Whenever a big AAA game comes out, there is the chance that it will overshadow something else. For example, Mad Max came out on the same day as Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain in 2015, so it had no chance of competing. It gets even worse for indie games, as it can be harder for developers to break into the mainstream.
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Sometimes websites at least try to highlight these games, and other times they don’t have enough manpower to cover every game. Alien Hominid Invasion, DuneCrawl, and Gravity Circuit are all games that didn’t get that many reviews, so let’s highlight why they matter, along with some other choices.
This sampling is based on Open-Critic’s website reviews, and not user reviews.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Alien Hominid Invasion
Fight Back The Men In Black
Alien Hominid Invasion is a sequel to the original run-and-gun platformer, and the gameplay and art style are similar. Players can play an alien, fully customizable, and fight in roguelike levels, battling government goons and going through certain objectives to move onward. It’s a roguelike, so there is a lot of randomness to the design, and once players die, that’s it.
That said, the game is less punishing than most roguelikes, and with a fully supported co-op system, players could treat the game as just another excellent run-and-gun platformer and not like a roguelike at all.
DuneCrawl
A Top-Down Treasure
DuneCrawl is one of the most recent games that didn’t get a lot of attention, having launched earlier in 2026. It’s a top-down action-adventure game, set in a small open-world wherein players can attack enemies with various weapons, like swords and bows, but the main gameplay hook involves bug-like creatures they can ride.
There are small ones that appear on maps, along with larger ones that resemble moving bases, leading to some incredible base-to-base fights. The story may not be compelling, but the world, its lore, and the gameplay hooks easily make DuneCrawl one of 2026’s most underrated titles so far.
Ember Knights
The Flames Are Burning Hot
Ember Knights is another roguelike that didn’t get its proper time to shine in the sun. As a flaming humanoid, players can customize their color and then venture off to randomized dungeons in a top-down fashion.
Upon dying, players can spend currency to buy permanent upgrades from new weapons to stat boosts. They’ll start with a sword, but another weapon example is a bow. The game supports co-op as well, but the difficulty level and reward system make it a fairly balanced experience, so co-op isn’t required so much as it’s just a nice cherry on top.
Gravity Circuit
Mega Man In Spirit
For those who miss Capcom making Mega Man X games, Gravity Circuit is the next best thing. Instead of blasting robot enemies with a beam canon, this is a more melee-focused action platformer, which is intense, fast-paced, and it controls like a dream.
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Players can unlock chip upgrades to get new abilities or stat boosts, changing up how gameplay works, which is a nice incentive to save the NPCs stuck in levels. With top-notch gameplay, pixel-perfect artwork, and a soundtrack that can rival Mega Man’s greatest work, it’s a crime that Gravity Circuit didn’t get as big as other pixel art games like Shovel Knight.
Prison City
A Perfect NES Homage
Prison City is an homage to the NES era, specifically, it feels like an unofficial sequel to Shatterhand or Power Blade. Like Mega Man games, players get a world map to choose what level they want to tackle first, from a train level to one set in an abandoned factory full of goons. They can attack enemies with a boomerang-like weapon, which can get temporary upgrades in levels.
Prison City emulates the 8-bit era so well that it’s almost indistinguishable from an NES game of this era, with the only key differences being the self-aware nature of the over-the-top gameplay and characters, the elaborate bosses, and it just plays better thanks to the fine-tuned controls.
The King Is Watching
I Just Can’t Wait To Be King
The King is Watching is part city-builder, part RTS, and players will start in a fairly basic kingdom. In each run, as this is a roguelike, players will have to build up their town, including constructing different resource areas to fund buildings for NPCs to bloom. They need workers to harvest materials and defenders at the gates to prevent defeat.
It can be a lot to take in at first, but the gameplay loop is fairly quick to learn after a few tries, and players will inherently just want to try one more time again and again, hoping to get enough currency to buy that next upgrade, which could change everything.
Little Noah: Scion Of Paradise
Bravely Default Meets Persona
Little Noah: Scion of Paradise is another roguelike, with this one taking place in a series of floating islands with an art style that looks a lot like Bravely Default, in a good way. As a treasure hunter, players will go through 2D dungeons with an expanding map that they can warp around without any sort of resource management, making exploration a breeze.
Players will not fight directly as they will gain pawns called Lilliputs to attack enemies, from big golems to nimble knights to magical wizards. It’s a bit like summoning Persona in that titular series except as an action game rather than a turn-based RPG.
Oblivion Override
A Fast-Paced Action Roguelike
- Developer: Humble Mill
- Publisher: Paleo
- Released: Jan 24, 2024
- Platform: PC
Oblivion Override is the final roguelike on the list that is part Mega Man, part Metroidvania. Players will start with one mech suit, but they can unlock several others throughout the campaign, and each one acts like a class in an RPG. Some will be slow with high defense and attack stats, while others will be more agility-focused, like a ninja.
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Players will also unlock a series of weapons that they will be randomly assigned at the start of a run, but they can switch them out later, including swords, axes, spears, big fists, and more. The action is as good as Hades, a well-respected action roguelike, with a great combat system that is fast, fluid, and easy to master.
Rusted Moss
Swinging Through Ruins
Rusted Moss is a full 2D Metroidvania experience with a cool gimmick surrounding a grappling hook. Set in a ruined city, players will explore with their grappling hook and guns to platform around tight corridors filled with enemies and traps.
It’s also akin to a bullet hell game because enemy projectiles can often cover the screen, demanding players to learn the ropes of their grappling device quickly to dodge attacks. It’s a challenging Metroidvania, not for the faint of heart, as the challenge can be demanding, so the Hollow Knight crowd may be particularly interested.
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom
I’m Driving Here
- Developer: Panik Arcade
- Publisher: Those Awesome Guys
- Released: April 9, 2024
- Platform: PC
Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom is a platformer wherein players control a wind-up taxi cab instead of an animal or humanoid character. The art style has a cel-shaded polygonal look that screams PS1 era, and it helps make the game look distinct. Players will explore fairly open levels, going on quests for NPCs to expand the map slowly.
The controls take some time getting used to as players often need to hit ramps at breakneck speeds to jump over obstacles, but practice makes perfect. The art style alone makes this a must-play, and the overall vibe is just silly enough to be compelling.
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