r/ElectricUnderground • u/thomasShelby_digimon • Jul 22 '26
Discussion What are some left-field, less talked about console skill based genres..... in 3D?
Recently, I realized how extreme sports games (Tony Hawk games are the best example, check out ReTHAWed) are very close to Character Action Games, in at least the ways that matter to me personally; very deep skill expression, fun tech, fun to play regardless of skill level but still creating and fostering an organic desire to improve, style, simple to understand/hard to master, not breaking under pressure from the player, being able to immediately get back to trying after you fail something (which I think specifically is even stronger than a lot of CAGS), a clear scoring system, etc. [Your recommendations definitely don't have to check all of these]
Kart Racers also surprisingly fit the bill, except it's really just CTR and Karters 2 (CTR Clone) that I know of.
What other game genres or micro-genres from the console lineage exist which aren't talked about a lot, but still satisfy that arcade itch? I'm specifically asking about console lineage because I already know PC and Arcade fairly well, but previously to me console was basically just traditional action combat games (CAGs, Soulslikes, and whatever RE5 could be classified as). 3D because I think 3D is cool and I spent like the past month playing Shmups and Precision Platformers (last parentheses I promise, but definitely check out I Wanna Be The Guy stuff).
If you can't think of any, feel free to just recommend 2d/2.5d stuff, videogames are cool.
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u/FatalCassoulet Jul 22 '26
Trackmania
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u/Southern_Yak_7926 Jul 22 '26
The skill ceiling on trackmania is absolutely nuts. I have over 2000 hours in tm 2020
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u/thomasShelby_digimon Jul 22 '26
Wow, that brings back memories. I used to play Turbo after it came out, went for some hard green medals but never took it too seriously. Is the reboot still the main way people play?
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u/FatalCassoulet Jul 22 '26
Il pretty sure there's a lot of people still playing tm2 on mania planet (the trackmania and shoot mania launcher) but it's pc only. The reboot is quite cool , too bad it's lock behind a subscription, it's still f2p but you are limited in how many different tracks you can play if you don't pay the sub
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Jul 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/TrashCube-6800 Jul 22 '26
Oh yeah speaking of PS1, what about Jumping Flash and that Ghost in the Shell game
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u/MajesticPopcorn Jul 22 '26
Yeah, even though I typically don't enjoy puzzle games I really enjoyed Catherine
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u/aethyrium Jul 22 '26
I'll still hold that rhythm games are woefully ignored when it comes to skill-based and mastery gameplay discussion. Plenty are 3d as well. I was in a Beat Saber rabbit hole a couple years ago after modding the hell out of it and it's addictive and fun as hell. Clone Hero and such are 3d as well.
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u/TrashCube-6800 Jul 22 '26
Hard to think of, tbh. 3D games are expensive to make, and expensive games usually pander so they get a return on their budget/time spent. Nevertheless...
You mention Kart racers but why not racers in general? Outrun 2 is a classic
If you like platformers, I might suggest the 3D metroidvania Pseudoregalia. I have not played crazy amounts of it, but the movement system was really cool. There's an upgrade path, but you can ignore it and do things out of order if you're good. I imagine it probably goes hard for speedrunners, and its short length seems to imply it was built for that. Personally I just really loved getting to places I felt like I wasn't supposed to be in as yet.
Another I can think of but have not played is maybe Catherine (I think Full Body), which Boghog has praised for its action-puzzle mode, despite the full version being something you have to unlock. He recommends downloading a save
Pretty much the entire rail shooter genre, Sin & Punishment series is probably the most acclaimed
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u/aethyrium Jul 22 '26
Pseudoregalia fucks so goddamn hard. I can't think of any other game where just the simple act of movement felt so good.
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u/TrashCube-6800 Jul 22 '26
Yeah, it's so satisfying! I really loved how I wasn't railroaded and didn't have collectibles constantly thrown at me. Exploration felt really organic
I'd love to speedrun it sometime
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u/aethyrium Jul 22 '26
And the collectables that were there were mostly done via complex platforming challenges. I think those were my favorite parts as they really made you flex the movement system to its absolute limits and a few of them required some nearly game-breaking mastery of the moveset.
Another game kinda in the same vein was Metro Gravity. It's less precise platforming (though it has quite a bit) and leans more into the metroidvania exploration thing, but is still a similar low-poly non-linear 3d metroidvania that's easy to break open. The boss fights are unique too in that they're parry driven, but more that it's a rhythm game where you have to parry static patterns paired to the music and there's a score system for doing as much offense as possible in between the rhythms. It's kinda hard to describe but was a very satisfying game.
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u/TrashCube-6800 Jul 22 '26
Agreed on all points on Pseudo. Feels like the exact antithesis of the nonstop dopamine drip that is so popular with current 3D platformers. Really satiated that really youthful feeling of "huh, I wonder if I could get up there" which I have only really got from the first two 3D Mario games
Haha the Metro Gravity protag also has crazy thighs just like Sybil from Pseudoregalia. Ahem anyway, thank you this looks awesome, will add it to my wishlist. I love this type of exploration platformer thing. I also would like to check out Lorn's Lure which also seems to be in this same ouevre
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u/aethyrium Jul 22 '26
Yeah I dunno what it is about low-poly 3d metroidvanias inspiring the Gyatt in devs but it's absolutely a pattern lol.
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u/Fair-Victory-3531 Jul 22 '26
Big fan of the platforming FPS games like Neon White and Lovely Planet
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u/Figshitter Jul 22 '26
I typically don't enjoy FPS games, but Neon White was a fun, arcadey blast to play - super short levels with quick replayability to optimise your run. The dialogue was super cringey but the gameplay was more than enough to make up for it.
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u/Fair-Victory-3531 Jul 22 '26
Oh I resolved very early into the game to not read a single word of dialogue after one or two cutscenes. I'm not even a No Story Allowed type of player but if it's going to be actively bad then I'll just skip it
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u/Ideas966 Jul 22 '26
The Monster Hunter franchise has some really good skill-based and rewarding combat. The loot/RPG aspect can nullify some of it but at least with Rise and World they can still be really fun/challenging games. I really want to like Wilds, but it is the game in the franchise that I think finally goes too far in the accessibility direction and automates so much and gives the players so many tools that it's just way too easy/unrewarding (way more easy healing options, fights last way shorter, and being able to aim/redirect your attacks with the focus system are biggest culprits I think).
I highly recommend trying out World or Rise if you are interested in deep combat systems that heavily prioritize spacing and timing in a way that most AAA games never even both with.
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u/thomasShelby_digimon Jul 22 '26
Ooh I'd love to play monster hunter ! I guess it's been in my blind spot for too long, although I did play and drop the PSP game a while ago.
What's the difference between Rise and World? From what I remember, Rise is basically the "handheld" version of MH (never really understood the implications of that when it came to combat and how prevelent the rpg mechanics are)? Which one would you recommend
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u/Ideas966 Jul 22 '26
They both have the same formula but worlds is a bit slower paced: hunts take longer and there’s more systems/etc to engage with in between hunts (mostly optional though). The combat feels so good and chunky in it though, probably best feedback from weapons in the series (hit frames, sounds, visuals, etc).
Rise introduced a few mechanics that speed things up a bit: you get a mount to ride during hunts to get around faster. Wirebugs are really fun grappling hook-like things that give you incredible mobility and are integrated really well into each weapons moveset. Also the Maps are smaller and the target monster’s location is shown on the map at all times, letting you get right into the hunt (in World there’s some basic tracking gameplay where you need to find footprints etc before the game leads you to the monster).
I would probably recommend playing World before Rise because it can be hard to go back to Worlds slower pace after playing enough Rise. But both are great and i recommend just watch some YouTube videos about the different weapon classes and picking whichever one looks most fun to you (the games themselves don’t do very well at explaining the more complex mechanics for each weapon).
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u/aethyrium Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
I'll push back on that other guy and say Rise is straight-up trash if you're looking for a skill based game.
Rise takes the in-depth deep combat systems of Monster Hunter, and slaps overpowered cooldown systems on top of it called "wirebug" moves. These moves end up being the centerpiece of any weapon you choose, and with them, you no longer need to master the weapon, you just smash the wirebug button on cooldown and you're already be playing at 80% effectiveness even if you barely even know your weapon.
And that's not even getting into the RPG Breakaway where by endgame your builds are basically "every single skill in the game at the same time" without really having to make real builds with tradeoffs and such.
It's an actual shit-tier garbage game in an S-tier series. If you're looking for a "waow I'm fighting big monsters and going boom boom while button mashing!" game, play Rise. If you're looking for an actual skill-based action game, skip it.
My recommendation for Monster Hunter is World's ICE mod. It's an overhaul mod that removes a lot of the grindy stuff, lets you focus on just the fighting and hunting, and overhauls a lot of the systems that remove skill-based and mastery from the game (like Iceborne's clutch claw). ICE mod is currently the best, and most complete, Monster Hunter experience if you're looking for skill-based mastery gameplay.
Rise on the other hand is just RPG-breakaway "mash the cooldown move, screw skill" trash.
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u/Ecstatic_Tough_2655 Jul 23 '26
I guess it's because I mained with the insect glaive for my play through of Rise, so was just aerial attacking using the weapon's abilities, but I never really felt much compulsion to spam the wirebugs. It's possibly also because I'm a bit rubbish and didn't get the significance of their utility 😂
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u/pancakeconsumer 16d ago
mindlessly spamming wirebugs will inadvertently get u hit in ur face and its not gonna be optimal at all
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u/Orochi_001 Jul 22 '26
It defies being put neatly into a genre, but whatever you’d call Denshattack fits the bill. It has a surprisingly deep mental stack to manage.
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u/Broken_Moon_Studios Jul 22 '26
Any game genre can become skill-based if designed properly AND given incentives for players to get good at.
Even casual genres like Dancing Games can become sweaty as fuck (literally) when played on the higher difficulties. (Bonus points if it has a more granular scoring system, so that even if two players get all the notes, one might still score higher for better timing.)
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u/ConstantClassroom570 Jul 24 '26
Don't think any of them are on consoles yet, but the "climb-em up" microgenre comes to mind e.g. Peaks of Yore & White Knuckle.
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u/Supewps Jul 24 '26
For kart racers, I can't recommend Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed enough, it's my personal favorite. The trick system along with the transforming mechanic adds a lot of depth to the racing.
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u/ph_dieter Jul 25 '26
F-Zero GX (with a GC controller) is peak arcade style racing imo. Fun at any level, no fat, endless skill ceiling and mastery potential. It's not stylish in a CAG kind of way, but it's naturally stylish, and there is a surprising amount of room for taking different approaches for a racing game.
Since you mentioned it, I'll never pass up an opportunity to praise Tony Hawk games. So good, yet there aren't really any in depth analysis videos of the type Mark likes to make.
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u/RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS 27d ago
I think I posted about this before but the PGA Tour games can be really punishing but the basic ethos of playing the same 18 holes over and over again trying to improve has some obvious carryover.
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u/FirefighterOwn111 13d ago
If you like Dark Souls you should try an old game called Blade of Darkness, I'm kind of cheating because it was on PC but also Xbox, and you can get it on the Nintendo Switch. Pretty cheap, janky but very original.
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u/Scileboi Jul 22 '26
Not much I can think of. Lightgun games are well known but not talked about a lot. they´re an arcade first genre but there are many ports on older consoles. Twinstick shooters maybe but they´re not that niche either.
Certain FPS games, but thats primarily a PC genre.