5 Overlooked Games From 2014

2014 was a big year for gaming, and as a result, there’s always the titles that slip under the radar – not because they’re not worthy, but purely because there’s such a wealth of releases that they get lost in the madness.

MenStuff has rounded up some of the best overlooked games from last year that you shouldn’t ignore if you come across them on the store shelves.

The Wolf Among Us

(Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita)

The Wolf Among Us is a highly-praised episodic graphic adventure video game based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comic book series. The game has been released in its episodic format over the last couple months, and hit console in full retail form at the end of 2014.

The Wolf Among Us is a point-and-click adventure game, where the player, in control of the protagonist Bigby Wolf, can move about the environment and examine and interact with other characters or objects. It is similar to Telltale’s previous game, The Walking Dead, in that the player may make choices in their actions or through conversation trees that will influence future events in the story, including events in future episodes. These include major decisions, such as deciding which of two culprits to chase after while allowing the other to go free.

Assassin’s Creed: Rogue

(Xbox 360, PS3)

While Assassin’s Creed Unity hogged all the attention with next-gen adopters and PC gamers last year, Assassin’s Creed Rogue was arguably the most unique AC games to date, and it’s just for Xbox 360 and PS3.

The story is set in the mid-18th century during the Seven Years’ War, and flips the tables of the story by following Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin-turned-Templar, so you’ll get to see the story from the other side of the war.

Gameplay in Rogue is similar to that of Black Flag with a mixture of ship-based naval exploration and third-person land-based exploration, and with the lacklustre feelings about Unity, maybe it’s time to go a little Rogue.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

It’s weird to feature Wolfenstein as an “overlooked game”, but the latest entry in the long-running series didn’t get the credit it deserved – maybe due to being overshadowed by other releases, but it’s a solid contender in the current-gen shooter market.

The FPS gameplay is smooth as silk, but one of its most surprising features is its impressive story and interesting characters. Definitely give it a look.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

The Wii U doesn’t have much happening for it these days, so its worth looking back at last year’s releases to find something exciting.

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze returned the style and feel of the old arcade classic, and like its predecessor, Donkey Kong Country Returns, the game promised challenging platforming, new playable characters and a fun multiplayer mode, and it definitely delivered on the ‘challenging’ part.

It’s a colourful, fast, exciting and innovative platformer that shouldn’t be missed by Wii U owners.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 followed a similar fate as its predecessor – its a brilliant game, but was under-appreciated due to the release window it launched in.

The game follows the story of legendary monster-hunter Gabriel Belmont, who was transformed into Dracula at the end of the first game.

Now in LoS 2, after waking from centuries of slumber and yearning for release from his immortal bonds, Dracula finds himself stranded and powerless in contemporary times. Thus, the immortal vampire must rediscover his powers as he makes a pact with Death to defeat Satan. Only then will he gain eternal rest.

It’s jam-packed full of great hack-‘n-slash action, vertigo-inspiring platforming, puzzles and an epic story that won’t suck the blood (and fun) out of your playtime.