Hidden Gems of Gaming?

[TehDonutKing]

Feel like these may not be obscure enough, but the Zero Escape trilogy is really good, as is the Tomba! duology.

[Iuvenal]

Star Control II is one of my favorites. A really open world, multiple gameplay modes that are all well-executed, tons of player choice, great humor, and a story packed with adventure, intrigue and even romance! The best part is that, while it doesn't bludgeon you, it doesn't hold your hand too much and patronize you either. And after it got open-sourced years ago, a community grew up that updated the code to run on modern systems without difficulty (the port is known as the Ur-Quan Masters). There are also great remixes of the soundtrack done by a group called The Precursors, and an HD facelift (though some of the smoothing modes available in the port make the old low-res graphics look pretty decent even without the updated artwork).

[unz]

I can't believe I forgot to mention it before, but Spec Ops: The Line is severely underrated IMO. Of all the games I've ever played, this one was the most similar to NGE. It starts off looking like a typical oorah military third-person shooter, but gradually turns into a complete mindfuck deconstruction of the genre. The ending sequence is one of the best I've ever seen in a video game, delivering an EoE-style kick to the player's balls. In addition, the game takes place in a sandstorm-destroyed Dubai and is still one of the best-looking games I've ever played despite being 7th-gen. The environment and visuals are gorgeous. I really hope Yager makes a sequel some time.

While spec ops is its own thing from apocalypse now and hod it doesn't think much of the players as far as storytelling goes and while you can tell an action is wrong the game then rubs things at your face.
Want a game making hypocrites of players for solving things with guns, having them corrupted for cash, having them building stacks as long as it makes them stronger according to the game's economic chain, civilians seeing you for what you are, pretty lights masking general shit, sci fi/tech stuff meant to suppress people etc...there isn't go watch dredd 3d.

[IronEvangelion]

while you can tell an action is wrong the game then rubs things at your face.

Here's the thing: the player always has a choice of how to proceed at any of the key moments in the game.

SPOILER: Show

For instance, in the infamous white phosphorus segment you actually don't have to use the white phosphorus at all, despite your teammates telling you there's no other choice. And in the segment where you have to eliminate the civilians who are trying to kill your teammates, I resolved the situation by firing into the air and scaring them off instead of mowing them down.

One of the game's key messages is to think and make your own decisions instead of looking for a voice to tell you what to do.

Want a game making hypocrites of players for solving things with guns, having them corrupted for cash, having them building stacks as long as it makes them stronger according to the game's economic chain, civilians seeing you for what you are, pretty lights masking general shit, sci fi/tech stuff meant to suppress people etc...there isn't go watch dredd 3d.

...What? Where did you get the idea I was looking for all that? Just because I compared the game to NGE? The similarities are in how the story is presented and delivered, not the technology or the setting. NGE isn't really about technology or religion or corruption anyhow, it's about people and how they interact with one another (or don't). Everything else is just window dressing and symbolism. Just like how NGE and EoE are a wakeup call to otaku who shut everyone out and become obsessed with their hobby, Spec Ops: The Line is a wakeup call to a culture so morbidly obsessed with war and violence that their children are allowed to play games like Call of Duty (most notably American culture). All it's saying is, "Stop and think about what you're doing in these sorts of games."

[unz]

About the first point, no, what I was talking about was its storytelling.
About nge...it surely is about unifying people and while a very obvious social commentary about technological development is there, for instance in evas being precarious weapons, and the role of females in such world you wouldn't have any of it without evas being cyborgs with ambiguous subjectivities taking a toll on defined genres and roles.

[chazthesilencer]

Yahtzee gave The Line a not exactly a glowing critique but did name it best game of 2012. His opinions have lost a lot of value to me.

you actually don't have to use the white phosphorus at all

True, you don’t have to at all… unless you want to continue the game.
When I came to this segment- I refused the mortars and stalled, and was soon turned to Swiss cheese. Next attempt I tried making do with my rifle and grenades, you can guess what happened next. Up yours, Yager development.

I resolved the situation by firing into the air

Goodness gracious me, how irresponsible of you. Those bullets come back down to Earth you know. I shot at the ground, myself. It was a no-brainer, really.

The Zero Escape trilogy is really good

Hold your horses, dude. The third title hasn’t even been made yet/ might suck. Virtue’s Last Reward is easily the gem of the series so far.

Codename: S.T.E.A.M is only 9 months old but might as well be a hidden gem, because no bugger bought it. There’s nobody to challenge online. Sad.

[unz]

Tell me if I forget anything as a try to think of some not popular thing (around here) to keep mods away.

Chazthesilencer is right in saying there's no choice not just because that's irrelevant design to a cinematic shooter but because its played for insecurity. Fuck the message, I have to feel it, and spec ops does that especially when choices build up in some messed endings. You can praise this.
My complaint was, I dig stuff like team mates talking on my back and facing consequences on my own keeping control of my avatar but occasionally the game will tell me things and maybe use a cutscene too to show shit results and I'm past that. It's just the game not thinking players get it.
If I wanted to take a toll on the game I'd say it's a one upment from bioshock and like this one it never really leaves the shooter setup because it's better to cater to poor tastes than players who have played it all. It doesn't act like social lube nor makes room for anything so no it's not evangelion. Which brings me to some devs who didn't make incredible things but had the balls to develop queer gaming*. So you have ex bioshock devs dropping the shooter setup with Gone Home, luring players with creepy things which turn out to be a lie to allow a seemingly side love story of two girls take over; Transistor - loosely influenced from evangelion; Life is Strange which I have yet to play but I guess provides a challenge in your views - I'm just having faith in killscreen's final reviews.

As for yahtzee reviewers should talk about games just because it's fun, I don't follow him but no1 forces you to take his opinion for granted and no reviewer is likely interested into analyzing things but develop different writing for shits and giggles.
Hell reviewing of games alone is a whole different matter and most of the reviews out there are crap praising anything, but still: fun chats. That's what you need. Devs ought to be the ones educating players.

*no pun and I'm straight but got thrown into love stories from these games and it wasn't bad or anything disturbing, go try one it's mostly young adult stories level of achievement like any seasonal anime thing

[IronEvangelion]

Sorry I'm a bit late in responding, but anyhow...

True, you don’t have to at all… unless you want to continue the game.
When I came to this segment- I refused the mortars and stalled, and was soon turned to Swiss cheese. Next attempt I tried making do with my rifle and grenades, you can guess what happened next. Up yours, Yager development.

My mistake, I could have sworn I saw an achievement for finishing that part without using the white phosphorus, but it turns out it was for something right before that part. It's stupid that they didn't give the player an actual choice at that point, seeing as how it's one of the most important events in the game. I still love the game, though.

Goodness gracious me, how irresponsible of you. Those bullets come back down to Earth you know. I shot at the ground, myself. It was a no-brainer, really.

Hah, yeah they do in real life, but physics in video games are usually a lot different.

[Monk Ed]

Codename: S.T.E.A.M is only 9 months old but might as well be a hidden gem, because no bugger bought it. There’s nobody to challenge online. Sad.

I literally did not know that this game was already out.