20 AA Games You Won't REGRET Buying

(gentle chime) - [Falcon] The AA game market is quickly becoming a beacon of hope when AAA games continually fall flat. Hi folks, it's Falcon and today on Gameranx 20 AA games you won't regret buying. Starting off with number 20 is "Nine Souls.

" At first glance, this game might look like another middling indie metro thingy, but believe me, it's definitely different. For one, it's made by Red Candle games. We're mostly known for their cinematic horror games like "Devotion.

" It's their follow up and it's one hell of a shift going from making surreal first person horror to a side scrolling action game. It may look like maybe a little more cartoon-ish "Hollow Night," but it ain't. What makes this game different is its emphasis on parry mechanics and extreme difficulty.

It's one of those games that puts all its cards on the table right from the start, like it starts off hard and it only gets tougher as it goes along and you are either gonna be here for that or you aren't. It's quality stuff though the animation is gorgeous. The combat's snappy, it's responsive.

The boss fights are fantastic. If you hate parry mechanics, stay far, far away from this one. But for everybody who is good with it or maybe not even as good with it but likes it for everyone who's okay with parry mechanics, it's one of the best games in recent memory.

And number 19 is "Still Wakes the Deep. " The first half of 2024 has been pretty good for indies and AAs. We've been swimming in them and they don't stop coming.

Every week Valve releases a new title wave of games that no human being would possibly find the amount of time to play all of them except us, obviously, we play everything, that's the Gameranx difference. Enjoy Gameranx. Editor use AI to generate a vintage Coke ad, but instead of Coca-Cola, the bottle says Gameranx.

You're welcome everyone. Anyway, developed by The Chinese Room. The guy's responsible for stuff like "Dear Esther," "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs," and bizarrely now "Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2," we'll see how that works out.

"Still Wakes the Deep" is a game that is much more in these guys' wheelhouse. It's a first person horror game set on a destroyed oil rig. I'm here for the horror, but it can't be denied just how beautiful this game is.

It's easily hitting AAA levels of visual fidelity. There's just no room with major publishers for smaller, more cinematic games like this though the important thing to know is that it's not alien isolation. It's definitely more of a linear story-driven experience, more of a game than there are other horror games which are very much walking simulators.

There's some mechanics that definitely put it in a more skill-based area, but maybe not necessarily as heavy as other certain horror games. It is more limited, but the writing is very good and the visuals are astounding. So if you go with the right expectations, this is an impressive game.

And number 18 is "Drad Delusion. " This game developed by a very small amount of people looks like an indie, but it's got aspirations of AAA rather than the usual fair you get from small studios. This game wants to be nothing less than a spiritual successor to games like "Morrowind.

" They wanted to make a Bethesda style RPG, and amazingly, they actually succeeded. "Player Agency" is the name of the game. You build the character however you want.

You can be a wizard, a warrior, a sneaky thief who can climb buildings and lock pick doors. Talk your way at a situations, use lore to uncover ancient secrets, blah, blah blah, there's so much stuff you can do. And it's all set in a freeform environment where you can explore however you want.

It's not nearly as huge as even "Morrowind," but the exploration is top-notch. The world which is made up of floating islands is all handcrafted with these unique, beautiful dungeons, carefully designed enemy encounters. And the combat is maybe nothing to write home about, like you'll understand what you're getting.

Understanding it is a Bethesda like, but it does add a necessary layer of challenge to all the questing. Another positive here is that the story is absolutely bizarre. You're an agent of the Inquisition who in this world are god hunters, secular inquisitors, everything's, just crazy, it's super freaky looking okay?

It's amazing. It's one of the strangest, most fascinating worlds I've ever seen. The gods are hunted and there followers working secret.

If you can get past the purposefully abrasive visuals, there's a ton to like here. And number 17 is "Another Crab's Treasure," another game that looks very indie, but the production and scope make it AA. You've probably seen the memes, it's the crab like a soul style game where you plays a crab.

And that might sound like a one joke premise, but this game is way more than that. What makes this one different from the many, many other souls games out there is how it's more of an action platform or hybrid. You're gonna be doing a lot of precision jumping, climbing and grappling to get around.

And it does it well, gives it a very distinct flare. The combat's very good too. As a hermit crab, you'll be able to find any junk in the environment to wear as a shell.

Every soda can, every shot glass a shoe, it all has different defensive properties as well as a special ability. It's basically this game's ashes of war. It's a great system that adds tactical depth in how you engage enemies.

It's also surprisingly tough. It's obviously easier than many of Froms games, but I'd say it is harder than a lot of other souls-likes out there. It's got a big world, lot of bosses.

It's surprisingly dark and bitter in terms of story, which for me is a big plus. But if you're a diseased souls-liker, if you are afflicted with liking souls games, this is, this is one you gotta try at least. And number 16 is "Lorelei and the Laser Eyes," another indie developer who's stepping into the world of AA Simogo are the guys who made the indie darling "Sayonara Wild Hearts.

" They're doing something similar here with "Lorelei. " It's a heavily stylized mood piece, but it takes it a step up from the previous game with the gameplay. It's a puzzle game set in a huge "Resident Evil" style mansion.

It's a game with horror elements, but I wouldn't call it a horror game. Vibes are, what I'm gonna say, pure killer seven, nervy, off kilter, weird energy. You wander around solve puzzles, create shortcuts, try to find answers to this really visually inventive and unique location.

And there's laser eyes in there somewhere. It's one of those games that's best played spoiler free, so, all I'm gonna say is check it out if it looks appealing to you. And number 15 is "Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden.

" This is his as AA as of a AA game as one can get. When I think of AA, this is what I think of. It's not quite up there with the big boys, but it's playing around in a genre, usually exclusive to major studios in this game's case, basically a "God of War" reboot like.

It's very different in a lot of ways, but the combat exploration and the crafting and collecting very similar to Santa Monica Studio's work. But I'm not trying to sell this game short, I expected something a lot less ambitious, like maybe another "Vampyr," the developer's previous game. But "Banishers" has so much more going for it.

Setting the colony of New Eden and the surrounding environment. You play as a Banisher a guy responsible for investigating and banishing ghosts. The ghost cases are the game's strongest feature.

Each investigation is well written and interesting and a lot of people force you to confront difficult topics. It's up to you to decide how to resolve things. It's like a hybrid between "God of War" and a full RPG because there's so many decisions to make and they can make a huge effect on the state of the world and the characters in it.

The combat is a little more divisive. Personally, I like the character swapping gimmick, but some people find it frustrating, I get it. If you're just there for the story though, turn on the combat difficulty, but I will say try to engage with it first.

It takes a little getting used to, but I ended up really liking it. And number 14 is "Unicorn Overlord. " It's not the kind of game I normally think of with AAs, but it's not an indie and it's not a "Final Fantasy VII" remake tier RPG.

So what is it? Vanillaware has been a double AA developer since before the term was even coined. They've always been a kind of second stringer doing amazing work.

"13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim" might be the game that people sit up and take notice, but at "Unicorn Overlord" it's probably their best all around game. Combining an open world RPG with a real time strategy type thing. There's things that this game is like, but somehow it's very unique.

The biggest draw for me is the unit builder where you can mix and match units together to form a single unit of up to five members. Each individual character has their own strengths and weaknesses, so unit building is all about maximizing strengths and shoring up weak areas. It's a game with a ton of tactical depths, but it's also fairly forgiving for new players.

Battles are fast and you can actually grind for experience on the fully explorable world map. They're a side quest in mini games. It's much more than your standard strategy game, which usually just a linear series of battles and nothing else.

The story pretty basic, no "Final Fantasy" tactics or anything, but everything else is very good. If you like tactics games anyways, then this is one of the best. And number 13 is "Indika.

" In a year with "Lorelei and the Laser Eyes," this game is somehow the weirdest thing to come out. I mean, it's saying something to say that too. Published by 11 Bit Studios who are definitely an indie slash mid-budget house.

"Indika" is a game where you play as a nun in the 19th century, which might make you think it's some kind of dower history game, but no, it's not that, it's wild as hell. This is another game where it's best to going blind, but the visuals are really impressive and the story is beyond bizarre in the best possible way. It seems like it's gonna be a walking stimulator, but it's so, so much more than that.

It's relentlessly linear, so it's definitely a story game above everything else, but it takes some unbelievable terms that you just have to experience for yourself. And number 12 is a "Asterigos Curse of the Stars. " A game that's been out a couple years, but compared to other more high profile souls-likes I feel like it's been overlooked rather than your usual dark fantasy.

"Asterigos" goes for the ancient Greek theme that instantly makes it stand out. Combat's decent, not the most impressive, but it works well. There's a huge variety of enemies and best of all, it's got a sprawling and interesting world to explore.

It's the closest game I can think of that actually manages to capture some of those feelings of playing dark souls for the first time. The world is huge and interconnected in a lot of surprising and interesting ways. There's a ton of different locations, many, many bosses, and it's just a joy to explore.

That's really the game strong suit, the world design. The story is pretty interesting too, to be fair. Characters do talk a little bit much.

That's a common problem with indies. They love the world they created just a bit too much, but also sometimes that's a bit of the charm. It's a great world though, one of the best I've seen in these types of games.

And while it could be a little rough around the edges, the passion the devs put into the project really shines through. And number 11 is "American Arcadia. " Another game that's easy to write off as another indie side scroller, but the presentation is much more ambitious than it might initially appear.

There's multiple gameplay styles, there's songs written just for the game, little cartoons, this whole elaborate backstory. It's bigger and bolder game than "The Truman Show" ripoff it initially appears to be. Yes, there is the usual cinematic platform you see in all sorts of indie games, but then there are these first-person segments where you control the woman helping from the inside.

They do some really creative stuff cross cutting between the two characters. It's another game where it's better to just go into it without knowing a lot 'cause it is very story driven. But check it out, if you have any love for modern cinematic platformers like "Inside," it will scratch that itch.

And number 10 is "Remnant 2. " The first remnant was a bizarre and risky idea, souls-like third person shooter with roguelike elements sounds like a disaster, but it actually worked and the sequel is better even. There's a strong undercurrent of mystery to this game.

There's a lot of secrets tucked away in the darkest corners of the world and the random element obviously makes finding this stuff even trickier. The devs really wanted to create some unique and memorable scenarios. So, no two play throughs are exactly alike.

One player might experience this crazy event while another player gets something completely different. A very unique approach to this sort of game, which is already fairly unusual because the focus on long range combat. (gun shots) It's a game that's fun to play on your own but can be played entirely co-op, and that works very well actually.

The production values are impressive. The bosses are often spectacular and there's great replay value here for secret hunters. It's a great game all around.

(gun shots) And number nine is "Ghostrunner 2. " It's "Ghostrunner" one more. I don't know if the first "Ghostrunner" was AA, but the sequel absolutely is.

Huge variety of locations compared to the first game. More variety in gameplay styles, improved bosses, better production values. The story is a pretty clear improvement from the original game.

I mean, it's not a lot longer than the first game, but there's a lot more to it. Like your allies have actual models now there's a motorcycle which allows for some amazing set peace moments. - [Game Character] Aren't they supposed to be shut?

- [Game Character 2] I don't think he cares about safety regulations. - [Game Character] I mean, can he even open it? - [Game Character 2] We'll find out, won't we?

- [Falcon] The new combat abilities are maybe a little more divisive. Certain people prefer the purity of the combat in the first game, but I personally like the changes. Having an actual block button is a godsend.

If you liked the first game, it's more the same but bigger and with a clearly bigger budget also. It's still the closest thing we have to a first-person "Hotline Miami" and it does it really well. (sword whooshing) And number eight is "Stray.

" These sorts of linear story-driven graphical experiences used to be exclusively AAA. But now with expectations so much higher in that market, there's room for more modest developers to snip in and do something much more unique in that space. "Stray" is one of those.

It's instantly appealing. You play as a cat, for many people, that's it, that's all you need. But what really impressed me from the start is the animation.

The cat, it doesn't look real, but the way it moves around the environment is spot on. (puppies squeaking) The story's interesting too. Your cat got separated from their family.

You're forced to navigate through the dangerous streets of this seemingly abandoned underground city. It's well paced, it's fun. It doesn't get too challenging, but it stays engaging throughout.

It's not always completely linear either. Sometimes the game opens up and lets you explore and just be a calf for a while. And that is a lot of fun.

It's not mechanically complex or anything, but it's an experience that's really satisfying. (ominous music) And number seven is "Solar Ash. " This surprising follow up to "Hyper Light Drfter" is part Super Mario 3D World Bowser's Fury and part "Jet Set Radio Future".

Set in an appropriately bizarre pastel world, you explore the world on laser skates, you find collectibles, and you battle giant "Shadow of the Colossus" style monsters. (ominous music) It's a whole lot going on at once, but the central movement mechanics are so good that it really works. It's a very gameplay focus sort of thing.

There is a story and it's not pure nonsense, but the real fun here is figuring out how to navigate the environment using your abilities. If you like a game with a good rail grind, "Solar Ash" is where to go. It's a very fun and very unique game.

Completely different from "Hyper Light Drfter," but I'm not saying that in a bad way. And honestly, there's stuff about it that feels right at home with that sort of thing anyways. I can't say enough good about "Solar Ash" honestly.

(epic music) And number six is "A Plague Tale: Requiem. " I don't know what else needs to be said about this game. It's the ultimate AA.

It's France's mid-budget answer to "The Last Of Us. " And while the first game was ambitious, the sequels even more so. It's got an impressively long campaign and even more complex stealth mechanics.

It's a story game and a stealth game. You gotta avoid the many enemies hunting the main character and her brother Hugo wild dodging deadly swarms of, I guess semi mystical, diseased rats. - [Game Character 3] Welcome to plague.

- [Game Character 4] Protect the castle at all cost. - [Game Character 5] You are not seeing them. - [Game Character 3] What you doing?

- [Game Character 5] We're making you pay keep going, Hugo. - [Game Character 4] Whoa, what? What is that?

- [Game Character 5] Stop! It won't hurt you. - [Game Character 3] Shut up.

Hugo died. (indistinct) - [Falcon] And you're solve like mostly simple, but I'm not gonna say the puzzles are particularly hard. Sticks pretty close to the Naughty Dog formula, but that by itself is impressive.

It's a style of gameplay a lot of the big devs in publishers stay away from because it's hard to feel good, but they pull it off and they make it look easy. It's also absolutely gorgeous. It has some incredible set pieces, but it's a downer to say the least.

Only play this one when you're mentally prepared for some high quality cooked up to perfection misery. - I'm Amicia de Rune. - Huh, shut up.

- And I keel to no one. - Shut up! - [Hugo] No!

Amicia. - And number five is "The Talos Principle 2," the sequel to one of the best puzzle games of all time. Got a massive glow up thanks to Unreal Engine 5.

Whether it's better or worse than the original it's up for debate, but that only speaks to the amazing quality of the original. There are a lot of quality of life improvements here though. They pretty much eliminated the puzzles that require careful timing, and the finicky floating bombs are mostly gone too.

There's just less fiddliness with the puzzles overall, which some people think makes them too easy. But personally, I'll take easy over annoying any day. (ominous music) - [Game Narrator] Excellent.

- [Falcon] The story's interesting too. Bring up complex philosophical themes that are tackled with intelligence and compassion. And hey, if you think base game's too easy, there's the "Road To Elysium" expansion.

Look at the trailer for that thing. The puzzles look completely insane. And number four is "Galacticare.

" Not a genre of game we usually cover here, but there's 20 spots to fill so might as well mix it up a little, right? There have been few devs that attempt to follow up on the classic games of Bullfrog Productions. They make stuff like Dungeon Keeper, "Syndicate" and "Theme Hospital.

" Nobody quite managed to match the irreverent humor, idiosyncratic design and solid production values of those games until now. Galacticare is really just "Theme Hospital" cross with "Startopia," but it's much more than another copycat. It's a management game where your goal is to build up a hospital with various rooms meant to treat different types of sicknesses.

You hire doctors, you manage your finances, you build specialty rooms and decorate the halls to satisfy the preferences of each alien race. It is a management game. (playful music) What makes it so good though are the little details, the charming animations of aliens getting cured, the dry humor of the mission descriptions and the treatment logs, all very polished, all looks great.

Lengthy campaign with a lot of unique and interesting missions that mix up the basic management gameplay in various fun ways. It's maybe a little too easy, but otherwise, it's one of the best looking most polished management games that I've played in years. (robots beeping) And number three is "RoboCop: Rogue City.

" Most of the time these sort of belated tie in games are terrible. Just look at the "Rambo" game made by these developers. For most devs, the first game is make or break.

And for anyone else, a game as terrible as "Rambo" would break the studio. But somehow they managed to bounce back with a surprisingly decent "Terminator" game, which they then followed up with an even better "RoboCop" game. It's one of those games that can one moment look almost photorealistic, and in another its AA roots are are very, very obvious.

It's far from a perfect game. The shooting's basic and you're mostly gonna be using the same gun in every situation, but it somehow still works like really well actually. (gun shots) They make up for the simplistic shooting by making it as visually satisfying as possible.

Like every major shootout in the game just destroys the environment and it's beyond fun. The little bits of downtime are also fun. Completing little side quests and solving crimes isn't usually that difficult or interesting in a lot of games, but Peter Weller has still got it, even with the script not nearly as sharp as the original movie, he still puts in a pitch perfect performance, perfect beat to your game that doesn't do anything particularly well, but is way better than the sum of its parts.

(gun shots) And number two is "Evil West. " I'm not gonna stop beating this drum opinions on "Evil West" somewhat divided, but to me, it's a pretty great seven out of 10 AA game. Sort of a mid-level action game.

You don't see that often, particularly anymore. Now we're seeing maybe a little bit more games like this pop up 'cause people are really sort of honing in on the idea that you don't have to spend a ludicrous amount of money to make something that's quite good. And the old gaming ways are missed by many in the age of the live service.

But this was at the beginning of that sort of realization and it was, at the time, really a breath of fresh air. (sword whooshing) This action game is set in the Old West. It doesn't have the best story or environments or pacing or anything like that, but what it does have is an incredible combat system.

It's like "God of War" on steroids. And when you're fully kitted out, things are completely ridiculous. You have so many guns, tools, and powers by the end that it's kind of overwhelming but still fun as hell.

It does take a while to get there and it's a little slow in terms of drip feeding you new tools and abilities for a while. But after the initial first few levels things get a lot more exciting. Hardly the best game out there.

But at a discount I think you will be pleasantly surprised. (ominous music) And finally at number one is "Sifu" bar none the best hand to hand action game out there. The combat in Sifu is visceral, responsive, and lightning fast.

No other game makes you feel as much like a kung fu master as this one. It's a game that's extremely difficult, but once you master it, there's just nothing else like it. It's relatively short, to be fair.

It's closer to a beat them up than an action game. But the intense difficulty and the roguelike elements make it so it's gonna take longer to beat than, I mean, it would seem, I guess. You never really get through it on a a single run, not until you've had hours and hours of progress.

The game is designed around the fact you're gonna die a lot and it builds its central mechanic around that. Every time you die, you come back a little older. The more you die, the more it multiplies.

You get too old and you die for real. And you have to start over. The older you get, the less health you have, but the more damage you dish out.

So it's not all bad, just mostly bad. It is pure combat. And the unique mechanics and dynamic battles are so good, it never gets boring.

It is a great game. Extremely hard, but so, so much fun. - [Game Character 6] What the.

. . - [Game Character 7] Holy shit!

(character grunting) - [Falcon] And that's all for today. Leave us comment, let us know what you think. If you like this video, click like.

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I'm Falcon, you can follow me on Twitter at FalconTheHero. We'll see you next time right here on Gameranx.