I recently replayed Tom & Jerry for the PS1, a game that is clearly low budget but still is still fun to play, especially when playing against someone else.
This being the retrogaming community, I expect to hear about games up to the 360/PS3 era 😁
Monster Racer for the PS1.
It’s a beyond horrible Crash Team Racing clone, but it hit the spot when I was a small kid and wanted to play a racing game and wanted something that’s not CTR. I only had a few games at the time.
Oh, and it somehow became a somewhat popular meme in the retro Playstation speedrunning community, so that’s a bit funny. :D
Katamari Damacy. It was just $20 on release and I didn’t know exactly what to expect but loved loved it.
That’s a game I’ve only ever played somewhat recently, the unity remaster. Never expected such a banger intro, or a gameplay that’s essentially dung beetle being so damn fun!
Audiosurf was the first game I ever bought on Steam. That was my first introduction to indie gaming and it’s still quite a fun game. Highly recommended to anyone with a large local music library.
paperboy was pretty epic.
I was constantly reminded of paperboy every time I tried pulling a heavy pallet at my old job. Motherfuckers just jumping out at you out of nowhere trying to kill themselves on you
Didn’t it get a reboot? I remember my cousins and I discovered the original on an Asian bootleg device with 400 games or something.
The humor sensibilities really got to us
Cave story is a fun side scroller and an indie release, same with monster sanctuary & shovel knight. For older ones I think you’ll find more plentiful on pc since consoles were both more expensive for an indie to develop for and less likely to print physical media games from an unknown person or team. Adventure games, fps doom and quake mods and clones, elder scrolls mods, myst/fmv clones like the journeyman project, descent clones were pretty popular too.
I just finished Cave Story, and I can’t believe I haven’t played it before. Such a charming game, excellent music, and a surprisingly dark story. 10/10
Edit: well, I say finished but I didn’t get all the way through Hell. Pretty far though. It’s pretty brutal.
For older ones I think you’ll find more plentiful on pc since consoles were both more expensive for an indie to develop for and less likely to print physical media games from an unknown person or team.
PS1 and PS2 had plenty of low budget titles, the first thanks mainly to the Net Yaroze console. Sure, you still had to get the OK from Sony, but the market was also significantly larger than any PC.
That’s a good point, my perspective on that is definitely colored by personal experience. Most of the console games I had were from second hand or toy stores that were mostly first party and licensed games, while pc I saw more in local computer stores that would have eclectic selections compared to corporate stores.
Not sure if this quite counts, but Catherine for the PS3/X360 was the first title that came to mind.
I just watched someone play through this on Twitch. Such a weird game.
Not sure these are all low budget, but some always seemed overlooked or underrated. Some I see as imperfect gems of their time.
PS2
- Just Cause 1
- Mercenaries 1
- Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk
- Spartan: Total Warrior
- Super Trucks Racing
- Tom and Jerry: War of the Whiskers
PS3
- Alice: Madness Returns
- Drakengard 3
- Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
- Far Cry 2
- History Civil War: Secret Missions
- LAIR
- Naughty Bear
- Overlord
- RUSE
- Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
- The Saboteur
- Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
- Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
- Viking: Battle for Asgard
PSP
- Blood Bowl
- Field Commander
- Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade
- Ys Seven
PS Vita
- Army Corps of Hell
- Deception IV: Blood Ties
- Dungeon Hunter: Alliance
- Ys: Memories of Celceta
- Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
GameCube
- Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters
Wii
- Excite Truck
Growing up, I had a lot of fun playing Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure.
It was a 2D platformer game, probably one in a million back then, but i really enjoyed it.
As a Konami game, I don’t think it could be considered low budget back then. Though I guess my question can be interpreted as “the game was cheap” :P
Ya, you’re probably right. I guess “obscure” would be more fitting. It wasn’t even my game - there was one other household in my small town that had a Genesis and we traded games.
I don’t think obscure would fit better. Another poster mentioned some Cartoon Network PS2 titles, which I doubt would count as obscure, same for most other tie-ins.
Thomas Was Alone is low budget and an excellent game.
Xbox 360 - I Maed a Gam3 w1th Z0mb1es 1n It!!!1
My first experience with indie games on console. I properly loved how much it made me believe it was possible for an anybody to make it as a game dev. Such a bad game, technically speaking, but it had a certain charm in that it knew it was bad, and reveled in it, and was also legitimately kinda fun.
I can’t quite describe the feeling. Knowing its shit but being excited by it anyway. Like when your child shows you a picture they drew.
Cartoon Network Racing. Clearly mostly made to make money off yoing kids who like the CN shows they had included in the game. I’m talking about the PS2 version since I have zero experience with the DS version. Fun in its own way.
Similar things apply to the Ed Edd 'N Eddy Mis-Ed-Ventures gamecube port and PS2 port of Codename Kids Next Door Operation V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E. as well.
None of these games are more than tie in games with enough content to make the kids buying them not get bored quickly, but yeah, they’re all fun in their own rights when doing a blind playthrough… something I wish I could do for these games again.
I don’t know the budget, but I see a lot of mobile games in Southend Interactive’s catalog, so:
Deathrow
A 4v4 fictional combat sport title. It’s fun enough to play for a day or so… but if you can find 3 other people to sit on the couch and play with, that’s where it can be really fun.
Our strategy was to usually have 1 person be the forward, 2 people be enforcers who stomped the enemy into the asphalt, and the goalie would try to prevent any early scores until the opposing team was knocked unconscious.
Lego City undercover is… how the hell does that game exist? Co-op, open world, split screen, Lego based GTA… and it’s good?
The kids also like Little Kitty, Big City.
I’ve been playing Scanner Sombre and it has unmatched vibes. I put on Bluetooth headphones, turn off the lights and enjoy the eerie ass atmosphere.
Just Cause 2 is always on standby when “just go do crazy nonsense” is needed.
I’ve actually been thinking of doing a ROM hack for Super Mario Sunshine to add in a parachute and grappling hook mechanic so I can sight see Delfino Bay at my leisure, but that might be a project for next year.
On the backlog: Toy Commander (Dreamcast), Killer Frequency and Tacoma.
Guess I better get a wriggle on!
Who Framed Roger Rabbit had one of the toughest endgame bosses i’ve ever fought.
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
Like Just Cause, but the buildings are also destructible. Pure mayhem.
Mercenaries 1 on PS2 was also great.
