Smaller budget games, whether AA or Indie, can often feel more impressive and creative than their AAA counterparts. Once upon a time, one such subcategory of games, affectionately known as Eurojank, managed to create unique but flawed game worlds for players to inhabit.
Piranha Bytes’ RPG Gothic became something of a cult hit in the early 2000s and is probably the most famous Eurojank title. However, there are a number of other titles from European studios that are just as fun, full of charm and worth investing some time (and patience) to fully enjoy as a palette cleanser of the AAA gaming landscape.
10/10 Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3
Ever wanted an intense sniper gaming experience, but with all the possibilities of an early open world Far Cry installments? Then CI Games’ Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is right up your alley. Although it received middling reviews and a less-than-polished release, in the years since its release (through updates and improvements) it has become a quirky entry in Sniper: Ghost Warrior franchise.
While it’s still poorly optimized at times (the occasional lengthy load time can drag it down), the core gameplay is highly entertaining, while the story falls squarely into the dull and ridiculous direct-to-video fare.
9/10 The Technomancer
With just over 70 employees, French developer Spiders continues to push itself and actively tries to reach higher with each successive game they release. While they are more recently known for Greed (a BioWare-Esque RPG) and Steel rising (a Soulsborne action game), their previous games are also worth the price of admission. The Technomancerdespite its generic-looking cover and title, is an interesting, flawed sci-fi RPG.
Set in the same universe as the equally interesting one March: War Logs, the player indulges in space magic and intense combat encounters. Some of the combat can feel a little stiff and the game generally lacks a bit of polish, but it’s still worth checking out, especially for fans of Greed.
8/10 Terminator: Resistance
Games licensed from movie properties often get a bad rap. In recent years, the abundance of movie-to-video game adaptations has been significantly reduced. Who would have thought that one of the best video game adaptations would come from Teyon, the same Polish game developer responsible for Rambo: The Video Game?
It can be Fall out-small intermediate mission, but the developers clearly love it Terminator lore and has made the T-800s menacing again, and in doing so has created the best piece of Terminator fiction this year with Terminator: Resistance. This is the very definition of a diamond in the rough.
7/10 Vampire
Dontnod Entertainment’s AA action RPG Vampire has plenty of Eurojank running through the years, but that’s no bad thing. It’s refreshing to play a modern RPG that’s more focused on action, consequences, and atmosphere than it is on hunting for loot or making choices that seem redundant when all is said and done.
Technical issues aside, Vampire’s trump card is the protagonist Dr. Jonathan Reid, who is both complex and charming; all the best qualities of a vampire. The story, which uses the Spanish flu pandemic as a backdrop, adds tension and atmosphere to the already dark post-WW1 era. With its semi-open world, visually distinctive aesthetic and monster battles galore, Vampire is worth seeking out.
6/10 Styx: Shards Of Darkness
There is very little in the way of goblin-centric games. Most of the time, players hack the mischievous fantasy creatures into chunky green chunks. Not so with Cyanide Studio, who saw the appeal of playing as a little goblin with a foul mouth Styx: Master of Darkness and Styx: Shards of Darkness, and then tailor that experience to resemble the original Splint cell and Thief series.
Stealth is key here, with direct encounters between humans or elves often leading to a quick and painful demise. Despite its dated look and sometimes clunky controls, it feels like an old-school stealth gaming experience and is recommended for those looking for a challenge. Quite possibly the best goblin stealth game ever made.
5/10 Necromunda: Hired Gun
Necromunda: Hired Gun exploits the primitive joy often found in older FPS games, like running and shooting while taking out hordes of enemies to an ear-splitting soundtrack. Admittedly, some would say that it is almost identical to Eternal doombut there is something refreshingly different about it Necromunda: Hired Gun, such as the sheer level of verticality that can be used during combat encounters (mimicking the tactics used in its tabletop counterpart).
The French developer Streum On Studio took his passion for Warhammer 40K universe and created a manic, blood-soaked playground, full of jaw-dropping subterranean vistas and smile-inducing moments of FPS fun despite technical shortcomings.
4/10 Divinity II: Ego Draconis
Although it’s great to see Belgian game developers Larian Studios receive recognition for Divinity: Original Sin II, more recently taken the reins of Baldur’s Gate IIIsome of their earlier games are rarely discussed or often ignored. DivinityThe story is steeped in Eurojank, as Larian tried out different playstyles within the same fantasy universe they created.
One of their most ambitious games was Divinity II: Ego Draconis(or Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga as it was rendered after a series of updates and expansions.). Full of interesting side quests, janky combat and the ability to play as a dragon (although it can get repetitive). Divinity II: Ego Draconis reached above and beyond the budget limits, and still feels unlike any other RPG in the genre.
3/10 Biomutant
Eurojank games are often interesting for several different reasons, but first and foremost is their impressive ability to create something truly unique, even if a game falters or doesn’t quite live up to its promise. Biomutan.t is such a title. With a terrible user interface, a narrator who gets increasingly annoying as the game goes on, and choices that have little impact on the story, it can often lead to a frustrating experience.
Where Biomutant where it excels, however, is in its environmental storytelling and fun character mutations to create different builds. When the good elements hit, the game is a fun experience, clearly showcasing the creativity of Scandinavian developer Experiment 101. Stick with the bugs and it’s a charming and idiosyncratic (if reason) RPG experience to discover.
2/10 Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood
Wrong, short, lacking substance, repetitive and not so well received, but even with the negative sides, Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood still manages to entertain during its short game length. Based on the World of Darkness tabletop RPG, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, this adaptation is a bizarre mashup of stealth with elements of hack & slash gameplay, all topped off with little RPG dialogue trees.
The visuals feel dated (even on modern consoles) and objectively it’s a bad game by most metrics. Still, playing as a raging werewolf is also a lot of fun, especially when it harkens back to the more simplistic PS2 era of gaming. Complex it isn’t, but it’s hard to dismiss being a werewolf in an imperfect game.
1/10 Two worlds II
Mix poor voice acting, clunky combat, a deep crafting system, and sprawling fantasyland with an entertaining magic system, and it creates a joyous melting pot of Eurojank games. Developed by the now defunct Reality Pump Studios, Two worlds II is an ambitious RPG that reaches for the stars and manages to charm despite its technical shortcomings.
Coupled with its flexible building experimentation and a tropical open world full of fantasy creatures (and the occasional dinosaur), it helps create an RPG that players can lose hundreds of hours in. After spending several hours within Two worlds IIit’s clear to see why it remains a firm favorite among die-hard RPG fans.
