7 Under-the-Radar Games You May Have Missed in 2024

There was a time when you could mentally play every great game released in any given year. That time is a long way off though, and now we live in a time where hundreds of games are released in a single day.

Amongst the never-ending flood of interactive entertainment, however, there are games that don't quite make it to a big studio game release, with fun gameplay, unique art, and games that make you spend your time playing.

There are so many in that deluge, but we've rounded up seven under-the-radar gems that we think you'll enjoy from 2024. Since January is a quiet month for new games, with most ports and controllers packing up, this might be the perfect time to dig up the neglected treasures of the past year.

Editor's Note: All games on this list are traditional “Web2” games without crypto or blockchain integration. But you can enjoy them anyway!

Thank goodness you're here!

Platforms: Switch, PlayStation 5/4, PC, Mac

In many games, your role is to be the chosen one who can save the world – to be a helper to everyone you encounter. Thank goodness you're here. Such a 2D game. Amazing art; And instead of being a cool hero, you're a stranger who comes to see the mayor of a northern English town.

But he's busy, so you might as well check out his view. The city is full of people with all kinds of problems, and one way to help them is to offer a good hit. This takes you through some truly absurd situations and some truly silly British comedy, lovingly poking fun at a region of England that we don't see prominently in modern media.

Mullet Madjack

Platform: PC

Mullet Madjack is an anime-style rush shooter where you have to take down enemies in narrow corridors as quickly as possible to get your heart pumping and your score up. It has amazing visuals reminiscent of 80s and 90s cyberpunk anime and old FMV animated games like Road Blaster and Time Gal—but it's louder, faster, and more violent.

Pacific Drive

Platforms: PS5, PC

What if the STALKER series instead of being set in Chernobyl and on foot were set in the Pacific Northwest, where you drive to find treasure and survive? That's Pacific Drive.

You're trapped in the Olympic Exclusion Zone, a dangerous and dangerous place, and your car is your best chance of survival. As you solve the Exclusion Zone's puzzles, upgrade and enhance it to compensate for the many dangers in the area.

Mini Mini Golf Golf

Platform: PC

Mini Mini Golf Don't mistake golf for a good golf game – you'll want to play golf with your friends or what golf for the sport's glamorous show. Instead, Mini Mini Golf wants to tell a human story about climate change and memory through an amazing mini golf game. We only say that, because you really have to experience it yourself.

Minishot Adventures

Platforms: PC, Mac

The apocalyptic text on the title is meant to convey that, according to the developer, MiniShot is a “minimalist shooter adventure”. MiniShot is an over-the-top, Zelda-inspired, spaceship-shooter adventure. One look at the trailer is enough to make sense.

Although it looks like a bullet-hell shooter, this game is a full-on role-playing game or RPG, with the game wearing Zelda's inspiration on its sleeve, with worlds and dungeons. There are secrets everywhere, upgrades for your ship and dangerous bosses to fight – and it's all conveyed in beautiful 2D art.

Jew

Platform: PC

The art in Judero is just as impressive as Minishot's, but in different ways. Judero is a Scottish-set action-adventure game where all the characters are built from action figures and clay, complete with stop-motion animated cut scenes. The game changes art styles, to vibrant watercolors, Sonic-style bonus levels, and more.

All those big games have amazing graphics, but that can lead to the same feeling. Judero then breaks it down.

Kunitsu-gami: The Way of the Gods

Platforms: PS5/PS4, Xbox Series X/S + One, PC

And finally, a hidden gem from AAA Publisher. Capcom is known for Resident Evil and Monster Hunter World, and it looks like they're releasing one bang for the buck. Among them all, however, was this strange little game, Kunitsu-gami.

It's an action-strategy tower-defense game. In a distant time in Japan, a mountain was badly defiled. Priest Yoshiro can clear it, but she needs your protection, Soh. Using sword dance moves, you free villagers from corruption and recruit them to help you in various jobs such as Woodsman, Sumo, Ascetic and Healer.

Every corner of this game is informed and inspired by historical Japanese arts, including bunraku theater, kagura dance, and woodblock printing. The team built the sets from physical materials, scanned them in three dimensions, made the costumes from real fabric and modeled them on the actors. Even the sweets you pick up to give to Yoshiro are expertly prepared and scanned to the highest quality to ensure they are authentic and amazing.

Unlike everything Capcom does, Kunitsu-gami has flown under the radar and deserves attention.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.