VanQuish is one of my favorite games ever but yeah the thought of taking place on an O'Neil Cylinder sounds cool the environments tend to look too similar.
Dragon's Dogma. At first, it does look a bit generic but once you get into the game it works and it sucks you in.
Gungrave GORE. This is an acquired taste and I have been a fan of the series since PS2. It's one of those best played on hard. It's basically a long PS2-era Arcade game like the originals. People see it as shallow but when you see expert players it's not the case. Simple yes. Shallow not so much. Not the best graphically tho the cel shading option to me helps. It's a niche game that appeals to a very specific audience.
Evil West. Not saying it's ugly or generic but it does have a budget look. Thankfully it's a fun game. A callback to the 7th gen B games. A little GoW and Gow but also a beat 'em up in there as well.
Bujingai. Starring GACKT! Didn't look the best on PS2 but it's a solid action game.
Assault Suit Leynos/Target Earth. Not the best-looking Mega Drive/Genesis game but it's a blast to play. Sequels are better and the remake on PS4 is fantastic. For the time tho Leynos was a unique and fun take on Run n Guns.
Binary Domain. Not the most visually distinct game. Not ugly technically for the era but good-looking. Just artistically not the most interesting. It is a blast to play tho.
Tales of Vesperia. Not that this looked nice as a cel-shaded 7th-generation RPG But to most just another anime JRPG. I don't think too highly of the Tales series but Vesperia is almost an accident in how good it is. Not only is the story good with good characters. It breaks some tropes. From Hero to Villian. Sure it has some of the same tropes and power of friendship. It also doesn't have a naive orphan leading the way but an interesting anti-hero without trying to be overly edgy (ehem Berseria)
REcore on Xbox One. Not a looker. Trailers don't look interesting but it is a fun bargain bin buy. The last act sucks but everything else is a solid game.
Last Bronx and Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty on SEGA Saturn. One is a 3D fighting game and the other is 2D. The in-game models of Last Bronx are not the most interesting but one of the most fun games in the genre on the system. Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty could be confused as a cheap Chinese-themed SF ripoff. The game is quite good. So few know about these gems.
Aliens Fireteam Elite. Not graphically impressive at all. Fun Co-op TPS and the best Aliens game ever made. (notice I said Aliens not Alien)
Bite my shiny metal cockpit!
