Top 10 Cult Classic Video Games

Top 10 Video Cult Classics

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Top 20 Cult Classic Video Games Of All Time

They may not have gotten the widespread recognition they wanted, but they did create a legion of loyal fans! Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 video game cult classics. For this list, we’re looking at games that didn’t sell very well, but managed to grab hold of a few dedicated gamers, be it for quality or unique style, and have since been elevated to that strange and ill defined status of “cult classic”.

Down the river of madness. Inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, this shooter went beyond the run and gun play style of its brethren to deliver a smart and insightful tale. As the player progresses, they dive deeper into the psyche of Captain Walker in haunting, sand covered ruins Dubai. Although this plays like a typical shooter, it bucks the narrative trend of burly war heroes with unflinching morals, instead becoming something more shocking and meaningful than you’d expect from the genre.

#9: "Mirror's Edge" (2008)

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A first person platformer certainly sounds intriguing, but making it work is a whole other story. But, with a beautiful art style set in a vibrant city with the backdrop of a Big Brother inspired plot, Mirror’s Edged managed to successfully land on most of its lofty promises. No other first person game to date has managed to capture the feel of parkour as this one, and the wait for a sequel has left its dedicated fans eagerly anticipating its open world next gen leap.

A drastic re-imagining of the Chinese novel “Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en, this story is set 150 years in the future with few humans left trying to survive against lingering killer robots. Introducing us to the intriguing characters Monkey and Trip, and using solid mix of combat and wall scaling platforming puzzles, it proved to be one of the most unqiue adventures to grace last gen consoles.

Releasing to stiff competition and in an unfinished state, this game’s dismal sales would force its studio Troika Games to close down due to insufficient funds. But that hasn’t kept fans from supporting it. With the community releasing patches and mods to improve the game, the original potential has been fully realized making for one of the more engaging open world RPG games to date. With players being penalized if they use certain vampiric abilities in front of witnesses, the game mixes stealth and action admirably. With a myriad of quests, clans and disciplines to find and conquer, each play through makes for a blood sucking good time.

Inspired by Japanese watercolors, Director Hideki Kamiya attributed this game to his love for The Legend of Zelda series, and it certainly played like a Zelda game. Using the celestial brush, players could call upon their various abilities to interact with the world. Changing the dark dreary colors that have invaded the land back to its original glory is a sight to behold every time. It sadly didn’t sell well during it’s PS2 run, and Its Wii rerelease unfortunately didn’t do much better. This is certainly one of the most under appreciated gems of yesteryear.

#5: “Conker’s Bad Fur Day” (2001)

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Who would have thought that Nintendo’s golden boy’s Rare had it in them to release this raunchy adventure. Coming out late in the Nintendo 64’s life, those who did pick up this satirical masterpiece got to play as a hilarious foul mouth squirrel with drinking problems. The game later got a remake on the original Xbox, but they ruined the charm of the original game by censoring some of the more profane bits. Like this. Still, if your up for battling a singing boss made of fecal matter, track down the N64 original.

#4: “S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl” (2007)

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There has been a second, significangtly more magical meltdown in Chernobyl, and you are a Stalker, an illegal scavenger that forages the wasteland. With no memories of who you are, you’re only clue towards your identity is the cryptic task you’ve been given to “Kill the Strelok”. An engrossing FPS/RPG Hybrid with a heavy emphasis on survival, players must manage radiation, hunger and bleeding levels to stay alive in The Zone.

#3: “Beyond Good & Evil” (2003)

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This game follows Jade who is trying to uncover an alien conspiracy threatening her planet, while also trying to keep her orphanage from running out of money. Using stealth and martial arts players advance as they discover more about the unseen forces working against them while taking photographs to sell using their trusty camera. Puzzles complement the more stealthy gameplay, and certain sections require the help of other characters to advance which makes you truly feel like you’re part of an underground resistance. Yet despite a sequel technically being announced in 2008, we’re still nowhere near seeing a follow up to this great gem.

As if falling down the rabbit hole wasn’t scary enough, developer Rogue Entertainment’s take on the Lewis Carroll classic created an even more dark and twisted version of Alice’s Wonderland. This is explained, quite simply, because Alice has gone insane creating a fresh and fantastic context for a world so many are already familiar with. A twisted take on a classic that was already creepy enough to begin with, mix in a decent chunk of psychological horror thrown in you’ve got game with Cult Classic written all over it. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: “Snatcher” (1988) “Vanquish" (2010) “Fatal Frame” (2001) “Demon’s Souls” (2009) “Panzer Dragoon Orta" (2003)

Tim Shafer is pretty much synonymous with the term “gaming cult classic”, from Full Throttle to Psychonauts and Brutal Legends. The point a click genre, which he had such a big hand in creating, is essentially a cult classic category in and of itself. However, Grim Fandango was perhaps his masterpiece presented incredible elements of the afterlife in a neo-noir setting that remains unique to this day. Reimagining the after-life in a neo-noir theme, it’s weird, stylish, clever and cool all at the same time. The game is scheduled for a remake on the PS4 and we can’t wait to see what it looks like on new hardware. Do you agree with our list? Is there a game that you’re a huge fan of that very few people know about? For more devoted Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.