We’ve all heard of The Sims, Super Mario and Tomb Raider, and how awesome they and all their contemporaries are.
However, hidden deep beneath the glory of these fantastic and much-loved masterpieces, there is an entire world of incredible video games just waiting to be played and enjoyed!
We’ve listed some of the most unsung yet outstanding of them below – as well as sharing how you can test video games for money that are very much like them!
Here are 5 unsung video games that we would highly recommend you play (in no particular order):
1. Haven
Genre: RPG/adventure/survival
Release date: 3rd December 2020
Creators: The Game Bakers
Platforms available on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.
Recommended player age: 18+ (though the creators believe it is suitable for 16+)
In the newest (and arguably the most visually captivating) game of our selection, you can fill the shoes (or rather, the hover boots) of Kay and Yu, a couple who have escaped their home planets in order to be together.
When their ship breaks, it’s up to you to explore their new, fragmented home planet Source to gather all the pieces of the ship and fix it, whilst collecting supplies and saving the planet’s wildlife along the way!
What’s more, the Game Baker’s most recent update to Haven includes the option to play as a same-gender version of the two main protagonists, making it one of the most inclusive games of the last two years.
It would take us a whole separate blog to fully dive into how truly immersive, emotive and un-put-down-able this game really is – so, all we can suggest is that you go and play it (once you’ve finished reading this blog, of course)!
2. Inside
Genre: Puzzle-platformer/adventure
Release date: 29th June 2016
Creators: Playdead
Platforms available on: iOS, Macintosh, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Windows and Xbox One.
Recommended player age: 18+
Playdead developed and published Inside not long after the release of their award-winning game Limbo – however, Inside is arguably better in every way – and is truly fantastic.
In this haunting puzzle platformer, you’ll find yourself playing a nameless boy wandering the plains of a monochromatic world, encountering zombie-like people, a range of obstacles, and – should you take a wrong step – an assortment of grizzly demises.
The game has two possible endings, but both are sure to send shivers down your spine and stay with you for a long time!
3. Super Princess Peach
Genre: Platformer
Release date: 20th October 2005
Creators: Nintendo
Platforms available on: Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS
Recommended player age: Suitable for all ages
Move over, Mario – it’s Peach’s turn to save the day!
Listed as one of the most iconic female video game characters of all time (next to the likes of Lara Croft and Jill Valentine), 2005 is arguably quite late for Princess Peach to have her turn in the spotlight (following her first appearance in Super Mario Bros. in 1985).
However, the wait was absolutely worth it for Princess Peach’s fans, as the game does not disappoint – and indeed thrills!
While it incorporates much of the Super Mario games’ traditional features (including iconic enemies and the classic platform layout), Super Princess Peach also holds its own with a shop (in which you can actually spend the coins you collect!) and the Emotion Meter, where Joy, Rage, Gloom and Calm each grant Peach awesome powers for a limited time.
It also doesn’t include Mario’s usual 300-second countdown clock, meaning that you can take as long as you like to explore the levels without the pressure of running out of time.
In short, Super Princess Peach is a nostalgic yet innovative little game to enjoy on the go!
4. The Stanley Parable
Genre: First person exploration
Release date: 31st July 2011
Creators: Galactic Cafe, William Pugh and Davey Wreden
Platforms available on: Linux, macOS and Windows
Recommended player age: While not officially rated, we would recommend ages 13+
To quote the gaming platform Steam, in this game:
“You will play as Stanley, and you will not play as Stanley. You will follow a story, you will not follow a story. You will have a choice, you will have no choice. The game will end, the game will never end.”
… any more than that, and we’ll spoil the story (or not story) for you! What we can guarantee, however, is that The Stanley Parable will leave you confounded, yet wanting more…
5. Trauma Centre: Second Opinion
Genre: Simulation/Visual novel
Release date: 19th November 2006
Creators: Atlus
Platforms available on: Wii
Recommended player age: 12+
You may well have heard of Surgeon Simulator (by Bossa Studios), but Trauma Centre: Second Opinion takes the virtual operating table to a whole new level!
With a Wii remote in one hand and a nunchuk in the other, the life of the patient is in your hands in this futuristic surgeon simulator; and while you’re recovering from the adrenaline rush of saving your patient, you can enjoy the story surrounding the characterful surgeons, their relationships, and their struggle in the fight against the manmade parasitic disease, GUILT.
If you’ve ever fancied being a doctor, or simply love a grilling, sweat-breaking challenge, Trauma Centre: Second Opinion is not a game to pass up lightly.
A brief (but important) note…
The majority of the games above are intended for young adult audiences and above, and many of them incorporate online interactive elements.
If you’re a parent looking for video games for your children to play, we’d highly recommend using Common Sense Media to check that any games you or they are considering are safe and age-appropriate before you buy them!
Are you looking for opportunities to test video games for money?
One of the best ways you can test video games for money is by taking part in paid market research!
None of the above games would have come to be or be as amazing as they are had it not been for people like you testing them and sharing your opinions of the games, or the technology culture surrounding them. You can take part on your own, or even with friends or family members!
For example, here at Angelfish Opinions, members of our participant community recently got to take part in an ethnography exploring female inclusivity in the gaming community, and received a £70 Amazon voucher incentive as a thank you.
If you’d like to get involved in something similar, simply sign up to be a member of our community today, and keep an eye out for the latest opportunities on our Current Projects page.
