Join today to claim your daily loot

15 Video Games Everyone Pretends to Love

1-15

Nazarii Verbitskiy

Gaming - May 25th 2026, 23:55 GMT+2

Demons Souls — 15. Demon’s Souls (2009)

People praise *Demon’s Souls* like it crawled out of the fog carrying the stone tablets of modern action RPG design, and honestly, its influence is enormous. Actually playing it can feel rougher than the legend suggests: cruel runbacks, obscure systems, and a world that explains itself with the warmth of a locked door. Plenty of players admire its importance more than they enjoy wrestling with its jagged old bones. | © FromSoftware

Half Life — 14. Half-Life (1998)

*Half-Life* deserves its monument, no argument there: it changed how shooters handled story, pacing, and atmosphere without yanking players into endless cutscenes. The awkward part is that going back to it now can feel less like playing a masterpiece and more like visiting the museum where masterpieces are kept. The tram ride, the platforming, the late-game alien chaos – everyone respects the revolution, but love can get a little performative. | © Valve

13. League of Legends (2009)

Nobody logs into *League of Legends* looking relaxed; they log in like someone answering a jury summons with better character skins. Its strategic depth is real, its champion roster is absurdly rich, and its esports legacy is massive, but the day-to-day experience can be a blender full of tilt, blame, and chat messages written by people who should be drinking water. A lot of “love” for it sounds suspiciously like long-term captivity. | © Riot Games

12. Stray (2022)

The cat in *Stray* is wonderful: tiny paws, smug little hops, the sacred ability to knock things over for no tactical reason. Strip away the novelty, though, and the actual game underneath is much slimmer than its reputation sometimes admits, built around light puzzles, simple exploration, and a cyberpunk world that looks deeper than it plays. It is charming, absolutely, but a lot of the adoration begins and ends with “cat button.” | © BlueTwelve Studio

Uncharted 2 Among Thieves — 11. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)

*Uncharted 2: Among Thieves* still knows how to stage a blockbuster moment, and the train sequence remains one of gaming’s great “yes, this is ridiculous, keep going” spectacles. The quieter truth is that the gunfights can blur together, the climbing often feels pre-chewed, and Nathan Drake survives so many collapsing ledges that OSHA should have its own boss fight. People love the movie of it, even when the game part creaks. | © Naughty Dog

10. Persona 5 Royal (2019)

Every menu in *Persona 5 Royal* has more style than most games have in their entire art direction, which makes criticizing it feel like insulting someone’s impossibly cool jacket. Still, that gloss covers a marathon of repeated dialogue, calendar management, dungeon crawling, and confidant juggling that can turn “one more day” into “why is my real life now scheduled around a fictional exam?” It is brilliant, but also exhausting in designer sunglasses. | © Atlus

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt — 9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

*The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt* built a fantasy world so rich that even a random notice board can spiral into tragedy, monsters, bad choices, and someone’s goat problem. The catch is that Geralt often moves like he is negotiating with furniture, the combat never matches the writing, and the map can become a confetti cannon of icons. Players may adore the quests while quietly tolerating the parts where they must actually steer the White Wolf. | © CD Projekt Red

8. Ori and the Blind Forest (2015)

*Ori and the Blind Forest* is so beautiful that criticizing it feels like pointing at a stained-glass window and complaining about the draft. The emotion lands, the animation glows, and the escape sequences are genuinely thrilling, but the game can also be fussy, sharp-edged, and more demanding than its delicate presentation suggests. A lot of players remember the tears and the soundtrack, then politely forget how often the platforming made them clench their jaw. | © Moon Studios

7. Journey (2012)

*Journey* is the sort of game people describe in whispers, as if speaking too loudly might scare away the meaning. Its lonely desert, wordless co-op, and final climb can be deeply affecting, but the reverence around it sometimes turns a brief, elegant experience into a mandatory spiritual awakening. Not everyone who reaches the mountain has their soul rearranged; a few just think, “That was lovely,” and then feel guilty for not levitating. | © Thatgamecompany

6. Death Stranding (2019)

*Death Stranding* asks players to haul cargo across ruined landscapes while balancing boxes, reading terrain, soothing a baby, and wondering whether a delivery route has somehow become an existential crisis. Its ambition is fascinating, and its lonely online connections can hit harder than expected, but let’s not pretend everyone enjoys being a futuristic courier with ankle problems. The people who love it really love it; the rest may simply fear admitting the walking wore them down. | © Kojima Productions

Cropped Bio Shock Infinite — 5. BioShock Infinite (2013)

*BioShock Infinite* arrives with floating cities, barbershop harmonies, religious iconography, alternate realities, and enough big ideas to make every elevator ride feel like a thesis defense. Its world is unforgettable, but the shooting is more ordinary than the spectacle suggests, and the story’s multiverse gymnastics can feel grander than they are coherent. Plenty of players praise the ending because it sounds smarter than saying, “I think I followed half of that.” | © Irrational Games

4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

*The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild* gave players a Hyrule where curiosity is the main quest, and that freedom still feels magical when a hillside, a glider, and a bad idea become an adventure. Yet the weapon durability, sparse traditional dungeons, and endless shrine rhythm can make the praise feel louder than the fun for certain players. It is a landmark, sure, but not everyone wants their sword to file for retirement mid-fight. | © Nintendo

3. Hollow Knight (2017)

*Hollow Knight* looks small at first, then quietly opens into a vast underground kingdom full of secrets, grief, bugs, and boss fights that treat mercy as a cancelled feature. Its world design is exceptional, but the backtracking, difficulty spikes, and hands-off navigation can make admiration feel like homework with better music. Many players respect its craft completely while privately wondering whether getting lost in Hallownest counts as a personality test. | © Team Cherry

Red dead redemption 2 — 2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

*Red Dead Redemption 2* is astonishing when it wants to be: a slow, sad Western with immaculate detail, unforgettable performances, and horses animated with more care than entire human casts elsewhere. Playing it, though, can mean wrestling with heavy controls, strict mission design, and an obsession with realism that occasionally mistakes inconvenience for immersion. People praise the world like scripture, then quietly dread another ride across three counties to press the correct button near a stew pot. | © Rockstar Games

Elden ring — 1. Elden Ring (2022)

*Elden Ring* turned open-world design into a giant cursed treasure hunt, where every cave, castle, swamp, and suspicious elevator promises either wonder or immediate regret. Its scale and mystery are incredible, but the hype can bury how hostile it is to anyone who wants clarity, pacing, or a boss that does not attack like a blender with trauma. Many players adore the legend of conquering it more than the bruising reality of getting there. | © FromSoftware

1-15

A weird thing happens when a game becomes untouchable: people stop talking about whether it is fun and start treating criticism like bad etiquette. The controller feels boring, the pacing drags, the mechanics age badly – but nobody wants to be the person who says the sacred cow has hoof rot. So let’s poke the reputation, carefully but honestly, and talk about the “beloved” video games plenty of players secretly respect more than they enjoy.

Facebook X Reddit WhatsApp Copy URL

A weird thing happens when a game becomes untouchable: people stop talking about whether it is fun and start treating criticism like bad etiquette. The controller feels boring, the pacing drags, the mechanics age badly – but nobody wants to be the person who says the sacred cow has hoof rot. So let’s poke the reputation, carefully but honestly, and talk about the “beloved” video games plenty of players secretly respect more than they enjoy.