Five Sleeper Hits Of The Last Decade

There are loads of video games released every year. Some meet critical acclaim, become franchises and spawn sequels, while some fall through the cracks.

Let’s take a look at some of the games that made an impact on a smaller scale.

5) Shadows of the Damned 

Way too many games today follow the dark and gritty tone. When that style works, it works well. However, games that don’t take themselves to seriously are an adventure on their own.

Shadows of the Damned was released by developer Suda 51, a studio who has a track record of weird, but fun, action games. Damned was a story about demon hunter named Garcia Hotspur who travels through the depths of hell to get his girlfriend back.

It’s a wild ride filled with lots of sex and penis jokes all while making sure the subject of hell and death isn’t to brooding. The product itself took a lot of gameplay style cues from Resident Evil 4 and, although it wasn’t a critical success, still garnered a cult following.

4) Bulletstorm

After a long day at work it’s good to come home and unwind. Some people read, others exercise and a few play mindless shooters.

Bulletstorm is an extremely over the top shooter developed by Gears of War developer Epic Games. It stars a soldier named Grayson Hunt who’s tasked at taking down someone for something… the action is the real star here.

Grayson has an ace up his sleeve in that he wields an energy whip. Using it he can latch on to any object or enemy and fling or slam them into the ground. Using that ability and slamming a ton of dudes into the ground or blasting them into the air is a heck of a lot of fun. It’s a shame Bulletstorm was overlooked. 

3) Singularity

Innovation can make or break a game. Sometimes it catches the public eye, like Super Mario Galaxy, and sometimes not so much. 

Singularity is a first person time warping game developed by Raven Software. You take control Captain Nathaniel Renko as he wields a power glove that is able to turn back or move forward time.

Games have used time travel before as a main mechanic, like Prince of Persia: Sands of Times but Singularity incorporated it into a fun puzzle style setting where you’d have to age objects, making them crumble to allow your passage, or turn back time on broken down bridges making them suitable to cross. Singularity would probably work better in todays market now that more unique style Indie developed games are growing.

2) Enslaved: Odyssey To The West

Enslaved will go down in history as the best game nobody played. With such a compelling story and tight combat system, it’s practically begging for a remastered release.

Taking place in the far future where machines have taken over the world. The protagonist, Monkey gets tethered to a runaway girl named Trip against his will. She promises him freedom if he escorts her to a specific place.

The cut scenes along with the voice acting and facial animations were so subtle yet powerful in their performances, it’s hard to believe Enslaved went largely unnoticed. Since we live in the age of reboots, most of them being unwanted, Enslaved deserves a second chance. 

1) X-Men Origins: Wolverine The Game 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine the game is the best movie tie-in game in recent memory. It’s so good that it trumps movie. 

Mindless action and over indulgence is key in this Wolverine game as you take control of the popular X-Men mutant and slice and dice any enemy in your way. Even though it carries the same name as the 2009 movie, it has very little to do with it and actually expands upon Wolverine’s origin. Hack n’ slash games are a dying breed and Wolverine might have been one of the finest. This game is such an adrenaline rush you feel unstoppable.

In Hollywood there is a long list of sleeper hit movies that, over time, do gain enough attention to get recognized by the masses. Even after 14 years we’re getting a Zoolander sequel, and that movie was definitely a sleeper hit. These games and many others could meet the same fate.