A cult game doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad game. It could be a perfect 10/10 game that maybe just didn't get the recognition it rightfully deserved. Beyond good and evil is an example of a great game that has been underrated. Deadly premonition is one of those so bad it's good kind of games, and Mr. Mosquito is difficult to summarize.
Top 10 crowd-pleasing games of all time, ranked
If there's one thing almost all players seem to agree on, it's that these games are quality titles with very few flaws.
These games will be ranked based on their quality and how much impact they've had in the gaming community, whether that means receiving universal praise or good recommendations from weird perspectives. How do they fit into the cult status, in other words?
Click or tap the games that match the category
Start
10
Mr. Mosquito
Buzzing around Japan
Mr. Mosquito is a bizarre PS2 game about a mosquito visiting a Japanese home. In each level, players must stealthily drain blood from one of the family members. If they wake, there are ways to lull them back to sleep, but avoiding their swipes can be as tricky as taking down the colossi in Shadow of the Colossus.
As bizarre as the game is, it was digitally ported to the PS5 in 2024. The game can be challenging to learn, but because it's so unique, it deserves a look.
9
Earth Defense Force 2017
Buggy Defense Force
Earth Defense Force 2017
- Released
-
December 13, 2006
- ESRB
-
T // Animated blood, mild language, violence
- Developer
-
Sand lot
Earth Defense Force 2017 was the first game in the series to be released in North America on the Xbox 360, and it slowly started a small following that grew with each new release as the games got better. It can best be described as a tribute to the B-movies of the 1950s, the ones about aliens or giant bugs.
Players will control a resistance soldier and arm them with all sorts of weapons to blast back the aforementioned giant bugs. It's not the best game, and the most infectious thing about it is the soldiers chanting “EDF!” while pushing back giant insect aliens, but that alone makes it charming enough to get a pass.
Richard!
What if the Vice President was evil, and the only way to stop him from taking over the United States was for the President to jump into an experimental mech suit? It is Metal Wolf Chaos in a nutshell, and for years this original Xbox game was trapped in Japan. But it gained a reputation from importers who played and loved its bizarre setup that featured spoken English.
Eventually it was remastered and released outside of Japan, allowing more people to experience the joy of saving the US in big mech brawls. Metal Wolf Chaos isn't the best mech game out there, but it's entertaining.
7
No more heroes
The thirstiest assassin of all time
No more heroes is about a thirsty otaku, Travis Touchdown, who dreams of becoming a cool anime character and also having a hot girlfriend. Both of these things fall into his lap one day when Sylvia Christel assigns Travis to become an assassin. If he kills all of her targets, she'll go on a date with him, and that's reward enough to get the ball rolling.
The greatest bad games of all time, ranked
Sometimes even a bad game can be a good time. These iconic titles prove it by being so bad they're actually brilliant.
At its core, No more heroes is a hack-and-slash game that arms Travis with a beam katana and various wrestling moves. In between assassination missions, players can go around doing odd jobs, like mowing lawns, so the game overall is a weird collection of ideas.
6
God Hand
Apocalyptic Beatdowns
God Hand is a brawler from the PS2 era that has been forgotten over time, but some fans still love it. Gene is a grappler who has a powerful arm possessed by the gods, which he uses to fight.
The game is a brawler, but it's set in an old western town, and the mechanics are serviceable, but it's the weird actors and crazy villains that make the game stand out. The cherry on top is the theme song that plays over the credits, which really puts this game in cult status. Had TikTok existed in 2006, this game would have been all over it.
5
Indigo Prophecy
Framed for murder
Indigo Prophecy
- Released
-
September 14, 2005
Indigo Prophecy is one of the games that spread by word of mouth during the PS2 era. The game begins at a diner where the protagonist, Lucas Kane, ritually kills someone in the bathroom. He wakes up, unsure of what he has done, and then has to clean up the crime scene and escape.
How players deal with this situation will be tracked throughout the game, as perspectives shift between investigators pursuing him and Lucas trying to escape. It's an interesting adventure game that delves into literal cults, and the late-night surprises put it over the top.
4
Bulletstorm
Kicks in the name of
Bulletstorm is a one-off first-person shooter with some of the best gameplay of the last decade and then some. Instead of just blasting enemies like they were fish in a barrel, the game rewarded players for being creative with their kills.
Armed with a lasso, players can take in enemies and then launch them off a cliff or into a cactus, for example. Environments were often filled with hazards just waiting for players to creatively use them in their kills. Although it never got a sequel, there was a remaster in 2017, to keep Bulletstorm playable at least.
3
Mega Man Legends
The Halcyon Days of Mega Man
Mega Man Legends is one Mega man spinoff set far in the future, where a new Mega Man, Volnutt/Trigger, travels around small islands with his companions looking for crystals. It can best be described as an action adventure game similar to 3D Zelda titles with dungeon crawling, side quests and light puzzle solving.
10 “bad” PS3 games that are way better than you remember
Don't let your memory fool you; these PlayStation 3 games were much better experiences than most people give them credit for.
It did get a sequel and a spinoff, but it was never the greatest Mega man game around. Those who love it think it's completely underrated and deserves so much more from Capcom's overlords, thanks to the gameplay, colorful cel-shading and goofy pirate villains.
2
Beyond good and evil
To expose the conspiracy
Beyond good and evil is one of the best games of all time, but like Mega Man Legendsit just never reached the critical stratosphere for whatever reason. Set in a dystopian future, Jade is a photographer who wants to try to uncover the conspiracy behind the government controlling everything.
There are stealthy opportunities to sneak around and take pictures, but there are also action-adventure segments in dungeons with combat and puzzles. Additionally, the game takes place in a small open world where players can use their hovercraft to get around. Thanks to constant remasters and ports, Beyond good and evil never died, thankfully, and fans still appreciate it.
1
Deadly premonition
The Sinner's Sandwich Of Video Games
Deadly premonition has to be the poster child for video game cult followings because those who love it really bank on it as a good/bad game. Set in a small town in the mountains, an FBI agent comes to the town to investigate a series of gruesome murders.
This agent, Francis York Morgan, is not a typical investigator, as his obsession with coffee, movies and food often leads him to share little keys at the most inappropriate times, but he is not the only odd character, as the whole town is infected with charming oddities. At its core, it's a survival horror game set in an open world, but the mechanics are nothing to write home about. It's all about hanging out with Agent Morgan and the rest of the cast; that's what makes this game special.
Major video game franchises that never recovered from a bad game
These were once popular video game franchises, but thanks to a bad game, we may never see them again.
