Top 5 Most Underrated Games of 2016

Hitman

Prior to launching, Hitman had a bit of a turbulent development. Originally planned to release as a full title, developer IO Interactive decided to make it an episodic series of releases staggered throughout the year. Each location that Agent 47 visited on his assassination escapades was an episode with its own challenges, elusive targets, and plenty more to keep players occupied. Unfortunately, this episodic format was met with a hefty backlash from fans, leaving Hitman out in the cold.

Despite this, Hitman’s episodic release went ahead and silenced many of its critics. The staggered release of each location allowed players to enjoy everything on offer from each episode. Most importantly, however, it helped emphasize the game’s replayability. Challenges and elusive targets tasked players with getting even more creative with their kills, a mindset the series has always held dear. Despite its divisive release format, Hitman remains a solid entry into the series and one worth a try.

Zero Time Dilemma

It’s quite likely that you completely forgot Zero Time Dilemma, despite its incredibly positive reviews. In fact, the Zero Escape finale almost didn’t get made. Series sales had been underwhelming and the final chapter to the trilogy only came about thanks to a campaign from fans. That passion might give you an idea of just how good these games are, despite their small sales numbers.

Zero Time Dilemma sees nine participants forced to play a Decision Game that puts their lives on the line. The nine players are split into three teams of three, and must solve puzzles while making life-and-death decisions. This premise alone may have piqued your interest, but it’s when you introduce the ability to jump between histories and universes that things really get interesting. If something goes wrong, you can simply jump back into the fragment, replay the decision, and hope for the best. Before long, you’ll be frantically jumping between timelines to find the one where everyone survives.

It’s fiendishly tricky, has an excellent soundtrack, and its story holds strong throughout its time-jumping antics. Yet, despite its solid reviews, Zero Time Dilemma has remained out of the spotlight since its June release. The series got the third title it deserved, but still failed to win over the mainstream audience and become a commercial success.

Grim Dawn

Grim Dawn may look like a Diablo clone, and that’s because it kind of is. That doesn’t make it a bad game, though. In fact, the game has been mostly positively received by both critics and fans. Oh, and it also sold 500,000 copies worldwide in the four months that followed its release.

Grim Dawn sees players entering an apocalyptic fantasy world, where humanity is on the brink of extinction and iron is more valuable than gold. The game combines six classes, over 250 unique skills, quests with consequences, and friendly and enemy factions to create a true competitor to the Diablo series.

Despite its praise, though, Grim Dawn seems to have remained underrated and absent from the mainstream spotlight. A shame, considering it released in a far more substantial state than its inspiration did all those years ago.

Layers of Fear

Layers of Fear is a horror game free from an overabundance of jump scares. Instead, Layers of Fear goes down the psychedelic style of horror. What might have been behind you a moment ago may be something completely different once you turn back. Perhaps the walls won’t be what they once were. It’s these moments that make your journey as an insane painter on a quest to finish their magnum opus particularly eerie and uncomfortable.

Layers of Fear focuses on the fractured psyche of the protagonist to drive the thrills, rather than monsters jumping out at you from behind that creaky door. Yet, the game once again feels like another that didn’t quite get the critical acclaim, nor the mainstream buzz that it warranted. As a fresh take on the very tried and tested horror formula, Layers of Fear is a staple of 2016’s video games for horror fans, and an underrated one you shouldn’t let slip by.

Hyper Light Drifter

Hyper Light Drifter drops you into a beautiful, ruined world and leaves you to find your own path to its finish. You won’t take on different quests, but instead will be able to head in any of the four compass-point directions from the start, tackling each of the different bosses in whatever order you see fit. Its enemies are challenging, it has some fantastic level design, and its blend of modern mechanics and 2D action RPG from the old-school era make for an unforgettable experience.

Hyper Light Drifter doesn’t have terrible reviews, but it certainly deserves to be sitting a little higher in the grand scheme of things. While there was some fanfare regarding the title when it launched on PC, and subsequently Xbox One and PS4, the game has fallen by the wayside as awards season gets underway. If you’re looking for the challenge of a Souls game, with formidable bosses to test your skills against, look no further. Hyper Light Drifter is the stylish, unrelenting, and underrated title you need to play this year.