15 Most Criminally Underrated Video Game Franchises Of All Time

15. Tenchu

Where to start? Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven

Across the 2000s, the three main pillars of stealth gaming were Metal Gear, Splinter Cell and Hitman - yet many forget one of the original pioneers of the genre was Tenchu.

Coming mere months before the original Metal Gear Solid, FromSoftware (yes, the Dark Souls chaps) just couldn't make it catch on in the mainstream, yet that didn't stop each entry in the franchise - minus a top-down Xbox Live Arcade spin-off - having a ton to offer.

Tenchu Z and Wrath of Heaven in particular would invent multiplayer stealth infiltration years before Assassin's Creed Unity or Ghost Recon: Wildlands, providing characters with abilities to unlock, contextual kills through doors, from dangling in corridors, hanging from ledges and more.

What the series lacked in graphical punch it more than made up for through sheer innovation and playability, and although FromSoft are most likely steaming ahead with Bloodborne 2, another Tenchu would be one hell of a welcome surprise.