Seventh Generation Cult Classics

[Sload Soap]

Binary Domain seems to have gathered a bit of a following.

And I agree that in the years to come people will find a lot of Wii games with cult appeal despite the Wii's immense popularity, with games like A boy and his Blob, Cursed Mountain, Dead Space: Extraction.

You sometimes get a game from a popular franchise that is considered inferior by fans, but is loved by others and over time the people who love the game have to defend themselves so much it can turn to fanaticism. So Metroid: Other M might fit that bill.

[Hobie-wan]

Yeah, I know, but still worth throwing up.

It made GH. It isn't cult by any stretch of the imagination.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Yeah, I know, but still worth throwing up.

It made GH. It isn't cult by any stretch of the imagination.

Ok, I didn't know that.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Bayonetta seems like an odd choice. I remember when it was released - no one would shut the hell up about it. Seems too big to be a cult classic, but I don't have sales figures in front of me.

I actually agree with Demon's Souls being on the list and I'm surprised that some folks don't. Niche developer, niche publisher... and yes it's popular, but isn't it mostly popular among a certain crowd? I've never heard "mainstream" gamers talk about it.

I don't have any recommendations to add, unfortunately. I lot of my favorite 7th gen titles (like Eternal Sonata) are just too damn obscure to be considered. I agree with the DeathSmiles, Sin & Punishment, and Neptunia picks though.

I also think that Bayonetta is marginal. It was not popular enough to inspire a "Greatest Hits" or "Platinum" release, however, and its sequel will be exclusive to the WiiU. Moreover, it has some ardent defenders and never fails to inspire discussion; so, unlike Game Informer's decision to include Demon's Souls, I ultimately agree with its decision to include Bayonetta.

Most of the games I can think of are more or less hidden gems rather than "cult" games...The 360 has some awesome XBLA titles that didn't receive much mainstream attention, but have fanatical followings. State of Decay, Shadow Complex, and The Dishwasher series are a few good ones.

There is a very fine line between "hidden gems" and "cult classics", but I think you can distinguish the two by their followings. IMO, "hidden gems" are very good games that very few people have played and even fewer promote. "Cult Classics", on the other hand, are games that relatively few people have played, but that nonetheless have a very vocal group of supporters.

Also - and only for the purposes of this list - I am restricting "cult classics" to retail releases. If I started including downloadable titles, the list would quickly become unwieldy.

....

I also agree that Deathsmiles (360) and Akai Katana (360) should be added to our list. Cave fans simply will not shut up about those games, and I will add them to the OP. Moreover, I agree with Child of Eden (360/PS3), Dead Space: Extraction (Wii), GoldenEye (Wii), and Spec Ops: The Line (360/PS3); all of those game seem to have incredible support from a dedicated group of fans. I agree with A Boy & His Blob (Wii) since I am a member of that cult and cannot recommend that game highly enough. Finally - and despite Bone's characterization - I am going to add Eternal Sonata (360/PS3). JRPG fans love that game despite the fact that all of the characters look like Precious Moments(R) figurines...

That said, I would like some more thoughts on:

The Conduit (Wii)
Dragon's Dogma (360/PS3)
Metroid: Other M (Wii)
Red Steel 2 (Wii)
Sonic & All Star Racing Transformed (360/PS3)
Splatterhouse (360/PS3)

Should any of these games be considered "cult" classics?

[AppleQueso]

Bayonetta seems like an odd choice. I remember when it was released - no one would shut the hell up about it. Seems too big to be a cult classic, but I don't have sales figures in front of me.

I actually agree with Demon's Souls being on the list and I'm surprised that some folks don't. Niche developer, niche publisher... and yes it's popular, but isn't it mostly popular among a certain crowd? I've never heard "mainstream" gamers talk about it.

I don't have any recommendations to add, unfortunately. I lot of my favorite 7th gen titles (like Eternal Sonata) are just too damn obscure to be considered. I agree with the DeathSmiles, Sin & Punishment, and Neptunia picks though.

I also think that Bayonetta is marginal. It was not popular enough to inspire a "Greatest Hits" or "Platinum" release, however, and its sequel will be exclusive to the WiiU. Moreover, it has some ardent defenders and never fails to inspire discussion; so, unlike Game Informer's decision to include Demon's Souls, I ultimately agree with its decision to include Bayonetta.

Most of the games I can think of are more or less hidden gems rather than "cult" games...The 360 has some awesome XBLA titles that didn't receive much mainstream attention, but have fanatical followings. State of Decay, Shadow Complex, and The Dishwasher series are a few good ones.

There is a very fine line between "hidden gems" and "cult classics", but I think you can distinguish the two by their followings. IMO, "hidden gems" are very good games that very few people have played and even fewer promote. "Cult Classics", on the other hand, are games that relatively few people have played, but that nonetheless have a very vocal group of supporters.

Also - and only for the purposes of this list - I am restricting "cult classics" to retail releases. If I started including downloadable titles, the list would quickly become unwieldy.

....

I also agree that Deathsmiles (360) and Akai Katana (360) should be added to our list. Cave fans simply will not shut up about those games, and I will add them to the OP. Moreover, I agree with Child of Eden (360/PS3), Dead Space: Extraction (Wii), GoldenEye (Wii), and Spec Ops: The Line (360/PS3); all of those game seem to have incredible support from a dedicated group of fans. I agree with A Boy & His Blob (Wii) since I am a member of that cult and cannot recommend that game highly enough. Finally - and despite Bone's characterization - I am going to add Eternal Sonata (360/PS3). JRPG fans love that game despite the fact that all of the characters look like Precious Moments(R) figurines...

That said, I would like some more thoughts on:

The Conduit (Wii)
Dragon's Dogma (360/PS3)
Metroid: Other M (Wii)
Red Steel 2 (Wii)
Sonic & All Star Racing Transformed (360/PS3)
Splatterhouse (360/PS3)

Should any of these games be considered "cult" classics?

Conduit was extremely hyped before release, but nobody really talks about it anymore, so I'd vote "no" on that one.

Other M is a very well known and controversial entry in an extremely popular franchise. I don't think it should qualify either.

dunno about the rest

[samsonlonghair]

That said, I would like some more thoughts on:

The Conduit (Wii)
Dragon's Dogma (360/PS3)
Metroid: Other M (Wii)
Red Steel 2 (Wii)
Sonic & All Star Racing Transformed (360/PS3)
Splatterhouse (360/PS3)

Should any of these games be considered "cult" classics?

Nothing with "Sonic" or "Metroid" in the title should be considered a cult classic. These are popular, long-running franchises.

I would call the Bit.Trip series of games cult classics. The Bit.Trip games do not have many fans like Sonic or Metroid, but the fans they do have are die-hard fans.

[Gamerforlife]

Nah, Bayonetta is not a cult classic. Sure, it's not exactly mainstream in a Call of Duty sense, but EVERYONE has heard about Bayonetta and EVERYONE raves about it. Nobody has ever had to "defend" Bayonetta. It's about as cult as Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, which means it's not. That's just my opinion

I think Viva Pinata is a cult classic. It received much critical acclaim, but NOBODY ever talks about it. In fact, gamers in general seem very down on Rare this past gen and don't want to give them credit for anything.

Puppeteer seems like it's destined to be one, because while people go on and on about Rayman and Tearaway, no one's talking about Puppeteer

Alice Madness Returns is another one. Fun game that got mixed reviews and likely didn't sell well. I think it got a lot of attention on release, then was quickly forgotten

I would say Lollipop Chainsaw even though it sold well and is well known, just because it got a lot of negative critical response. It was on no one's game of the year list and likely won't get mentioned by people at all when looking back at the best of last generation. Actually, LC adds further emphasis to my reasoning for not considering Bayonetta a cult classic. A lot of LC's negative reviews complained about it not being like Bayonetta, which has apparently become an action game standard.

X-Men Wolverine Origins - Sure, it's based on a popular Marvel character, but do you hear anyone talking about this game now? Comic book talk this gen is largely dominated by Lego games and Batman games.

Sonic Generations is DEFINITELY a cult classic. It doesn't matter that Sonic is a well known character. The series has been maligned and looked down upon for years now and that hasn't changed. Again, look at my comments on Puppeteer. When people rave about this gen's best platformers. No one will mention this game. It'll be Rayman this, Donkey Kong Country Returns that, Tearaway this, Mario that.

Same thing with Prince of Persia 2008, does anybody talk about POP games anymore? Not since Assassin's Creed took over. POP 2008 was a great game that nobody talks about

Stranglehold - Great Max Payne clone that was a video game sequel to Hardboiled. Outdid the Max Payne games in a lot of ways, but another game you never hear about now

[prfsnl_gmr]

Nah, Bayonetta is not a cult classic. Sure, it's not exactly mainstream in a Call of Duty sense, but EVERYONE has heard about Bayonetta and EVERYONE raves about it. Nobody has ever had to "defend" Bayonetta. It's about as cult as Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, which means it's not. That's just my opinion.

I admit that it is borderline. Like Demon's Souls, however, it is in the Game Informer article that inspired this thread; so, I will keep it in the OP

I think Viva Pinata is a cult classic. It received much critical acclaim, but NOBODY ever talks about it. In fact, gamers in general seem very down on Rare this past gen and don't want to give them credit for anything.

Good call. I will add it to the OP.

Puppeteer seems like it's destined to be one, because while people go on and on about Rayman and Tearaway, no one's talking about Puppeteer.

I think that you are probably correct, but I also think it is too early to call it on this one. If we revisit this thread in a year, I think we will have some more perspective on this one.

Alice Madness Returns is another one. Fun game that got mixed reviews and likely didn't sell well. I think it got a lot of attention on release, then was quickly forgotten.

I agree. I will add it to the OP.

I would say Lollipop Chainsaw even though it sold well and is well known, just because it got a lot of negative critical response. It was on no one's game of the year list and likely won't get mentioned by people at all when looking back at the best of last generation. Actually, LC adds further emphasis to my reasoning for not considering Bayonetta a cult classic. A lot of LC's negative reviews complained about it not being like Bayonetta, which has apparently become an action game standard.

Again, I think that this is a good addition. Like Mad World, this game is very divisive, but it certainly has some strident defenders.

X-Men Wolverine Origins - Sure, it's based on a popular Marvel character, but do you hear anyone talking about this game now? Comic book talk this gen is largely dominated by Lego games and Batman games.

I have read good things about this. I am not sure it has the following to be a cult classic, however, and it seems more like a "hidden gem" to me. I could probably be convinced otherwise, however.

Sonic Generations is DEFINITELY a cult classic. It doesn't matter that Sonic is a well known character. The series has been maligned and looked down upon for years now and that hasn't changed. Again, look at my comments on Puppeteer. When people rave about this gen's best platformers. No one will mention this game. It'll be Rayman this, Donkey Kong Country Returns that, Tearaway this, Mario that.

I could see this being a cult classic, but I am not sure about it. Does anyone else have an opinion.

Same thing with Prince of Persia 2008, does anybody talk about POP games anymore? Not since Assassin's Creed took over. POP 2008 was a great game that nobody talks about.

Again, I see this as more of a hidden gem than a cult classic. The game is certainly known for its quality, but as you said, it does not have much of a following. As before, I could be convinced otherwise.

Does anyone else have thoughts on this game?

Stranglehold - Great Max Payne clone that was a video game sequel to Hardboiled. Outdid the Max Payne games in a lot of ways, but another game you never hear about now

As with Prince of Persia (2008), I think that this is more of a hidden gem than a cult classic since it doesn't seem to have much of a following. As before, however, I could be convinced otherwise.

.....

In sum, I would like some more opinions on:

Binary Domain
Cursed Mountain
Dragon's Dogma
Prince of Persia (2008)
Red Steel 2
Sonic Generations
Splatterhouse
Stranglehold
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Are these games cult classics or merely hidden gems?

[Luke]

Doesn't a game have to be considered "Classic" to be considered as a "Cult Classic"? Sonic Generations a Cult Classic? Gtfooh. The game is barely a few years old and doesn't have a "following".

The movie THE ROOM has a following...The FINAL FANTASY series has a following...The games listed are, as of now, just "overlooked" games.


The closest game I can think of having a cult classic following would be Earthworm Jim, and even that game was well received and well known.

[brunoafh]

In sum, I would like some more opinions on:

Binary Domain
Cursed Mountain
Dragon's Dogma
Prince of Persia (2008)
Red Steel 2
Sonic Generations
Splatterhouse
Stranglehold
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Are these games cult classics or merely hidden gems?

Too early to tell for most of them, but I would say no on Prince of Persia 2008 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Prince of Persia 2008 is a bland game that no one is going to talk about 10 years from now. Barely anyone talked about it the month after it was released. Same thing goes for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it's good, but I definitely don't see it becoming a classic. The only reason people bring it up is because it was a movie tie-in that was actually good. Just ask yourself the last time somebody talked about these games with great enthusiasm.

Binary Domain is the only one that sticks out to me as a good candidate, but I don't know if it actually has enough fans to be considered for cult status at the moment.