Video Gamers Podcast - Overrated or Underrated? - Gaming Podcast [REMASTERED]

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

Gaming hosts Ace, Josh and Ryan are bringing you a gaming episode that is sure to cause some gaming controversy as we play a round of overrated or underrated. That’s right, we’re taking some of the most beloved indie video games and deciding if they’re overrated or underrated, and the reasoning behind our hot video game takes. It’s another can’t miss indie gaming episode from your favorite video game podcast! Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Disratory, Ol’ Jake, Gaius, Jigglepuf, Phelps and NorwegianGreaser, and Dettmarp   Thanks to our Legendary Supporters: HypnoticPyro, PeopleWonder, Bobby S.   Connect with the show: Support us on Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/videogamerspod⁠ Join our Gaming Community: https://discord.gg/kKA7EMyM Follow us on Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/videogamerspod/⁠  Follow us on X:⁠ https://twitter.com/VideoGamersPod⁠  Subscribe to us on YouTube:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@VideoGamersPod?sub_confirmation=1⁠    Visit us on the web:⁠https://videogamerspod.com/⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello fellow gamers and welcome to the video gamers podcast. Video games are an incredible passion and hobby, but one man's trash is another man's treasure. What might be overwhelmingly positive for one person might be a big thumbs down for someone else. Today we're going to be playing overrated and underrated with some of the most popular indie titles. So you can decide which of us you love and hate. But first, some introductions are in order. I am your host, Josh. And joining me, we're starting off this episode as best of friends, but depending on his answers, we might be mortal enemies by the end.

It's Ryan. You want to fight me now, bro? Let's go. Let's go. I know what you're talking about. There's one game, as long as you do not slander my game and call it overrated, we'll be all right, Ryan. All right, all right. All right.

And joining us, he's the indie man himself, but there's no playing it safe in this episode. Will he invoke the wrath of the internet and speak truth? Or will he try to play it safe? It's Ace. Bring it on, baby. The truth's coming, whether you want to hear it or not. Ace is like this whole Minecraft thing, dude. I'm a new man.

Yeah, forget what people think of me, man. Just don't call it. His skin. Ace is callous now, man. just turn up turn up your hearing aid so you can you can like listen to what we're saying you know and then we're good to go oh yeah yeah I love it I see how it is okay so guys I I'm a little over excited for this episode man because goodness gracious this is going to this is going to be one that people are going to wind up commenting on oh yeah I mean Ace I got to give you credit this was your idea you are a glutton for punishment my friend because you were like dude indie episode what if we do the most overrated and underrated indie games and then we were like that is a slippery slope my friend but we have never shied away from sharing an opinion and uh you know that's what we're going to do today man we are going to take some of the most beloved indie titles

out there and we are going to decide whether they are overrated or underrated there is no i think it's perfectly rated guys this game's yeah there's You don't get to pick in between the lines. No, you've got to go one or the other. Yep. And then you've got to explain yourself on top of that. So we, listen, I feel like this episode needs to come with a disclaimer because I know that Greg is going to make some fire reels from some hot take that one of us have.

I'm not so much trouble. They're going to get put on social media. And then like social media does, they're going to be like, you guys are idiots. How dare you say this game is over? And then we're going to be like, did you listen to the whole episode? And of course they didn't listen to the whole episode. No. Look, they didn't.

I could tell you they didn't. We're not saying that these games are bad games. In fact, these might be some of the best indie games in existence. All timers. That's not the question. The question is, do you feel like this game is overrated? Or do you feel like it's actually underrated a little bit? Because that can happen too.

And so, yes, it's going to be hot take. Yes, it's going to be a little bit controversial, controversial, but that is the fun of it. We've got some honorable mentions that we're going to mention later on because I have a game that I am a couple actually, that I am absolutely against the flow on. You'll make some enemies with those ones. I could promise you now. That's fine. I can take the heat, man.

I can take it. But, yes, so let's just preface this by us saying we understand these games are fantastic. We are not slandering these games whatsoever. In fact, I'm pretty sure with the exception of one game, maybe two games, actually, now that I look at three games that are on this list that I adore, except for these three games, which I think maybe are not quite so. I'm going to get in trouble, guys. You are. You are, buddy. Well, let's just start it off, guys. I mean, if people are going to hate me, let's make them hate me right off the rip, guys.

Right away. Okay, right away. Rip the band-aid off. First game up, this is a game that we have all played. Star Doe Valley. Together, boys. Say it together. One of the things that we're going to do is we're going to tell you the score

so that people can see how beloved these games are. Okay. And to be fair to our console gamers, we pulled the Metacritic scores as well as the Steam scores. So on Steam, Star Doe Valley is sitting at an insane. 98% Overwhelmingly positive rating We don't have the totals on this

But I saw it It's like 750,000 reviews, dude I feel like so many people in the world Have played Starry Valley It's sitting at an 89 on Metacritic The one thing I've realized Is metacritic people are harsh, dude Listen, PC gamers

98% Starter Valley's one of the best games ever made. Metacritic people like Yeah, I don't know how to play this. I'm like console. Dude, what is it with the console people? Y'all some hard to please, man. 89% on Metacritic. You're going to see this for every game we talk about.

Every game. It's like massive steam rating. Metacritic? Nah, not for me. Not for me. Well, it's called Metacritic. So, you know. All right, listen, I have made no qualms about this.

just going to kick it off. I think Star Do Valley is insanely overrated, dude. It is one of the games that I think is the most overrated game in existence. So we're just starting this episode off on fire. I know people are like, dude, Josh, you are the dumbest guy I have ever seen or heard. I hate you right now. And listen, I get it. I get that people love their little farming sims. and I get they love their little pixel graphics, and I get that they love the little blob slaughter fest that happens in the dungeons, and I like that they like their little dating sims

where you get to talk to the little people in the town and try to give them presents and all that. Dude, Stardu Valley is one of the most mind-numbing games I think I have ever played. Like, do I like farming? Sure. Do I like growing crops? Sure.

Does that make this one of the highest rated games of all time? No! Apparently you're wrong about that. Listen. Listen, this has always been a hot take of mine, always, and I will stand up for it. I have put, I probably played Starty Valley for a solid like eight hours. This is not a game that I put like 40 minutes into and went, no, this isn't for me. I don't.

Somebody help me understand, dude. What is the love for this game? You're not going to find it for me. Yeah, you aren't going to find it here, unfortunately, either. I think it's overrated. Am I amongst friends? Yeah, I think it's overrated. is this my safe spot you're in a safe we're in the trust tree we're in the trust tree right now

uh it is wildly overrated what i mean just like you don't have to be a graphic snob to just hate on this it it's the graphics are are ridiculous it you know it's a cozy game what is that code for just like not trying like boring to like make something does this me so i mean i get it we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna get a a million messages of how horrible it is, you know, hopefully because that's engagement. Yeah, I know. It's so much trouble. Wait, it's just, I just don't want to waste your time of all time. Why would you, like, why would you want to waste your time playing this? Like, it just,

it's so, I understand that there's aspects that make people feel good and kind of, kind of just can sit back and unwind, but that doesn't make an amazing game. It just makes something that, that's good for you. You tell me, you don't like to do your virtual chores every day, Ryan, and go talk to all the people in the town and build a, relationships in the game instead of in real life. You know, one thing I like to do after chores at the house is more chores virtually, you know? Exactly. It's like, it's not an indie game, but the Sims.

It was good for its time back in like the late 90s, early 2000s. Why are, why are people still playing the Sims, dude? Because it's got vampires and werewolves too. Yeah. So, you know, at least it has something. It's the sandbox element. I get it. Listen, so Starter Valley, and this is a thing, cozy games are not for me.

my wife absolutely loves cozy games dude in fact it's one of the few like genres that she'll actually play like she's playing the kirby's dream island or whatever the kirby cozy game knockoff of of animal crossing is and she loves it dude she loves it this is her piece and her and i i love that for her you know and this is not to slander cozy games as a genre because i get it a lot of times after a hard day's work and you want to just de-stress this is the perfect way to do it But the goal of this episode is it overrated or is it underrated. And it sounds to us like we all agree that Starry Valley is overrated. Overrated.

With that said, it's not a bad video game. And I get it. There's a lot of aspects of the game that people like. And when you put them all together, people really, really love it. So not slandering Starter Valley just saying it's overrated video video. It's overrated. It's overrated. It's still a good.

It's just overrated. It's not good. It could be a good game. people. It could be a good game and enjoyable for a lot of people, but that doesn't mean the score reflects that is what we're saying. All right. Well, we got that one out of the way, boys. If anybody is still listening to this episode. For all the listeners, still here. All right, let's move on to guys, guys, here's the problem. Every one of these games is beloved. Every single one of these is beloved. So if we say overrated on any of these, like, people are going to be like, what do you? Me, it's over ready, how dare you?

Oh, torches and pitchforks are coming. Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, let's go on to another one, man. Here we go. Here it comes. Hollow night. Hollow night.

Quite possibly one, in my opinion, quite possibly one of the best Metroidvania's in existence. I remember going into Hollow Night thinking I was not going to like this game. I don't care for Metroidvania's that much. What's up with the weird little bug mask that this little guy wears? and all this stuff. And then Hollow Knight just started to suck me in with its super good environment

that controls are tight as anything, dude. It's responsive. The boss sites were like, what? These stupid praying mantis, three things are kicking my booty over and over. Like, how dare you? And then I just realized, dude,

Hollow Night is legit, dude. It is one of the most beloved Metroidvania's Silk Song. We're getting it this year. Yeah, I can't believe. I still can't believe that. I'll believe it when I actually see it and it has an actual release date, guys, instead of just 2025.

Fair. All right. Hollow Knight, sitting at a 97% rating on Steam. Again, these are hundreds of thousands of reviews. This is not just a couple. Oddly enough,

and 90 on Metacritics. So at least people appreciate a better video game than Star Do Valley? Yeah. Oh, man. going to get myself in trouble here. Okay. Now, here's the kicker. You're not allowed to say 97% is perfect. So is Hollow Knight overrated at a 97% or is it underrated at a 97%? Ace? Oh, gosh, here it comes. So in my time as an indie gamer, I've played lots of Metroidvania's.

Your favorite genre. Is that fair to say? Yes, okay. And I've just got to say at this point in my life, I think Holo Night is a little overrated. There's better Metro... Oh my goodness. Get this man off the show. Get this man off this podcast right now. How dare you, Ace? How dare you? There's better. There's better Metroidvanias with better mechanics that

deserve a higher spot than Holliday. Name one. In my opinion, Ender Lillies and Ender Magnolia. There's two. Of course he's going to name those. Let's not forget Blastomis. Blastomis is an incredible Metroidvania that nobody pays attention to. But... Okay.

Yeah, you know. It's a pretty game and it's beautiful and I don't think it's bad by any means, but at this point in my life, I'm going to say it's overrated. Okay. Come out. Wow. Wow. Wild take.

Wow. Ryan, I guess I'm not a bunch of friends. Oh, okay. Uh, I actually am going to say that I do agree. As as amazing, listen, listen, listen, listen. Listen, as amazing as Hollow Night is, a 97% based on our parameters, if I was to say that's pretty fair, that's not allowed. And I can't go higher than that because there is some issues that I have. I hate the map systems in Metroidvania's.

Hollow Night is also one of them. Certain other mechanics that I wasn't a big fan of within the game. I can't say that it's any better than what it's been rated. so I have to go with it's overrated for me, but not by much. I think it's an amazing game. It's one of my absolute favorite Metroidvania's, and I'm a big Metroidvania guy. Cesslvania is in one of my top ten,

probably a little bit nostalgia based on that, but it's also amazing. So, yeah, overrated, brother. Wow. I think Josh will be looking for some new podcast hosts. Yeah, well, I, listen, guys, you know, here's my criteria. What is the best Metroidvania that I have played in almost

forever? Hollow Night. It's the Metroidvania that I think I enjoy the most unless we're going to go way, way back to like the old Nintendo days, you know, where it was just straight up Metroid. But again, probably some nostalgia involved there.

To me, Hollow Night is the best Metroidvania that I have played. I am actually going to say, I think it's underrated. If freaking Star-New Valley is sitting at a 98% and that game is boring and not fun, then Hollow Night, which perfected the Metroidvania genre, in my opinion.

Incredible environments. Incredible music. Again, the gameplay is top notch. Is it a perfect game? No, it is not. But that's where that 2% or 3% comes off at the top. But I am going to actually say that I think Hollow Night is actually underrated because to me, it's the best Metroidvania out there. It feels like such a crazy thing to say Hollow Night's underrated.

I know, right? When you think of indie games, like that's like, One of the first that comes to mind, you're like, oh, yeah, you should play Hollow Night. It's like. Yeah, I mean, it's true. But, and see, that's the weird caveat, right? Because it's like, do you like Metroidvanias? Like, if you love them, like you, Ace, you have experienced dozens and dozens and dozens of

Metroidvania. So you have that ability to say, while I love what Hollow Night does, I think there's actually some better Metroidvanias out there. For me, I don't play a ton of Metroidvanias. So when I think of the genre and the peak, of that genre. Hollow Knight is easily the game that comes to mind. And then I go, well, if that's like the absolute peak metravenia to me,

you know, is it 100%? It's not quite 100%. Let's be honest. But I do. And again, I can't say that I think it's a fair rating because that's lame and that's against the rules. So I'm going to say I think it's underrated, man. Love it.

Yeah. So, okay. Now, I know this is a game that all three of us love. But this is where the rating system comes in as do we think it's a fair. rating. Do we think it's underrated or do we think it's overrated? And that is a game that we all adore. Risk of rain too. I mean, I made a little video on it saying, hey, this is one of the best roguelikes that you can play with friends. We have played Risk of Rain two together many, many a time for a long time. It is an absolute blast to play. It made our list of some of the funnest video games

that you can play, I think it's just a joy. I mean, it is an absolute joy of a game. The steam rating on Risk of Rain 2, 93%, 85% metacritic. Ryan, what do you think, buddy, for Risk of Rain 2 at a 90? I mean, let's be honest, any indie developer in the world releases a game and it gets a 93%. They are doing cartwheels. They are celebrating. Oh, they're static.

They're static. I mean, this studio is just. just having a party, but is risk of rain too overrated or underrated at a 93% riot? I think at a 93% with over, what is this? Over 209,000. Hundreds of thousands of reviews. Hundreds of thousands of reviews. Well established what people think of this game.

I think it's actually underrated. I think that it's probably should be sitting a little bit more up there with the other games that we've mentioned earlier, 95, 96, 97, something like that. There is not too many, um, rogue like just, just hop in, have fun runs with your buddies. And it's just, it's never a bad time. Even when you get a bad run, it's never a bad time. This game is one of those that just is, is pure enjoyment, start to finish every time you log in. And, you know, there's, there's not much more you can say about it other than it's just,

It's a great game. It's not good. It's great. I have to agree. I think that Risk of Rain 2 is completely underrated. At 93, that feels like a crime, honestly, with how good this game is. And how much it, like, innovates on the roguelike genre? Because, like, how many rogolikes do you know that are, like, in a 3D environment like that?

You could play with friends, too. Like, that's crazy. Yeah. And the co-op is so good. Like, that's the other nature of it. Like, you can play this game solo and it's fun. But when you're with your buddies, that nature of, like, that nature of, like you can't share all the gear.

Yeah. It becomes like, becomes part of it where it's like, I'm over here. Ryan's over there and Aces over there. We're all looking at stuff. And I just found this sweet, sweet loon. I know Ryan needs those mushrooms for his build that he's working on, but those are my mushrooms, boy.

Yeah. Oh, you can expect that. Yeah. Josh's going to stink everything. That's usual. I mean, it's just the way that it goes. So, yes, I'm going to make this unanimous. I think risk of rain to it at 93% is honestly drastically underrated at that point.

when people say, hey, I don't really know what the rogue like genre is. I haven't really gotten into them. Risk of Rain 2 is one of those games that is like a first recommendation for somebody. You know, it's cheap, it's fun, it's a blast with friends, it will get you hooked into the, the road like loop. The fact that you have all these classes that you can unlock and then even the skills within the classes to unlock with these neat little challenges and stuff, I think is the perfect carrot to dangle in front of somebody. Risk of Rain 2 to me is insanely fun, dude. And a 93% I

think does not do that game justice at all. I get it's not for everybody. It is an action-based kind of shooter type game and it can be pure chaos at times. And so I get it. That does not appeal to everybody just like Stardew Valley doesn't appeal to me. But if you are the kind of gamer that likes action and stuff with friends that you haven't played risk of rain too stop what you're doing and pick this game up because we recommend it to everybody dude like you're missing out yeah this one's going to be tough boys um this is going to be real hard but we're going to talk about this one right after this break oh my goodness okay guys why why are we doing this to ourselves there's no good that can come up this episode dude

Pain and misery. People are going to disagree with us. They're going to hate us and they're going to be like, I can't believe you guys did this. I thrive on the pain and misery. Okay. Hades, quite possibly one of the most well-known rogue-like games in existence.

When you say rogue-like, Hades is right there. I mean, if it's not a genre-defining game, I don't know what is. Hades burst onto the scene. Everybody in the world was talking about Hades. Oh, my goodness, this game's so good. The dialogue, the game,

remembers how you died, the progression, the combat's top notch. Everything about this game is insanely good. Well, the rating reflects that because it's a 98% on Steam. And again, we are talking, I think Hades is up there at like 600,000, 700,000 reviews. This is no slouch of a game. I have played a lot of Hades, dude. I love Hades. I'm going to be honest with you right now.

I love Hades. I think it's so much fun. It is the perfection of what the rogue like, Jean. is I'm going to say it. Do it. Do it. I think it's, I think it's overrated, guys. I think Hades is overrated. While there is so much to love about the game,

98% is crazy, dude. It's crazy. I mean, what am I going to say? It's a 99% perfect game. Like, that's really hard to do. As much as I love Hades, it's like, I just, I do think it is a tad overrated. Well, if Stardew Valley can be a 98% and people think that's fine,

I think Hades is underrated because it is absolutely a 99 or 100. Because aside from where Hollenite, where I have played other Metroidvanias that are way better. Sorry, HoloNite fans. He's just digging that hole. I know. I'm really digging. Yeah.

I'm twisting the knife real. I have not played another like, rogue-like, like, hand-drawn roguelike like Hades with this much detail and this much, like, dialogue and beautiful artwork that tops it. Like, nothing has topped Hades in the roguelike genre for me

when it comes to, like, these top-down perspectives. Yeah, that's, I mean, that's fair. So I have to say it's underrated. That's, yeah, there's one of the arts over or under, so there, you can't, we can't just say appropriately rated, you know. I'm going to have to side with Josh on this one. I think as, as amazing as this

game is as much as it offers and as beautiful as this game is, I think that just, man, there's only 2% like, of like, if it's at a 98, man, that's dang near perfect. Like, there is some issues

with it. And I think that 98's just a little bit too high and with no other choice, I have to go overrated. You're one of the medicritic users, Ryan. I will say this. Hades is the highest rate of game on medicritic in our list.

So people universally love Hades more than any other game that we are talking about today. And this is not to take away from any of these games. It's like hey, yo, 98, 98, 97, whatever it is, perfect. That's a great score. We can't do that. We have to go over or under. Do I think it deserves more than that?

No. I'd one less, two less, three less. Like, whatever your percentage ratio is, I don't think that it deserves what it got. I would say a little bit less, but not by much. I mean, it's an amazing game. My one complaint with Hades, not to get into the, but, but the progression system,

the permanent progression system in Hades does not feel super rewarding to me. You've never cared about progression. What are you talking about? I'm just saying, I like the weapons. I like that you can try out the different weapons and stuff, but the permanent progression in Hades is a little bit slow pace for me. And I think that's why I, I'm going to lean to the side of, I think it's slightly overrated. It's fantastic game. And honestly, I've kind of. had the itch to play it again too. So might wind up doing that.

But all right. This one's going to be, I, this one I think is going to be is. That's everyone. I know it's. Let's just go with it. Lethal company. I mean, lethal company took the world by storm. The three of us have played a heck of a lot of lethal company together.

You will laugh. You will have experiences and stories and all that stuff. Lethal company sitting at a 97% on Steam. There's no medicritical. score for Lethal Company because I guess it's technically still early access or something hasn't been fully released. So, I mean, a game that comes out that is as simple in design and gameplay is lethal company and hits a 97% is bananas, dude.

And then we've seen so many knockoffs of this. I mean, you know, headliners and content warning and everything else. But Lethal Company came out, changed the gaming world. they kind of did it first. I know Among Us was like, but it's a different style of game at that point. Ace, I know you're a big fan of lethal company.

I am a big fan of lethal. Is it underrated or overrated at a 97%? At a 97% I'm going to have to say it's overrated. No. I'm shocked. I actually kind of thought you were going to say it's underrated. I think it is the genre that lethal is, which I call it the horror extraction genre,

because that's like, I guess what you would consider it, has been innovated on since Lethal with games like Repo. Repo has sort of taken what Lethal did and it's made it based around this physics engine where things have weight and you have to carry them with basically a carries mod

physics gun, excuse me. And I think that makes that a little bit more special than what Lethal does. And that's just me, but I know me and Ryan still get into Lethal like all the time. I was going to say, I was really curious what Yel's two thoughts on this work, because I see you guys going. Like, you want to hop into lethal and play a round or two?

So we do. And we've played quite a bit together. Man, I love me some lethal company. Ace and I have had a million crazy. We have a couple clips on our Instagram where, like, I got no loop for like three runs. And we're like, what the heck? And then I see a bunch of stuff. And I just get so excited that I run to it.

And then I just explode because I stepped on a landmine. I didn't see it. And then Ace is making fun to me. Yeah, Ryan, no! Boom! And he's like, oh, loot! And that's me run into it. So the game, man,

it is just so enjoyable, so fun, and it's amazing, and it shows how good graphics do not make a game. Like, you can have an amazing game that doesn't have great graphics. Having said that, I think good graphics would definitely put it over the top

to where it would be deserved of a 97. I think that it is overrated, I think that the gameplay itself and what you do is amazing and awesome, but there's a lot of upgrades and advancements and quality of life things that could be had to get it up to that score. So I don't think it deserves a 97, but I don't want to take anything away from what the game is. No. That's fair. I feel like I already know what Josh is.

You guys know. I think it's overrated. That's not to say I haven't had a ton of fun playing lethal company, but I have a, I have a problem with this genre in general because it is dumb fun and you will have an absolute blast, dude. Headliners, dude. Headliners cost us, what, $7? Yeah, it was $7. Weekend.

I think I had four gaming sessions. I laughed like crazy. It was super funny. I got my money's worth. And then I just went, this game's going in the trash. Like every other game. And I don't mean that to slander the game. What I mean is these are disposable games in my opinion where it's like, it is fun.

I'm not slandering lethal company. I'm not saying that it's not fun and I get that people love it and that's fantastic. And yes, like video games should be fun. But sometimes you need a little bit more than that to get up into that like upper echelon of games for me. And so 97% rating I think is kind of crazy. Is it dumb fun? Absolutely. Would I recommend people pick it up and play it?

Absolutely. Do I think it's a 97% rating on like overall? like no I don't think it's that so for me this isn't easy this game is overrated for sure okay hold on I'm surprised we're all in agreement on this one over under 90 oh yeah for you Josh I'm gonna say if it was at a 90% I think I'm still gonna say it's overrated really I think 90 or 91 is perfect this is not to say that it's not a good game I just it's a it's a dumb, simple game that is a lot of fun for a very short period of time. And to me, that my personal opinion is that brings it down because it's hard to claim

that this game that is a disposable game is in this upper echelon of other games like Hollow Night and Hades and even Risk of Rain and some of the other games that we're about to talk about. These are fantastic video games all around versus this one game that does something very, very well, but it's so short-lived. and it's so repetitive after that that it just falls apart in my opinion. And with, I have a feeling

that it wouldn't be as high, probably, if there wasn't the ability with all the mods. The mod. Yeah, the ability to mod in the modding community for what you can do to change this game and tailor it to your customized pleasure. Like that makes such a big difference in how people grade this game probably as well.

Ryan, got to have that infinite sprint. Yeah. All right, guys. I will hear no slant. on this next game. So watch yourselves. Subnautica, one of my favorite games.

And the reason that I say this, and I've said this before, Subnautica is the game that taught me. I literally did not know this about myself that I absolutely love survival, crafting, exploration games. I had not played any before Subnotica. I remember seeing the hype

and I went, this game looks beautiful. I dove in, ha, and I fell in love. And I've been in love with that genre ever since. Ace, we're playing and shrouded. We would not be playing and shrouded if it wasn't for the fact that Subnotica taught me, Josh, you really like this genre of games. Is it a saturated

genre? Yes, it is. I can fully appreciate that too. But Subnotica did it best, in my opinion, maybe. I don't know, I don't want to lump that in there, but Subnotica is sitting at a 97% rating on Steam and 87%.

Dude, what the heck? Thank you, Ace. What the heck, man? Subnotica is the same rating as lethal company? What is it wrong with you people? I'm just going to say it's subnotica to me. One of my favorite games. I'm not, this is, this is weird because it kind of gets into like the Oscar nominations where it's like, are you saying that this is the best game ever? Or are you saying that it did something very well? It's tough for me because I get, it's not a perfect game. It does have some issues. But for me, I think 97% is actually. underrated, dude. Subnotica is one of those most, it ranks up there with like the most memorable games that people have played and remembered. I get it's not for everybody, but I do think it, for what it does, it does absolutely top notch and you will remember subnotica. I think it's underrated. How can you, how can you say that I get it's not for everybody when it's at a 97%?

Like that literally means it's supposed to be for everybody. I mean, well, Ryan, you played Subnotica. And I have a feeling that you're probably going to say you think it's overrated at 97%. Well, I would say that you had a good feeling because you were correct, because I think it is overrated. I will say not by much. I really did enjoy my time with somnautica. I do think it's genuinely like, if you're looking to dive in to one of these kind of survival crafting type games, this is a really good one to start. The world is beautiful. Your experiences are memorable. I think that it's, it's just, man, 97 is really, it's a really high score. So it's, you know, we can only do underrated or overrated. So I'm going to say it's overrated,

uh, but not by much. Okay. I'm going to say it's underrated. Whoa. I agree it's underrated. Ace, the next time you get dove and rivals, I'm peeling for you, buddy. Oh, thank God. Someone will. Oh, hold on. It's rough out here with a healer strike, you know. Yeah. Maybe. healed me, then I'd be more, you know, apt to come back and help you. Oh, you're the tank. You'll be fine.

But no, I definitely think Subnotica is underrated, especially with how saturated the genres become with, you know, these survival games. Subnotica really stands out as something special with its, you know, its setting and the gameplay and the story, too. Like, I mean, it's all

really good. How you can make a game that scares the crap out of me, though. Fully underwater and make it that interesting and good. It's like, how is the ocean interesting? But they make it interesting. It's super cool to explore all of it. Also, what is wrong with Metacritic? 87.

Yeah, that's a crime. That's pretty wild. That's slow. It's crazy. You Metacritic people. Cheer up, man. Cheer up, people. All right, well, since we're talking about Under the Water games, how about this one?

Beloved game, Dave the Diver came out of nowhere. I remember hearing the hype on Dave the Diver. Everybody was like, it's like a throwback to like games of old. It's got this pixel art, which kind of threw me off at first. I'm not going to lie. Of course it did. Of course it. And hey, I'll be honest.

I think it's beautiful. I will admit. I'm fully wrong. I think Dave the Diver is a beautiful game. But this game came out of nowhere, really took the world by storm. Dave the Diver is sitting at a 97%. So equal to Subnautica, equal to Hollow Night. I mean, absolutely beloved game.

We have all played Dave the Diver. Ace, what do you think on Dave the Diver sitting in a 97%? Overrated or underrated? Dave is definitely underrated. rated, man. Dave is so good. And there's so much content in that game that you should be playing right now.

You be silent. I will be silent. I'm going to let you finish this ramble. You're going to go on a real quick. Oh, ramble. Is that one? Oh, man, we know Ryan Fields. Do we know, like, what game do you know got a crossover with

Yakuza and Godzilla, Ryan, huh? That doesn't mean it's good. All right. What's up with him? Okay, listen, I loved Dave the Diver. I thought it was so much fun. I thought it was an extremely enjoyable game. I had a blast playing it.

I thought the interactions with the characters were great. I think the crossover with the Yakuza and Godzilla are wild and fun as well. It is not a 97, dude. That is, to have it rated with, like, as Josh just said with the other games, like, with some Nautica, that's crazy to me. It was awesome. It was fun. but it is not a 97.

Overrated. Stamp it. Wow. Fans, I have a request that you kill Ryan. Stamp it. Well, this one, man.

All right, listen, Dave the Diver, to me, was the perfect throwback video game. The little mini games, the pixel art,

it just draws you in right away. Like, I don't know anybody that played Dave the Diver that's been like, I don't get it, dude. Like, even if you have fun for like five hours, you still have a blast at five hours.

And they're so mean to him. Yeah. Why are they so mean? You're like, come on, Dave. You're like, come on, Dave. I don't know, man. So I absolutely love Dave the diver. I think it's a fantastic game.

It is overrated. Yeah. It is overrated. And that breaks my heart, dude. That breaks my heart. I do not say this with, with like, joy like freaking Ryan over there does. I'm being real, bro. But listen, again, these are, this is not to slander the game because I love Dave the diver.

Same. Yeah, same. But 97% is a little high, dude. It does everything great, but it does, it does start to slog just a little bit, dude. That is my biggest problem. I love the first like six hours of Dave the diver, but then it kind of gets a little bit more into like the farming sim. like you have to work a lot harder for the upgrades and the story kind of stalls out a little bit and I kind of went like it hurts me ace it hurts me I don't want to be on this side of the

fence with Ryan but it is so good it is so good but there's no game like Dave out there's not it's not 97% good that's all we're saying it's like 96% good to be honest like that's I know we can't but it don't think it's 98% good No, I don't. Unfortunately, I know. Stardu Valley levels of good. Don't compare it to Starry Valley. How dare you? How dare you slander Dave the diver like that?

All right, listen, here's another game that does what it does absolutely to perfection. Is it enough to make it underrated? I don't know. This one's probably the hardest one for me, to be honest with you, Cuphead. Quite possibly the most perfect shooter, like, platform. I don't what do you call those games the running guns like a running gun boss battle right what's the genre yeah sort of boss rush right so cuphead incredible incredible art style peak mechanics insanely difficult crazy bosses I mean it is perfection for what it tries to do like honestly we don't

have celeste on this list but celeste is perfection for platformer right yeah I mean but like so for me cup head is that like perfect game for what it's trying to do cup head is sitting a 96% on Steam, 86% Metacritic. People don't like hard games on Metacritic apparently, because this is the, not the lowest game, but close. Ryan, what do you think on Cuphead? Overrated, underrated, 96%. So this one, you mentioned it, man. The art style, there's just something so unique and different about this. And it's one of those games that just kind of transcended a lot to where a lot of people that had no clue of the gaming world knew about Cuphead because, you know, everybody knew about Cuphead.

I think this is one of the rare ones for me that I think it's underrated. I think it's, uh, I think it is so crisp and clean and just pure for what it is that it, uh, should just be a little bit higher. Like we said, you know, not a 97 and 96. I don't think it should be a 97, you know, six. It could be a 97, something like that. You know, it's just like one or two ticks above. I think it's right there. It is an amazing game that everybody should definitely check out. If it's hard, try again.

Reload. I do not expect that from Ryan. I'm rated on Cuphead at 96%. Wow. That's crazy. I was not good. Wow card. Yeah.

Until today, I didn't even know you played Cuphead. I have, yep. I feel like Ace would like Cuphead. You do not shy away from difficult games. I have played Cuphead. I think it is completely overrated. Oh, man. I think it's a beautiful game.

I think the sound design and the artwork and all that is super crisp, super pretty, super great. And that the sacrifice the devs made to get that game out there by like mortgaging their houses like three times or whatever just to get that game made is super great. But like, that game just doesn't deserve it. It's not accessible enough to people, I think, to the point where it deserves that highest score. I could see a 95, but I'm definitely not on the side of the Metacritic users who put it at 86. Yeah. That's crazy. The problem for Ace is that it didn't have enough rats.

That is true. Actually, there was a rat. He was a boss in the game. It just wasn't enough of them. Needs more rats. It's Ace's notes, like his game notes, needs more rats. This one's so hard for me, man. because like I said, if you take what Cuphead is trying to do, it does it perfectly.

It's like Hollow Knight in that regard, right? Like if I think what is the perfect running gun shooter throwback type game, but modern Cuphead is absolutely it. And so I kind of go like, well, if I'm saying that Hollow Knight is underrated for being one of the best Metroidvania's in existence, then Cuphead is probably underrated for being one of the best running gun shooters in existence. is it is it underrated because if you want that genre it is pretty much perfection or is it overrated because it's still a simplistic game overall you know and it's like it does start to get a little repetitive because you're doing the same thing just against different bosses and levels and i told you this is the one that on the on this list is the hardest for me i think it's appropriately scored you know that's the problem yeah but we can't say that so i'm going to going to say I think Cuphead is overrated.

Oh, that hurt you. But man, I don't. Psychic damage to him. I did. I, but I think I lean that way, man. And again, this isn't to say anything bad about Cuphead, but 96%. Like, I played the heck out of it. We did a deep dive on Cuphead.

Paul beat like the hardest level and everything. And I was like, Paul, what the heck, man? And I enjoyed the heck out of it. Don't get me wrong. But I don't go to bed. at night, like, thinking about Cuphead, like I do subnautica or Holo Night, you know, or Hades even, or something

like that. So, yeah, that kind of tells me I think it's probably teeny teeny tiny, tiny estimates overrated. Yeah. People are going to be like, what are you talking about? We're like, no, listen, we're talking about like one or two percent. Yeah, it's one or two percent. We're not saying it's bad.

We're not saying it's bad, you know. Yeah, we're not metacritic. Oh, man. I promise. All right. Disco Elysium, guys, one of the most well-known success stories for the indie genre and a role-playing game that doesn't have combat. What the heck were you thinking people? And there was a whole bunch of texts you had to read. And then they came out with the director's cut that put incredible voiceover on this game.

I went into Disco Elysium thinking I was going to hate it. Turns out I freaking love it. I am going to just jump in and say that the 93% that Disco Elysium has is criminal. this is one of the most memorable best RPGs that you can play you have to just experience it. I really don't know how to explain

Disco Elysium otherwise, but just the fact that you can do all of these things in this game and it just keeps chugging along is insane to me. So I think 93% is criminally underrated. I agree completely. 93 is way, way,

way too low for Disco Elysium. There's no other game like Disco Elysium. out there that can do what it does without combat. It all takes place basically in Harry's head what's going on. Yeah, exactly. The first time you boot it up, it's like, Lymic system. You just know it's super freaking weird.

It's going to be a great time. You're talking to doors before you know it in the objects. It's wandering around like, what the heck, you know. That's right, Terry, you're a superstar. I think pre-directors cut without the voiceovers 93% is overrated

In my opinion It totally turned me off of the game In the beginning And then once they released that And then Paul and Josh To their credit, we're like No, no, no, they got the director's cut now You can like, there's voiceover work

So you don't have to read everything And I'm like Say less, homie, I'm in So I went and I played it And I fell in love with that game There's so much So much to love in there. 93% is, again, criminal.

That's wildly underrated, you know, for what it is with the voiceover work. 91% on Metacritic, one of the higher games on Metacritic in this list. Actually, second highest. Oh, wow. Behind Hades. So Disco Elysium, you're missing out if you haven't played it. Again, don't be like me. I thought, no combat, what the heck, I'm not going to like this at all.

And boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Dankujo. Cuno. Cuno. All right. Or Cuno. Yeah. I always call Cujo for some reason.

Cujo, you do. I don't know. I just let you roll with it because I know exactly who you're talking about. Yeah. All right. Not quite as a well-known game, but man, this game did garner a lot of attention when it came out. Dredge is the last one on our official list before we get to a few honorable mentions. Dredge.

Horror fishing? Like what? Or fishing. What the heck? is horror fishing? How does this work? But I played dredge. I had an absolute great time with it. Sitting in a 95% on Steam 80 on Metacritics. So again, those Metacritic people, harsh, harsh, harsh on Dredge. The lowest, the lowest metacritic score out of any of these games. Ace, you're a big fan of Dredge. I think you're the one that actually got me to play Dredge. So is it underrated or overrated at 95%?

I'm going to preference this by saying Dredge is probably one of my favorite games, like ever, but near the end, it really starts to drag and you hit that wall and you hit it hard. So I'm going to have to say it's a little bit overrated. Oh, you heard it here foes. Wow. Ace hates Dredge. Wow. Slandering Dredge, Ace. Devs are on the phone.

And the developer listens to our show and has to hear you say that on the indie episode? Maybe we could send him to Indy and 60 instead. Oh, there you go. Found on our Instagram. Go check it out. All right. Well, overrated Ace Hate Stretch. We all hear that.

So, Ryan, what about you, buddy? Well, I don't know what you're going to say. Do you also hate really good video games? Apparently so, because Strudge is not a 95. I love Dredge I think the atmosphere is amazing It's talk about a cozy game That you just want to kind of sink into

But it's actually fun You know I'm like Starkey Valley But anyways Dredge is not a 95 That's so it's just a kind of clear cut Simple it's just overrated Man you two guys are harsh dude

Wow I fit right in with you guys We're metacritic reviewers You know It's a fantastic video game It is a lot of fun to play. I think it does what it does very well. But man, it's like, are we just so hungry for just a good video game that we elevated it up to like higher levels?

Because it just didn't have a lot of flaws to it. I like Dredge a lot. Do not hear what we are not saying. I think this game would appeal to a wide range of gamers. And again, this is one of those ones where if you haven't played it, you probably will like it. I don't know anybody that dislikes Dredge. and maybe that's elevating it to like a level that is kind of like I don't know if it belongs way up here in this upper echelon of games

so at a 95% I will say I do think it's overrated but it is a heck of a game that I think has mass appeal to a lot of people dude well we're hopefully we'll see with what is it a dread more yeah dreads that's going to be like a first person dredge which is that going to be like oh this is so much better okay this is what I wanted yeah or is it going to be like Well, Dredge actually was pretty good. That's what I'm worried about. We're all just going to look back and like, oh, wow, Dredge did it right.

Maybe. Maybe. All right, listen, guys, we've got a few minutes left to really shake things up and just really make everybody hate us. And I'm going to jump in on one game. Okay. Ace, you gifted me a copy of this game. You said, Josh, if I know anything about you, you will love. this game. You love rogue likes. You love good combat.

You love a good difficulty curve. You gifted me a copy of dead cells. And I went, dude, I can't tell you the number of people that I have heard just, just tell dead cells is one of the best rogue likes games ever. The combat is top notch. I dove in her dead cells. And about four hours later, I went, what is wrong with me? Why do I not like this game?

What is happening? And I am going to be honest, Dead Cells is at a 97% overwhelmingly positive rating. I do not get it, dude. I get, I should love this game.

It makes no sense. You really should. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. But I found Dead Cells to be insanely repetitive. I did not like the how fast you could die and then just respawn. And I'm running that same stupid sewer level over and over and over again. Sure, I got a different blade, but it's all the same to me.

I don't, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, people. I'm going to, this is the only one I'm going to apologize for. I just don't get it. I think Dead Cells is insanely overrated at a 97%. So, yeah. Hot takes, you heard of here, folks. Yeah, hot takes.

I haven't played it, so I got no, no comment, but I'm just going to say, overrated. Yeah. Oh, how dare you, sir. You would hate it. How dare you. Ace, you got one that I'm scared. to have you even talk about this in any kind of bad light whatsoever.

Even though I should be scared. Absolutely agree with you on this one because I have played this game too. But man, you're going to catch some... I'm letting you do all tall. I'm staying out of this. Yeah, I'll introduce that one after I say that I have to unfortunately agree with you

that Dead Cells is a little overrated. I hate to say it what it is. It's a little bit overrated when the genre is this packed with giants of the Roguelike genre and even the Rogue Like 2 platformer genre. Get to the good part where

everybody hates you now. All right, all right. We're bringing up a game that everyone wants us to talk about but nobody wants to play. We're talking about Undertale. Yep. Well, man, sitting at a, what is it?

96% on Steam. For a game that looks like it was made by a three-year-old? A game, yeah. Don't poke the bear. Oh, sorry. No, no, no, this is your bear, Ace. I forgot. Sorry. Yeah, don't folk the bear, please.

And a 92 on Metacritic, I have to say that Undertale is completely and utterly. Underrated, Josh, take it away. No, not overrated. It is completely overrated. I was like, wait, what? Wait a second. Just bait and switch me? Like, what just happened?

Oh, man. I think Undertale is completely overrated. It's got great music, and I know people love the story, and that the whole thing is choice and whatever it just didn't resonate with me and I don't think that if we didn't have like cringy teenagers in YouTube it would be nearly as big as it is yeah thank you theater kids for making Undertale as big there you go yeah that's my daughter is a theater kid and I totally get what you're saying yeah no 100% yeah yeah talk about choice I have a choice and the choice was to not play this game so uh I'm sitting pretty yeah take it away Josh don't you love undertail I played undertail

I'll be honest, I played it for like three, four hours. So in all fairness, I did not get to the heartfelt, like, oh, this game is so deep and so amazing and all that. So I fully admit, I might be missing out. But man, if I can think of a game that is I am so just put off on that everybody else loves, this is up there with like Starty Valley for me. This is undertail is a huge whiff for my gamer brain. I get why people love it. But man, I don't get. I don't get it at all.

All right. Insert the old white guys. I don't know video games comments now. They don't get it, man. This is one of the best games of the generation. Old man opinions. Yeah. All right.

Real quick. Consensus opinion. Last one. And then we got to get out of here. Deep Rock Galactic. A game that we have touted, a game that we have recommended to people. Rock and stone. Rock and stone.

When we think about the great indie games, we got to talk about Deep Rock Galactic. 97% rating. Is it underrated or overrated? Ryan, go. Underrated. Rock and Stone forever. I love it.

I love all the iterations. I love all the side games. Underrated. I agree. It is completely underrated. And it's got infinite replayability. And you can play it with your friends. So underrated Rock and Stone.

Rock and Stone. Underrated for me as well. But it's close, man. It is very close to like, is it overrated? It's a close line. It's just a blast of a game. And again, you can have fun with your friends. It's got a ton of great stuff.

So, all right, that's it. Please don't hate us, everybody. This was all just for fun. Hate all you want. We don't care. Send all hate to Ryan. He wants it. Yeah.

Bring it all. He's like, I want to just drown myself in the hate. All right. We hope you had fun. Listen, if we got it wrong, if we got it right, let us know you can comment on this episode. on Spotify, leave us a comment and tell us how stupid we are or how you agree with us, and then you can face the wrath of the internet along with us.

Yep. But man, what a good time. And again, all these games are honestly amazing, dude. No, we're not talking bad about these games. It's more just does the rating reflect how good they really are. If you haven't done so, make sure you follow the podcast. If you are still listening and haven't decided you hate us at this point, click that plus button, click that follow button.

And make sure you get all of our episodes that day. that they release. And if you are, you know, like these guys are so brave to take on the world and not be afraid to talk about their opinions on these games. And you want to support this podcast. You can click the link that's in the episode description to sign up and support this show. We're going to give you a shout out on the air. We'll give you some awesome Discord perks for our incredible community as well.

So check that out. Keep this podcast alive and going. And, you know, not afraid to give these opinions. You know? Because yeah, we're going to find such unfiltered opinions like this from three old men. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

What's the worst they're going to do? Take our walkers away from us. All right, everybody. Thanks for tuning in. This was a fun one. Until next time, happy gaming. See ya. Peace out.