There has never been a better time to be a gamer, because there has never been more quality games to choose from, even if naturally not everything can quite live up to our loftiest expectations.
Then again, not every game needs to be a Game of the Year contender with a 90+ Metascore: sometimes games with rougher edges have charms of their own kind, even if you might not always want to admit it to your friends.
And so, the guilty pleasure is born, a game that we secretly hold dear to our heart, even though our more analytical brain tells us it’s full of flaws, if not a bit of an embarrassment to actually admit owning.
Sometimes a game just scratches that itch, no matter its wider issues, even if you might not want to scream your secret fandom from the rooftops.
Many of these games received heavily mixed responses from critics upon release, to be kind, but years later, we’re able to fully appreciate them for their broader, perhaps trashier entertainment value. In private, of course…
