5 Hit Video Games From The 2010s That Nobody Talks About Anymore

While retro games can expect to lose their public profile and continued resonance over the passage of time, even more recent once-popular games lose their luster. Just as there are hit '80s games that no one remembers today, there are plenty of games released in the 2010s that have fallen by the wayside. This, of course, isn't meant as an indictment of their overall quality, but just highlights the fact that they've largely faded out of the wider gaming discourse. The video game industry moves at an incredibly fast pace, so even titles that are critical and commercial successes get overshadowed by the next big thing.

Whether it's sequels to established franchises or original titles that saw impressive debuts, there are lots of 2010 games that players may have forgotten about. Several of these titles are still available on modern platforms and are each well worth revisiting or checking out for the first time. Whatever the cause, these games deserve a modern reappraisal, reminding fans why they connected in a big way years ago. Here are five hit video games from the 2010s that nobody talks about anymore, despite their past success.

The 2010 PlayStation 3 game "Heavy Rain" reinvigorated narrative-driven experiences on consoles in an engaging way. Protagonist Ethan Mars is haunted by the tragic death of his son and subsequent dissolution of his marriage, only for his other son to be kidnapped by the Origami Killer. A serial killer who preys on young boys and leaves origami figures at the scene of the crime, the murderer enters a cat-and-mouse game with Ethan over his son's fate. "Heavy Rain" features three other playable characters involved in the case, with the game subtly tricking players to control the bad guy.

Unfolding like a David Fincher crime thriller, "Heavy Rain" evokes a brooding neo-noir atmosphere with its twisted story. The game delves into very dark subject matter, pressuring players to do terrible things to keep the story moving forward. This didn't deter gamers from enjoying the experience, with "Heavy Rain" selling over three million copies on the PS3. Though the gameplay's reliance on quick-time events may have aged poorly, "Heavy Rain" still stands as a moody adventure game from the PS3 era.

Developer Sucker Punch Productions had offered an open-world postmodern take on the superhero genre with its "Infamous" games during the PlayStation 3 era. Though the story of original protagonist Cole MacGrath canonically ended with 2011's "Infamous 2," the game received a standalone sequel with "Infamous Second Son." The 2014 PlayStation 4 game follows new protagonist Delsin Rowe, who discovers he has the ability to absorb others' superpowers. Delsin travels to Seattle, where he uses his newfound powers to stop malicious government official Brooke Augustine from targeting his tribe.

"Infamous Second Son" retains all the super-powered open-world fun from the preceding games, refined and optimized for the PS4 hardware. The game feels like an all-around improvement for the series and provides its own engrossing story, which gamers responded to, as the title sold six million copies. Despite the success of "Second Son," apart from a standalone expansion also released in 2014, the "Infamous" series has largely stayed dormant. "Infamous Second Son" stands as one of the best PlayStation 4 games, with the franchise deserving a modern revival.

Five years before Insomniac Games was acquired by Sony, the studio released the Xbox One console-exclusive "Sunset Overdrive" in 2014. The game takes place in a dystopian 2027 run by exploitative megacorporations, with a new energy drink transforming those who consume it into mutants. With the game's setting of Sunset City quarantined to contain the mutants, the player character is tasked with cleaning up the incident, while discovering the true origins of the outbreak. Sunset City itself is an open-world environment, with players ziplining, grinding across wires and rails, and free-running as they navigate the overrun cyberpunk metropolis.

"Sunset Overdrive" foreshadowed Insomniac's similarly open-world "Spider-Man" games, offering more punk rock-flavored fun in an original adventure. The game and its jaunty score were praised by critics and it sold just under two million copies, becoming something of a cult classic. Despite its critical accolades and later release for the PC in 2018, "Sunset Overdrive" has been overshadowed by Insomniac Games' other titles. While fans hold out hope for "Sunset Overdrive" to come to PlayStation, the colorful open-world game has fallen out of wider ongoing recognition.

One of the early exclusive titles developed and published by Nintendo for the Switch is the 2017 fighting game "Arms." The game features a cast of distinct fighters, each with mechanically extendable arms that they can use to punch, block, and throw. Each character has their own unique attributes and special attacks, while the stages boast environmental effects to keep combatants on their toes. More than just the genre's standard 1v1 matches, "Arms" also allows up to four players to duke it out simultaneously in a chaotic free-for-all.

"Arms" provided wacky boxing action for players, utilizing the Switch's Joy-Con motion control sensors for its gameplay, or standard button inputs if players preferred. The game does feel more like a pugilistic party game than a conventional fighting game, especially when more than two combatants are involved, but that's certainly not a slight. The title proved to be something of a sleeper hit for the console, selling over two million copies just over a year after its launch. Despite one of the game's fighters, Min Min, being added to "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" as a DLC character, however, "Arms" has largely fallen dormant among Nintendo properties.

Another best-selling Nintendo Switch game that took advantage of its unique hardware is 2019's "Ring Fit Adventure." The exercise title utilizes the Switch's Ring-Con and Leg Strap peripherals, the latter included with the "Nintendo Switch Sports" physical edition. Using these devices to track physical movement, players engage in a variety of fitness routines as well as party-style minigames. The game also has a story mode, with players controlling an athlete who challenges a villainous bodybuilding monster named Dragaux as they progress through a fantasy world.

"Ring Fit Adventure" was released months before the COVID-19 pandemic left much of the world sequestered at home for most of 2020. While exercise options limited, the game's sales numbers skyrocketed, driving up prices on the secondhand market during the widespread stay-at-home quarantine. By March 2023, the game had sold over 15 million copies, making it one of the best-selling titles on the Switch. However, once the pandemic subsided, the buzz around "Ring Fit Adventure" similarly decreased, despite its surprising commercial success.