8 Overlooked Video Games With Groundbreaking Mechanics

Changing the game without anyone noticing.

Def jam fight for new york
EA

When it comes to video games, you've got to have a gimmick.

You've got to have that one thing that makes you stand out from the crowd, as while your first-person shooter or platform game might look that absolute business if you're not moving the conversation forward, it's going to be nothing but the sound of cutlery scraping plates on date night filling the room.

Across the years, many games have sought to make their presence known through interesting takes on perspective, gameplay, multiplayer options, and choices.

While most originators found huge success thanks to these innovations, there are of course those games that completely slipped through the cracks despite having fresh and original ideas.

Whether because they were released at the wrong time, didn't reach the right audience, or simply because the rest of the title was flawed, the games that make up this list were overlooked despite having some pretty revolutionary concepts under their belt.

8. Experience Multiplies When You Don't Save - The Surge 1 & 2

Def jam fight for new york
Focus Home Interactive

When it comes to being a Dark Souls clone, you need to make sure that you have at least one gimmick that sets you apart enough that you can lean heavily on it across the marketing and that your fans can point to it when others critique your experience as aping the original.

For The Surge, many thought that its gimmick was that it was a Sci-fi take on Souls, pushing the hard-as-nails combat, but doing so through a kaleidoscope of robotic enemies, exoskeleton upgrades, and big beefy tech weapons. However in reality, the true star of the show, and a mechanic that really deserved more love was how it approached the concept of gaining experience.

In most games of this ilk, you get a set number of XP per enemy you kill, but in The Surge and its sequel, the longer you stay in the field, the more experience points, resources and loot the enemies drop, meaning you're rewarded for staying in the danger zone as long as possible.

This risk/reward system is then bolstered by the fact that if you die, you're still able to get back your treasure, but only have a finite amount of time to do so, meaning that you're going to be rushing in order to get back to your shallow grave.

All of this combined into a frantic and thoroughly tense affair that really did set it apart from its peers.

Contributor
Contributor

Jules Gill hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.