The Evil Within 2
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Here’s the thing: the first Evil Within game wasn’t exactly great. It garnered quite a bit of hype because of Shinji Mikami’s involvement, and it played around with some interesting ideas in the horror genre, but overall, it wasn’t spectacular. The letterboxing was divisive, the gunplay wasn’t smooth, and the story was a hot mess. The Evil Within 2, though, is an entirely different story.
The good thing about The Evil Within 2 is that you can jump straight into this one without having to worry much about the events of the past game. You’ll miss a few references here and there, but the story is standalone for the most part. Tango Gameworks improved upon almost every aspect of the game, while still keeping that macabre aesthetic that made the first game so genuinely horrifying. The game’s semi-open world is filled with things to do and monstrosities to encounter, the story is much easier to follow, and the gameplay and crafting systems have been vastly improved upon.
Still, The Evil Within 2 remains as one of the more underrated games on the PS4 because most players would have probably overlooked it due to shoddy marketing and a bad aftertaste from the first game. This is one of the best survival horror games this generation, and it shouldn’t be missed.
Iconoclasts
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
You might have missed this one back in January when games like Monster Hunter: World, Shadow of the Colossus, and Celeste were rocking your world, but Iconoclasts is a true indie gem that deserves a bit of the spotlight too.
The game follows the story of Robin, a young girl who just wants to be a mechanic. However, without a proper license, Mother (a religious authority in the game’s world) regards her as a sinner. Robin just wants to help to fix things, though, and as the world continues to fall apart around her and agents start going after her friends, she finds herself caught up in a conspiracy.
Iconoclasts features a truly gorgeous 2D pixel art style with beautifully animated cutscenes. It’s a platforming adventure game that features innovative boss battles, puzzles, and fun mechanics to learn. It’s just unfortunate that it released so close to several other major releases at the start of 2018, and got overshadowed as a result.
Moss
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Moss pretty much stole everyone’s hearts when it was unveiled during E3 2017, but because it’s a PSVR exclusive, the puzzle/adventure game didn’t get quite as much attention as it deserved. The game was released back in February 2018, and it tasks players with guiding a tiny mouse named Quill through a dangerous world.
Moss is one of the most charming games we’ve played this year, with Quill interacting with the player in adorable ways and other cute animations. The game itself is pretty fun as well, as it’s packed with puzzles and mechanics that are intuitive enough to prevent the player from feeling stumped for extended periods of time.
It’s just a shame that you have to have a VR headset to experience this adventure game. Despite the short length, Moss manages to be captivating every step of the way, and it’s certainly one of the bright spots in the PSVR catalog at the moment.
SOMA
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Another underrated survival horror game that didn’t get a lot of attention when it finally made its way to the PS4, SOMA stands out from its competition by relying on psychological horror instead of jump scares that you’ll often find in most conventional scary games such as Outlast and Resident Evil VII. The game’s setting itself is brilliant as well, taking place in an underwater facility to really accentuate a sense of claustrophobia.
The game follows the story of Simon Jarrett, who finds himself in the underwater research facility known as PATHOS-II. The game is scary because it delves into the horror of isolation and what happens to people when they’re forced to survive while cut off from the rest of the world. As time goes on, the machines in the facility begin to develop a consciousness and start to show signs of sentience, and this plays very well into the overall creepiness of SOMA.
SOMA doesn’t offer much in the gameplay department, but if you’re looking for an engaging psychological horror story to get into, this is most definitely worth a look.
Dragon Quest Builders
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Square Enix’s Dragon Quest series hasn’t really gained much traction in the west, which explains why the mainline games rarely ever get localized. It’s a miracle, then, that Dragon Quest Builders saw an English release at all. Even if you aren’t a fan of Dragon Quest, or if you don’t know anything about the series, Builders is still one of the most grossly overshadowed games you can play on the PS4 right now. Especially if you’re into Minecraft and similar survival/crafting games.
Think of Dragon Quest Builders as an entry-level game to other titles in the genre. Builders eases players into the flow of things with concise tutorials and succinct explanations on how mechanics work. The game also features a story mode to help new players acclimatize to the survival and crafting aspects, and once you’re done with that, you’re free to create whatever you want. Granted, Dragon Quest Builders is comparably limited in terms of content and things you can build, but it oozes charm and it’s the perfect chill game you can sink hours into when you’re in between major game releases.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Kingdom Come: Deliverance made quite the splash when it released earlier in 2018. It was lauded for its unique vision of trying to make things as realistic as possible, and guide players through a world grounded in historical events. The story is set during a war in Bohemia in the 15th century, and players take control of Henry, a blacksmith’s son. Because this is an RPG, bad things soon happen to Henry’s village, and he’s forced to take up the sword and start fighting some bad guys.
The cool thing about Kingdom Come: Deliverance is that it wants to be as historically accurate as possible. This translates to gameplay as well, in which Henry literally has to learn how to read, or words will just look like illegible scribbles to the player’s eye. He has to sleep and eat like any normal human being, and it’ll take you quite a bit of time before Henry finally becomes somewhat decent at handling a bow and swinging a sword. The result? Kingdom Come ends up being probably the most immersive RPG you can play right now, but it isn’t without its warts. The game suffers from a lot of jank, including bad frame rate dips, characters getting stuck in walls, and several other game mechanics that feel frustrating because the developers tried too hard to stick to realism.
Still, most of these issues have been resolved since the game’s original launch. The game actually has a reasonable save system now, and though you will still run into bad hiccups every now and then, Kingdom Come: Deliverance deserves a bit more love for daring to take risks in a market full of open world games.
Gravity Rush 2
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
The way Gravity Rush 2 has been so overshadowed by bigger PS4 exclusives like Horizon Zero Dawn and Uncharted 4 is downright criminal. This is one game that definitely deserved more mainstream attention than it got, and we’ll tell you exactly why.
Gravity Rush is a superhero game, though not in the conventional sense. Protagonist Kat has the ability to fly and perform amazing kicks, but the core of her superpower is in her ability to shift gravity. In a way, she’s not exactly flying; she’s manipulating gravity around her to ‘fall’ in whatever direction she desires. This is the main mechanic you’ll have to get used to in Gravity Rush, and when you do, you’ll find there’s nothing more satisfying than falling into the sky at high speed while soaking in the breathtaking cel-shaded view of the game world. This is a beautifully animated game with a charming jazzy soundtrack and characters with pep to spare.
The story is an absolute delight as well. Granted, you will have to play the first game to really appreciate everything the sequel sets out to do, but Gravity Rush 2 truly nails it with the subtle cues in its writing and a large narrative payoff at the end that wraps things up in a satisfying manner. Gravity Rush 2 delivers an exquisite and unique narrative experience that you won’t find anywhere else, and it earns every single twist and gut-punch it throws at you.
Unfortunately, the game was let down by some questionable gameplay decisions. And despite making its way to the PS4, there simply weren’t enough people who had played the first game on the PS Vita to care about the ambitious and sorely underrated sequel.
Salt and Sanctuary
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Everyone always talks about Nioh and Bloodborne in the discussion about Souls-like games on PS4, but we rarely get any kind of buzz about Salt and Sanctuary. Developed by Ska Studios, Salt and Sanctuary is essentially a 2D Souls game, and it comes packed with every single Souls-like element you could ask for.
You can tell that this is a game that’s been lovingly crafted by people who understand what makes From Software’s Souls games so special. It’s not just the ‘difficulty’ or the massive bosses; it’s also about the world and interconnected level design, supplemented by a strong combat system and a subtle narrative that underscores your adventure. Salt and Sanctuary provides all of that, along with a few additions to the Souls formula like an extensive skill tree that gives you more options for diversifying your play style and character build. There are mechanics in place for challenge runners who want to beat the game without leveling up and other limitations. Some of the boss and enemy designs do fall a bit flat, but overall, this is still one of the best Souls-like games you can play on the PS4 right now.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
Another oft-overlooked title on the PS4, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is a remake of the PS2 classic, Odin Sphere. Developed by Vanillaware and published by Atlus, Leifthrasir features a full HD facelift, enhancing the already-gorgeous art style to make it pop even more. The alchemy system was redone to make it more streamlined and less bloated than in the original, and new bosses were added, along with improvements made to enemy AI. The result was an extremely polished side-scrolling action RPG with a fun combat system that would appeal to players who enjoyed the gameplay in Dragon’s Crown.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir didn’t feature any story changes, but the remake forced players to get through the character chapters in order so that the narrative impact wouldn’t be affected. More importantly, the remake also featured redone voice acting to bring the characters to life. Even now, Odin Sphere still stands out as an excellent RPG with a memorable story and in-depth gameplay systems that hold up today.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Underrated PS4 Games to Play in 2018
The best thing about Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (and its sequel, Hacker’s Memory) is that you don’t necessarily need to be a fan of the anime series in order to enjoy this game. Cyber Sleuth is a third-person RPG where you get to explore a world, take control of digital monsters called Digimon, and use them to do battle with other Digimon. Kinda like Pokemon, except with a more in-depth story.
Players will assume the role of Aiba, an amateur hacker who gets caught up in a conspiracy and a slew of cyber crimes after receiving a message from a mysterious hacker in a chatroom. This opens up the door to the world of Digimon, where Aiba assists a detective in hunting down cybercriminals.
The game features over 200 Digimon available for recruitment, and unlike the Pokemon games, Cyber Sleuth offers a new game plus feature as well – something that’s especially crucial to players who enjoy replaying games but aren’t willing to part with all their hard-earned stuff. Cyber Sleuth is a pretty solid RPG overall with a fun story to get into, and it definitely deserves more attention.
Published: May 4, 2018 09:31 am