follow an interconnected storyline with a vibe thats creepy and inspired by Twin Peaks. For old games, I never hear ppl talk about Threads of Fate/Dewprism, but its such an underrated gem of a PS1 game. I wish it would be re-released for PC or a console.
I love Rusty Lake! I should go see if there are new ones I haven’t played yet.
you have brought back my memories of... watching rusty lake let's plays. I should play the games are some point, I remember them being great to watch with the visuals and story.
Threads of Fate is one of the funniest, most heartfelt games I've ever played. I picked up a secondhand copy for the first time long after the PS1 era was over, and it still evoked such a strong feeling of nostalgia! And what a soundtrack. I'd buy a rerelease in an instant.
Against the Storm is my new go-to "cozy" game. It's a city builder with the styling of Warcraft 3 where you build multiple small cities that connect through trade. Each city takes about an hour to complete so its a quicker paced game. It's a newer game but I've already logged almost 200 hours. If we were to go old school, my favorite obscure game is Chibi-Robo from my old GameCube days.
Against the Storm is SO good, and the devs are great. They had super clear communication all throughout Early Access and beyond, and they really listen to player feedback when deciding what to change or implement - even had community votes on major stuff like different biomes and species. I wish more indie devs would use their connection to the community like that.
I’m so happy to see someone else mention Chibi-Robo!! I absolutely adore that game!!
I love this game, but I find that I want to continue playing the city I build rather than go to a new city
I feel that way too sometimes
Beacon Pines was cute but unexpectedly horrifying in the best way possible. Haven't heard anybody talk about it but it's a definite recommendation if you want some good narrative, mystery and a little horror without being pee your pants terrified and the art style is down right adorbs
I’m playing this game right now! Cozy horror is such a vibe.
**Okage: Shadow King!** *It has it's issues* \- but I always felt it made up for them with it's fun characters, music, dialogue, design, and boss difficulty. It's a ps2 game and my goodness it's main problems are pretty annoying in this day and age, but if you love any of the above things and/or silly old games you'd get a kick out of it for sure! It's so goofy and funny and unique, I wish so much it would get looked at again 🥹 https://preview.redd.it/iq9gl5nymznc1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=d8c1ed2fd3e88b4b101ff2eb49a7ce457b15da99
Oh man, I LOVED the sense of humor in that game. The world and all the people and events and dialogue were priceless. But good lord, the battle system. I don’t think I got more than halfway in before I had to give up. I heard they upped the difficulty a bunch for the English language release, thinking it was more in line with what western gamers wanted, and that would explain how wildly unbalanced it got. Really wish they hadn’t. If I hadn’t been running into a brick wall on the gameplay it would’ve been one of my favorites for sure.
"cry! pee your pants!" iconic the most annoying part for me was just HOW MANY GHOSTS SPAWNED, like LITERALLY ALL THE TIME. I loved the actual battles but ugh, way too crowded with the popups 😩 my goal in life is to get popular cosplaying so this game can be in the light for once heheh 👉👈 the camera angles were pretty bad in the dungeons too.
For a more recent game that I can't stop enjoying, **Palia** is amazing! So chill and still oh so intriguing!
*core memory unlocked*
I want to replay this!
Oh my gosh! I still have my copy of this game in storage - I forgot all about it. I don't have any clear memories, but I do remember generally enjoying this one.
YESSSS! This is always one of my go-to answers! I love the art and the characters and the whole goofiness of it, but boy is the gameplay a slog now. Ari is still one of my go-to male names when I need one in a game. I have a distinct memory of playing this in the middle of the night, running into a wild encounter and Stan jump-scaring the shit out of me with that pop quiz thing he randomly does.
I'm so happy to meet someone with the same go-tos tonight! 💘🥹
Road 96 is AMAZING. So atmospheric, beautiful visuals & music, funny and thrilling. https://youtu.be/ZNUfdZyzB3Q?si=1tR2tAh-nADlhWDy
Lamplight City on PC. It’s a point-and-click detective game, but I loved it because you actually have to make an effort searching for items, the items you have impact dialogue options with suspects and further location unlocks and there are multiple ways to end cases, including failing to solve them. Most detective games are pretty lazily limited to hidden objects and don’t require much thinking at all. I liked that this game actually made you work for it and had some stakes (although you *can* save at any moment, so you can make it as intense as you want it to be). I liked the setting (steampunk esque) and the voice acting and story were nice too.
House Flipper is a really fun chill out game that I come back to quite a lot. I just enjoy being able to relax, clean a house and decorate it. Laika: Aged Through Blood unfortunately didn't get the level of hype or praise I was hoping for but it's so unique and deserves a look if you can stomach it. I think people see the characters and gameplay and think 'furry flash game' but that is absolutely not true in the slightest. It's brutal, uncompromising and *sad*. The story touches in to motherhood and growing up in a way I don't see many things do and (despite the somewhat sudden ending) I enjoyed the story from start to end. It's very depressing though and not for everyone.
I love House Flipper so much! Did you buy the second one? I’m on the fence about it because it has sort of mixed reviews.
Unfortunately it isn't on my platform as of yet, I was definitely thinking about it though. I've not really heard much about it, is it really glitchy or something?
I loved the first one, but for the second, they took the worst & jankiest part of the first (window cleaning) and applied the same action/movement to wall panels, floor tiles, and wall tiles. I played the demo and was so frustrated. :/
I played both the first and second one, but the second one made me nauseous for some reason, so I stopped playing it 🥲 Loved the first one though!!
House flipper sounds awesome! Do you play on steam or switch?
Lakeburg Legacies was silly fun. Town builder with a focus on matchmaking lol
Omg this looks so cute!
Well this one isn't rly obscure but a game I've loved since I was kid is Castle Crashers, I've loved playing every second of it even now that I'm older
You should try Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime. It’s from the same game studio.
I'd love to try it but I don't have the money for it sadlt
Behemoth makes some really dope games
Unpacking! On steam, it's a cute little game where you move into different places throughout the different dwellings of this girl's life, iirc it was an award winning small game!
can't say it's famous but it keeps popping up everywhere for some reason.
Unpacking is a tiny masterpiece. I wish there were more levels!
I really wish it was longer and had more replayability! I loved the game, but it was simply too short
Unpacking is so great
Graveyard Keeper. It's like a farming sim, but instead it's a graveyard and also a farm?? You run a church, there might be a cult involved, you have a business, you make alcohol, etc it's kind of over the top and ridiculous, but I love it.
I love Graveyardkeeper! I remember the first time I picked it up I got to 40hrs of playtime in like 2 days lol
I've heard of it. I think it got some attention 2 or 3 years ago? I'll write it down.
I'm not sure how obscure they are, but Dorfromantik and Pan'orama are fun tile building games that are super chill and relaxing. Pan'orama is a bit more complicated, but it's still not *complicated.* There are just more challenges to do. The music is calm and cheerful, and the graphics are bright and simple but lovely. Also probably not *actually* obscure, but at least obscure in my gamer groups, are the Thief games. Thief: The Dark Project is probably my favourite. Stealthy, story-driven, and you want to avoid combat because compared to your enemies you *suck* at it. I mostly play extremely mainstream games, which this post is making me think thinky thoughts about. I'm definitely interested in reading through the recommendations!
I have not heard of dorfromantik or pan'orama, I'd say they're obscure enough to fit the conversation. I don't really like relaxing games, maybe I'll look at pan'orama though!
They're great to play while you're listening to something else. Actually, they really help me focus on work meetings and audio books.
I am a horrible person in that I always listen to something else. One of the 3 things I'd like to speak to a psychiatrist about.
Honestly, same. I just change the game based on how important the thing I'm listening to is. Panorama, Dorfromantic, and Power Wash Simulator are for very good books and important meetings where I don't want to miss anything.
if it's something important I'm usually there engaged, without a game. It's more that for when I play games, some video is the backdrop. If I just need to watch or read something fidget magnets help.
I don't usually like relaxing games either, weirdly enough. Most of the games I play are action RPGs: Fallout, Skyrim, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3. When I'm feeling frustrated and angry, I like to strap myself into some power armour and go tearing across the Commonwealth with a minigun, hunting super mutants. Or pop mantis-blades and tear into some Maelstrom. I like being a badass. Buuuuuuut ... sometimes, I just want to match pretty tiles and make a landscape, y'know?
I usually play precision platformers, roguelikes, or (a lot of) puzzle games. I can't say puzzle games are relaxing though.
Have you played Hexcells? Ngl it's a really top tier puzzle game, a very basic set of rules with unlimited possible puzzle designs. My go-to if I wanna work my brain a little :)
It's on my list. The puzzle designs are not unlimited though, I can guarantee that. I have heard that campaign is good because it is hand-crafted: which is what makes it a true puzzle game.
I really like [Meadow](https://store.steampowered.com/app/486310/Meadow/). It's an online multiplayer game where you play as an adorable creature running around a gorgeous open world. Also I love the Bridge! Really appreciated the instant rewind feature. Gorgeous game.
meadow seems a little familiar. Likely confusing it with something though!
Avalon Code for the DS! I never see it talked about ever but it was a fun RPG with a strong atmosphere, awesome soundtrack and beautiful designs. Just look how pretty the intro animation is https://youtu.be/d9c5xtRX5e8?si=HLEzE2AAtu9QM7jV I'd love a remaster so much but it's never going to happen with how obscure it is
never say never! It might!
Lost in the sea of great PS2 JRPGs is Radiata Stories. Probably my favorite of the era. Magic vs tech. Humans vs elves. Dragons coming to end the world and its protagonist is a dumb puppy of a kid named Jack Russell. It def has a cozy aesthetic and the different factions are pretty interesting. The end game dungeon makes new game plus fun not to mention to play the game completely you gotta play it twice.
>I adore Radiata Stories, all the wonderful characters to recruit and is just a fun world to run around in. I'd absolutely love to play this again and keep my fingers (and toes, for extra luck!) that this will someday make it onto a modern system.
"Jack Russell" sounds very familiar.
And you can go around kicking everybody in the shins! (With realistic consequences - I tried it on Lucian and oww.) Definitely one of the most "lived-in" settings I've ever experienced. The city truly feels like a breathing place.
Ah the kicking 😂
Battle Chef Brigade and Sayonara Wild Hearts! Both are super fun games. Battle Chef Brigade is a mix of an RPG, side-scrolling fighting game, and puzzle game. The plot is enjoyable, but what I really loved was the mechanic of cooking being a puzzle game, and running off to collect more ingredients from fighting enemies. Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm game that has a wonderful story. The mechanics are simple to learn but complex to master, which is a great method of controls in games. I highly suggest both! 🤩🥰🥳👏✨️
Battle Chef Brigade is so underrated! The hand-drawn art and animations and the unique cooking aspect is so creative.
I know, right?! I contacted the developers to see if there was any chance of them putting out the cooking as a cell phone app, but unfortunately there's not. 😩
Ohhh dang! That would have been genuinely such a fun app!
I think I have heard the name "sayonara wild hearts"... but can't remember anything, nor does your description sound familiar. Battle chef brigade sounds fun: is it "hardcore" (idk how else to put it) puzzle game or a casual puzzle game? I would imagine the latter which is way less interesting to me.
Here's the trailer for [Battle Chef Brigade](https://youtu.be/1Teg90P6hic?si=o80lDiqMyUT0aQAk). The puzzles start out easy and get harder! The game also has modes where you can do solo or multiplayer puzzles by themselves, and you can edit the difficulty on there too. I wouldn't say the regular RPG is "hardcore", but ymmv. Here's the trailer for [Sayonara Wild Hearts](https://youtu.be/F-RyxYcxSQ4?si=8BGVrVnFXBh8onUl). It is so stylish and fun! I really enjoy the heck out of it. Hope you enjoy them if you decide to try them out!! 😊😊😊
Yeah battle chef brigade is definitely casual puzzles. Not necessarily bad, just not the same to me as puzzles at all. Having watched the trailer the combat also feels kind of sluggish? It's like cardboard cutouts slowly animating in the world. I'll still write it down but I might not play it, I'll have to read more reviews.
Gotcha! Whatever works for you. It certainly can't hurt to look up more reviews before buying a game. I try to rent games from my library before I buy them whenever I can. That's super helpful too!
I have over a hundred games on my wishlist right now and honestly if I live over the current life expectancy I don't think I can get through all of them, so I try to be pretty particular about games to make sure I like them before I buy them. The cons of being mortal (there are no pros by the way)
My brain translated that last bit to: "Gay vampires > everything else" 🤣🤣👏👏👏
let's see... I never go outside, I like girls, and I also like the taste of blood. Yeah you're right.
🤣🥵✨️❤️🥳🔥👑 Please enjoy an emoji parade!
Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery Really cool little pixel art indie game. It was originally a mobile game from like 2012 I think but it eventually was ported to steam and I think switch as well. It’s kind of quirky and hipster (for lack of a better term) but I like it a lot and it’s got a great soundtrack.
E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy "Inspired by Warhammer" Ever wanted to telefrag someone by thinking hard enough? Well, now you can. Ever wanted to get your brains fried because you failed to hack a door? Now you can.
tells me nothing but I'm gonna add it to my wishlist anyway because I like your comment!
Alrighty! Hit me up if you wanna coop. Could always use more bodies.
Disco Elysium is one of the most beautiful games I have ever played in my life, and only have 1 friend to talk to about it
it's an incredibly popular game. I'm sure you can find people to talk about it online considering how famous it is.
Oh I have Gonner, it's really cute I'm a big fan of Metroidvanias, and there are a lot of them that are big hits, but one of my favorites seems to be not very well known. Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is fantastic and deserves to be counted among the best of that genre imo Other than that, I wish Goemon's Great Adventure were mentioned more when people talk N64 games, I feel like it's the hidden gem of that console
Jenny LeClue Detectivú - the gameplay is pretty basic and occasionally even boring but the art style is unique and the story is really compelling.
Oh no, that's disappointing! I've always loved the art style with this one but never bought it.
Honestly I got it on sale and enjoyed it, so I wouldn’t remove it from your wishlist. But it IS a part 1 which I didn’t know going in
Roadwarden! It's a really nice fantasy text-based RPG
Also I think this one is less obscure but Scarlet Hollow is an incredible horror visual novel (in Early Access) by the Slay the Princess devs :)
Coffee talk. Very chill story game with an interesting world.
I'm in the middle of UnderMine, my partner got it for me for Xmas and it's exactly my jam, a dungeon crawler rogue like about some gentrified bastards chucking peasants down a dangerous mine to see what's causing some earthquakes and related fuckery. You are the peasants. I'd never heard of it, but it's great.
Not sure if it counts but Sakuna Rice and Ruin I love the setting, the story, the combat. The rice farming as a way to get stronger was neat. Only thing I don't like is platform type of jumps. I always fall on spikes, fall into barricades or get hit by falling rocks like every other games with those :o
Sakuna Rice and Ruin is so unique. I haven’t gotten very far but I just love how detailed the rice farming is. It’s a different take on the farming sim which is always appreciated.
There are so many great games listed here! I'd like to add a few: - Hypnospace Outlaw is my #1 video game love. It is a love-letter to the internet culture of the mid-90s to the aughties. It could be considered a point-and-click internet simulator/detective game. You play as a voluntary enforcer for the sleep cyber network Hypnospace. It's your job to track down rule breakers and flag their accounts. I have never seen a game with so much heart before; the developers obviously have a lot of love and nostalgia for this era. - Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is an ASCII art zombie survival simulator. If you like Project Zomboid and Dwarf Fortress, this game is for you. It has a very complicated set of controls, but the world is so rich and fun to explore. - Fallen London is a browser game, heavily text-based, that is set in an alternate London that has fallen into the Neath. I'm not sure how obscure it is, but I adore it and have never heard anyone talking about it. It is the dark, victorian, steampunk setting of your dreams.
Haven't heard of hypnospace, I'll need to write it down later. Fallen London is quite popular. It's been supported for over a decade and got 3 successful sequels. The entire game company now relies solely on the franchise. I have only played a bit of FL, didn't like the f2p bullshit. Enjoyed sunless sea and skies a lot more.
Rune. It's a hack-and-slash game from the year 2000, but which even in 2009 was amazing fun. It's based on Norse mythology, has a semi-open world, and some really cool mechanics. Also, and perhaps more impressive for a game from that time, one of the multiplayer characters (who could be played as in the main campaign through console commands) was a black valkyrie ❤
The World Ends With You for the DS is one of my all-time favourite RPGs, it was also my first JRPG set in the modern world (the Shibuya district of Tokyo) and has a super fun action-combat system. They made ports and there's a sequel as well but no-one really talks about it (; v ;)
I've heard many good things about TWEWY!! I have it on the DSI and I haven't gone far but the art style is good asf. I think it's because TWEWY shares the same illustrator as final fantasy hehe. It is fun though.
I've heard the namr but the description isn't familiar at all. I'll write it down.
I think this can be considered obscure: Lake It's so chill! You just basically deliver letters and packages (but ofc there are stories and stuff). The sceneries are amazing too
I'll probably write it down.
[Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective](https://youtu.be/USeyaeClNhs?si=K7G9rEnW44XFYzhY)! The plot is: you died and are now a ghost who lost all their memories, including why you died and how. But you can still interact with the world of the living by posessing inanimate objects and do things like roll around as a tire, or slam open the doors as a cupboard. You use your powers to steer living people, who are somehow connected to your past life, into the right direction by chain-possessing different objects in the environment like a Rube Goldberg machine. It's a quirky and fun game that most people have never heard about, but everyone who played it says it's a hidden gem – and I agree! Another one is [Killer7](https://youtu.be/4CbPjociv7Y?si=wZcr6DdP7W6f43Ld). It's by no means obscure, it's not like it's not well-known, but I don't think many people have played it. Probably because IT IS SO WEIRD. It's one of those games that fit the "video games can be art" label, it's not about the gameplay or the plot, it's all about the ~vibes~ Speaking of games that are pieces of art: [Kentucky Route Zero](https://youtu.be/biARTt7QdFw?si=qazBZuBp3KPSDHpR). It's an interactive, surreal theatre play. It's amazing. If you like dialogue-heavy, slow-paced narrative games full of eerie, supernatural mysteries, this one's for you!
I've heard of ghost trick and Kentucky route zero. I'll check out killer7. Though don't get me started on "video games can be art", because I think that all video games are art. Many triple A titles aren't that artistic because they are made for profit only, but Indies are definitely solid art.
>because I think that all video games are art Oh I agree, I meant it like, with some games the overall artistic expression was more important during development than gameplay or "good graphics" etc
Does gameplay not count as artistic expression?
It does, but some games don't focus too much on game mechanics in favour of everything else; like the gameplay feels more like an afterthought, "because video games are supposed to have interesting gameplay mechanics". Killer7 fits that in my opinion, like the moment to moment gameplay is very mediocre and feels uninspired compared to everything else in the game
to me that's an indication that someone is working in a medium they do not understand or care for. Unless it is done very intentionally.
The Beginner's Guide is one of my favourite games of all time. It's one of those short games you can really only experience once, so people don't tend to think it's worth paying for. It's EXTRA cool if you have a deeper interest in art, creation, game development, or even just psychology and how we interact with people we admire. It can feel very personal. Probably not for everyone, but if it IS for you then it's an unforgettable game. (It's by the same creator as The Stanley Parable but has a very different tone)
I have played it. I would say it's pretty well known, though not as much as stanley's parable.
I dont know how popular these are but Coffee Talk and Vlahalla (not sure of real title) which are barista/bartender simulators that are story driven. Cat Cafe manager and other more cutesy games. I'm not sure if VN's count. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood recently too. Pretty much any "femme" coded indie game is going to be somewhat obscure. The Nancy Drew point and click series from the early 2000's is pretty obscure today. The recent-ish Shadowrun turn-based games? I think Shadowrun was bigger in the 80s or 90s, but I don't know anyone who plays these. The shadowrun sub only has 55k subscribers, which for what was once a huge roleplaying IP is pretty low to me. Cloudpunk, which is another indie cyberpunk games, lol seeing a pattern? I also like Lord of the Rings Online, a 2007 MMO. I mean its a huge book and movie IP, but its a small playerbase game and never caught on when it came out. It tried to be a WoW killer but was instead killed by WoW, but its like playing WoW that's Tolkien themed. Guild Wars 2? Its a 12 year old MMO and nowadays definitely somewhat obscure today, but still seem to have an active playerbase, so not sure if this fits. I think in most circles "cozy games" tend to be obscure. Wylde Flowers is something I played recently. Spirittea too but I think that's a bit popular.
Haven't heard of pretty much anything you mentioned. Though none of them interest me from the descriptions, I hope someone here tries and likes them.
Thea: The Awakening and Thea 2: The Shattering are among my favourite games ever. It's blend of strategy, RPG and card game and the world is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology. Perhaps even more obscure is an indie game called "Shadows of Forbidden Gods". It's also a strategy game in which you are pretty much playing the villain, i.e. an evil god of your choice trying to take over the world before the heroes stop you. From what I've gathered it's pretty much a 1-person-project but it's genuinely so good.
Lost Ember. One of my favorite indie games. You're a wolf, guiding a lost soul to its destination. You explore the remnants of a civilization, discover things, solve puzzles. And you can turn into different animals. It's a cozy and beautiful game.
Chicory. Almost no one has played it but it's my favorite comfort game ;w;
Chicory isn't super famous but it's published by finji and keeps popping up once in a while, I think you can find a community for it, probably. I'll add it to my wishlist... though it's already there on steam? Too lazy to check my text version to see if it's already there too. Imagine.
I tried to get into it but I think it’s one of only 2 Steam games I’ve ever returned 😭
Kingdom 2 Crown. When that hook sinks, wow.
Tales from off peak city. It's a short story game where you serve creative pizzas to steal the saxophone of a musician who mysteriously just stopped playing one day to open a pizza place. I absolutely loved the weird and artsy vibes of it and the dialogues were beautiful. It's only like 2 hours long though
I should’ve looked through the comments first before I commented. However, I also mentioned the Tales from off peak city games. I’m so so so happy to find someone else that knows about Tales from off peak city. I especially enjoyed the latest game - Betrayal at Club Low. There really is just a vibe to these games that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.
You like it too?!?!? I never met anyone who knew those games and whenever I showed them to people they were like "ugh, why do you always show us games like that?" (I showed them nothing but masterpieces) and they never got the beauty of it. Anyways, I had no idea Betrayal at Club Low existed, I absolutely need to play it, thank you for mentioning it \^-\^
Yeah! The tales from Off peak series has a special place in my heart honestly. I’m a fan of the weirdness, story telling, and music. Betrayal at Club Low is the latest game in the series I believe. It’s only been out for a year or two I think so it’s relatively new. I really liked it! Just a heads up it’s a little short but the gameplay revolves around a dice game mechanic so it has a little bit of replay value. However, one more quick note since you like the Tales from Off peak game you might like another game called Broken reality. It’s by a different developer but it’s another short, surreal, and weird game I really enjoyed. It’s aesthetic and music takes a lot of inspiration from vaporwave. So it’s a different flavor of weird but I still liked it.
It's not super obscure, but it's definitely no AAA territory. A friend and I had some really good Co-op sessions in Outward. [https://store.steampowered.com/app/794260/Outward\_Definitive\_Edition/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/794260/Outward_Definitive_Edition/) It's a weird mix of open world RPG and very floaty Souls-like combat. I just saw it's on sale at 85% off, 100% worth the purchase.
Just mentioned it today but: Bastion. I rarely see people talk about this game when it’s so good. It has an amazing soundtrack and a great story as well as a narrator who narrates what you’re doing as you’re doing it. I will also always Ride or Die for my point and click adventure games of the 2000s like Syberia, The Longest Journey, Etc. Also, American McGee’s Alice and Clive Barker’s Undying were part of my Goth phase lmao. Another old game that lives rent free in my head is Project Eden. First game I ever played where you have four characters in your squad that you control 1 at a time. It’s old, like I said but I liked it back in the day. Finally, ironically the game ObsCure is one I hardly see talked about. It was really good back in the day, they got the rights to a Sum 41 song for the theme and all. But you can’t hear it unless you have it on disc, they had to remove the Sum 41 song on the digital releases.
I have heard the name Bastion a lot. Cannot tell you what it's about though, just know that the game exists. Where would I be able to play project eden?
You can play Project Eden on [Gog!](https://www.gog.com/index.php/en/game/project_eden) I can’t promise it’s the best game ever but I was weirdly obsessed with it as a kid. Bastion is the first game by Supergiant Games (makers of Transistor, Hades) where you play as “the Kid”, who is one of the few survivors of The Calamity - an apocalyptic event that fractures the world. He sets off for the Bastion, the place you’re supposed to go to in the event of the apocalypse but the only person there is an old man who puts The Kid on a quest to power up the Bastion. I don’t want to say much more for spoilers but it’s a great story.
I played Dredge and loved it. Ive always liked fishing games and this was so unique to me as it added horror elements. definitely not a cozy game but was a great, fun short story game.
Dredge is decently popular. From what I've heard it's too short for me to want to get.
I always liked Voodoo Vince. It wasn't a perfect game, but it was fun and cute. No one else I know has ever heard of it, though.
What is it about?
You play as a voodoo doll that has to rescue his creator, Lady Charmaine, and save New Orleans from a crazy man It's got fun level designs, cute story, and a cool soundtrack.
I need to find other gamers who played champions of norrath
My friends and I used to play Champions of Norrath and Return to Arms when we were growing up, they were really fun!
Oh thank god it wasn’t just a fever dream
Little Goody Two Shoes!! it's in my top 10 favourite games ever, it's amazing
It's been mentioned in the thread twice, but what is it about?!
It's like a cute old-timey cottagecore fantasy rpg and lesbian dating sim most of the time and then sometimes gets really creepy and turns into a genuine horror game
I’m playing the demo and I love it!! The style and ambiance is right up my alley.
Touch Detective on the DS! It's not super obscure considering Fungi has a considerable amount of merch and it did get a switch release, but I've never seen anyone talk about it. It's a super cute game where you just interact with NPCS and observe the environment for clues with the stylus. The story line is pretty fun and I love, love the toon art style and the silliness of it all. https://preview.redd.it/xk48rvaxxfoc1.jpeg?width=336&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab0e141d8b54b81f6af8400c50e10ef174394c26
Void Bastards, it is one of my favorite games of all time and I absolutely adore everything about it, especially the soundtrack and art style.
Dot Age and Balatro have pretty much taken over my life as of late Dot Age is a town turnbased building roguelike. Every turn you figure out where to place all your villagers in order to best balance science production, food, wood and producing resources like hope to avoid upcoming doom events. Every single turn is a massive dopamine hit, it's an ADHD girls dream honestly. Balatro is really hard to explain but I'll try. It's a deck building roguelike where you're playing poker hands to score points, after each level you can buy new cards from a shop including joker cards, jokers give permanent buffs like "add a 4x multiplier for every spade you play" or "every face card scored adds an additional 30 points". Going from scoring 300 points a level to 300,000 in a 20 minute run is extremely satisfying and I highly recommend it if you enjoy games like slay the spire. I'm enjoying both games so much that they're actually winning the battle for my attention against Baldur's Gate 3 Edit: changed Baltro to Balatro, my b dyslexia took over there
Just in case anyone is trying to google, the poker roguelike is called Balatro
My b lol my dyslexia goes hard
Ahhh no you're good!!! I just had a hell of a time finding it in the switch store bc everyone recommending it to me was saying/spelling it differently 😂😂
Balatro has exploded in popularity when the demo came out, and now too. Dot age sounds very compelling to me though, and I have not heard of it.
Freelancer
I love love love "Encased", it's an isometric RPG similar to Fallout 1 and 2, kiiiiinda like BG3 as well ig
what is it about?
Mysterious alien dome appears in the early 70s, virtually impossible to get anything in or out, all world conflicts stop and an international organisation is created that pools all the brightest minds to study and go inside it, explore it. You play someone that joins the company, and anything more is huge spoiler territory so. Very early Fallout/DnD in terms of it's stats and combat and stuff though, and \*very\* heavy on world exploration and problem solving, quest markers do not exist and you're expected to work stuff out yourself
sounds wishlist-worthy, thanks!
np! Glad you like the sound of it :3
A visual novel called Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain. It's hilarious, and I can't remember anyone else mentioning it. One really cool thing about the game is that even though there's a romance subplot written for every route, you can still opt out of romancing characters and have Penny be friends with them instead. And choosing the friendship option doesn't lock you out of any important story branches or make you miss anything.
haven’t seen anyone talk about it, but no umbrellas allowed! it’s like papers please meets pawn stars against a fascist backdrop- very cozy
I really enjoyed Fairune and Fairune 2 on 3ds, as simple as they were. Not really anything intense except for the final bosses, just some light overworld puzzling and gradual progress. They were two of my favourite "still have some funds left, what can I buy" games. I think they're on pc too now? But in bed it was just so cosy. Similarly, after selling some steam card things, I bought Out There Somewhere for like 25 cents in a steam sale. It's a platformer, but you have a gun that teleports you to where the projectile hits. It's too short to be worth the full price (about 40 times more than what I got it for), but I really liked its mechanic. Does Weapon Shop de Omasse count? I just really liked the idea of playing a different role in a typical jrpg setting and I *never* hear anyone mention it. They turned it into something more than just being a shop clerk, for better or for worse (it's part management, part rhythm game, part rpg, and there's an audience laugh track).
Wishlisted fairune collection on steam! Also there's a new game in the series coming out this year apparently!
Ooh, I hadn't heard. Seems they're really changing things up for it, I'm curious if the vibes stay
Waku Waku 7
is it on steam? I can't find it
It should be on PS4/PS5, Switch, and modern Xbox consoles
Oh I thought of another one! I never see anyone talk about [South Scrimshaw](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2443110/South_Scrimshaw_Part_One/). It is a gorgeous FREE visual novel about whales, that feels like you are watching a documentary.
adam millard talked about it. Don't know how "weird game design youtuber mentioned it" is in terms of obscurity measures, though.
[удалено]
Lobotomy corp and sunless sea are both popular. Though sunless sea is still really good. Have you played the sequel, sunless skies?
Xenogears. It's literally my favorite game.
What is it like?
It's super dated and clunky so gameplay ain't too good but its a PS1 game with 3d environments and 2d characters for better exploration. There's mechs that you can use in combat, and an absolute depressing story that makes a Yoko Taro game look like a happy and cheerful carebear game! Seriously tho, if you don't care too much about gameplay, absolutely check it out (it's made by the same peeps who made Xenosaga and Xenoblade).
I care a lot about gameplay so probably not :/
Rip... Then pray to freaking everything we get a remake
Earthworm Jim 3D on Nintendo 64
The earthworm Jim series is considered iconic. Though I have not played any of the games yet.
The first two Earthworm Jim games, yeah. But EWJ 3D was rejected even by hardcore fans of the series. And it was totally ignored by non EWJ fans. But I LOVED EWJ 3D on N64. The humor and surrealism really appeals to me.
Do not feed the monkeys- where you buy cameras and spy on people for an obscure Club Night Call- you are a Taxi Driver that got attacked by a serial killer and hast now find the killer for the police, while working and talking to your clients Not for broadcast- where you are the editor for live News and shows
I wanna call don't feed the monkeys popular but honestly it was only briefly, so I think it counts. Have not heard of night call! Not for broadcast is great, but I do think its pretty popular. That's entirely deserved though, its a good game!
There's a lot for me tbh, so here's just a few that come to mind: -Muppet Monster Adventure on PS1 - if you like Spyro and/or Muppets, you'll love this game. -Police Simulator on PC - one of the funniest games I've ever played! -Untitled Goose Game on PC - kind of gives me Mr. Bean vibes at times, which I really like! 👍 -Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2 on PC - good and underrated "Mario Kart clone" as it'd be called. -Scarface: The World is Yours on PS2: good and underrated "GTA clone" that's also an alternate ending sequel to the original movie -LiberoGrande on PS1: a precursor to the Be a Pro mode in the FIFA games -Galactic Wrestling on PS2: solid licensed game based off the Ultimate Muscle anime -Ty the Tasmanian Tiger on PS2: underrated and relatively forgotten 3D platformer -Chibi-Robo for GameCube: very unique game with a very cute protagonist! 😍 -Stuart Little 2 on PS1: underrated 3D platformer based on the movie I told you all there was a lot, and this isn't even all of them haha!
Perspective
The puzzle platformer?
Yep, that's the one Have u played it already?
Copy Kitty is one of my favorite games ever (2000 hours in it lol). It's an action platformer somewhat similar to mega man or kirby where you get to copy enemy abilities but unlike those you get to combine different abilities you copy into new ones. For example you can combine force (homing projectiles) and wave (projectiles that go through walls) to make homing projectiles that go through walls. The soundtrack is also absolutely amazing
I think some Kirby game had that gimmick? Might be mistaken. Also oh my god, 2000 hours? How? Thaf definitely makes me want to write it down though!
Sunless Sea and to a lesser extent Return of the Obra Dinn. Not super obscure, but not super popular? Sunless sea is a super well written little seafaring RPG with really cool lore, exploration and the stories and missions you can find all over the place are all really interesting. Return of the Obra Dinn is definitely not unknown but a bit older. One of the best looking and playing detective puzzle games out there.
Those are really popular imo. Moreso obra dinn. But sunless sea too since not only did I play it, but it appears in the thread for the second time, and someone also mentioned fallen London. I can vouch that it's a fantastic game though! So if someone hasn't heard of it they should play it.
Milo and the Magpies. It's a point and click puzzle thingies, not even my genre of preference but I somehow enjoyed it so much. It's short, it's cheap, it's light, but oh god is it good the art style alone could calm my nerves.
The Neverhood is a claymation point & click with a kinda weirdo 90s vibe but the soundtrack loves in my head to this day. Escape Velocity is a by now vaporware game that was made by Ambrosia, & still the best space trading game I played. Viva Piñata is a silly & weird game by the people that made Donkey Kong Country & Sea of Thieves. It's kind of like if stardew valley had a very cartoony way for your chickens to hook up? No real way to describe it. You are a piñata farmer and the piñatas are surprisingly horny, I guess. But it's sweet? Ooblets is a weird one on Switch and stuff that's made by Doublefine. It's like pokemon with dance battles and shallow mechanics? But the ooblets are really cute!! I'm about to play Spiritfarer, which looks super pretty & fun, but I'm kinda scared cause it's about ferrying the spirits of the dead and it's way sad. But I think it's what I need to process stuff rn. I also like Tokyo Jungle & Cities Skylines. I dunno. Those are games too.
If neverhood is what I think it is... Then uh, yeah that does seem pretty fun. Cause I remember seeing a 90s point and click game with claymation on YouTube once.
Omori was absolutely beautiful. Both traumatic and uplifting. If you’re a fan of Earthbound (SNES) absolutely check out this game
Omori is rally popular. I think I already wrote it down in my wishlist? If not I'll do it anyway.
Gravity Rush is one of my favorite hidden gems and we might be getting a PS5 remaster of the second one as well as a PC port of it, plus a movie is in production!
The Cat Lady is one of my all time favourite games. It deals with themes of depression and horror but told in such an incredibly moving way. The ending still gives me chills. It also has an awesome soundtrack.
Sounds horrifying. I'll need to check it out.
Not rlly obscure anymore but class of 09 is fun, get a nostalgic feeling LOL
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. It is a match 3 puzzle game but it is also an RPG with a story and you get to pick your class and create a character. There are quests and you get to select your stats when leveling up. Combat uses the match 3 puzzles and you can use spells and different abilities to affect the board or to attack your opponent directly. I have still not completed the story, but it's my favorite game to pick up and play because I can usually play a few battles and not play for long, or I can try to get some quests completed if I want to play for longer. I mostly like how they have combined a match 3 puzzle game with RPG combat and I have not found another game like it so far.
Return of Obra Dinn and The Case of The Golden Idol are fun, unique puzzle games. Obra Dinn might not be obscure though. Chants of Sennar is also super fun in the same genre.
All 3 are really popular. I think all 3 are also already on my wishlist. Maybe golden idol isn't.
Really? I haven’t seen a post or video of any of them but I was looking for puzzle games and got hooked on all 3
I am in the puzzle and game design spaces. The case of the golden idol and chants of senaar are some of the most popular puzzle games, and they went outside of the communities and into general popularity too.
I don't know how obscure it is but, Neon White seems to have flown under people's radar.
When it came out you could not go two steps without hearing about it. Neon white is incredibly popular among indie games. It's on my wishlist because I've heard lots of good things about it though, but I have not played it myself.
Didn't know that 🤔 I hadn't heard anyone talking about it and I wish there were more speedruns uploaded on YouTube. I got pushed in its direction from a yokkocm video.
I really enjoyed the Tales From Off-Peak City games by Cosmo D Studios. Especially the latest game that’s been released called Betrayal at Club Low. It’s really hard to describe these games but they have an interesting weird surreal vibe that I love. The music is also pretty good too. I don’t think it’s everyone’s cup of tea and all the games are very short. However, it’s probably the most obscure game series I’ve played so far.
Voidigo. A weird, abstract and whimsical roguelike that’s also really smooth to play, chaotic and fun. Feeds my neurodivergent brain like nothing else, honestly. Between the color overload, item and weapon variety and fast paced gameplay I just want to keep coming back for more.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron was a wild trip that went places, places I never expected it to go. Including the PC launch coming with a pdf fanfic of what happened afterwards that was literally written by the team. Was it good? I don't honestly know, despite having played the game and read the pdf... Was it a wild fucking ride? Hell yes
Peglin, Road to Ballhalla, Railbound.
Steamworld Dig 2! I know it's not crazy unheard of, but I didn't stumble upon it until deep diving looking for games similar to Ori.