I’m not talking the “so bad it’s good” genre or something purposefully bad (Surgeon Simulator, etc), but more: games that aren’t successful at what they set out to accomplish, but it has enough character/bizarreness/some-other-ineffable-quality to sustain your interest.
I’ll go first:
Deadly Towers and Legend of Kage. Both fascinating examples of how meditative and deep digital worlds can feel with limited mechanics and lack of UI communication to the player.
am I allowed to say BioShock Infinite
Um, Brink of course.
I played an inordinate amount of single-player Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. It was not really a… fun game, so to speak, but the overall aesthetic has stuck with me over the years beyond what most games have managed.
I quite enjoyed Fracture, is that an okay thing to say?
Star Wars Demolition may or may not be a ripoff of Twisted Metal (haven’t played twisted metal but I’ve seen the allegation), but it’s still awesome. The Phantom Menace game on PC/PS1 is also extremely good despite being kind of bad.
It breaks my heart to label KOTOR II as a bad game, but it kinda is. Also any Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy 13 is a great trilogy of games and I will never fight anyone who disagrees.
It’s kind of an edge case but Shadow the Hedgehog is a game that I love a lot and love playing despite being real bad and poorly conceived in a variety of ways.
Deadly Premonition is almost unplayable, but I like the pastiche.
Harvester, for sure. It fits both the “so bad it’s good” genre (because c’mon), and it absolutely didn’t accomplish what it set out to do.
I will love and defend Alone in the Dark 2008 until im in the ground. Yes combat was clunky, and the story was a mess, and the voice acting was atrocious BUT the game had really sick fire effects and this weird charm to it, like you were playing the game adaptation of a movie that never saw the light of day. Just avoid any driving segments.
So I didn’t realize that people hated this game until quite recently, but I absolutely adore the 2 Jak and Daxter sequels for PS2. LIke, I totally understand why people think they’re bad because Jak II is on some real edgelord shit and Jak 3 is probably a bit too easy, but dammit, those games WERE my early teenage years (along with Def Jam II, which is also incredible), and I just love them so unconditionally that I just can’t find it in my heart to hate them.
It’s kind of an edge case but Shadow the Hedgehog is a game that I love a lot and love playing despite being real bad and poorly conceived in a variety of ways.
You get to shoot cops though, so that’s cool
Donkey Kong 64 was one of the few N64 games I had, I still like it.
Shadows of the Empire is not a very good game but I will always have fondness for Dash Rendar, The World’s Most Unnecessary Star Wars Character
Absolutely, and same.
actually my answer is definitely Urbz: Sims in the City
Illbleed. Just… Illbleed.
Oh, also The Addams Family on SNES. Pretty terrible, but I loved it.
