Steven Barbato is a lifelong fan of video games that has played thousands and written about hundreds over the past seven years. On his blog, Ephemeral Enigmas, he finds all sorts of strange and fascinating games to write about, and his approach always focuses on finding their best qualities no matter how difficult doing so may be. Through his kind, casual approach to writing, he seeks to educate people about games they aren't familiar with while also making the medium as welcoming as possible for people from all walks of life. He's also a fan of gardening and an animal lover of all kinds!

Website: ephemeralenigmas.com

Writing of mine has been featured on Critical Distance, Pixels and Polygons, Hardcore Gaming 101, and in various HG101 books, including A Guide to Japanese Role-Playing Games, Metal Gear, Silent Hill, and Other Konami Classics, and Sega Console Classics Vol. 1.

Uniquely Unappreciated Underdogs by Steven Barbato

Unsatisfied with talking about the same few games and the recursive discourse you see online, Steven Barbato set out via his blog Ephemeral Enigmas to seek games that feel truly forgotten. Games without passionate fans, games by defunct developers that never got re-released and even games that receive scorn on the rare occasions they're mentioned, all are potential candidates and anything is possible so long as it piques his curiosity. In Uniquely Unappreciated Underdogs, he focuses on 15 games that he believes deserve far more credit than they receive and pours his heart out to really stress that point.

The titles chosen range from obscurities to divisive sequels spanning across various genres and decades of the medium, but every single one expanded his understanding of video games. The goal is to convince you (yes, you!) that these games are worth playing and cherishing for yourself, not just vicariously through him. You'll learn about their mechanics, the stories they tell, what makes them remarkable, his connection to them, and why the consensus is always worth challenging. While this book is ultimately rebellious in nature, his approach emphasizes kindness and understanding above all else.

Throughout the many years he has been invested in video games, he feels the nature of the discourse surrounding the medium has gone down a dark path, so this book is his way of pushing back and attempting to build towards the world he wishes to see.

CURATOR'S NOTE

Some games have good reputations. Others have…not so good ones. But are they all deserved? Steven Barbato examines fifteen of these games, which may have you rethinking the consensus on games like Deadly Towers and Star Fox Adventures. You'll also learn more about Flimbo's Quest than you'd even expect you'd need. – Kurt Kalata

 
 

BOOK PREVIEW

The games picked for this book all have some commonalities with each other, namely that they're divisive, completely ignored, or worse. All of these games have effectively been declared losers in the eyes of history for one reason or another and it's rare that anyone dares to go against the consensus. I want to offer a different perspective on each one that'll really get you reconsidering their place in the wider video game canon. Some are arguably more divisive than others and there are some standalone games here to break up the sequels that naturally lend themselves well to this premise, but I assure you that the games covered here are ones you won't see topping anyone's lists of favorite games anytime soon. I'm not doing this to say I'm right and everyone else is wrong, I'm nowhere near conceited enough to try that, I'm doing this because I think giving these games a more thorough and generous examination is exactly what I do best.

Whenever I cover games, I really try my best to go in with an open mind and understand what the game is trying to accomplish. It doesn't always work out in a way where I end up loving the game or wanting to recommend it to others and you'll even see that with some of the games here, but to me, that's secondary to the exploration of the craft. I truly, truly love this medium and that love brings with it a desire to discover, to understand why something exists and what can draw people to it. I don't just seek to change the consensus, but to reject the concept entirely because I don't think games can be "solved" in that way. I just think every voice deserves to be heard and that deep down in every game, there's something that can resonate with someone. I'm sure you know that rare and unusual perspectives exist, but I want to show you how exactly they can manifest and the value of putting them out into the world. There are people who will scold you for daring to say something different, so I can understand being scared of putting yourself out there! But gaming's too vast, complex, and beautiful to find excuses for people to do all the work for you! You have to dig in and see for yourself, so if I can provide a perspective on something like Final Fantasy II that motivates you to give it a chance and see it as something more nuanced than you previously thought (even if you still don't like it), then that's the greatest honor you can bestow upon me. Just promise me that you won't read this, see a lot of words, and think that I'm right and you don't need to do anything else. Like I said, I want you to get out there, play these games, and form your own perspective based on your experience!

As mentioned before, the games I've chosen are all ones that are generally looked upon negatively whenever they come up, especially if they're part of a long-running franchise with plenty of passionate fans. Reception can always vary per region of the world, of course, but that's the general idea. The reception these games received back when they released could have been because they were a huge departure tonally, changed their mechanics in significant ways, had different people involved in their creation, were designed in a country with different sensibilities than the average North American perspective, or maybe they were just unpolished and/or rushed out to retail. Heck, as you'll see with at least one example in this book, sometimes it seems to just happen because of vibes! I'll let you be the judge, but I think I've picked a good variety of games that people don't tend to think about or revisit as often nowadays. Trust me, you won't be seeing Dark Souls II or Metal Gear Solid V or whatever here, that's baby stuff compared to the smoking hot takes I've got! I've also avoided some of the most notorious examples (like Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Quest 64) because of how well-trodden they are or because I simply don't feel strongly enough about them to provide an interesting perspective. Sorry, but I just don't like Resident Evil 6 at all and I'm not sure any amount of money could ever change that! Now that the premise has been made clear, let's get into these delightfully quirky and fun underdogs, shall we?