There are countless games releasing every year with impressive graphics and story that linger in the mind for long, but there are only a few among them that prove how important gameplay mechanics are for overall appeal.
So we have created a list that goes over certain titles that have been released over the years, and prove that it’s the mechanics that make an amazing game, instead of high fidelity graphics and a story.
Best games with systems over graphics and story
Ultrakill
Old school shooters inspired by games such as Blood and Doom, also called Boomer shooters, have found a lot of success in recent years. There is one among all of them that caught more attention than the others for its incredible mechanics.
Ultrakill is a game that does not specifically have incredibly outstanding visuals or a story to go along with it, but that is no hurdle for its addictive gameplay. The easiest way to explain it would be like playing a hack-and-slash game, but in the form of a shooter.
Developed by Arsi “Hakita” Patala and published by New Blood Interactive, this is a game that you definitely need to check out at least once.
Vampire Survivors
In 2022, an indie developer named Poncle went on to invent and popularize a genre of video game that looks like something that would have been a mega hit in the 80s. But no way it should be popular in the current generation of gaming, where people run after graphics and story.
Yet here we are, and Vampire Survivors is one of the most successful games that looks like something made for mobile devices. This is a rouguelite title that has been dubbed as a “bullet heaven” game, in direct opposition to the “bullet hell” genre.
Instead of dodging away from various enemies raining down bullets, you are the one raining down bullets at hordes of enemies coming at you from everywhere, and it gets dangerously addictive.
Terraria
Sandbox games are some of the most successful types of video games in recent years. Especially when you look at games such as Minecraft and Roblox, which allow for any kind of possibility, these don’t have to be games that are particularly amazing in graphics.
But the mechanics need to be engaging enough to hook players for decades, with updates that keep building on top of it. Terraria is the finest example that took the idea and perfectly implemented it into a 2D side-scrolling sandbox.
It sounds kind of impossible, but the devs at Re-Logic actually did it, and it’s currently one of the most popular 2D online games ever made.
Slay the Spire
Deck building and turn-based card games aren’t really the pinnacle of what most would consider a title that represents amazing games, without having intense graphics. It is a genre that has mostly stayed niche for ages, and among indie game fans.
But Mega Crit’s Slay the Spire is changing all of that. Released back in 2019, this is one of the most addictive roguelike games that uses deck-building combat. It does not have the most appealing visuals, but it sure is insanely popular.
A sequel to Slay the Spire just hit the digital storefronts, and it has already become one of the best-selling video games of the year. This goes to show how much addictive mechanics matter in games.
Animal Well
We should have brought this one up way earlier on this list, but better late than never. If there is a game that deserves to be known for having some of the best gameplay design, even though it’s very simple and visually looks like it was made for the classic Atari 2600, then that would be Animal Well.
it is developed by Shared Memory and published by Big Mode, which is co-owned by one of the biggest YouTubers in the gaming community, Video Game Dunkey, or as fans like to call him, ‘dunkey’. So you bet that helped push the game into popularity a lot.
But that can’t be enough to help garner long-term praise. Animal Well is a puzzle platformer that stands strong on its own merits, with incredibly atmospheric gameplay design that keeps you glued to its sound and world design.
Lethal Company
There is a multiplayer game genre that has been slowly gaining traction over major live service esports titles, and the funny part is that it does not need to have incredibly amazing graphics for people to enjoy.
We are, of course, talking about what has been lovingly dubbed by everyone online as the ‘friend slop’ games. These are titles like Lethal Company, where a bunch of people hop into a lobby to complete a set number of objectives in roguelite fashion.
The biggest attraction is the fun that people can have within the given system constraints, especially if it has survival horror elements.
Among Us
Among Us was probably the first ever game of its kind that can be termed as a ‘friend slop’. Even though the genre probably goes way back, the idea of your close friends hopping into a single game voice chat that’s not a shooter got heavily popularized by this one.
As the title suggests, the game is about figuring out the suspected imposter among the players. In a lobby full of players who are assigned various tasks in a space station, only one person is the culprit who has to move around committing murders.
The job is to come together, figure and kick out the imposter, and things can get heated up to the point of people cutting off ties.
Balatro
If you know nothing about this title, then you are probably living under a rock. Balatro is a game that completely defied norms and almost won the best game of the year award in 2024, standing beside some of the best AAA titles released in the year.
But it is just a simple pixel art card game that is built around a roguelite gameplay system. Yet it was able to win over people by pure gameplay system experience. There is no story at the center of this title, nor is there anything right home about the visuals; Balatro is just THAT game.
Peak
We are not quite done with ‘friend slops’, especially since we have not talked about Peak yet. This is a title that went on to garner over more than 10 million players last year with its unique and fun mechanics that utilize the co-op genre to a tee.
However, it’s not really the worst-looking game when it comes to visual design; the game has its own charming art style. But let’s be honest, in an age where people obsess over ray tracing and DLSS, no one is going to write home about this title.
Still, it does not need to hang on to all of that to appeal to its audience. The very idea of climbing treacherous mountains with a bunch of friends in itself is a genius idea in game design.
Papers, Please
Simulation games are a genre that has been slowly growing in popularity and has a never-ending scope of expansion in terms of what the possibilities are. Take Papers, Please, for example, it’s a simple game where you are placed in the role of a border crossing immigration officer.
Your job is to skim and profile through the people coming and submitting their ID for verification. Sounds simple, but after it was released in 2013, it went on to become one of the most popular games.
It’s not a 3D game, and there’s no story to point at, but it managed to capture tension with its impressive gameplay system well enough that the former aspects never mattered.
