One of my favorite things about video games is that I can recommend experiences I’m absolutely certain most people haven’t had the chance to enjoy.
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I don’t consider myself the most knowledgeable gamer in the world, far from it, but I do have a good memory for those titles that, for one reason or another, didn’t quite make it into the mainstream as they should have.
Whether it’s because they had unusual ideas, outdated mechanics, or simply didn’t follow the typical style of their creators, you’d be surprised by the number of video games from the past you could love if you only knew they existed.
Therefore, to dispel the notion that there are no more interesting titles left to discover, I invite you to check out this list of the ten best action-adventure games forgotten by time.
10 Remember Me
An Underrated Debut
Before Don’t Nod surprised us with games like Vampyr and Life is Strange, the developer’s debut came with Remember Me, a game I’ve always thought was underrated.
I must admit it’s an inconsistent product, with spectacular but frustrating combat and rather unintuitive puzzle sections, so it doesn’t surprise me too much that it flew under the radar.
However, if you can overlook its gameplay limitations and its difficult-to-follow (though undeniably captivating) story, you’ll find yourself immersed in an intriguing science fiction world whose setting and ideas are compelling enough to make you want to see what the studio had to offer back then.
For their first game, I’d say it’s a pretty positive foray into the industry, even if collective memory doesn’t agree. Remember Me is a unique experience, including its strange combination of gameplay genres and its even stranger cinematics.
9 Headhunter
Between Gunfire and Races
My memories of the Dreamcast are old but vivid, because even though they date back to a time when I didn’t even know basic math, they’re strong enough that I couldn’t forget Headhunter even if I tried.
At the time, I had already played third-person shooters and motorcycle games, but being able to use both mechanics in the same title and have them blend so well to give the feeling of being a secret agent was a completely revolutionary experience.
If you add to that the fact that it wasn’t enough to just drive and shoot, but you also had to explore and investigate to find items to progress in certain areas, it was a compact experience that gave you the best of several worlds.
I don’t consider it a pioneer because, looking back, it’s obvious other games did it first and better, though that doesn’t change that Headhunter is among the IPs I’d love to see return with a new installment.
8 Outland
Housemarque In Its Element
Although Housemarque is currently remembered for their magnificent work on Returnal and their promising development of Saros, I had the pleasure of discovering them back in 2011 through Outland.
At a time when Ubisoft still supported smaller, interesting projects, the French company gave these masters of bullet hell the opportunity to create a solid yet unforgettable Metroidvania with an astonishing atmosphere and gameplay systems.
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Through the use of color, where you had to alternate your character’s aura to interact with certain platforms and attack certain enemies, it felt like a glorious combination of a rhythm game and a 2D side-scroller, including impressive bosses that, if you scaled them down, could easily have come from Shadow of the Colossus.
In terms of gameplay, it’s adequate and one of Housemarque’s more modest works, but in terms of audiovisuals and stunning cutscenes, Outland is a marvel that I’m deeply saddened isn’t more widely recognized.
7 Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Post-apocalyptic Nature
Anyone who enjoys discussing and researching underrated video games could easily have expected Enslaved: Odyssey to the West to appear on this list, but I couldn’t miss the opportunity to worship it.
From the very first escape sequence, where you play as a humanoid Monkey King battling robots with a combat system boasting impeccable choreography and camera work, it’s evident you’re playing a truly distinctive game.
Then you step outside, revel in this beautiful green post-apocalypse, start parkouring the remnants of a long-vanished civilization, and realize you’re experiencing a game everyone should be talking about.
Nevertheless, it’s about as linear as you’ll ever encounter, making it feel like a sadly missed opportunity for greater exploration freedom. Even so, those of us who enjoy action-adventure games are accustomed to hallways, so Enslaved: Odyssey to the West won’t be a problem.
6 Prototype
An Open World Like No Other
Lately, I’ve had the opportunity to talk about Prototype regularly, which I’m happy about considering I’ve been thinking for years that there are many players today who would enjoy a game like this.
Its edgy story and extremely visceral mechanics probably wouldn’t resonate much with the modern market, yet, as an exception to the rule, I think it’s a phenomenal outsider if what you want is to live out an unprecedented power fantasy where you’re more of a supervillain than a superhero.
Technically, you’re not the bad guy in the story—yet—but going around consuming enemy soldiers, throwing vehicles all over the city, smashing buildings from every angle, and using biological weapons to wipe out everything in your path isn’t exactly heroic.
Regardless, fighting, exploring, and moving around in Prototype feels great, and it doesn’t seem to have aged a second. I wouldn’t be too keen on the idea of a third installment unless a lot of things change, though I still believe it’s a title I think everyone should try at least once.
5 Dante’s Inferno
A Clone Revalued Over Time
Dante’s Inferno was a blessing for those of us who were God of War fans but didn’t own a PlayStation console, so its value to my life as a gamer is immeasurable.
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However, Electronic Arts let the franchise languish at the bottom of their priorities for far too long, and today it’s only remembered by those of us who experienced the adventure originally, with all its strengths and weaknesses.
The second half of the game may be repetitive and uninspired, but the first half is incredible enough in terms of story, cinematics, combat, puzzles, and platforming that, honestly, I don’t mind its significant decline.
Even so, its latter parts are worthy of a decent title, which does lower Dante’s Inferno‘s overall score, though not its recommendability. It’s a franchise we all want to see return, and that’s no coincidence, because even its flaws reveal a soul and affection rarely seen these days.
4 Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
A Pillar of Stealth
Since I didn’t enjoy Elden Ring Nightreign any more than your average multiplayer title, my desire for FromSoftware to rediscover its affinity for stealth and give us another game like Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is immeasurable.
Generally, I feel a deep longing for the genre, which is quite painful, because no one seems to want to use stealth as the core gameplay anymore, but rather as an accessory. In this context, replaying the first game in the series feels like traveling back to a time when those of us who followed the shadows were happier.
I’ve rarely felt so immersed in a video game as I did with this one, because swinging from rooftop to rooftop, studying the patterns of enemy guards, familiarizing myself with the physical map, and using my katana to take down everything in my path, even when I can only see a few feet in front of my character, is simply phenomenal.
Changing scenery, verticality, movement, soundtrack, different cameras, variety of missions… Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is a box of surprises that still shocks today, so its absence is a loss we should all be mourning.
3 Asura’s Wrath
A Story You Won’t Forget
Asura’s Wrath has one of the most basic and unresponsive combat systems I’ve seen, and yet it’s among the most wonderful games I’ve ever had the chance to play.
Its story, characters, and soundtrack are so insanely glorious and unforgettable that I don’t care about being forced to mindlessly mash buttons for hours on end, because it’s a sacrifice worth every second.
The game looks spectacular even though it doesn’t feel like it, except for those breathtaking boss fights where you battle a Buddhist deity the size of five galaxies using quick-time events, faith, and the inexorable desire to experience firsthand the most grandiose and memorable cinematics in video game history.
Yes, mechanically you just run around punching demons of all sizes, and yet the rest of Asura’s Wrath is so captivating that you not only don’t mind, but you end up enjoying it. If that isn’t a testament to the power of its adventure, I don’t think anything can be.
Of course, these same characteristics are what guarantee its oblivion, because a game with such limitations and features (like an episodic approach, diverse narrative forms, and an ending that arrives via DLC) is hardly acceptable today, so it will remain what it is: a timeless icon known by few.
2 Mirror’s Edge
The Best First-Person Platformer
My 10-year-old self grabbed Mirror’s Edge and never let go, because it’s been almost two decades since its release, and I still haven’t experienced anything similar in the action-adventure genre.
First-person puzzle platformers are rare to begin with, but this level of care and attention to detail, making you feel like a parkour expert fleeing from totalitarian and oppressive forces, makes the title even more unique.
I won’t deny that the gunplay is awful, but the movement is so divine and immersive that you’ll never feel motivated to pick up a weapon. Instead, you’ll be kicking enemies to disarm them and continue on your path, almost making them part of the superb obstacle course that is the City of Glass.
Even though its sequel came out in 2016, Electronic Arts and the gaming community haven’t fully grasped the magnitude of the work that is Mirror’s Edge. It’s not just a good title, it’s a masterpiece that has not been equaled in its genre, even though nobody seems to consider it relevant enough.
1 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
The Resurrection of an Icon
Imagine being a relatively new team and taking a franchise like Castlevania, giving it a more modern Metroidvania structure, shaping it around amazing hack-and-slash combat, and creating one of the best games in the series, among the best vampire games, and part of Konami’s finest products all at once.
Well, that’s exactly what MercurySteam did with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a prime example of how combining so many elements into a single experience can be as difficult as it is extraordinary if you do your homework properly.
If you analyze the combat, progression, puzzles, platforming, bosses, characters, story, aesthetics, level design, soundtrack, and any other element that might come to mind when talking about an action-adventure title, you realize we’re dealing with a creation whose undervaluation is practically inexplicable.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is one of those complete titles that, no matter how you look at it, has something to offer all types of players. Even with a sequel for consoles and then one for handhelds, it’s not talked about half as much as it should be, but I have faith that time will eventually put it in its rightful place.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
