8 more games you might have missed | Part 2

Continuing on from my previous article; with battle royale games such as Fornite and PUBG pretty much dominating the world of gaming at the moment, I continue with my segment on giving old(ish) games some renewed appreciation and attention, with 8 MORE Games You Might Have Missed!

The Last Guardian

I want to start my list with a game that is very grand, both in graphics and in scale, that of course being The Last Guardian! Developed by SIE Japan Studio, this beautiful game follows the story of a young boy who befriends a very strange dog-like animal. Trico is an amalgamation of different types of animals, from cats to birds to rats, and you get to explore his world as you help to return the young boy back to his family. The scale of the game is gigantic, with everything towering far above and below you, with breathtaking views. Trico and the boy must traverse many dangers and uncover Trico’s mystery in a game about putting aside differences, working together and friendship.

Party Hard

It’s time to get stab-happy now in Party Hard! The game follows Detective John West as he tracks down a serial killer whose motive is that he hates loud music and just wants to sleep. This leads him to being an uninvited guest at various noisy parties, in which his only goal is to kill all the guests! If you have neighbours that enjoy loud music constantly, then you can probably relate to this predicament! Party Hard boasts a soundtrack that is bound to get your head and feet bopping, the music thumping as you control the serial killer and kill everyone at a number of different locations. Stealth is the aim of the game here, trying to kill everyone without being caught by the police. A fun game, do give this a try!

Leo’s Fortune

Leo’s Fortune is a 2.5D platform game that has no enemies, but lots of traps! You simply have to get from A to B, as Leo goes on a mission to recover stolen treasure in the form of gold coins. Looking a bit like a dog toy, Leo is a fluff ball that can squeeze into tight spaces, float like a balloon and puff himself up into a large ball, his skills used to traverse many traps and puzzles. Leo’s gliding motion as he moves forward is also very hypnotic to watch. Time your moves, glide around loop-de-loops, avoid spikes, release platforms and don’t get squashed as you try to find Leo’s Fortune!

Stories: The Path of Destinies

Stories: The Path of Destinies, by Spearhead Games, is an action RPG that follows anthropomorphic fox, Reynardo, who is part of a resistance fighting against an oppressive froggy Emperor. A quirk of the game is that Reynardo comes across a book that allows him to see various paths he can take, and it is up to you which direction you want to take the story. Depending on which choice you make there are different outcomes, and the main goal is to reach the best ending out of the 24 that are available. The game has a lot of charm and is very humorous, with dialogue delivered by a narrator in a very amusing fashion.

RiME

RiME is an adventure game that brings to mind the likes of ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and the aforementioned The Last Guardian. The difference here is the graphics, which are bold and vibrant and have a cell-shaded quality to them. The game is very much focused on its puzzles, and the boy you control has a number of skills to allow him to solve these puzzles, such as climbing, carrying, pushing and pulling. The boy also has the ability to sing, triggering statues to light up, opening up doorways and passageways leading to other places to explore. The game accompanies a heart-rending story about loss and acceptance. A beautiful game with a beautiful story, certainly give this one a try.

Race the Sun

A game that doesn’t really have a plot to it, Race the Sun offers a lot of challenge and is one that I will go back to now and again to try and beat my previous scores. The game has you controlling a sleek solar-powered aircraft that races through environments full of geometrical hazards that all you need to do is dodge. Seems simple enough, but as well as dodging obstacles you also need to collect as many blue Tri’s as possible, ranking up your multiplier and your total score. Some upgrades can help you achieve a maximum score, such as magnets that will attract Tri’s to you to give your score a boost. As well as obstacles, also against you is a setting sun – once it has gone down, your craft will slowly power down and fail. You also need to avoid shadows, as this will also cause your aircraft to fail. Gameplay is constant and fast, and you can find some stellar playthroughs of this game on YouTube, in which players can amass scores running into the billions. A fun, challenging game, one that can be played in small bursts, keep this in mind if you are looking for something to challenge your reflexes!

Never Alone

If you want a break from running-and-gunning and are looking for a bit of cultural insight, Never Alone could be your game, which revolves around a young Inuit girl called Nuna, and her cute Arctic fox companion. Never Alone is a puzzle game which sees Nuna and her fox friend working together to overcome the odds, and you can either play alone or with a friend, with one of you controlling the fox. The game was made with the help of the Inuit community, and, as you play, the game rewards you with insights into their lifestyle and how they live in and survive the Arctic and the cold. Nuna’s story is about finding her lost Alaskan villagers who were forced to find shelter elsewhere thanks to a treacherous blizzard. The story itself is simple but leads to a huge final boss, one that took me by surprise as I wasn’t expecting to find such a thing in a game that has a simplistic style. Never Alone is an atmospheric game, and if you enjoy cultural pursuits and solving puzzles, then this could be your go-to game.

Trine Trilogy

This is a mystical adventure game best played with others, a total of three characters being controlled by three people. You can play alone, swapping between each character, but with friends is when things become interesting. Those characters include a thief, a wizard and a knight, and each of them must work together to complete levels. A 2.5D puzzle/platformer, Trine is unintentionally amusing, a physics-based game that can lead to some humorous moments as characters accidentally throw themselves about or become impaled on part of the environment. On the other hand, it is also a very beautiful and enchanting game to look at, with environments having an ethereal appearance. A trilogy, I have played only two out of three, but the the first two games managed to reach my expectations and were both as great as the other. The main characters have fun banter together, and it is a game that manages to pull you and keep hooked from start to finish.

And that completes part 2 of my look-back on games that have been released in recent years, but have probably already been forgotten about. Many games are continuously being released resulting with others that are over-shadowed by bigger competitors, but as long as the games keep on coming, I will continue to write articles that remind us of hidden gems that should get more attention.