Good games never truly die as long as one person keeps the fire burning. It doesn’t matter if they are no longer accessible or if they are 10/10 experiences; if someone loves a game for whatever reason, then that game is important on some cultural level.
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When it comes to gaming in the past couple of decades, it has been hard to keep up. Sometimes there are slow periods, and other times there are too many games releasing at the same time. This can be a big reason why they get overlooked, so let’s look at some examples to get a better idea of great games that were overlooked because they released at the wrong time. They may not have gotten a lot of attention at launch, but thankfully, fans continue to keep up the good fight.
Mega Man Legends 2
Sequel Troubles
Mega Man Legends 2
- Released
- October 25, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
Mega Man Legends 2 was released for the PS1 on October 25, 2000, a day before the PS2 launched in North America. While the PS2 had backwards compatibility and the game looked great on the new hardware, no one cared about PS1 games this late in the console cycle, especially not the day before the next generation of consoles was about to kick off. It was all about the new hotness, which was the PS2 and its surrounding launch titles.
It’s a shame, because Mega Man Legends 2 is a great action-adventure game that improved upon the original in several ways, like including multiple islands to explore. Had it waited a month or been released a month sooner, it might be looked back upon more fondly today.
3D Dot Game Heroes
Red And Dead
3D Dot Game Heroes
- Released
- November 5, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ // Mild Cartoon Violence
- Developer(s)
- Silicon Studio, FromSoftware, Inc.
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Adventure
3D Dot Game Heroes was released on May 11, 2010, in North America as an exclusive to the PS3, which is still true to this day. It used big 3D voxels to decorate its world and characters, making it look like a LEGO-themed Zelda clone.
It’s one of the most unique-looking games on the PS3, and it’s a good Zelda clone to boot, but it was unfortunately released a week before Red Dead Redemption. For players who only had a set amount of money for games each month, it’s a safe bet that 3D Dot Game Heroes was not what most people chose.
The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North
Going Against The Dovahkiin
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
- Released
- November 1, 2011
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Snowblind Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North was released for multiple systems on November 1, 2011, during one of the most cramped few weeks of gaming in 2011. It was directly competing with Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception releasing on the same day, which wasn’t the real problem, nor was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 a week later. It was The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, which released ten days later, that really put The Lord of the Rings: War in the North in its place, as both were big epic fantasy RPGs.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, of course, has remained a cultural icon for over a decade, while The Lord of the Rings: War in the North has been delisted on digital platforms, which is sad considering it is one of the best games based on The Lord of the Rings.
Binary Domain
A Massive Miss
Binary Domain
- Released
- February 28, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
Binary Domain, released on February 28, 2012, was set in a future where a squad of soldiers has to go in and stop a robot rebellion akin to The Terminator films. It was a squad-based third-person cover shooter that had great mechanics and a weird story thanks to its off-beat characters.
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Binary Domain may have flown under the radar because a lot of RPG fans, and squad-based shooter fans to a lesser degree, were anticipating Mass Effect 3 dropping a week later. As the conclusion to a big trilogy, no other game — especially a sci-fi shooter — stood a chance against it.
Puppeteer
All Strung Out
Puppeteer
- Released
- September 10, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- JapanStudio
- Genre(s)
- Platformer
Puppeteer was released on September 10, 2013, and it’s one of the PS3’s best platformers. As a young puppet boy, players go through levels themed around stage sets, all crafted with household materials akin to the LittleBigPlanet games, although most of it is wood-based.
This is another exclusive that never made it off of the PS3 console, and it had the misfortune of releasing just one week before Grand Theft Auto 5. On top of that, the PS4 was set to launch in November, so buying lower-budget PS3 games like Puppeteer probably didn’t seem as enticing as it may have in other years.
Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus
In The Middle Of Launch
Ratchet & Clank: Into The Nexus
- Released
- November 12, 2013
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ // Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Third-Person Shooter
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus was released on November 12, 2013. It’s one of the most forgotten entries in the Ratchet & Clank series, as despite it being another solid entry from Insomniac Games, it was released just two days before the PS4’s big launch.
This was a big Sony-published game too, so between this and Puppeteer, it was almost like they were dooming these games before launch. Unfortunately, Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is another game that remains trapped on the PS3.
Tearaway
Torn Away From Eyes
Tearaway
- Released
- November 20, 2013
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Media Molecule
Tearaway was developed by Media Molecule, the LittleBigPlanet team, and was their big attempt to make a new IP for the PS Vita. It used every feature and button on Sony's portable console, from the camera taking photos to the rear touch pad, which was used to break through paper surfaces.
It was released on November 22, 2013, in the middle of PS4 fever, but on top of that, this was also the same day as the Xbox One’s launch. That's now three brilliant platformers that had poor launches, all exclusive to PlayStation consoles, that were released in the middle of bigger events and were overlooked as a result.
Mad Max
The Phantom Pain
Mad Max
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Open-World
Mad Max is an open-world action game that was released on September 1, 2015. There were two issues with this launch date. First, Mad Max: Fury Road was released in theaters in May of 2015, and it would have been smart to launch this game alongside it, without delays, to capitalize on the movie’s hype.
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The other issue is that Mad Max went head-to-head with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and virtually any game going against Metal Gear is a bad idea. The games were completely different, but given the choice, even with a big movie tie-in, die-hard Metal Gear fans weren’t going to back down.
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
A Late Year Release
Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora
- Released
- December 7, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Language, Mild Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Massive Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
The Avatar movies are huge, but they aren’t for everyone, which could be one reason why Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora didn’t do well commercially. It was a big open-world action RPG that launched on December 7, 2023. December releases notoriously don’t have good traction, especially because award shows don’t typically cover them in year-end wrap-ups. That is, unless the game is huge.
Unfortunately for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, this was also the day Xbox Series X/S players could finally take part in Baldur’s Gate 3, which is perhaps the biggest RPG of the last few years that continues to dominate the conversation. Frontiers of Pandora had lots going for it, reviewed well, and is generally well-regarded today, but it's launch likely cost it a much more successful run.
Cronos: The New Dawn
A Hollow Horror
Cronos: The New Dawn
- Released
- September 5, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Science Fiction, Action
Cronos: The New Dawn is an atmospheric survival horror game that was released on September 5, 2025. This was a day after Hollow Knight: Silksong finally launched, after fans waited six years and the anticipation was so high that it crashed every digital platform that hosted it.
Cronos: The New Dawn did not do that, nor did Hell is Us or Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion, which were also released within this timeframe. All three of these games offered something different and are good experiences in their own right, but Hollow Knight: Silksong just had an unstoppable barrier that no one could penetrate.
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