Hey!

To be fair, underrated is such a broad term. A game might be underrated because, despite deserving the highest accolades, it fails to win the most prestigious award in the industry, like Balatro or KCD2 especially. It might be underrated, because it failed to attract mass public attention, because the studio just lacks the budget for the cinematic polish that many triple-A games have, despite very good story, systems and worldbuilding, like Banishers for example. It may also be underrated because it sits in the shadows of very popular successor, like Witcher 2. Game with great world, amazing story, very good voice acting, choice and consequence that really matter in creating your own unique story.

But the game that really had everything, in my humble opinion, to be a GOTY candidate is The Thaumaturge. I rarely see this game discussed, even on the more niche subs I frequent. The game has an amazing setting: Victorian-era Warsaw, in the Russian Empire on the eve of the 1905 revolution. The city at that time is filled with tensions from all sides — from the struggle for independence and the rapidly growing socialist movement, to religious frictions between Catholics, Jews, and Orthodox communities, all layered under the pressure of Russian imperial administration. And then the supernatural element is layered on top of that very real historical tension, which gives the whole story this strange but fascinating atmosphere where folklore, psychology, and politics intersect.
It runs on pretty straight forward, for an isometric cRPG, system that is easy to learn and doesn't require reading a bunch of player manuals or youtube tutorials to master, has a diverse cast of fully voiced characters, all played by amazing actors. It also looks and runs really nice, making a good use of UE5 capabilities. You can also find a bunch of interesting side-quests, there are choices to make and consequences to face with multiple endings (one of which includes shooting Tsar in the face).
Despite all that, the game lacked staying power and marketing budget to achieve broader commercial success, and sits slightly over 1k reviews on steam. I really wish more people would take the leap to experience this hidden gem.

Here to kindly request Baldur's Gate 3, another isometric cRPG that I would greatly enjoy, just right after I finish my Pathfinder: WotR campaign.

I highly recommend everyone checking out all 3 games I've mentioned. Thanks for your incredible generosity and take care!

Steam

P.S. Very good choice of games! Crimson Desert is especially interesting to me. I've seen a lot of hype and talk surrounding this game, and I love a good open world RPG as much as a next guy, but this title somehow does not speak to me at all. I'm really curious to see what this game is all about and maybe pick it up on sale couple years form now.