The best hidden gems on PlayStation and Xbox
Rated brilliantly, yet barely known: games few people talk about and almost everyone who played them loves. Often from small studios with ideas of their own.
How to find games that really suit you: Select up to 5 games you have played and enjoyed. Playalike compares 36 traits such as combat, story and atmosphere and suggests games that hit exactly the same spot, even across genres.
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1 Toem
- Cosy, great for unwinding
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Lots to discover
Toem is a laid-back photography adventure set in a hand-drawn black-and-white world, where you help quirky locals by snapping pictures and solving small tasks. Charming, friendly and completely stress-free.
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2 One Finger Death Punch
- Timing and reflexes matter (parrying, dodging)
- Melee combat with weapons or fists
- Action-packed real-time combat
A lightning-fast kung-fu brawler played with just two buttons: you click left or right to hit enemies at exactly the right moment. The result is fluid, movie-like fight choreography that feels like a rhythm and reflex test.
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3 The Last Campfire
- Puzzles and brain teasers
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Fantasy setting
A calm, atmospheric puzzle adventure where you guide a small lost ember through melancholy lands and uncover why its people vanished. The puzzles are approachable, and the mood is both wistful and comforting.
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4 Just Shapes & Beats
- Timing and reflexes matter (parrying, dodging)
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Co-op or multiplayer
A rhythm-driven bullet-hell where you dodge geometric hazards perfectly synced to an electrifying soundtrack. It shines in chaotic, frantic co-op sessions with friends.
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5 Crime Scene Cleaner
You work as a mob crime scene cleaner, scrubbing away evidence and dodging the police between jobs. A humorous, laid-back simulator wrapped in a shady criminal premise.
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6 The Case of the Golden Idol
- Puzzles and brain teasers
- Strong, story-driven narrative
- Distinctive, stylised art style
You investigate twelve baffling deaths spanning centuries, gathering clues in pixel-art crime scenes and piecing together names, motives and sequences into your own theory. Pure deduction with little hand-holding makes it feel like genuine detective work.
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7 TCG Card Shop Simulator
- Cosy, great for unwinding
- Economy and management
- Cards and deck-building
You run your own trading card shop, stocking shelves, setting prices, hiring staff and cracking packs to build your own collection. A relaxed management sim with the lure of card collecting.
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8 Touhou Luna Nights
- Action-packed real-time combat
- Timing and reflexes matter (parrying, dodging)
- Distinctive, stylised art style
A Metroidvania where you play maid Sakuya and stop time to get past enemies and hazards. Time manipulation and knife throwing make for fast, precise gameplay in a richly detailed pixel-art world from the Touhou universe.
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9 Teardown
- Tactical depth
- Puzzles and brain teasers
- Distinctive, stylised art style
Teardown lets you plan heists in a fully destructible voxel world: first you prep the environment with vehicles and explosives, then you execute the job against the clock. Creative, improvised solutions are the heart of the game.
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10 Dorfromantik
- Cosy, great for unwinding
- Puzzles and brain teasers
- Distinctive, stylised art style
You place hexagonal tiles to slowly grow a picturesque countryside of fields, forests, rivers and rail lines. A relaxing tile-matching puzzler about smart placement and completing quest goals, with no real pressure.
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11 Goat Simulator 3
- Lots of humour
- Open world
- Sandbox with your own goals
An absurd sandbox playground where you wreak havoc as a destructive goat, enjoy physics mishaps and goof around with up to three friends. The fun comes from experimenting, gags and parodies rather than challenge.
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12 Rhythm Doctor
- Timing and reflexes matter (parrying, dodging)
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Lots of humour
A charming rhythm game where you heal patients by hitting the beat of their heartbeats with a defibrillator. It surprises with inventive rhythm twists, pixel art, humor, heart and a great soundtrack.
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13 Sally Face
- Strong, story-driven narrative
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Dark, serious atmosphere
An episodic point-and-click adventure about a boy with a prosthetic face who investigates a murder series and supernatural secrets in a gloomy apartment building. Its distinctive comic-like low-poly look, 90s atmosphere and emotional story set it apart.
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14 Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Jumping and platforming
- Lots to discover
A stylish skate, inline and BMX platformer set in a cel-shaded city full of graffiti, crews and a funky soundtrack. Fluid movement and exploring the city take center stage, in the spirit of Jet Set Radio.
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15 Lil Gator Game
- Cosy, great for unwinding
- Lots to discover
- Distinctive, stylised art style
A cozy open-world adventure where a little gator explores a charming island, helps friends and enjoys relaxed climbing and gliding. Warm, funny and stress-free, with a surprisingly heartfelt story about childhood and imagination.
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16 Well Dweller
- Action-packed real-time combat
- Lots to discover
- Distinctive, stylised art style
A dark fairy-tale metroidvania where you play a tiny bird with a matchstick, crossing a wretched kingdom to burn the wicked queen. Expect quirky characters, exploration and platforming action. The game is new and little known to me, so this rating relies mostly on the description.
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17 Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
- Cosy, great for unwinding
- Distinctive, stylised art style
As a young activist you wander a picturesque Mediterranean island, photograph animals and help with small conservation projects. A gentle, warm-hearted adventure with no stress and no combat.
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18 Content Warning
- Lots of humour
- Co-op or multiplayer
- Playing together in co-op
You and your friends descend into spooky caves and film monsters and mishaps to go viral on the fictional SpöökTube. The mix of panic, slapstick and proximity chat makes for plenty of laughs in co-op.
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19 Volcano Princess
- Fantasy setting
- Strong, story-driven narrative
- Choices with consequences
As the adoptive father of a baby found on a battlefield, you plan her training and encounters week by week. Your decisions shape her future and the fate of the volcano kingdom, leading to many different endings.
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20 Webbed
- Lots to discover
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Cosy, great for unwinding
Play as a little spider swinging through lush forests on webs to rescue your boyfriend from a bowerbird. A gentle, charming platform adventure built around exploration and light puzzles.
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21 Iron Snout
- Action-packed real-time combat
- Melee combat with weapons or fists
- Timing and reflexes matter (parrying, dodging)
A fast, over-the-top arcade brawler where a piglet uses kung-fu reflexes and improvised weapons to fend off waves of wolves. Short, chaotic rounds full of slapstick humor.
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22 Mullet Madjack
- Action-packed real-time combat
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Shooting and gunplay
A blisteringly fast retro-anime FPS where you tear through floors of enemies under constant time pressure. Each kill buys you more time, and randomized upgrades keep every run fresh.
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23 Until Then
- Strong, story-driven narrative
- Distinctive, stylised art style
- Lavish presentation
A narrative adventure about a Filipino high schooler's everyday life in Manila, with smartphone chats, friendships and romance that grows into an emotional mystery. Moody 2D/3D visuals and a strong soundtrack carry the story.
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24 Clone Drone in the Danger Zone
- Action-packed real-time combat
- Sci-fi setting
- Melee combat with weapons or fists
You pilot a gladiator robot in a sci-fi arena, fighting in physics-driven sword duels where any body part can be sliced off. The combat is chaotic, funny and rewards precise timing.
Not quite your taste?
Tell us your favourite games and we'll find recommendations that fit you exactly.
