News: The Best 3 Steampunk Video Games You've Never Heard Of

I can imagine you sitting there thinking to yourself, "I've played a lot of games! I bet he won't have any that I don't know about!" Well, that's entirely possible. I'm only drawing from my own personal experience here, so you may, in fact, know of all these games.

However, for the purposes of this article, I'm assuming that any game not appearing in the list of Steampunk works on Wikipedia is suitably obscure. Maybe shortly after I write this article, I'll actually go add them into the list. I don't know about you, but I'm always too intimidated to edit Wikipedia articles. I'm afraid I'll mess it up somehow.

Anyway, let's get right to it! These are in no particular order, but they're all games that I've played and enjoyed.

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

This game was pretty much the most Steampunk game I've ever played. Everything about it was amazing, from the cool character designs to the 'harumph'ing speech of the main character.

The reason that more people haven't played this game is because it was a Nintendo DS-exclusive, and DS games are prohibitively expensive for many.

The plot of the game is a typical quest-style platformer, in which Henry travels to the four corners of the Earth in search of the pieces of the "Gentleman's Suit", which is a suit of powered Steampunk armor.

It features a split-screen style so that you can both platform and solve puzzles, which was a relatively unique addition to the game.

This little game just had so much character and was so much fun that I'm amazed more people didn't fall in love with it. All of the characters are either Victorian or outright Steampunk, and it's just so cute.

That said, I never beat the game because it's really hard! I'm a gamer of moderate to high skill, and it was certainly no cakewalk.

Still, I highly recommend this game for anyone who likes Steampunk. I bet you'll be as taken with it as I was!

It's still only for Nintendo DS, but hopefully they'll make a mobile version soon. You can check out Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure at EA's website.

The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom

This game came out a few years ago on the Xbox, but then was later released on PC. It wouldn't surprise me if many of you are familiar with it, but this game was just a ton of fun.

The plot consists of Mr. P.B. Winterbottom trying to eat pies. Yes, you heard me. It's about a grown man with an evil-looking moustache who wants nothing more than to eat pies.

You can tell from the picture that the style is very Steampunk. It's more or less Victorian in setting, but there are big gears everywhere, and the game is partially in black and white.

Anyone familiar with the game Braid will know what this game is like, but essentially you use time-based abilities to move forward, backward, loop time, speed it up, slow it down, etc.

It's sort of a platformer, but it's primarily a puzzle game. Like Hatsworth above, this game is big on personality and heart. It's pretty cheap on Steam, so I recommend checking it out! You can also get it for Xbox LIVE Arcade. And if you need help, well, you can check out some walkthroughs, but what fun is that?

Aqua / Naval Warfare

This game has two different names for some reason I can't fathom. It's called Aqua in Xbox LIVE Arcade and Naval Warfare for PC on Steam.

The game is a top-down, twin-stick shooter in which you pilot a variety of upgradable boats as you attempt to save the world. Not the most gripping game in the world, but fans of twin-stick shooters will like it.

The game takes place in a thoroughly Steampunk world, though it's definitely edging toward Dieselpunk. The designs are beautiful, though, and the story is engaging.

You pilot your boat through a variety of canals and bays, fighting all kinds of air and sea crafts.

I really enjoyed the visuals in this game, and while it wasn't as great as Hatsworth or Winterbottom, it still deserves some recognition.

What are your favorite Steampunk-themed games?