The best hidden gems on the ROG Xbox Ally

With so many games coming out each and every year, brilliant titles sometimes slip through the cracks. These are a few of those lost treasures — the gems that snuck under many players’ radars. They’re stupendous, bold experiences that’ll break up your normal gaming routine, and they’re also perfectly suited to the ROG Xbox Ally, ROG Xbox Ally X, ROG Ally X, and ROG Ally gaming handhelds. So take these incredible titles with you wherever you go and enjoy some of gaming’s best-kept secrets.

ReCore

Image credit: Xbox

Whether you like platforming, exploring, third-person shooting, or building badass robots, 3D metroidvania ReCore has something for you. It ping-pongs between its seamlessly interconnected focuses with such rapidity that every minute of gameplay feels varied and engaging. It helps that each of these elements is bolstered by the game’s supremely satisfying movement mechanics, which make fighting and adventuring an absolute treat. ReCore doesn’t overstay its welcome, and its refined difficulty curve ensures you have a stellar time from start to finish. Play this gem on Game Pass or buy it via the Xbox store.

1000xResist

Image credit: Xbox

Speculative fiction fans should check out 1000xResist, a sci-fi epic that’s mainly about chatting with people. The game can be beaten in around 10 hours, in which time you’ll talk to folks to learn about the strange world you’re trapped in. But there’s a deeply personal, human story hidden beneath the sci-fi surface — this is a hand-crafted game made to convey someone’s lived experiences. 1000xResist has fascinating things to say about the pains of motherhood, daughterhood, sisterhood, and other topics that help it stand out in the gaming scene. Play it on Game Pass or buy it on the Xbox store.

Dordogne

Image credit: Xbox

Dordogne is a game about a young girl visiting her grand-mère in the French countryside. Saying any more would spoil the story. Just know that this is the perfect game to play if your family is fraught with complicated relationships and you’ve been meaning to call your grandmother more often. Dordogne is primarily a low-key point-and-click adventure, so it’s accessible to pretty much anyone who’d want to play it. You can do so on Game Pass or buy it from the Xbox store.

Robocop: Rogue City

Image credit: Xbox

Robocop: Rogue City is every bit as much an experience as it is a game. It captures the details that matter to Robocop fans, features a living, breathing world that oozes atmosphere, and packs a healthy dose of first-person action. You’ll spend lots of time gunning down bad guys, but you’ll also chat with allies, help out around your police station, and interact with downtown denizens in surprising, engaging ways. For fans of immersive games such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution, this Robocop adventure is an absolute delight. Play it on Game Pass or buy it from the Xbox store.

Lethal League Blaze

Image credit: Xbox

Imagine high-level competitive Smash Bros. but with all the focus being on a lethal ping-pong ball that bounces around the stage. That’s Lethal League Blaze. The whole game is just smacking a ball around an enclosed space in the hopes it smashes someone else’s head in before it does yours. With up to four players slamming that thing every which way, things can get very crazy, very quickly — the ball moves fast, and death is never more than a second away. This electrifying gameplay is augmented by wild music composed by talents such as Hideki Naganuma, of Sonic Rush fame. So you’ll bop to beats while getting beat, and you'll love every second of it. Buy it from the Xbox store.

Omno

Image credit: Xbox

Omno is a quiet, meditative third-person adventure game about exploring strange lands and seeing the sights. It’s imaginative and, most importantly, well directed — despite its tranquility, there's a real sense of momentum propelling you forward from one landmark to the next. Hover across sand, glide through the sky, and see incredible things along the way. It’s a simple premise perfectly executed in a bite-size adventure you can burrow through in an afternoon. Buy it on the Xbox store.

Remember Me

Image credit: Gamesplanet

Any gamer who puts atmosphere and world design on a pedestal owes it to themselves to play Remember Me. This game’s imaginative depiction of 2084 Paris is a visual marvel. It’s augmented by the game’s score, composed by Olivier Deriviere, which fuses techno and classical compositions in a way that’s reminiscent of Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy work. Pair those tunes with the game’s gorgeous aesthetic, and you have a third-person action-adventure game with a unique, richly realized identity. Grab it on Gamesplanet.

Sonic Lost World

Image credit: Gamesplanet

Originally a Wii U exclusive, Sonic Lost World snuck onto PC a few years later and remains a curious addition to the speedy hedgehog’s oeuvre. It ramps down Sonic’s speed, adds parkour, and plops you in strange levels that necessitate unlearning everything you thought you knew about speed platforming. For those who want to jog through zany environments and witness the deconstruction of what it means to be a Sonic game, Sonic Lost World is the play. Buy it on Gamesplanet.

With this list, we’ve only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more hidden gems worth giving a play. Dying for the best Sonic Adventure game since Sonic Adventure 2? Check out Spark the Electric Jester 3, one of the best speed platformers ever made. Yearn to make an entire city your playground for skateboard tricks and graffiti art? Try Bomb Rush Cyberfunk — it's a must-play for Jet Set Radio fans. Lovers of subtly spooky games should give DARQ, a perspective-warping puzzler with Little Nightmares vibes, a whirl. And if you're hungry for physics-based brawling chaos, SpiderHeck is a 2D dueler like no other. We could go on and on, but we’ll stop here. You have more than enough hidden gems to get started with.

Once you’ve exhausted these sleeper hits, check out our other favorite games for ROG Ally handhelds, and share your favorites with us on Discord.