The 30 Most Underrated Xbox One Games

Remedy Entertainment is an expert studio when it comes to crafting compelling third-person shooters. Its Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break adopts that style of play and also attempted to grab even more attention with a live-action TV show placed right in the middle of it. While the show itself isn't all that intriguing, the actual gunplay and time manipulation abilities at the heart of Quantum Break are super exciting. The fast and furious shootouts and clever ways you can use crazy powers such as "Time Stop" to punish your foes do a lot to keep players glued to their screens in this one.

Ryse: Son of Rome's development cycle was quite troubled - it originally began in 2006 and was meant to be a first-person Kinect-only experience. But it was eventually repurposed into being a third-person action game that launched right alongside the Xbox One. And while it's pretty simple in the area of combat mechanics, there's still a ton of fun to be had when it comes time to hack off some limbs and get into the incredible flow of pulling off sick executions. Ryse: Son of Rome still looks amazing by today's graphical standards, so you'll definitely get immersed in its gory gameplay and war-torn battlefields.

This spiritual successor to Devil's Crush is one of the more addictive picks on this list. The self-described "occult pinball action" game gives players three separate screens to play across that are all beautifully designed. And the way the action unfolds is pretty unique as it incorporates hack 'n slash and bullet hell mechanics that mesh right in with the ball's "attacks" and tilt mechanics.

The Messenger gives off heavy 2D Ninja Gaiden vibes, which should instantly attract all the retro gamers reading this list right now. You take on the role of a ninja who embarks on a life-threatening quest in order to deliver a prized scroll. That sole mission of his is hard as hell, though - you'll need to become adept at the game's "Cloudstepping" technique and master the game's litany of other unlocked abilities as you slash through the opposition. The 16-bit Metroidvania vibes are very strong here.

So the Overcooked games are all about handling food in the most hectic situations ever concocted for that deceptively simple premise. In the case of Moving Out, players are responsible for transporting all types of items from a house to a moving truck while all sorts of obstacles try to disrupt you. Getting the co-op crew together to move all types of furniture and appliances is way more fun than you'd initially think. Give it a shot if you're looking to scout some folks who you'll eventually want to employ as movers in real life.

If you've been on the lookout for a throwback platformer that looks & feels like it could have launched on the PS2/Xbox/GameCube, then Pumpkin Jack should satisfy you. As Jack, the Mythical Pumpkin Lord, you'll trek through some spooky locales and fight to overcome the power of good by being purely evil. The fast-paced combat encounters, wild platforming sequences, and clever environmental puzzles all come together to produce a highly entertaining 3D platformer. If you're one of the few that played The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge back in the day, then you'll absolutely adore Pumpkin Jack.

If you love the Sniper Elite series, then you should split your attention between that series and the Zombie Army spinoff games. Zombie Army 4: Dead War presents a highly addictive co-op shooter that tasks you and your three buddies with shooting down the shambling undead within the timeframe of 1940s Europe. You'll be treated to a full campaign here, plus a traditional Horde mode that presents an unlimited gathering of Armageddon baddies to eliminate.

Prepare to be fully immersed, spooked, and extra tense when you spend some time with Deliver Us The Moon. You'll have to do everything in your power to keep the people of Earth from extinction by embarking on a mission upon the Moon. Your struggle to save the planet's energy crisis means you'll run into a bunch of puzzle scenarios that switch up your first- and third-person viewpoints. Plus you'll need to stay abreast of everything going on within the abandoned facilities you'll explore. This game's going to work your brain, for sure.

Iconoclasts is a Metroidvania game through and through. As a courageous mechanic named Robin, you set out to take up your trusty wrench and bring the fight to the tyrannical religious authority known as the One Concern. And you'll do just that by jumping into a beautifully animated pixelated world that's full of mind-bending puzzles and action-packed boss battles. Shout out to indie developer Joakim Sandberg for providing the gaming world with this wonderful ode to the 16-bit era.

Avalanche Studios, the developers behind the bombastic Just Cause IP, outdid themselves when they got their hands on the Mad Max license. The game that came from that concerted effort led to the creation of one of the better licensed open-world action games we've ever played. Mad Max throws you in a post-apocalyptic world just like the movies - you'll find yourself engaged in some gritty brawls and definitely shred wheels across the desert in your custom ride. The vehicular combat in this game is its definite claim to fame.

The Darksiders series has always seemed to fly under the radar when you start thinking about some of the best melee-focused action/adventure games out there. Darksiders Genesis switched things up by moving the camera above the two Horseman of the Apocalypse (out of the four, of course) and giving fans its own version of the dungeon crawling, action RPG gameplay that the Diablo series is known for. Running around with Strife & War while blasting & slashing a wide assortment of demonic baddies is fun as hell. And thankfully, the strong plot, interesting puzzle scenarios, and well-implemented progression mechanics keep the experience fun from start to finish.

Set in the year 2091, Ruiner lets you take the fight to a citywide controlling conglomerate known as "Heaven." You embark on this difficult mission within a cyberpunk world in a bid to rescue your kidnapped brother. Shooting down the opposition is done from a top-down perspective that gives you a wider view of all the explosive mayhem that erupts during each enemy encounter. Put your augmentations and firearms to good use in this slept-on isometric shoot 'em up.

All the old heads out there that grew up watching the martial arts films that gave rise to the action cinema's greatest stars will love this indie fighter. With characters patterned after Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, etc., Shaolin vs Wutang presents the ultimate dream match between the iconic frontmen that brought in the golden age of kung-fu flicks. The slick animations make every strike and counter look as fluid as possible, which will make every fight mimic your favorite scenes from your favorite martial arts films.

Vertical shoot 'em ups are cool and all when you step out on your own to take down a bunch of enemy spaceships. But it's 10x more fun when you get to do that activity while simultaneously competing with a rival ship on the opposite side of the screen. Rival Megagun is all about making sure your rival gets taken down by the many obstacles you'll send over to their side of the screen. There's a ton of satisfaction derived from finally transforming your ship into a "Mega Gunship" that can pull off direct attacks on your current opponent.

It's depressing how Titanfall 2 was pretty much put out to pasture as its release date was sandwiched in between 2016's Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. While it was a financial disappointment, Titanfall 2 ended up nabbing a highly positive critical response and now a ton of folks recognize how amazing it truly is. For those of you who haven't played this one already, do yourself a solid by hopping into the game's amazing single-player campaign. The multiplayer is still a destination spot for hardcore FPS veterans and fans of giant mechs, too. Titanfall 2 is a classic FPS that definitely deserved better at launch.

Capcom and Double Helix Games joined forces to produce an amazing reboot for the greatest video game ninja of all time. Strider revisits the events of the original 1989 game and expands it into an exciting Metroidvania-like experience that looks & plays great in motion. Strider Hiryu is an incredibly mobile and lethal assassin that can quickly scale walls, slide through the environment, and slash like a madman through his opposers with his signature cyber weapon Cypher. Grandmaster Meio must be stopped - you're going to enjoy every minute of making his life a living hell here in Strider.

Onrush isn't about racing to the front of the pack to nab first place. Instead, it focuses on you assisting your team by ramming your rivals' vehicles right off the road. The madness that ensues during each onroad challenge in this game will regularly have you on the edge of your seat as destroyed cars go flying across the screen. This car combat simulator features a wide array of vehicles, stages, and modes that keeps its replay factor high at all times. If games like Rumble Racing and Split/Second amazed you, then make sure you give this one a try.

We got another great vertical shoot 'em up on this list. And its whole gimmick revolves around...disco music? Yes, you heard that right! Dangun Feveron is a bullet hell shooter through and through - a whole cavalcade of baddies come your way and bombard you with bullets at every turn. Taking them all out with your own arsenal of weapons never gets old, especially when you have an extra energetic announcer in the background and some super bouncy music bumping all the while. Blasting waves of enemies and doing a little jig in your seat to the game's OST is a regular occurrence here.

Out of the flames of the canceled Prey 2 emerged 2017's widely different take on the Prey series. You'll definitely get some System Shock and Bioshock vibes from this one as you explore an abandoned space station that has been overtaken by an alien menace known as the Typhon. Paranoia quickly sets in as every object around you could possibly be one of them, but you can also ease your stress levels as you can tap into those Typhon powers yourself. This first-person shooter brings the frights and keeps you intrigued from start to finish thanks to its absorbing atmosphere & trippy storyline.

A Plague Tale: Innocence throws you into the tumultuous period of the Hundred Years' War, which is a time setting that deserves more video game adaptations based on how good it came out here. In in, you play as Amicia de Rune and do everything in your power to protect your little brother Hugo. You'll need to rely on your sneaky abilities in order to stay ahead of brutal French Inquisition troops and even an army of bloodthirsty rats. This game will certainly tug at your heartstrings as you come to know the game's two main protagonists better and follow them during their epic struggle.

You'll have to put your brain into overdrive to have even the slightest chance at getting to the bottom of every case in this Sherlock Holmes caper. With 14 of the world's most famous detective's detection skills on your side, you'll be tasked with finding all the necessary clues needed to arrive at the right conclusion. Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishment is a highly engrossing adventure game that's filled with twisting turns and shocking revelations.

The action RPG Ys series has been going strong since 1987. And it's pretty crazy to note that this prequel to the franchise as a whole came out decades later in 2012. Ys Origin provides a lot of backstory on everything the series entails and does things a lot differently from a main playable protagonist standpoint by giving you someone not named Adol Christin to control. As Yunica Tovah, Hugo Fact, and Toal Fact, you'll get to venture through the long and winding Darm Tower. And that means you'll get caught up in some furious dungeon crawling that's super addictive.

Indivisible looks incredible and also happens to play at that very same level. It features the animated art style that powered the indie fighter Skullgirls and features the RPG combat mechanics that harkens back to the Valkyrie Profile series. Exploring this game's overworld should scratch that platformer itch of yours, so there's a myriad of gameplay styles to enjoy here. As the powerful heroine Indr, you'll gather a party of charismatic heroes in a bid to stop the end of the world from coming to fruition. You'll definitely get your money's worth from this quality indie RPG adventure.

Peggle 2 hits all the right notes when it comes to giving everyone that plays it immense satisfaction. The goal is simple - shoot some balls from a cannon and clear out all 25 orange pegs from the board. With a bunch of varied peg setups, wild side characters, and colorful backgrounds to engage with, you'll quickly adopt a rhythm that'll increase your multiplier and happiness levels tenfold. Peggle 2 goes above and beyond to celebrate your most successful shots, so you'll always feel like royalty every time you nab a high score.

Based on the fantasy comic book series by Joe Madureira, Battle Chasers: Nightwar throws players onto a mysterious island inhabited by evil individuals that want to cash in on a massive amount of newly discovered mana. Your five-person battle brigade explores the island from an isometric viewpoint, then transitions into a turn-based battle scenario every time it's time to vanquish some baddies. You'll definitely feel like you're smack dab in the middle of a graphic novel as you make your way through the game's wonderfully animated biomes.

As Jonathan Reid, your life gets turned upside down once you're transformed into a bloodthirsty vampire. And as you venture around London during the Spanish flu epidemic, major decisions come your way and determine how you'll be seen by the people around you. Vampyr gives you the freedom to avoid hurting innocents altogether or chase your nightmarish desire to suck the blood out of everyone you see. This open-world time period piece must not be ignored any longer - it's an immensely gratifying game with a fresh supernatural spin.

Casual and hardcore gamers alike can find a lot to love in Glass Masquerade. It's such a calming experience that gives you all the time in the world to solve puzzles centered around the Art Deco and stained-glass artisans of the 20th century. You'll be treated to a bevy of gorgeous works of art as you carefully put them back together again at your own leisure.

The period of the Holy Roman Empire was filled with plenty of bloodshed. Kingdom Come: Deliverance does things differently by venturing into that rarely visited tumultuous era and delivering a first-person action RPG within it. You'll find yourself in a far more brutal rendition of The Elder Scrolls that's historically accurate to the time period it's centered around. The game's non-linear story allows you to map out your own journey, get embroiled in challenging combat scenarios, and determine the future of your homeland in Bohemia.

The Plants vs. Zombies franchise moved away from its mobile strategy RPG origins to have some fun in the third-person shooter realm. Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was the first step in that fun experiment, while Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville improved everything its predecessor introduced. There are 23 customizable gameplay classes to choose from that give you wild variations of plant life and the undead to master. The colorful graphics go hand in hand with the bubbly & uproarious themes present in this competitive online shooter.

It's pretty rare to see any sort of game devoted to downhill mountain biking. Thankfully, Descenders covers that topic in full and delivers an oddly relaxing take on the extreme sport in video game form. Each of the game's bike routes is procedurally generated, so all your bike runs will be different every time. The unpredictability of your downhill escapades, the ability to pull off tricks, and the myriad objectives placed upon you make Descenders one of the most fulfilling/rewarding games on this list.