The series of Sony PlayStation consoles have had some staggeringly good games down the years. Monumental titles have come out on each of their console iterations, from the original PlayStation that was launched back in 1995, all the way to their most recent release, the insanely powerful PlayStation 5. Some of the most notable games have been both adored by critics and the public in equal measure, and both racked up outstanding reviews and gigantic sales numbers. Franchises like the stealth action series Metal Gear Solid, and the survival horror series Resident Evil, are brilliant examples of this.
However, most releases aren’t lucky enough to garner such attention, and sometimes great games can fall by the wayside, even though they’re fantastic fun to play. Well luckily for you, we’re here to recommend some of these underrated gems for you to seek out and play. Remember that even if you’re not in possession of a PlayStation console at the moment, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t play the games, as there’s a whole range of PlayStation emulators available.
The Thing
John Carpenter’s cult sci-fi horror movie from 1982, The Thing, is an absolute masterpiece of cinematic terror. Well, game developers, Another World, were obviously big fans of it and decided to make a hauntingly mesmerising game, that takes place just after the plot of the movie has finished. This made the game, for those fortunate enough to play it when it first came out in 2002 on the PlayStation 2, consider the game as a bonafide sequel to Carpenter’s film.
Whilst the game was raved about by most reviewers when it was released, it seemed to slip under the radar of the consumers, and was largely forgotten even just a few years after. This is a massive shame though, as it featured a whole slew of gameplay features that breathed fresh air into the action and survival horror genre. It boasted an advanced AI dynamic that would have non-playable characters either trust or fear you, and therefore they would choose whether or not to help you on your mission. This was revolutionary for the time, and it remains a riveting play-through even to this day.
Pure Hold’ Em
This realistic simulation of the most popular version of poker, Texas Hold’ Em, was released in 2015 on the PlayStation 4. Pure Hold’ Em excellently showcases the extremely high-stakes of the professional poker world, and allows you to step into the shoes of players on the vast tournament circuit. Game developers, VooFoo Studios, clearly did their research on the scene, as the finished product feels true to life. It allows players to face off against both highly well designed AI in the offline mode, or against other human players from across the globe, in the online mode. Poker is immensely well liked all around the world from Europe, to Africa, and the Middle East so it should be easy finding opponents to play.
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Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut
This PlayStation 3 release features some of the worst voice acting imaginable in a video game. Ok, not a convincing start to tell you why you should play this game, but it’s true. What else is true though, is that nearly everything else is pitch perfect. Deadly Premonition: Director’s Cut was released on the PlayStation 3 in 2013, by game developers Access Games.
It was made on a bit of a shoe-string budget, so that’s why the voice acting is particularly jarring. Yet, the story-telling in this open-world game is majestic. You play as an FBI agent who’s hunting down a killer, and the gameplay involves a lot of sleuthing paired with some exciting action scenes. The soundtrack adds to the atmosphere of the game, and you will find yourself humming the score, long after you’ve put the controller down.
