Spiritual successors often get a bad rap for being copies of previousgamesand not all that original. Some have gone on to be massive hits, but others have been left in the dust and ignored for either being too similar or just not as good as the game they’re trying to copy.
There are some hidden gems, however, that just never got the attention they deserved. It could be bad timing or just copying the wrong kind of game, but we’re able to look back and see now what we may have overlooked then.
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Oldies, but goodies.
Here are a handful of spiritual successors that didn’t get a fair shake when they were released and are highly underrated.
The term spiritual successor is a bit murky. Here, it’s going to be either games that aren’t true sequels, but have similar developers working on them and are obvious evolutions of a previous game, or games that are clear tributes to something that came before it in everything from artstyle to combat.
10The Technomancer
A Unique Witcher 3-Inspired Journey
The Technomancer
Fextralife Wiki
The Technomancer is the spiritual successor to the game Mars: War Logs. Due to that first game’s lack of success, there wasn’t a ton of hype for The Technomancer.
However, there is still quite a lot to like about The Technomancer. It’s a unique world that feels like its own slice of sci-fi weirdness. The plot is a rather engaging one that involves betrayal, existential purpose, enslavement, and other interesting themes that make you think about what you’re doing throughout the game.
The gameplay is the highlight, as you have 3 different ways to play. Each have their own skill trees and unlockable attacks to discover.
It’s not triple A quality combat, but it’s engaging enough and does plenty to support the excellent writing and incredible amounts of lore that all the different characters in the game will deliver.
It’s an incredible game world that really deserves a much grander sequel, but sadly, we probably will never get one due to how underappreciated it was.
9Dante’s Inferno
Dante’s Other Trip Through Hell
Dante’s Inferno
Dante’s Inferno is very much a spiritual successor to the Devil May Cry franchise in not only its gameplay, butits tone as well.
It was written off because of that, and it’s a shame, because this is a damn good action game that does everything Devil May Cry does and often with better results.
The combat here is fast and vicious, maybe emulating God of War a bit more in the process. That combat kicks up a notch during the boss fights, which can be wildly challenging and often have some truly grotesque designs.
The story is also pretty solid, with a twisted adaptation of Dante’s Inferno being the basis for it, and it goes to some unique places that you don’t necessarily see coming.
It came at a time when there were just so many God of War and Devil May Cry-style games and I think people just grew tired of the action-adventures, and Dante’s Inferno was an unfortunate casualty of that.
Spaceshock
Prey is one of the more underappreciated gems of the 2010s, and I think it would’ve been a lot more successful if it came a bit more recently after BioShock had ended its trilogy.
Because make no mistake about it, this is a spiritual successor to BioShock and, perhaps more accurately, System Shock. You’re alone on an abandoned base in space and have to figure out what has gone wrong and how to fix it.
Every inch of the game feels like another part of the Shock series. The atmosphere, the drip feed of the lore that you get in small pieces, and especially the presence of an outrageous twist that reframes the events of the game.
It’s also got unique powers to use, and even combat and shooting feels similar to playing Bioshock, for better or worse.
It’sa great immersive simand feels like a natural progression of the Bioshock series that far too few people played.
7The Callisto Protocol
The Callisto Protocol
TheCallisto Protocolhad a pretty rough reception when it released, but I thought it did a pretty good job of creating an immersive space horror.
The obvious inspiration here is Dead Space, and that’s apparent from the atmosphere, to the suit your main character dons, to the powers you come across throughout the game. The game is highly cinematic, and in that way, I kind of liken it to the Hellblade of horror games.
It’s not all about how fun it is to play, but the amazing visuals,the crazy body horror, the feeling of exploring its game world, and the overall experience that also matters sometimes.
I thought Josh Duhamel did a good job as our protagonist, Jacob, and his journey is a harrowing one that sufficiently builds the same kind of tension Dead Space does. Honestly, aside from the Dead Space remake, these types of games don’t exist anymore, so I’d give it a shot.
6Perfect Dark
James Bond Would Be Proud
Perfect Dark (2000)
Perfect Dark was a great successor to Goldeneye and felt like a sequel in every way but the name.
Rare looked to create their own version of James Bond in Joanna Dark, and it was a great game that didn’t make nearly the impact it deserved. The shooting is far sharper, and the mission objectives were far more creative than anything in Goldeneye.
At the time, though, it was tough to sell games outside of Tomb Raider that starred women, and the fact that it felt very similar to a 3-year-old game definitely worked against it in several ways.
If you want ablast of nostalgia and a pretty good shooter, Perfect Dark is an excellent choice.
5Dark Cloud
A Link To The Future
Dark Cloud
Dark Cloud was supposed to be the Zelda killer when it released. That certainly didn’t become the case, but it was still a pretty great game for the PS2. With a hero armed with a sword and a green cap, no part of Dark Cloud was subtle when it came to its design.
It was so much more than a Zelda clone though, as there wassettlement building, multiple characters, and survival elements to add a lot more than a typical dungeon exploring experience might have in store.
There is also a unique duel feature with quicktime events involved. Overall, it’s just a really fun and unique experience that is very little like Zelda when you look at it as a whole.
It’s just too bad it didn’t feel like establishing itself as a unique property. Though it got a sequel, it kind of just faded away as a property.
FEAR Re-Imagined
Trepang2 is a spiritual successor to the F.E.A.R franchise and is clear in its inspiration. It’s a military shooter that has a supernatural twist, and it’s just as effective at this combination as its “predecessor” was.
It starts out rather straightforward, but slowly, military running and gunning gives way to far more terrifying forces at work, and it’s done masterfully. This feels like a high-budget game, from the gunplay to the graphics, and it’s one of the best-feeling first-person shooters to date.
The gore is explosive and over the top, and all of the weapons have a satisfying punch to them. The slow-motion effect you can use makes the shooting feel like a first-person Max Payne at times.
It didn’t get a ton of attention, likely because of its absolutely terrible name, and it’s an example of why a game name matters so much. Regardless, the gameplay within is just great.
3The Getaway
GTA The Day Away
The Getaway
The Getaway is a spiritual successor in many ways to the Grand Theft Auto series, and while some GTA clones got a lot of attention and love, this one sadly did not.
It takes you to the rough and gritty underbelly of London for a well-written crime story that didn’t get nearly the amount of attention it should’ve.
It was released in 2003, so it was right in the midst of the GTA craze, and it was not unique enough to make a mark of its own.
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However, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good game, because it certainly was. It had a much more mature approach to a mob game, which focused on realistic elements instead of the over-the-top mayhem that GTA employs.
There were tons of car chases, shootouts in warehouses and, generally, the action felt very contained.
The voice acting was great, and I’d compare it to a Guy Ritchie film, whereas Grand Theft Auto is Martin Scorsese. One has all the flash and glamour while the other is all grit.
If you want to play a much more grounded GTA clone than most out there, the Getaway is a unique entry into the genre.
2The Evil Within
Another Mansion, Another Nightmare
The Evil Within
Coming from the creator of Resident Evil, The Evil Within had sky-high expectations. They didn’t hit those heights for whatever reason, but looked at as its own game, it’s a pretty great horror game with some outstanding new ideas.
The boss fights in particular are a highlight here, with one fight involving a monster with a safe on his head that he can detach and appear from other safes set up around the level.
The gameplay feels like Resident Evil 4 all over again with a modern lens, so barely any ammo, third-person shooting, and awkwardly slow movement are all on the table here.
I found the story to be really good compared to most Resident Evil games, and Sebastian’s journey also has some scares that are fully its own and need to be seen to be believed.
It may not be the level of Resident Evil, but it’s a game that deserved far better fanfare than what it got.
Another Gear
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht
Xenogears is one of the most beloved JRPGs of the ’90s, but the series was cut short by Square Enix before it had a chance to fully blossom.
The creators of that game left the company to form Monolith Soft, which would eventually spawn the mega-hit series Xenoblade Chronicles. However, before that would happen, they tried to recreate the beginning of the story of Xenogears in the form ofXenosaga.
It’s an incredibly ambitious game that deals with many of the same themes Xenogears did and has a similar combat system as well.
The game employed a somewhat bizarre graphics style that meshed 3D with an anime aesthetic for mixed results, but the story, the character,s and the atmosphere all combined to create an exceptional sci-fi game that didn’t get nearly enough love.
Xenosaga would become a trilogy, but neither of the games ever got a ton of attention. Although they have somewhat of a cut following these days, it was far from the fanfare Xenogears received.
If you have the patience and want to get into a deep, sci-fi JRPG that is truly unlike any other, definitely give this series a try.
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