Over the past decade, the genre of Simulation games has massively enforced itself into the hearts of gamers. Gone are the days when the simulation was only about providing a realistic experience to the players or just simulating a city. It is now about reinventing any idea that can be reproduced to give players a unique experience. The era of construction and management simulation has come a long way, as well.
Since the inception of Playstation 4, this genre has seen many significant releases that are undeniably good. Games like Gran Turismo and Harvest Moon. However, there is a vast list of Simulation games that are not as much appreciated, and then there are some which are over-appreciated. Let's take a look.
10 DiRT Rally 2.0 (Overrated)
DiRT Rally 2.0 is an Automobile Racing-Simulation game released for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2019. All the versions of the game work and play similarly.
The game is currently rated 84/100 on Metacritic, which is pretty good for a racing title like this. To be honest, it is a little too much good for this game. Most of the user score rates this game at a 5.6/10. That rating is considered to be strictly below-average, as it does not bring up many new ideas to the table.
9 GRID (Underrated)
Sitting at a Metascore of 73, GRID is another racing simulation game created by Codemasters. However, the game is credited way less for the innovation it brings. It is the true sequel to the Original Series and sort of resets certain aspects of the old games. It plays great and is available on multiple platforms.
The game has introduced a Nemesis system into the gameplay, which affects the AI's aggression based on the player's actions. The score, however, does not indicate that, and the fact GRID is rated lower than DiRT makes this game underrated.
8 Two Point Hospital (Overrated)
Two Point Hospital is a Business Simulation and Strategy game for Playstation 4. Now, this is a good game in every sense for the lovers of the genre. But there are needed improvements that could have made it a much better experience. The game currently stands at 82/100 on Metacritic.
This means it should be an excellent simulation game. But the user scores tell a different story altogether. With 7.4, it indicates that something is missing. And that the critic score is a little overrated.
7 NASCAR Heat 4 (Underrated)
It is unreal how good Racing-Simulators are nowadays. NASCAR Heat 4 is an example of that. The game is a part of the famous NASCAR video game series. That is why it is confusing that the game has received only 70 Metascore out of a hundred.
While the google score is touching a whopping 94%, another fact is that the PC version is rated 9/10 on Steam as well. Which begs the question, why is it so underrated by the critics?
6 Untitled Goose Game (Overrated)
Untitled Goose Game is a puzzle stealth game and falls into the category of general Simulation on Metacritic. It has an 80 out of a hundred Metascore. Which seems to be sprouting from how unique this game is and how beautifully minimal it appears on the surface.
However, is it really worthy of the rating? Well, according to the user score Untitled Goose Game stands at a 6.5 out of ten, which is massively low compared to the critic review. Is the game still good? Yes, but it is a little overrated for the overall experience it brings.
5 Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (Underrated)
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is a Flight Combat Simulation game. The game is a part of the critically acclaimed Ace Combat series. Sadly, the hype of such a game is much lower in the current generation compared to the Playstation 2 era.
And the reason is that there are many open-world games like Just Cause or GTA, which lets gamers fly a plane with more freedom, like getting out of the jet. But it isn't the point of Ace Combat. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown is probably the best games of the series since the fourth and fifth game, and certainly deserves more recognition.
4 Goat Simulator (Overrated)
Goat Simulator was the most over-hyped game on the planet when it first released. It is a crazy idea thrown next to the word Simulator. For starters, the game isn't meant to be taken seriously. Players play as a goat, which can cause destruction and witness some funny glitchy animations. But that is about it. There are mostly just gags and weird things.
The fact that this game got such a high recognition was just a time thing. It is not a polished game and would take a small amount of time to literally do everything that the game potentially allows.
3 Bee Simulator (Underrated)
Talking about crazy ideas thrown next to the word Simulator, here's the Bee Simulator. This game is sort of similar to the Goat Simulator but is not considered equally as good. First, the critic review of the game is merely a 47 out of a hundred while the fan rating is 7. This clearly indicates that gamers have enjoyed this game way more.
Second, the overall Bee Simulator experience is much more polished and feels like a game instead of just a glitch fest. This game is a weird concept like the Goat Simulator but is underrated in the same department.
2 The Sims 4 (Overrated)
The thing about The Sims series is that it needs to be reinvented. The Sims 4 is a popular life simulation game. Players can build houses and create characters to live in those houses.
But compared to its popularity, it is riddled with many different issues, some of which are gameplay while the rest are related to how EA has grown this franchise. Long story short, The Sims 4 is already overrated compared to what it actually delivers. All the while, the user score on Metacritic is 3.8 out of ten.
1 Punch Club (Underrated)
Punch Club is a sports management simulation game. It looks like it belongs to the 90s era and brings that experience to the current generation. Punch Club for PS4 does not have a decent Metacritic score yet, while the PC version is rated only 73. But does it deserve that?
The ratings for the game on both iOS and Steam say otherwise, as it is rated a whopping 9/10 and 4/5 by the users. So it performing any less on PS4 is beyond belief. This means that it is another example of a very underrated good game on PS4.