Recently, NakeyJakey released a video titled ‘In Defense of the 7/10 Games’, in which he explored the virtue, value and necessity of games which are typically considered not worth playing due to their middling score. As usual, I think Jakey has things exactly right; 7/10 has wrongly become a synonym for ‘mid’, when it is literally several spots above the middleground. When did we collectively decide that these average ranking games were not worth our time? True, they usually lack the polish and visual prestige of perfect 10s, but what they sacrifice in perfection they usually make up several fold in fun and distinctiveness. Many reviewers (including Jakey and other gaming outlets) have put forward their favourite 7/10 games, and I’m all for this in an effort to turn this lowly score into a badge of honour. That is to say, these games probably aren’t award winning, but if you give them a chance you might just find your new favourite video game!
1. Vampyr
This is actually the game that inspired me to write this list. I did not expect to enjoy this game as much as I did (isn’t that always the way with 7/10s?). You are Dr Jonathan Reid, possibly the world’s most unlucky vampire considering that almost immediately after ‘turning’, Dr Reid ends up accidentally killing his sister in a bloodlust induced haze. Now, an epidemic of both the supernatural and medical kind threatens London, and Jonathan is using his new found abilities to stop both.
There is something about the momentum of this game that really scratched an itch for me. Maybe it’s the years of playing sluggish rpgs, or the fact that you are literally zipping around London, slashing, biting and dashing your way to the truth. The grimy 1910s setting and overall macabre vibe of this one had me hooked from the get-go, in a similar way to A Plague Tale, another game I love which is also published by Focus Interactive. The knowledge that I could bite and ‘embrace’ any unsuspecting NPC for XP at any point gave me a ghoulish pleasure, as I walked around Whitechapel making a mental list of every single person who had insulted me, so I could come back and digest them later as payback.
The voice acting is hammy, but I think it is wonderfully so – some of the line delivery had me cracking up at times. Some see this as a negative, but all I see is extremely quotable dialogue. It does have some annoying small bugs; the game tends to crash if you flick between the menus too quickly, though there is a pretty reliable autosave. You also can’t properly skip a person’s dialogue without skipping all of that character’s upcoming speech, which does feel agonising to someone who is used to blitzing through conversations. But who really needs to listen to their food before they eat it anyway?
Play Vampyr if you like:
– Over-dramatic vampire horror
– Investing in weapon and skill trees to become an unstoppable monster
– Exploring optional dialogue as much as possible to really get to know NPCs (and using this info to decide whether said NPC would be better off being a snack).
2. Cooking Mama
Like many of the entries on this list, I had double check how this game was critically received to confirm it is actually considered a 7/10 game. I’m aware that I see this game through the rose tinted glasses of youth, as this was one of my all time favourites on the Nintendo DS, but I know I’m not alone in considering it a favourite among immersive cooking games.
The player cooks food by following recipes through a series of mini-games. Usually, the more steps/mini-games there are, the harder the recipe becomes. The outcome of each dish depends on how well you perform in each mini-game, and while the DS touch screen didn’t have the most reliable input, it’s pretty fair most of the time. Not to mention the huge variety of recipes – 96 in total.
This game taught me, as a 10 year old who had never cooked more than toast, a shocking amount about actual cooking. I will always think of this game any time I am washing rice or frying garlic.
Play Cooking Mama if you like:
– A game that lets you shut off your brain for a while
– ASMR type sound effects (all the chopping and washing your ears desire)
– Cute visuals with slightly repetitive mini-games
3. The Procession to Calvary
If there’s a single game that doesn’t deserve to be shunned behind a ‘7/10 game’ moniker on this list, it’s The Procession to Calvary.
A comedy point-and-click adventure game with visuals built from classic paintings from the Middle Ages and Renaissance… if it sounds weird, that’s because it is. The Monty Python style humour paired with the fact that I could never, ever predict what the next part of the level was going to look like, made the whole experience feel as close to a fever dream as a game can get. If that’s not enough to get you interested, bear in mind that while most point-and-clicks have a tendency to feel slow, this one positively catapults you through each painting and includes a degree of decision making, with elements changing slightly based on how murderous your journey becomes. It’s a brilliant game based on novelty alone.
Play The Procession to Calvary if you like:
– Strange, wry humour
– Unique art styles based on classic art
– Short but memorable games
4. Graveyard Keeper
The easiest way to describe this game would be ‘Stardew Valley but instead of a farm, it’s a graveyard’. But I think that is over-simplifying things too much. While it’s true that at the crux of this game is farming and foraging mechanics as seen in Stardew Valley and The Harvest Moon Series, I found that Graveyard Keeper had a lot more to keep me engaged than those two titles. Namely the story – you play as someone who has been transported into medieval times for reasons unknown. Taking care of the graveyard and church is a means to find a way back home and figure out why exactly you have been sent back in time. Although I sank a fair bit of time into Stardew, the thing that stopped me going back after a while was the very lean amount of story beyond the basic relationship building. Graveyard Keeper, a dark spin on similar pixel art farm management games, fills this deficiency well through an engaging story that moves at a pace determined by the player, based on how quickly they complete objectives. Though my experience with the game was at times hindered by bugs and glitches, I wouldn’t let this deter those looking for a cosy farming sim with a twist.
Play Graveyard Keeper if you like:
– Cosy/Creepy mash ups
– Stardew Valley-esque farming management games
– Stories/quests which are a slow burn
5. Greedfall
Where I’ve been reluctant to class other games on the list this way, Greedfall is sort of the textbook definition of a 7/10 game. It is unique enough: with its lavish level design and impressive artstyle that offers sweeping island views and distinctive monsters and people to fight. The lore behind this game is probably its most impressive feature – not only is there a substantial amount, it’s also very compelling. I found myself willingly seeking out bits of second hand info on the different factions and politics defining the New World island of Teer Fradee. The game slowed down for me after about 20 hours when I found both the combat and main story quests were becoming a little repetitive, as these do just devolve into fetch quests after a while. However I think the foundations for a memorable game have been set out here; I’ve come to think of it as Bioware-lite, especially in terms of the great companions you pick up along the way to join you on your adventure. I pigeonholed myself a little by committing to a stealth and diplomacy play through where possible, but I think an entirely guns-out play through could prove to be even more fun.
Play Greedfall if you like:
– Open world, dialogue heavy games with decision making
– Fictionalised 17th Century Naval Empire setting with magic
– Big monster fights
6. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
I’ve saved my most controversial pick for last. Where I felt other entries deserved better than being classed as a 7/10 game, I think I’ve probably placed Kena: Bridge of Spirits lower than the general consensus on this game. I really liked this game. I was utterly entranced by the Disney style art, and I could probably write a whole post on my top 10 favourite rot buddies. But I really didn’t enjoy how basic the main story was. The puzzles were almost insultingly simple, and the characters and their dialogue lack any real depth. For as fun as Kena is to play and look at, I found myself just not really caring much about progressing until eventually this game got put on the backburner and I didn’t go back to it. But I do think it’s worth playing, if for the jaw-droppingly impressive animation alone, and I think this is the type of game I would like to dip into now and then when the desire for strong, polished visuals comes over me.
Play Kena: Bridge of Spirits if you like:
– Adorable art styles, reminiscent of your favourite animated kids films
– Challenging combat which will keep you on your toes
– Quick gameplay interspersed with moments of quiet meditation
Did any of your favourites make the list? What are your favourite 7/10 games? I would love to see your recommendations in the comments below!
