Best Underrated Mid-Budget Action Games That Outshine AAA Games

Looking to check out some recent games from 2025 and 2026 that may have slipped past? It happens all the time when big games come out. Players can often go for the big new shiny AAA experience and ignore something smaller for a variety of reasons. The price may be too high initially, it may be part of a series they haven't played before, or the gameplay may look intimidating.

Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist and The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon are two fairly recent games that can stand next to the biggest games in the industry. They aren't perfect action games, but they are wildly fun along with these other selections.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

Two Souls, One Body

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a 2D action platformer in the style of the NES Ninja Gaiden games with a few twists to make it feel more modern. Players will start with Kenji, who is a fellow ninja within the Hayabusa clan. Then there is Kumori, a female ninja and rival to the Dragon Ninja clan. After a chance happening, the two characters fuse into each other and share a body. When players want, they can switch between the two with each character having several specialties, like Kenji is better at close-range, while Kumori is better at a distance.

Players can collect items and then buy upgrades from shops, and there is a world map that contains mission information with a bit of nonlinear progression. The action and platforming are top-notch, the visuals are a dream for pixel fans, and it has some great assist features to make it more accessible to a larger crowd. Ninja Gaiden 4 may have been the big return for the series in 2025, but ninja fans should not ignore Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, as it does a lot of things better.

Ender Magnolia: Bloom In The Mist

A Metroidvania Persona

Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist is a 2D Metroidvania with RPG elements. Players will assume the role of Lilac, who is suffering from amnesia. She has the power to bond with entities known as Homunculi to her person, which in turn allows players to use them for combat or exploration purposes. It’s kind of like gaining Personas in the Persona series, except in an action game.

Players can learn to grapple onto surfaces or air dash, for example, and each new power-up will open up the map in several ways, as there is some non-linear exploration. Some Homunculi have close-range attacks while others can be shot from afar. Most of them can be upgraded to enhance or unlock new attacks in a basic but essential upgrade loop. Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, like the best Metroidvania games out there, manages to tell an atmospheric story that builds its world through interactions and stunning visuals.

Absolum

A Brawler With A Roguelike Twist

Absolum is an old-school beat ‘em up with a roguelike framework. Players can select to play two heroes at the start, but as they progress, more will unlock. Galandra has a big sword and is gifted in some magical abilities, while Karl is short and excels in his fists and gunplay. Each unlocked character has basic attacks and skills that need time to recharge through various meters. Players can gain temporary upgrades to enhance their powers on runs, along with permanent boosts in the hub world.

Unlike a lot of roguelikes, Absolum has less randomization on maps, as players will retread territory each time they restart, but there is a cool feature to keep things interesting. Players can make branching decisions on runs, leading to different locations each time, sort of like Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara, which could have inspired Absolum, as it’s one of the best brawlers of all time. It’s a small thing to make runs more unique, but what should really be highlighted is the striking hand-drawn visuals.

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Beyond The Horizon

The Best Of Both RPG Worlds

The overall Trails series is a hard one to get into, as the names are very long and it’s hard to know which ones directly connect to others. The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon is the latest game in the series, and it is a sequel to The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak 2, which may hinder beginners from jumping in. That said, it does an admirable job getting newbies up to speed, and it has a few cool design choices for RPG games. First, when jumping into dungeons, players can decide their routes with a sort of map that sections off rooms.

Players can then explore larger spaces where enemies roam around in real-time, which players can engage with in action combat. Players can decide to slow the pace down and have a turn-based battle instead, making it a very flexible combat system. With tons of characters, gear, and abilities, there are a lot of deep progression methods found within The Legend of Heroes: Trails Beyond the Horizon to make gameplay rewarding. It may be intimidating, but there’s never been a better time to check out this series.

BlazBlue Entropy Effect

From Fighter To Roguelike

BlazBlue Entropy Effect is a 2D action roguelike spun off from the fighting game series BlazBlue. The game is essentially a simulation where players can choose an avatar from several and unlock others along the way. There are plenty of iconic characters to choose from, and each one has distinct weapons and powers. Ragna has a big sword and is slow but powerful, while Noel is more agile with her incredibly large guns.

There are also guest characters like the hero from Dead Cells. No matter who players choose, maps will be randomized each time and will be filled with monsters and temporary upgrades ranging from new powers to stat boosts. Make it as far as possible, die, and repeat. The action is just as fluid as the main fighting games, and it’s visually appealing too. Plus, there’s no need to know anything about BlazBlue before playing BlazBlue Entropy Effect, so go ahead and give this 2D roguelike a shot.