• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

The Hidden Gems of 2017

MaskedNdi

MaskedNdi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
294
2017 has been filled to the brim with fantastic games. From JRPGs to open world adventures to run and guns, there have been interesting titles coming out every single month. While the bounty of games has been great, it's also been overwhelming. There are so many titles coming out that a lot of amazing-looking games are falling by the wayside. Hopefully, this thread can highlight some of the games that have slipped through the cracks.

If you're into history, atmospheric horror, or enjoy unique gaming experiences, I can't recommend Detention enough. Set in 1960s Taiwan, Detention is a survival horror game about a girl that is trapped in her high school. There are monsters, ghosts and other conventional horrors here, but what really makes this game scary is the way it showcases life under a repressive regime. It's short, cheap, and a great game to play during the Halloween season. It's available on Steam and PS4.

bygF3zl.gif


Please share the 2017 games that have fallen under the radar! Hidden gems from 2016 are fine too.
 
The Cellar Letters

The Cellar Letters

lmayo
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,155
I'd say Heat Signature is flying under the radar a little bit, though I haven't seen any sales data. It's pretty great
 
Creamium

Creamium

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,701
Belgium
OP, that's a very interesting game you picked there. I'll be wishlisting this, thanks for bringing attention to it.

Mine are Graceful Explosion Machine for Switch and The Sexy Brutale. GEM is a very addictive shooter and a must play for anyone who loves Geo Wars and the like. The Sexy Brutale has my favorite story in a game this year.
 
Trago

Trago

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,605
Observer. Very cool Blade Runner inspired detective game starring non other than Rutger Haure!

8b4eb5135ee16686799f51863b5d6c3091cc6678.gif
 
Brashnir

Brashnir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,236
Cosmic Star Heroine. It had (has?) some bugs and polish issues, but has one of the best combat systems in existence for that style of game, and it doesn't wear out its welcome by making everything an overlong slog.
 
Einbroch

Einbroch

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,998
I don't know how hidden it is, but Ys 8 should not be overlooked, even if you thought the previous entry was mediocre. It's the pinnacle of fun gameplay.
 
Rygar 8Bit

Rygar 8Bit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,880
Site-15
its dang mutant league people game deserves a lot more attention
they took mutant league football and added nfl blitz to it i mean come on!
ill be making a OT for the game in a couple of days
header.jpg
 
Ventara

Ventara

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 25, 2017
710
Culdcept Revolt for the 3DS released to little fanfare. Game seems pretty good.
 
teflontactics

teflontactics

Member
Oct 25, 2017
314
Ontario, Canada
Kamiko.



It got a little buzz when it came out due to the price and style, but I feel like its been a bit buried since. That said, it just hit 150,000 sales worldwide, so what do I know? :P
 
Pix

Pix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
676
Ruiner, this game is so good but blew under the radar when it got released
 

Ajax

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1
Taki said:
Hey look a game about a relatively unexplored period of time in my home country! Interesting. I'll check it out.

I don't know if this counts as a hidden gem but it initially flew under my radar:

The Long Dark
A survival free roaming adventure set in the post-apocalypse.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/305620/The_Long_Dark/
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...


Great choice, it's slower than other survival games but so much better. I don't think I can even classify it exactly as survival.
 
FelipeMGM

FelipeMGM

#Skate4
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
3,012
I dont think its that hidden, but What Remain's of Edith Finch is one of my favorites of the year. The way it implements its gameplay design to drive the narrative is one of the most successful examples of why videogames can be the best medium to tell a story
 
Last edited:
BoTalksGames

BoTalksGames

Member
Oct 25, 2017
252
United States
Let's see...most all of these are Switch games as I haven't really touched my PS4 much this year:

Slime-san: Really fun fast paced 2D platformer in the vein of Super Meat Boy.
Has-Been Heroes: Genuinely one of my favorite roguelike gamess. It got a bad rep for the difficulty being ridiculous but patches have fixed that and once you get used to the mechanics it's a blast.
WonderBoy: The Dragon's Trap: Kinda cheating since it's a 1:1 remake of the original but man this game is beautiful and fun.
TumbleSeed: Another really good roguelike, which similarly to Has Been Heroes got a bit of heat for the difficulty. Really unique mechanics in which you balance a seed up a mountain avoiding pitfalls and enemies.
 
BADMAN

BADMAN

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,887
Check out Paradigm on Steam. It's a old school surrealist point and click adventure game that got completely overlooked this year. It's hilarious.
 
Nocturnowl

Nocturnowl

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,110
Though I think it may have been a 2016 release on PC, a friend of mine picked up Speedrunners on PS4 on a whim just the other day, convinced a bunch of us to give it a go and it's a blast.
Like a mix of Micro Machines style outracing your opponents via off screen elimination with items and Runbow competitive platforming done with a far more fluid movement system. Both local and online MP are a riot.
 
My Cow Phelps

My Cow Phelps

Member
Oct 25, 2017
324
Rain World i think. I'm pretty wary of calling something "original," but I'd be genuinely surprised if there is another game even remotely similar to it.

ezgif-4-effbd652ab.gif
 
MattWilsonCSS

MattWilsonCSS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,349
A Robot Named Fight: the first randomly-generated Metroidvania that ACTUALLY IS A METROIDVANIA. It's not perfect but it will scratch your Super Metroid itch and the map generation generally has good flow, there are different flavors of powerup 'genres' for different runs (I don't know how else to explain it, but like, for example, there are multiple pickups for getting under one-tile gaps that you can find across various runs). It's one life per run but you can get extra lives if you can find save station-esque rooms. Like Binding of Isaac, more pickups/powerups/shop items unlock over time for future runs. I can't stress this enough, it is WAY TOO KNOCKOFF-LOOKING, and the controls are a little stiff. I'm hoping they can adjust the visuals to not be such a blatant clone, and make the movement more responsive.

HackyZack: Humble Bundle's first published game of 2017, it's a highly-twitchy puzzle platformer where you must juggle a hacky sack to the goal. There are platforms that the sack can land on that you pass through, and vice versa. It gets quite tricky but it doesn't overstay its welcome!

Mainlining: Not a perfect game but a fun little dorky hollywood-hacking game with a story and fun little mockups of windows, MacOS, ubuntu.

Stories Untold: if you can survive the game's copious crashes (which force you to restart chapters ARRRGH), this is a beatiful psychological horror anthology.

Princess Remedy 2: It's a crime that very few people have picked up the sequel to one of my favorite indie titles of 2016. A new feature for the sequel is you can date anyone and anything. You can take them to the ball after the game is over and they all have their own dance/music. Otherwise the gameplay is pretty identical which means it's fun and it's fun

Milkmaid of the Milky Way: It's a quaint adventure game told in rhyming couplets where you're a milkmaid that stumbles upon aliens. Should be relatively cheap around sales time.

Mini-Ghost: Extremely cheap MSX-style Metroidvania with a sprite/tile/map editor to make your own Metroidvanias and put em in the Steam Workshop!

edit: How could I forgot Alwa's Awakening?!? One of my favorite Metroidvanias this year!
 
Last edited:
Arulan

Arulan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,571


It's a fantastic turn-based tactical RPG, and personally one of my favorite games this year. Up until this point, it's also the game I've put the most hours into this year, though soon to be surpassed by Divinity: Original Sin 2.

The enemy design is great. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that throughout most of the game (at least until your first crisis) your'e forced into adapting new strategies to handle different enemies and compositions. It's also the type of game where you'll begin to grow attached to your company men. The heroics of a fellow brother to hold off a Brigand Leader whose actions saved your company from disaster, but who ultimately fell in battle will stick with you.

I've read comments from others who dislike the art style and lack of legs, but I strongly encourage anyone interested in turn-based combat or strategy games to check it out.
 
OP
OP
MaskedNdi

MaskedNdi

Member
Oct 25, 2017
294
MattWilsonCSS said:
Princess Remedy 2: It's a crime that very few people have picked up the sequel to one of my favorite indie titles of 2016. A new feature for the sequel is you can date anyone and anything. You can take them to the ball after the game is over and they all have their own dance/music. Otherwise the gameplay is pretty identical which means it's fun and it's fun
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Would it be okay to start with this one, or should I play the original first? It looks like it'd be a blast to play.
 
MattWilsonCSS

MattWilsonCSS

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,349
MaskedNdi said:
Would it be okay to start with this one, or should I play the original first? It looks like it'd be a blast to play.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You should play the original first because it's free (and also on Steam)! And if you like the original, definitely buy the second, and save it for a later date so you don't feel deja-vu playing it.

Also the developer of Princess Remedy (Ludosity) has a great lineage of indie games, from Card City Nights to MURI to Ittle Dew, to Daniel Remar's solo games like Iji and Hero Core.
 
More_Badass

More_Badass

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,623
I got Detention during the Summer Sale but haven't played it yet. Love that artstyle

Really enjoyed Let Them Come. A sci-fi shooter with some really great pixel art, and a roguelite kind of structure to unlocks that let you change out ammo types, weapons, and perks to counter varied alien enemy types encroaching upon your entrenched position. The game wrings a lot of variety out of the different enemy abilities, speeds, designs, etc., so timing and precision becomes important. You can't just shoot mindlessly. You can shoot wildly though, to hold back the incoming hordes of monsters.

CPUGVptVEAAUMew.gif
 
mJay

mJay

Member
Oct 25, 2017
90
SteamWorld-Dig-2-575x300.jpg

SteamWorld Dig 2 is a fantastic gem! 15 hour game flew by and I was considering playing it again.
 
R.T Straker

R.T Straker

Chicken Chaser
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,715
header.jpg


Hollow Knight was a huge surprise for me. I went in expecting a decent game but nothing more.

I was completely blown away by it's quality at that price tag. It's a fantastic metroidvania and I highly recommand you give this one a shot if you're a fan of the genre.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/367520/Hollow_Knight/

It's also releasing on Switch sometime in the future.
 
Drelkag

Drelkag

Member
Oct 25, 2017
527
ifdZ7Yp.jpg


A spiritual successor to Legend of Mana for anyone who enjoyed it with turn-based, boardgame like battles.

The game's on mobile (iOS and Android) and costs $10 but there's no microtransactions.
 
Fjordson

Fjordson

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,010
Brashnir said:
Cosmic Star Heroine. It had (has?) some bugs and polish issues, but has one of the best combat systems in existence for that style of game, and it doesn't wear out its welcome by making everything an overlong slog.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Was about to post this.

Anyone who's a fan of older JRPG's should give Cosmic Star Heroine a shot. Really fun combat system, beautiful retro visuals and a great soundtrack. And the patches seemed to have ironed out most of the bugs, I haven't had any issues with my playthrough.
 
Darmik

Darmik

Member
Oct 25, 2017
686
Slime-san is a really great Super Meat Boy-esque platformer. The amount of content in the game is insane (100 levels which are then remixed in NG+ that also have speed run trophies and apples to collect) and the visual design of red = dangerous makes things really clear.

It gets really damn frustrating though so be warned! It's on both Steam and Switch.
 
Brashnir

Brashnir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,236
Darmik said:
Slime-san is a really great Super Meat Boy-esque platformer. The amount of content in the game is insane (100 levels which are then remixed in NG+ that also have speed run trophies and apples to collect) and the visual design of red = dangerous makes things really clear.

It gets really damn frustrating though so be warned! It's on both Steam and Switch.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Thanks for the rec - I wasn't familiar with it. Have added it to my Steam wishlist.
 
JCG

JCG

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,537
I would like to suggest Fight'N Rage as a solid beat 'em up in the spirit of the old arcade classics with a nice combo system, three playable characters, local co-op, alternate paths and endings, challenging yet mostly fair gameplay possibilities, a decent training mode, very good sprite graphics and animations as well as cool music. There's a number of additional options that can be unlocked after playing for a while too. Quite an accomplishment for a game basically made by one person. And yes, you can turn on/off the fake CRT filter.



Another would be Lost Technology , a Japanese indie real time strategy title with 12 factions, shades of early Total War gameplay, a pretty decent art style, nice music and a very affordable price. That said, the user interface isn't spectacular and the tutorial is basic rather than in-depth, but a couple of patches have been released to polish a few initial issues. All factions can be selected right now yet only three of their story modes have been translated so far, though PLAYISM has announced that work is continuing.

 
Last edited:
slasherjpc

slasherjpc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
320
Echo. Totally a slow burn at the start but great sci-fi stealth game the really rackets up the tension. Like damn. Was super impressed.
 
Rokal

Rokal

Member
Oct 25, 2017
505
It's Snake Pass for me. A super refreshing take on 3D platformers, and mastering the controls felt very satisfying. It was the first time in a long while that I felt like a game was designed around a truly new mechanic.
 
QuixoticNeutral

QuixoticNeutral

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,644
I don't know how much visibility Graceful Explosion Machine has now that we're much further in the year and the Switch, its lead platform, is loaded with high-profile indies. But I was high enough on the global leaderboards (last time I checked) to surmise that its player base is smaller than it deserves. It looks like a shooter but it's secretly a lean, stripped-down Bayonetta-like combo-stringer, like if you took the shmup segment out of a Kamiya game and extrapolated it into a whole medal-hunting arcade experience of its own.
 

Min

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,073
I don't know if it is hidden, but I didn't see much talk about it (maybe I just wasn't looking), Tacoma. It's a really neat exploration of people's lives on a space station. Like Gone Home it's all about perusing the environment to fill in the story, but with a rewind mechanic to see different conversation taking place in different locations at the same time point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.