June 2021 has come and gone, and for those of you that check in with us every so often, you probably know what that means: Weird Games 4 is here. Featuring a slight re-format over our previous digests, we're still here to get you your monthly scoop of gaming weirdness. For better, or for worse!

Through sheer coincidence, this month we've got some genuinely great games to show off! Of course, not all of them are great, but they're generally worth playing, for sure. What you'll get below is a list of 5 weird games that we recommend you give a shot. Note, however, that what makes them worth playing isn't necessarily that they're particularly awesome. Rather, they're curiosities that many of you will want to experience to some extent.

Now, this is pretty far removed from our regular content, to be sure, but we think some of you may enjoy what we've got to show, regardless. Now, strap right in, lube up that scroll wheel (please don't do that), and have fun!

Weird Games 4 - Get Them While They're (Not?) Hot

Redneck Racers

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Surprisingly enough, "redneck" games are actually a dime and a dozen when it comes to low-end stuff on PC. Redneck racing games - even more so. And while titles such as Immortal Redneck are genuinely a huge amount of fun, this isn't really the case with Redneck Racers.

Featuring a humble selection of admittedly neat tractors, this is a game that tries hard to be the low-end hillbilly version of Mario Kart. For the most part, it fails miserably, but it's a curiosity all the same. The core gameplay loop is remarkably limited, yet grindy, and there's virtually no way to discern between the different tractors and upgrades since there's no stat screen anywhere.

The reason Redneck Racers has made its way onto this list is that it's so bad that one might imagine it wouldn't even be possible. According to Steam reviewers, Bad Rats is a superior gaming experience. Hell, we can hardly disagree. We do think that Redneck Racers features what has to be the single worst implementation of motion blur we've ever seen in a racing game. Neat!

Look, we're not going to recommend you go out of your way to play this maddening title, but if you find yourself yearning for a bout of rabid banjo music, know that this is an option, too.

Planet Alcatraz

How surprised would you be if we told you that Planet Alcatraz is, in fact, a stellar game? Okay, maybe not stellar stellar, but it's pretty dang good. It's currently sitting at a 'Very Positive' rating on Steam, and that's in spite of its many flaws.

Planet Alcatraz is, for all intents and purposes, a Fallout game playing masquerade. One that was produced and developed by Russian developers, therefore featuring a hefty dose of Eurojank to boot. There's no point in lying: no matter how ugly and shoddy-sounding Alcatraz might be, it's a coherent game featuring a decently well-thought-out gameplay system.

One particular element we'd like to praise is the game's atmosphere. There's a certain something to Planet Alcatraz that we don't often see replicated, and which it shares with games such as STALKER. You're just not getting that replicated in a modern game, let's be real here.

If you've got the stomach for old, outdated, and particularly poorly dubbed jank titles - give this one a shot.

Cold Fear

Oh, you're going to love this one. Cold Fear is - believe it or not - a genuine Ubisoft game. No, really! Though, we will admit that it's a Ubisoft publishing business, from a time before virtually all Ubisoft releases were first-party productions.

Though Cold Fear never did end up getting turned into a veritable franchise, it's an astonishingly good - and often overlooked - standalone title. The game was built from the ground up to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Resident Evil, and you know what? We can see that being the case, had there been a Cold Fear 2!

Ultimately, Cold Fear is not quite as good as its contemporary, Resident Evil 4, but it's got a special kind of charm. Thanks to Ubisoft's funding, Cold Fear features some pretty impressive technology (for the time), including a realistic ship rolling simulation, as well as some really granular mobility animations.

Of all the games we've featured in this series, we believe this one will come most highly recommended. Give it a shot!

Dark

Some of you may recall the buildup leading up to the release of Dark, and how thrilled you may have been for its launch. For context, this was one of the first moderately high-profile vampire-themed PC games since the original Vampire: Masquerade. Many of us were more than eager to jump on anything that could come even close to an experience such as that.

Well, as it turned out - Dark wasn't it. And, honestly, Dark wasn't much of anything, short of a simplistic stealth game with a penchant for annoying its players. Not that the game doesn't have its draws - we'll praise its gothic chic any time of day - but the whole experience is just kind of meh no matter how you look at it.

We will say, though, that Dark is a decent stealth game, and if that's the sort of thing you want - go for it. There's not much that Dark does outright poorly, honestly. It's just that it could've been so much more.

Underworld Ascendant

Our long-time readers will know that the team here at 2Game are all big fans of the immersive sim niche. The vast majority of games that tackle this particular sub-genre end up being downright incredible. Just look at virtually all of Arkane Studios' output, as they specialize in making such titles.

Sadly, not all immersive sims end up being good. Some of them - such as Underworld Ascendant - turn into barely coherent messes that can barely tackle the sandbox they've been built in. But - and here's the real kicker - Underworld Ascendant really should've been good. It was helmed by none other than the legendary Warren Spector of System Shock fame, and it was supposed to be a spiritual follow-up to Ultima Underworld.

The final product, however, bit off way more than it could chew. As the end result, we got a buggy, incomplete-looking experience that allows players to break it in virtually every way they could imagine. The worst part, we believe, is that there's clearly a painfully compelling game underneath the muck and grime. It's just that the team couldn't clean it up properly.

There's fun to be had here, don't get us wrong, but this project just never took off properly. About that, we are really sorry.

Weird Games 4 Wrap-Up

And there you have it - these are the five weird titles we recommend you try out this month! From immersive sim wannabes all the way to genuinely incredible action RPGs, we're sure there's something for everyone on this list. Provided - of course - that you've got the stomach for wacky titles that felt off on the day they launched.

If you'd like to get a few more recommendations that fit this very same bill, though, we're happy to oblige! Check out the previous several entries in this series:

Each and every one of these delivers 15 smashing titles that you may or may not enjoy playing through. One thing they all share, though, is that they're totally strange, and we love them for it. Who knows - maybe one of these games will turn out to be a niche obsession of yours? Then again... perhaps not.

June 2021 has come and gone, and for those of you that check in with us every so often, you probably know what that means: Weird Games 4 is here. Featuring a slight re-format over our previous digests, we’re still here to get you your monthly scoop of gaming weirdness. For better, or for worse! […]