Underrated (literally) games - an IFDB Poll

I want to see the games you love that have flown under the radar--add your favorite works of IF with fewer than five IFDB ratings! Hopefully this poll will help more people discover and enjoy them.

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	hanging & wiving goes by destiny, by KA Tan 5 votes "Excellent literary Bluebeard-inspired work. 3 ratings." [+]"Excellent literary Bluebeard-inspired work. 3 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Passerine... (No comment) [+](No comment) --30x30... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Cerfeuil... Vote for this game

	Nihilist Syndrome, by crotovane 4 votes "Excellent short horror. 2 ratings." [+]"Excellent short horror. 2 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --DemonApologist... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Cerfeuil... Vote for this game

	Little Boxes, by lavieenmeow 4 votes "Excellent short horror. 4 ratings." [+]"Excellent short horror. 4 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ArloElm... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Cerfeuil... Vote for this game

	The Bid for Hammersmith Tower, by stanwixbuster 3 votes "Only 2 ratings currently." [+]"Only 2 ratings currently." () --JTN... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Coral Nulla... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... Vote for this game

	After the Janazah, by cocoon 3 votes "Short emotional story with lovely graphics. 2 ratings." [+]"Short emotional story with lovely graphics. 2 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Cerfeuil... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Naarel... Vote for this game

	Mouse Train, by solipsistgames 3 votes "Very cute. 4 ratings." [+]"Very cute. 4 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ArloElm... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... Vote for this game

	Thrall, by Kanderwund 3 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) () --Coral Nulla... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --EJ... Vote for this game

	Another Round, by PetricakeGames-IF 3 votes "A very engaging iterative story. Only 3 ratings." [+]"A very engaging iterative story. Only 3 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ArloElm... (No comment) [+](No comment) () --EJ... Vote for this game

	let the lights bleed, by Naarel 3 votes "Painfully real. Mind the CWs. 1 rating." [+]"Painfully real. Mind the CWs. 1 rating." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ArloElm... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Lionstooth... Vote for this game

	REPEAT IT BACK TO ME, by SkyShard 3 votes "Surreal VN about a breakup, very nice graphics" [+]"Surreal VN about a breakup, very nice graphics" () --EJ... "3 ratings" [+]"3 ratings" () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Naarel... Vote for this game

	Flight, by Cidney Hamilton 2 votes "Brief, sharp depiction of an attempt to leave an abusive relationship" [+]"Brief, sharp depiction of an attempt to leave an abusive relationship" ( - Full review) --EJ... "3 ratings" [+]"3 ratings" () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	Dental Issues, by Xương Tiên, Lilith Sienna 2 votes "Tech notes (see inside)" [+]"Tech notes (see inside): I just went to play this and had an issue with it not loading on Firefox, and only loading on a tiny screen in Chrome that couldn't be zoomed in. But I was able to zoom in to see it properly on Safari (this is on a laptop, by the way, not mobile). Just wanted to include that note in case anyone else had similar issues accessing this game." () --DemonApologist... "Very well done vampirism-as-metaphor story" [+]"Very well done vampirism-as-metaphor story" ( - Full review) --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	Cicatrix, by Amanda Walker 2 votes "A poem in Inform code!" [+]"A poem in Inform code!" () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) ( - Full review) --Naarel... Vote for this game

	Perseids, or, All This Will Go On Forever, by communistsister 2 votes "A sweet trans polycule road trip story. Has 2 ratings." [+]"A sweet trans polycule road trip story. Has 2 ratings." () --Tabitha... (No comment) [+](No comment) --ArloElm... Vote for this game

	The Ocean View from the Keiyo Line, by Air Gong 2 votes (No comment) [+](No comment) --Coral Nulla... (No comment) [+](No comment) --Naarel... Vote for this game

	Arkuwar, by Daniel M. Stelzer 1 vote "Make a legal case to the gods to argue that they should stop messing up your kingdom" [+]"Make a legal case to the gods to argue that they should stop messing up your kingdom" () --EJ... Vote for this game

	Labyrinth, by KA Tan 1 vote "You are the minotaur in the maze. 1 rating!" [+]"You are the minotaur in the maze. 1 rating!" () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	The Red Soldier, by Manda Whitney, Dan Egnor and Errol 1 vote "a standout from the Cryptex Jam, good story + puzzles" [+]"a standout from the Cryptex Jam, good story + puzzles" --Passerine... Vote for this game

	Return to the Castle, by John Wilson 1 vote "Inform game by John Wilson, old school" [+]"Inform game by John Wilson, old school" ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game

	Gnome Ranger, by Pete Austin 1 vote "Old fun comedy" [+]"Old fun comedy" () --Denk... Vote for this game

	Don't Get Spooked!, by BogLeech 1 vote "1-hour comedy horror with amazing art; 3 ratings" [+]"1-hour comedy horror with amazing art; 3 ratings" ( - Full review) --Cerfeuil... Vote for this game

	Allein mit Kai, by Ingo Scharmann and Joana Markus 1 vote "Made me love German IF, polished" [+]"Made me love German IF, polished" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	Advent Window, by Andrew Plotkin 1 vote "The latest game by legendary Andrew Plotkin, third in his "Advent" series." [+]"The latest game by legendary Andrew Plotkin, third in his "Advent" series." () --Sobol... Vote for this game

	i won't finish this game, by Naarel 1 vote "Very affecting. Mind the CWs. 2 ratings." [+]"Very affecting. Mind the CWs. 2 ratings." () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	Seascape Paradiso, by Natasha Luna 1 vote "Cute mermaid romance VN" [+]"Cute mermaid romance VN" () --EJ... Vote for this game

	Neurocracy, by Joannes Truyens and Matei Stanca 1 vote "A awesome game in..." [+]"A awesome game in the form of a high-tech version of Wikipedia. In fact, it's supposedly Wikipedia's replacement in the near future. Fantastic story involving prion diseases, corporate transparency, neuro-interface technologies, and subjects that are eerily familiar to our world today. Polished, slick, innovative, but with less than five ratings. If you like the gameplay of Excalibur and love science fiction, TRY THIS GAME!" ( - Full review) --Kinetic Mouse Car... Vote for this game

	Stigmata, by vileidol 1 vote "Excellent short vampire romance. 3 ratings." [+]"Excellent short vampire romance. 3 ratings." () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	SUDDEN DEATH, by DOMINO CLUB and cecile richard and nat_pussy 1 vote "Queer kinetic fiction, zippy, vibey, with meta layers. 2 ratings." [+]"Queer kinetic fiction, zippy, vibey, with meta layers. 2 ratings." ( - Full review) --DemonApologist... Vote for this game

	Liminal, by roman_hyacinths 1 vote "Gorgeous and emotional short VN. 1 rating." [+]"Gorgeous and emotional short VN. 1 rating." () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	Language Arts, by Jared Jackson 1 vote "Awesome wordplay game" [+]"Awesome wordplay game" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	Raishall, by Jacic 1 vote "Nice short, creepy choicescript game" [+]"Nice short, creepy choicescript game" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	Kingmaker, by Isabel J. Kim 1 vote "Court intrigue game, not necessarily saying anything groundbreaking but written in a compelling way." [+]"Court intrigue game, not necessarily saying anything groundbreaking but written in a compelling way." () --EJ... Vote for this game

	Hard Puzzle 3 : Origins, by Ade McT 1 vote "I'd play the others first to get some background." [+]"I'd play the others first to get some background." ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	Wolfsmoon, by Marco Innocenti 1 vote "Recent old-school fairly simple adventure with pixel art" [+]"Recent old-school fairly simple adventure with pixel art" ( - Full review) --MathBrush... Vote for this game

	The Tower, by communistsister 1 vote "1 rating" [+]"1 rating" () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	Over Here!, by auraes 1 vote "Minimalist puzzler" [+]"Minimalist puzzler" ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game

	Redemption, by Sam Ruby 1 vote "Perhaps the best Eamon game" [+]"Perhaps the best Eamon game: Expect randomized combat which needs thought" ( - Full review) --Denk... Vote for this game

	Gentleman, Adventurer, Crocodile, by Akz 1 vote "Short, funny game about a globe-trotting crocodile" [+]"Short, funny game about a globe-trotting crocodile" () --EJ... Vote for this game

	Lunar Fall, by lunar fall 1 vote "A snapshot of sapphic intimacy. 1 rating." [+]"A snapshot of sapphic intimacy. 1 rating." () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	Who Stole My Sausages?, by estif, interstitial, CliffRaven, mackhep07 1 vote "A fun little mystery. 2 ratings." [+]"A fun little mystery. 2 ratings." () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

	[EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION], by DOMINO CLUB and Em Reed 1 vote "2 ratings currently" [+]"2 ratings currently" --JTN... Vote for this game

	31st March, Midnight., by Prof. Lily and Kastel and Nitori 1 vote "Complex portrait of the games industry. 3 ratings." [+]"Complex portrait of the games industry. 3 ratings." () --Tabitha... Vote for this game

Is there another game that you think should be on this list? Just fill in the title of a game you'd like to vote for.

Poll created on October 3, 2025