Games that need no sequel

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Ughubughughughughughghlug

Ughubughughughughughghlug

kiwifarms.net
Joined
May 14, 2019
Here's an idea you don't hear as much: games that are so good that they need no sequel.

They don't need to be perfect. They can be very flawed. It's just that what they do is so unique, and was executed with sufficient competency, that it would only diminish the brand to have more of it.

Some of my nominations:

We Happy Few
- Brilliant worldbuilding, brilliant aesthetic design, very top of the medium writing. Severely flawed gameplay. Don't want a sequel. A remake maybe (that will never happen), but the story, by its very nature, is complete, it could only be cheapened by expanding on it.

Bioshock
- Did it ever actually need anything else? No. It was pure greed. The original game should have stood alone. Infinite should have been sold as a spiritual successor, not an actual sequel in the same world.

Prey
- What, are we going to explore a SECOND space station that's infested with aliens? It is utterly unique (the other "immersive sim" people wank off, Deus Ex, feels totally different) and its story feels tidy and self-contained even with mystery around it. There is nothing more to do with it.

Mad Max
- Underrated gem nobody talks about anymore. Best damn movie tie-in game ever made, but also great if you never saw the movies. I didn't until after I'd played it, and it was just me constantly making soyfaces over all the references I got. The gameplay was totally unique, it showed incredible creativity and ambition in how it worked "apocalyptic desert" for as much variety as possible, it was fun. Could it be improved? Maybe. Is there anywhere else to go with it? No, it would just be another desert.
 
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There seems to be a consensus that Half-Life 2 (and especially HL2 Ep 1 and 2) were nowhere near as innovative as Half-Life 1, and that combined with the sheer disappointment of HL3 non-development, makes it so the whole series would have been better off with just ending at HL1
 
Bioshock
- Did it ever actually need anything else? No. It was pure greed. The original game should have stood alone. Infinite should have been sold as a spiritual successor, not an actual sequel in the same world.
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Bioshock 2 was a much better game, and it tied up the story nicely. Infinite and the DLC did not need to exist though.


Kane and Lynch didn’t need a sequel. Not because it ruined the original or anything, but because both games are terrible.
 
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millais said:
There seems to be a consensus that Half-Life 2 (and especially HL2 Ep 1 and 2) were nowhere near as innovative as Half-Life 1, and that combined with the sheer disappointment of HL3 non-development, makes it so the whole series would have been better off with just ending at HL1
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I only played Black Mesa - Half Life was far before my time - but I fully believe Half Life 3 would be foolish at this point. Half Life was a product of its time, it was VERY interesting to play but if you sold it today under a different name nobody would have any interest in it. Why continue this? The story was little better than Doom, just with pretentious physics terminology thrown on everything.

That's the fascinating thing about Prey, it's a spiritual successor to System Shock but it's also just as much as a spiritual successor to Half-Life 2 in my opinion. In the sense that I think if someone had the same kind of vision, but with modern design sensibilities, Prey (the new one) is what they would have created.

Buttigieg2020 said:
Bioshock 2 was a much better game, and it tied up the story nicely.
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I bought it used, for super cheap, as a teenager, something about it put me off it immediately, and I never touched it again.
 
millais said:
There seems to be a consensus that Half-Life 2 (and especially HL2 Ep 1 and 2) were nowhere near as innovative as Half-Life 1, and that combined with the sheer disappointment of HL3 non-development, makes it so the whole series would have been better off with just ending at HL1
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HL1 was revolutionary mainly because it was the first story driven linear FPS, where before that it was all id Software with non-lore and focus on running and gunning.

HL2 was nowhere near that much of a revolution since by 2004 story driven games were no longer something revolutionary, and instead HL2 was more of a glorified tech demo, to the point where it interfered with the fun factor, like with having to stack those bricks to move forward just to show off Havok. Needless to say HL2 still looks mighty impressive for a game from 2004.

HL3 is never going to happen. Half-Life 2: Episode 3 was in development hell because Valve's lazy company policy threw all their game projects into a turmoil. First it was Episode 3, then Half-Life 3, then it got shelved, then Laidlaw and all the other important people left and it never got finished and never will.
Ughubughughughughughghlug said:
Half Life 3 would be foolish at this point
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You mean releasing a game that's called Half-Life 3 would be foolish at this point, and Valve is fully aware of that. That name has so much hype attached to it that nothing that Valve could ever put out would ever match it. It could be the opus magnum of the gaming industry and people would be mad.

Hence why Valve's newest standard setting game in the series is called Half-Life: Alyx. A new name completely detached from the old numeration system, so that people wouldn't piss and shit themselves it's not some ultrahyperrealistic game or whatever.

And it worked, HL:A is a benchmark for VR games, how they should be done and what kind of interactivity should be achievable in them, without causing a stir over the name. And since they've completely retconned EP2's ending in that, if they're going to make a new Half-Life game, perhaps to sell the Index 2, my bet is that it will be called something like Half-Life: Freeman.

Valve cannot make a Left 4 Dead 3, Portal 3, Team Fortress 3 or Half-Life 3, but it doesn't mean they can't make a new game in any of those series with a completely new name.

And not like any of it matters since people will shit on it no matter what, since it seems that nowadays people find more enjoyment in hating all the video games rather than actually enjoying them.
 
@Slav Power Sure they can make L4D3 and TF3, they made Counter-Strike 2 and maybe I'm too young but when I heard that it sounded to me like someone had just announced the sequel to Chess.

Portal 3, probably wouldn't work as well. People would have sky-high standards for the writing and the novelty of the gimmick just wouldn't work this time around.
 
I don't know anything about Blizzard's Overwatch, but apparently they completely shit the bed with Overwatch 2
 
Sleeping Dogs is a pretty fun game that has no sequel nor does it need it. I think Mirror's Edge didn't need a sequel. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is sorta a sequel soft reboot but it doesn't have the same charm as the original. Dice could have left it there and it would have become a cult classic.
 
Car Won't Crank said:
Sleeping Dogs is a pretty fun game that has no sequel nor does it need it. I think Mirror's Edge didn't need a sequel. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is sorta a sequel soft reboot but it doesn't have the same charm as the original. Dice could have left it there and it would have become a cult classic.
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It didn't need one in any sense other than it's the only AAA "martial arts movie" open world game, besides Yakuza. And I have Yakuza 0 to play one day - I'm honestly so intimidated by its length I can't bring myself to actually boot it up - so maybe it fills it well enough, but I'd appreciate having a martial arts GTA-like with modernized graphics.
 
Ughubughughughughughghlug said:
I only played Black Mesa - Half Life was far before my time - but I fully believe Half Life 3 would be foolish at this point.
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I was a huge fan of Half-Life back in the day. But I will freely admit you got the better end of the deal. As revolutionary as it was, Black Mesa is better in nearly every way. ESPECIALLY the Xen section, which was always the original's weakest point.

As for a third installment, Half-Life 3 would have to be the single greatest achievement in the entire history of gaming, while at the same time curing all known forms of cancer. Anything less, and the Internet would probably burn down Valve's offices and force Gabe to watch.


Buttigieg2020 said:
apparently it ran really poorly on PS3
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1, 2, and Infinite ran just fine on my PS3.


Ughubughughughughughghlug said:
Portal 3, probably wouldn't work as well. People would have sky-high standards for the writing and the novelty of the gimmick just wouldn't work this time around.
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Portal Stories: Mel and Portal Reloaded both scratch the "I want more" itch.

Mel is a nice little standalone story with surprisingly decent voice acting, and isn't overly hard. Reloaded is stronger on the puzzle elements than story, and adds a time-travel/causality mechanic to the mix. It's great when you want to spend an hour or two banging your head against the wall in one chamber, only to figure out it can be done pretty quickly if you're not retarded.
 
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Half Life 3 wouldn't need to be groundbreaking to be successful. I don't know why this is a common sentiment people are having. All Valve needs to do is make a worthwhile experience.
Alyx wasn't particularly groundbreaking either, minus being a fully fledged VR game. But even then that's because Valve had all the time and money in the world to throw at it. All people want is a great game.
 
The Connected Nose said:
I was a huge fan of Half-Life back in the day. But I will freely admit you got the better end of the deal. As revolutionary as it was, Black Mesa is better in nearly every way. ESPECIALLY the Xen section, which was always the original's weakest point.

As for a third installment, Half-Life 3 would have to be the single greatest achievement in the entire history of gaming, while at the same time curing all known forms of cancer. Anything less, and the Internet would probably burn down Valve's offices and force Gabe to watch.




1, 2, and Infinite ran just fine on my PS3.




Portal Stories: Mel and Portal Reloaded both scratch the "I want more" itch.

Mel is a nice little standalone story with surprisingly decent voice acting, and isn't overly hard. Reloaded is stronger on the puzzle elements than story, and adds a time-travel/causality mechanic to the mix. It's great when you want to spend an hour or two banging your head against the wall in one chamber, only to figure out it can be done pretty quickly if you're not retarded.
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I should try that mod. There were quite a few Portal puzzles where I felt like a retard watching a video and then realising how obvious the solution was.
 
Hollow Knight is a great self-contained experience that really needs no prolonging. I'm still looking forward to Silksong, but it feels unnecessary and I can't say I'd miss it if it was cancelled.
 
Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy X, basically I could just list all the best JRPGs honestly.
 
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