I saw a thread for this, but it was made way back in 2015, so I thought there’d be no harm if I made another one. “Underrated” doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t sell well; perhaps it did, but it didn’t get the attention you believed it deserved here on the forums. The title says “COG games” for simplicity, but it could also include complete Hosted Games and WIPs.
Off the top of my head, A Crack in the Spyglass is massively underrated here. Well-written, interesting concept, entertaining even if the demo is short, and yet it hasn’t tracked much attention. Betovering House is another one (it inspired me a lot when writing my own WIP) that should have more fans. A more recent one that I really enjoyed was Whisper in the Dark.
As to COG games, I have no idea whether it was successful or not, but I didn’t see many people talking about Blood Money by @HarrisPS here on the forums, which is a shame. I was very happy that Crème da la Crème was popular here, but Blood Money is just as good. As soon as I played it, I became a fan and consumed any work of hers I could find!
I’m well aware that all out of the three WIPs I listed, two are on early stages and one hasn’t been updated since March (unfortunately), which is a big reason as to why they’re not all that popular yet. But I’m still hoping this could turn into an interesting conversation and bring attention to more underrated games.
A game I really enjoyed (which also was one of my very first CoG/HG’s I’ve ever played) but I’ve never seen takes about on the forum is Silent Gear. It was a short and sweet solid game which I really enjoyed playing through. Another one is Elemental Saga (perhaps the third game I’ve ever played on here), which I loved and replayed a million times. Damn that cliffhanger! I realize these are both old games, but I really loved them and I think it is kind of sad that they don’t get any attention. (Also want to point out these are both HG’s) I might edit this post if I think of some other games.
Hmmmm lotsa good WIPs. I’ll choose 3 that are either on hiatus, dead, or MIA. But Ghost Simulator, The Passenger, Supernatural in New York, Nothing left to Burn. Yall know i love y’all. And of course my Ohana Samuel Harrison’s excellent tale the Magician’s Burden is grossly underappreciated but I’ll do WIPs
Guenevere= I never thought I’d enjoy a gane where I’m a specific character. I certainly didn’t enjoy robin hood. But Guenevere is fun plus getting to be a lesbian in love with Morgana Le Fay and rejecting Lancelot even with his magic Shipping curse was awesome.
Curious Cuisine: A game about parenthood and your child is the superhero not you. ( unless you really want powers but i like being a muggle with a super kid) it combines the mobile gaming type plot of you get a mysterious building to fix up and run with the plot of raising a kid in a city of superpowers.
And Speaking of superpowers Hero Not Hero. A game i was …alpha? Testing. Besides the writers being awesomely receptive to feedback. ( the humor and weirdness was at like a10 and rushed and they fixed the pacing and brought the humor to a 7/8 so it didnt feel like " Theres a bicycle wearing a tophat for no reason" which really helped get the player immersed. It had a unique concept of Furniture related super powers. And a variety of romantic options including a literal ghost.
Another fan of Betovering House, yes! I’d be so happy to see an update, but I hope the author is doing fine…
As for other WIPs that I think are underrated…
I’m not sure if The Caged Songbird would count as being underrated (with the replies count and all) but gosh I’m putting it on this list because the WIP has amazing characters and needs more fans. Also the character driven plot is intriguing and MC is just precious. Okay, I’ll stop gushing now.
Welcome to the Circus is another one. I don’t know why, but I love creepy circuses that may or may not kill us. Also apparently I like to scare myself with clowns. Shame that there’s not a lot in the demo and well…seems like updates have stopped. Still a cool concept though!
Bad Penmanship for sure. With detective games being pretty popular (Wayhaven I’m looking at you! Of course the series deserves the love ) I’m surprised this WIP didn’t become more popular? I’ll always have a soft spot for this WIP and Keys.
I may or may not edit later? If I can think of more…
I really think The Hero Unmasked is underrated. But it may just be that it came out before I got involved in the forums and I missed the love for it. But it’s one I replay pretty often. I really like the supporting characters and the different ways I can play my MC. I would definitely buy a sequel!
As far as underrated WIPs, I don’t think The Porthecrawl Witness is getting nearly the attention it deserves. It’s fantastic, and I’m more attached to the characters and my MC for that game than any other. It’s a romantic occult mystery and I LOVE IT.
Well there’s one hosted games i think is underrated: It’s Somme Trench. Well aside the lack of romanceable characters (I Nevers found any ROs in it) The story is well writen in my opinions with meaningful choices. In it you embody a british infantryman during World war one at a battle called Somme (Or so i think).
Chronicon Apocalyptica never seems to get mentioned, but I had a lot of fun with it. My first ever COG / HG, in fact, and I liked it so much that it inspired me to try a bunch of others.
Does The Mysteries of Baroque count？It has some of my favorite elements:Gothic,steampunkish,literature/folklore references and a little bit lovecraftian.The writing’s great,bending so much elements together and keeping them consistent,the lore is captivating,the ending is grandiose.Maybe it doesn’t have the best plotline or character-building,but “Style is the answer to everything”
I would have liked to see more discussion on Cannonfire Concerto, too. But then, I would like to see more nerdy character discussion on everything.
I mean, Tally Ho is very popular, but apparently most players didn’t finish the game burning to write an essay on Haze’s psychological makeup, like I did.
As for WIPs, I’ve said this before, but I feel that Your One Moment deserves more love than it got.
Same. I could handle never getting any updated again if at least I know the author is fine. They went on hiatus in such a worrying note!
I know, right? I know she’s very busy (if I’m not mistaken, she has a kid) but I do hope she keeps writing, even if it takes years for the game to actually be released.
I knew I was forgetting something!! I meant to send the author a message on Tumblr to tell them how much I loved the demo, and then ended up forgetting. It’s literally one of the best ones out there.
Lots of games I had never even heard of here. Will be checking them out later as soon as I have the time!
I feel like Heroes of Myth is underrated, in that I don’t ever really see it talked about with the other super-long COG. It’s not perfect but it has really compelling characters, and a ton of choice and variability.
A game that I absolutely love and doesn’t get (in my very biased opinion) nearly as much attention as it deserves is Diaspora. Such a great, intrinsic world with amazing characters and a demo longer than some published games
Psy high .choice of magics .heros of myth .wayheaven chronicles .werewolves, and pirates pleasure. Sword of the slayer Are my favorite ones
Wips I love and worth a million reads
Golden rose
Shepard of haven
Guenevere
Triaina academy
What a brilliant existence
Mind games (obsession)
Good intentions
Monsters
The passenger
Demon (recollect )
For publish cogs, Blood Money felt so much like a game made for me, and I would love for more people to check it out. You are a spirit medium whose sister is in charge of a crime family in a dark fantasy venice sort of setting, and its just…fantastic!
As for WiPs, one I feel deserves more attention and hasn’t been mentioned here yet is Roots. The game does such a great job of capturing the feeling of “just trying to get by,” which makes the MC getting wrapped up in mythological shenanigans all the more satisfying and easy to immerse yourself in.
Right now everyone is hating Street Jam: The Rise and I think it deserves more love. Many people hate because of the things that are said in the warnings when you start the game. I think its really sad because I really like this game and I think more peaople should try it out.
I’d be so happy to see an update, but I hope the author is doing fine…
) I’m surprised this WIP didn’t become more popular? I’ll always have a soft spot for this WIP and Keys. 
