Sometimes, you boot up a game and don't expect it to be anything more than a time-killer— something to nibble at between the big AAA releases. But then, it does the unthinkable — it clicks.

Before you know it, hours have flown by, the sun's gone down (or come up), and you're deep in a game that wasn't supposed to be this good. After all, there was no massive hype cycle, no fanfare, but rather, just a quiet release and a phenomenal game underneath it all.

5 Sleeping Dogs did everything GTA did, but better

Nobody expected it to be the sleeper hit that it was

True to its name, Sleeping Dogs was absolutely a sleeper hit. Its developers, United Front Games, had only ever made one game before it — an obscure kart racer for the PlayStation 3 called ModNation Racers. This wasn't exactly a resume that screams "open-world crime drama masterclass", was it? Still, Sleeping Dogs came out, and my oh my, it was an unforgettable experience from start to finish. It had everything my 14-year-old self could've ever wanted — fast-paced, crunchy combat, an alive open world city drenched in neon, and a story that wasn't just tacked on, but actually well-written and tremendously acted. Sleeping Dogs deserved every bit of its "GTA killer" tag, and the game wore it like a badge.

Wei Shen was such a likable protagonist that he practically felt like a superhero, flying from one car to another while taking it over, because walking up to a car and pressing 'F' was just too mainstream. I'll admit that the story was a by-the-number Hong Kong crime, but every single pixel in Sleeping Dogs was teeming with heart. The game's tone, direction, and flair made it feel so much more cinematic than anything else at the time, and it will always remain a one-of-a-kind gem that came out of nowhere. The fact that we never got a sequel still haunts me to this day, but I'm hoping that Simu Liu's movie on the game changes things for the IP.

4 Eight years on, Prey continues to be underrated

I will never stop talking about how slept on this game is

Prey is (and will always be) one of the biggest, most criminally underrated masterpieces I've ever played. Honestly, the game's opening level alone is something I still won't shut up about to anyone who'll listen. There's an elegance in how Prey unspooled its setting, throwing us headfirst into paranoia and existential dread, all while having to combat mimics. Over the years, I'm sure I've had over a hundred conversations with people about how a modern-day BioShock still eludes us, but in my opinion, Prey was already one, in spirit, design, writing, and atmosphere.

The gameplay was completely solid until the credits rolled, but what elevated Prey to a whole different plane was its writing. It immersed you in its world, forcing you to ask tough questions while doubting every single coffee mug in sight. It still hurts that the game went relatively under the radar, but in a way, it also makes it a little more special.

3 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor series

The world slept on Shadow of War, but it quite literally was a game-changer

I don't think anyone expected Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor to be anything more than a serviceable tie-in to the movies. I love the movies insanely, and as the Hobbit trilogy ended, Shadow of Mordor came out the same year. I think the most anyone expected was something between meh and fine. Then, BAM — out of nowhere, it blew the socks clean off the gaming community. The combat was slick, the stealth was satisfying, and instead of lifeless assets and environments, the fantastic open-world map made us feel like we really were in Middle-earth. However, what really changed the game (quite literally) was the Nemesis System, where every random orc had a name, a grudge, a scar from your last encounter, and a raging vendetta.

Three years later, Shadow of War dropped, and it was bigger, bolder, and filled with systems upon systems. By this time, the world knew what they were in for, and Shadow of War deserved every bit of hype and praise that it got. The army building, fortress assaults, and the actual emotional payoff from defeating or allying with Uruk-Hai orcs who remembered you after hours of gameplay? Priceless. The Middle-earth games weren't supposed to be revolutionary, and yet, nearly a decade later, here we are, wondering why no one else has come close to giving us that sort of experience again. It's a damn shame that Monolith Productions, the games' studio, shut down.

2 Mad Max had no business being such a fantastic experience

A solid open-world adventure with a deeply rewarding loot and combat system

Mad Max is one game I never expected to play for anything over an hour when I first booted it. After all, it was a movie tie-in, and those have been historically bottom-of-the-barrel experiences, barring a few great exceptions. Heck, it didn't even use Tom Hardy's likeness, despite releasing alongside the amazing Fury Road, and that seemed like the final nail in the coffin that made many of us, myself included, have little to no hope from the game. And yet, against all odds, 2015's Mad Max managed to prove every single one of us wrong, and I'm glad it did.

After about fifty hours, my hands physically refused to hit uninstall after 100-percenting the game. Mad Max's world was a beautiful, desolate wasteland that truly did feel like a fully-realized version of the world from the movies. The writing was actually good, down to the quirks and idiosyncrasies in the script that gave the post-apocalyptic world even more believability. However, the best part about the game by far was its combat loop. Sure, it was lifted heavily from the Arkham games, but it was so grounded and visceral that it simply never got boring, no matter how many fistfights I got into. With Mad Max, Avalanche had done the impossible — make a genuinely good movie tie-in game that could stand and strut on its own two legs. By all means, it should've failed, but instead, it sucker-punched its way into greatness.

1 Quantum Break deserved better than the initial response it got

Despite its unconventional narrative approach, the game underneath was absolutely solid

Quantum Break is one game I will die defending, and I don't say that lightly. When it launched back in 2016, the whole idea of blending gameplay with video episodes to watch on the website caught everyone off-guard (myself included) and not in the best way. It felt like Remedy had bet on a gimmick, and sadly, that gamble didn't work out for everyone. I still feel the backlash was unfair and mostly reactionary, and the game didn't deserve it. After having played the game for a third time last year, I can still confidently say that it holds up and thrives, even by today's standards.

When I saw Shawn Ashmore and Sam Lake talk about Quantum Break or Time Breaker (wink, wink) in the Night Springs DLC for Alan Wake 2, my heart was practically doing somersaults. It's practically confirmed that Warlin Door from Alan Wake 2 is actually Lance Reddick's Mr. Hatch from Quantum Break, and I just cannot wait to see what this universe brings me next with its ever-weaving web of lore. That aside, Quantum Break's moment-to-moment gameplay was completely solid, its vibrant colors and art style have made it age gracefully, and the gunplay mixed with the time-manipulation mechanic, all wrapped up in the stellar presentation, is what made the game so truly fantastic. It still stings how the game was brushed aside at the time, because frankly, it has aged like royalty.

Sleeper hits are the best kind of surprises

Underrated and unassuming titles often end up becoming unexpected gems.

It feels genuinely great when a game that was supposed to be meh at best delivers brilliance instead. They come with more heart, polish, and creativity than anyone expected, and they blow our socks off, making them unforgettable additions to the annals of gaming lore.

Where overhyped blockbusters often fail to meet expectations, the more underrated and unassuming titles often end up becoming unexpected gems.