The Most Underappreciated PS3 games, Part 1
It was really fun and interesting unearthing very underappreciated Super Nintendo games and PlayStation 2 games, so I tried my hand at PS3 games. This is another console whose time has come and gone and had a lot of bestsellers. My definition of “underappreciated” is: games that are well-made, creative, or important, but never got the recognition, sales, or attention they deserved—even today. This is not just a “these are the best games you haven’t played” list. It’s a list of games that deserve to be remembered among the best titles that were released.
This is not a list of the ‘best games ever’ for the PS3. I have separate posts about that right here.
One more thing to keep in mind, I am not doing a rank-ordered list, I am doing a tiered list, with S-tier and A-tier only. Assume that every S-tier title is not only as underappreciated as the others, but also a brilliantly designed game as well. The criteria to make the S-tier is pretty strict. The A-tier games are also approximately as underappreciated as the others, and are significantly underappreciated to this day.
Finally, heads up—I earn a small commission if you buy anything through my links. I only link to games I genuinely recommend. No extra cost to you, and it helps support the site!
S Tier – Criminally Underappreciated
Siren: Blood Curse (2008, Japan Studio)
I think Siren: Blood Curse is a game very few people have heard of. Part of the reason is it was digital-only in the US (it was a physical disc release everywhere else). It is the most criminally underrated horror game of its generation. It mixed mechanical innovation with the scariest atmosphere possible, and it shaped how a whole generation of horror games were designed.
The “sight-jacking” mechanic — letting you see through enemies’ eyes — created an intense, paranoid vibe that came years before asymmetric multiplayer horror took off. Its episodic structure, shifting character viewpoints, and J-horror with Western characters paved the way for games like Until Dawn, but the industry mostly ignored its example.
It’s not unfair to call this game a masterpiece that quietly helped reshape the genre without getting its due. This game is the poster child for a criminal level of underappreciation.
Remember Me (2013, Dontnod Entertainment)
Ironically, Remember Me is a sad case of a game’s innovation getting totally forgotten. It introduced the breakthrough “memory remix” system where you could literally change characters’ memories by tweaking details, and those changes shaped the story in very deep ways.
Critics got hung up on its linear levels and standard combat, barely paying attention to how groundbreaking the memory mechanic was. The game’s vision of a future where memories are just commodities was way ahead of its time (digital privacy, mental autonomy) but people brushed it off as trying too hard to be deep.
What burns is that the developers of Life is Strange have openly said RM inspired them, but the game gets almost no credit despite selling over a million copies. It’s a classic example of the industry missing the point: everyone focused on what felt familiar and ignored what was original.
A Tier – Deeply Underappreciated
New Game: Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (2009, Starbreeze)
Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena set the gold standard for remaster-plus-sequel bundles, then got buried alive. You got the full, remastered Escape from Butcher Bay—one of gaming’s best licensed games—plus a brand-new campaign where you escape a slave ship that converts prisoners into remote-controlled drones. Starbreeze’s shadow-driven stealth and brutal first-person melee still hold up—few games nail knife kills with this much weight. The Pitch Black multiplayer mode has one player stalking as Riddick in total darkness while others coordinate flashlights. That tension hasn’t been surpassed.
Then everything collapsed. Vivendi dropped it during their Activision merger; Atari rescued it but momentum died. Reviews praised Butcher Bay, called the new campaign “merely good,” killing buzz. Licensing chaos delisted it from Steam and GOG, but hunt down a copy because it’s a lot of fun.
Puppeteer (2013, Japan Studio)
Puppeteer is a creative platformer that deserved way more attention. It stood out with its full-on puppet theater vibe: curtains frame every scene, a crowd reacts to your moves, and a chatty narrator treats the whole thing like a live stage show. You play as a boy transformed into a wooden puppet and beheaded by the Moon Bear King, who must team up with quirky companions to defeat the king’s generals and reclaim what he’s lost. The game’s scissors mechanic let you slice through fabric environments to zip around levels in these insane roller-coaster sequences that felt totally new.
Critics loved it, calling it “one of the most original games of the year,” but it didn’t sell well due to one of the worst release dates ever. Launching two months before the PS4 (and a week before GTA5) killed its momentum, and Sony barely promoted it. Puppeteer showed how platformers could blend theatrical showmanship with genuinely inventive gameplay, but it’s been largely forgotten ever since.
Stranglehold (2007, Midway/Tiger Hill)
Stranglehold is one of the console’s most overlooked gems. This cinematic action thriller deserved much more attention. Released by Midway, it stood out from other shooters as the spiritual sequel to John Woo’s film Hard Boiled, with both the director and Chow Yun-fat returning as Inspector Tequila. The game pioneered environmental destruction and fluid, slow-motion gunplay that captured Woo’s signature gun ballet aesthetic.
While critics enjoyed its cinematic flair and unique 8-hour experience, Stranglehold has been largely buried by time. Every shootout in the game felt like a Hong Kong action scene, with destructible environments and acrobatic combat that inspired later games. Stranglehold showed that games could bring cinematic vision to interactive entertainment, but it is still mostly forgotten in gaming history.
Spec Ops: The Line (2012, Yager Development)
Spec Ops: The Line is an exceptional game. On the surface it’s a military shooter, but as you play it you see it dismantles the genre it imitates. In the game, you play Captain Martin Walker. He and his Delta Force team are sent into Dubai to locate survivors and track down Colonel John Konrad, commander of the Damned 33rd, who stayed behind during the city’s evacuation.
The developers used third-person gameplay to draw players in, then to make them question the role of violence in entertainment. Even though it earned a solid 76 on Metacritic and was praised for its anti-war message and solid gameplay, the game did not sell well. It wasn’t until later that players started to see it as a rare example of true artistic expression in gaming. I am here to tell you, this is a powerful game you won’t soon forget.
Heavenly Sword (2007, Ninja Theory)
Heavenly Sword came close to becoming a PlayStation flagship. This action-adventure took the intensity of God of War and gave it a martial-arts twist, with Nariko fighting off invaders using a shape-shifting sword. The game stood out for more than just its looks. It utilized Sixaxis motion controls with its “Aftertouch” feature and set new standards in performance capture, working with Andy Serkis to bring film-quality acting and facial animation to the PS3.
Despite strong reviews and impressive visuals, the game didn’t make back its large budget after years in development. Plans for a sequel were dropped, and Ninja Theory barely made it through, eventually moving on to other projects. These days, Heavenly Sword doesn’t get much attention, but it’s still a great, underappreciated game. It showed off what the PS3 could do early on, even if it never reached a wide audience.
Comet Crash (2009, Pelfast)
Comet Crash is so obscure that I had trouble even finding decent cover art. Even though it was a 2009 PSN-exclusive tower defense game with a strong 83 on Metacritic, it faded from memory fast. Only one solid retrospective really recognized its impact. The game mixed classic tower-building with offensive unit rushes against smart AI, and some reviewers even called it revolutionary. Still, that praise quickly disappeared.
You place turrets and other defensive structures, and build ops buildings to make units like scouts and tanks. To power everything, you collect thorium, which drops from meteoroids you destroy each wave. While you defend your base with towers, you can also send out your own units to attack the enemy, so the game balances classic tower defense with active offense. Even though some called it an underrated gem, its digital-only release in a crowded market meant hardly anyone noticed it. It’s a great example of a high-quality game that got overlooked.
Rain (2013, Acquire/Japan Studio)
Rain is a great example of artistic innovation getting overlooked in the gaming world. Made by the team behind Tokyo Jungle, it tells the story of an invisible boy who can only be seen in the rain as he searches for a mysterious girl through a city filled with monsters. The game mixes emotional storytelling with weather-based invisibility mechanics, creating a mood similar to Team ICO’s minimalist and atmospheric style. Expect haunting puzzles and a moving experience, all without a single line of dialogue.
Critics liked Rain for its strong execution and visual style. However, its digital-only release in a busy market meant it was mostly ignored. Instead of relying on flashy gameplay, Rain stands out for its emotional depth and artistic vision, showing that subtle games can be easy to miss. It’s a beautiful, overlooked gem that deserved much more attention.
Everyday Shooter (2007, Queasy Games)
Everyday Shooter is a prime example of an incredibly innovative game that got forgotten anyway. This is the third game I had to really search for any box art at all. Built by one guy, Jonathan Mak, this experimental shooter blended gameplay and music in a way that was totally fresh—it broke new ground by turning every player action into part of the music, blending gameplay and soundtrack in a way no one had done before.
It won big at the Independent Games Festival, sweeping awards for visual art, audio, and design–basically the highest praise an indie game could get. Despite all that, Everyday Shooter basically vanished from gaming conversations—hardly any retrospectives, barely any current discussion, even though it’s been on multiple platforms. It’s on this list because it shows how a game can change the scene without getting the credit it deserves.
Dyad (2012, Right Square Bracket Left Square Bracket)
Dyad is a another perfect example of a super ambitious, experimental game that pretty much vanished from gaming culture. I sound like a broken record at this point. Made solo by Shawn McGrath over four years, it blended high-speed tunnel racing with rhythm mechanics and some trippy visuals to create a one-of-a-kind experience.
Critics really liked it, calling it “truly innovative” and saying the gameplay felt like a real mix of sound and visuals, not just flashy effects. Still, Dyad faded away. Almost no one mentions it now, not even among indie game fans. Even so, it’s a good game. Including it on my list shows that even the most original and praised games can be forgotten if they’re just too unusual for most people.
darkSector (2008, Digital Extremes)
darkSector is one of those strange cases where a game helped shape the future but never got the recognition it deserved. This third-person shooter puts you in the shoes of CIA agent Hayden Tenno during a near-future Cold War. After being infected by the Technocyte virus, he gains bio-mechanical powers, including the ability to throw the Glaive, a deadly blade. The Glaive itself draws direct inspiration from the magical throwing weapon in the 1983 film Krull, one of my favorites as a kid.
The game brought in terms like “Tenno,” unique virus lore, and smooth combat, all of which Digital Extremes later built on for Warframe’s space-ninja action. Even though critics gave it solid reviews, it didn’t sell well and quickly disappeared from most discussions, while Warframe became a huge hit. It’s a forgotten innovator—millions love what it started, even if they don’t know where it came from.
CounterSpy (2014, Dynamighty)
CounterSpy is a great example of creative game design that has been mostly forgotten. This stealth-action game puts you in the role of a C.O.U.N.T.E.R. agent trying to stop a nuclear disaster in an alternate version of the Cold War. You sneak into enemy bases, sabotage missiles, steal launch plans, and avoid guards in levels that change each time you play. All the while, you have to keep an eye on DEFCON alerts to prevent disaster.
The game stands out with its striking colors, sharp geometric shapes, and a cool 1960s spy look that is straight out of a James Bond movie. Reviewers liked the style and soundtrack, but after Dynamighty closed, the game lost its support and faded away. This shows how even the most creative games can disappear if no one is there to keep them alive. CounterSpy deserves another chance to inspire new spy games.
Rochard (2011, Recoil Games)
Rochard is an often-overlooked game that showed Unity could handle console titles, not just browser or mobile releases. Released in 2011, this 2.5D puzzle-platformer stars astro-miner John Rochard, who uses a gravity tool to move objects, solve puzzles, fight enemies, and search for an ancient alien artifact in space mines
The game’s cartoon-style graphics and smart mechanics earned it good reviews thanks to its gameplay and unique style. Still, it slipped into obscurity, especially after being removed from Steam in 2021, so it’s now tough to find. Rochard is a classic hidden gem that helped shape indie development, even if it never got much recognition.
ModNation Racers (2010, United Front Games)
ModNation Racers was a super creative kart racer that let players build their own tracks, characters, and vehicles. It came out in 2010 and really pushed the whole ‘Play, Create, Share’ idea, making it easy for people to create detailed content. The tools were so good that they inspired LittleBigPlanet Karting, which actually started as a sequel before Sony slapped on the more well-known brand.
Although it was able to reach PS3 Greatest Hits status, MNR eventually got left behind. Sony shut down the servers in 2018, pulled it from the digital store, and never released a re-release or modern port. Fans still talk about how its creation tools are unmatched in the genre and keep hoping for a sequel. ModNation Racers brought something new and exciting to kart racing, but it never really got the long-term credit it deserved.
Alright, that’s the S-Tier and the first half of A-Tier. If you haven’t heard of some or most of these games then I’ve done my job correctly. Part 2 (out now) will have the final 10, all A-tier, along with a few honorable mentions and a rank-ordered list of playability today.