SuperPhillip Central Best of 2019 Awards - Top Five Most Overlooked Games

On a new day here at SuperPhillip Central, a new awards category and a new top five list are here to greet us. This time around we'll be taking a look at the top five Most Overlooked Games of 2019. Overlooked games are no stranger to the site, as they're constantly covered, so it only makes sense to devote an entire category of the SuperPhillip Central Best of 2019 Awards to the most overlooked titles of the year. The following games were sales disasters, games that failed to catch most of the gaming populace's attention, and/or didn't make a heavy impact in the overall conversation this year. Let us get started with the countdown!

5) Daemon X Machina (NSW)

Enter into your giant Arsenal mech and do battle in over 50 unique story and side missions, as well as dozens of online missions. The latter have you do battle with behemoth-sized bosses as a team of up to four players, and the new update allows you to venture into a randomly generated dungeon with players, too. Daemon X Machina was a fixture of Nintendo's Direct video presentations, but despite the coverage, the game did not soar into the skies of splendid sales success. (Pardon the alliteration, but I couldn't help myself.) That said, while Daemon X Machina sports an impressive amount of customization and lightning quick aerial and ground combat, it can be an immensely challenging game at the start due to its learning curve.. Perhaps the initial inaccessibility of the game players found in the various demos of Daemon X Machina were the short circuit--if you will--in producing stellar sales.

4) Team Sonic Racing (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

We move on from mechs to a well-known mascot in the world of video games, but not even notoriety was enough to make this arcade racer cross the finish line in first place. Instead, the relatively low budget of Team Sonic Racing and the complete lack of post-launch DLC in the form of new characters or tracks gave little for the already minimal amount of players who picked up the game to have a reason to return to it. With Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled releasing a little under a month after Team Sonic Racing, Crash's racing remake not only ate Team Sonic Racing's lunch, but left the game in its exhaust as well. Considering the team mechanic was an interesting approach to the arcade racer, which I would have liked to see explored further, and the base game was enjoyable enough, it's a disappointed that so many overlooked Team Sonic Racing.

3) MediEvil (PS4)

Speaking of PlayStation remakes, MediEvil launched this past year around Halloween, and it brought its classic action-adventure gameplay to PlayStation 4 owners with a budget price. However, not even its $30 price tag was convincing enough to bring players to it, unfortunately. Between how obtuse the game can be (as well as how difficult), in addition to MediEvil just not being as fondly remembered by PlayStation fans, MediEvil couldn't scare up sales or much attention from the gaming populace. Hopefully the lackluster debut of MediEvil doesn't mean that other PlayStation classic franchises stay buried like MediEvil once was. You better believe you're in trouble if you cost me my Ape Escape revival, Sir Dan!

2) Concrete Genie (PS4)

Another release from this past October, Concrete Genie was a pet project of passion for its developer, Pixelopus. The intriguing and innovative gameplay mechanic of painting to bring graffiti to life to solve puzzles was a clever one that made for an enjoyable game. Slowly seeing the town of Denska start from a dilapidated bureau into one full of life by the end of the game thanks to hero Ash's efforts was a delight. Further a delight were the visuals and art style, showcasing immense artistry and creativity that shined brightly in every aspect of the presentation. If you have any doubt that the PlayStation brand and moreover Sony do not provide first-party efforts that flow with originality and creativity, then perhaps Concrete Genie as but one of many examples will correct your thinking.

1) Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

After the original Yooka-Laylee did its best to ape the gameplay and structure of Banjo-Kazooie but ended up disappointing plenty of players and people, the chameleon and bat's return in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair got the fanfare of crickets at most. This was despite the game reviewing relatively well, and featuring gameplay more akin to Donkey Kong Country this time around. Despite multiple sales on digital platforms, including a system known for being kind to platformers like the Switch, the game still didn't make much of an impact. How much this game was overlooked was another example of yet another sales shame from this year, as Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is not only a fantastic 2D platformer with an ingenious method of traverse between levels, but it's one of the better games of 2019 bar-none.

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Another awards category and top five list premieres tonight as the SuperPhillip Central Best of 2019 Awards continues!