10 Most Underrated Recent RPGs

4. Elex

If you haven’t heard the term Eurojank before then let me run you through it while we roll some Elex gameplay because this is one of the best examples of this strangely charming subgenre.

Eurojank games generally refer to European games that impressively punch well above their weight, incorporating a load of different systems, enormous worlds, and ambitious mechanics even though they might not have the budget to support it. The result is a game that has every piece you could possibly want to see in a AAA game, but usually without the polish and with a hefty handful of glitches and/or general jank. Think STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl or the Gothic and Risen games which are coincidentally the spiritual predecessors to Elex and also created by developer Piranha Bytes.

Eurojank isn’t the put down it sounds like it might be, though, because all that ambition does create a genuinely enjoyable game.

Elex is underrated due to its mixed reviews generated largely because its fascinating story, interesting quest design, and deep RPG mechanics need to be accessed through a certain amount of jank and you’re either up for that or you're not. There’s no right answer, really, but if you’re alright with some difficult combat there’s a great breadth of ways to customise your playstyle and gear, and plenty of interesting characters to meet amidst warring factions and a genuinely interesting story.

It won’t be for everybody but if you can look past the bugs, boy is it hard to put down.