Key Takeaways
- Storytelling in video games has been essential for the reason that early arcade days, creating immersive universes that spawn sequels, reboots, or spin-offs, typically resulting in deep emotional connections with gamers.
- Regardless of the success of iconic recreation franchises, some beloved titles stay cliffhangers as a consequence of studio closures, shifting priorities, or poor gross sales, leaving followers eager for closure and potential sequels.
- Video games like Half-Life 2, Titanfall 2, and Shenmue left gamers on narrative cliffhangers, elevating considerations about incomplete storylines and distinctive gameplay mechanics which will by no means be revisited as a consequence of trade modifications and developer shifts.
Even within the early days of arcades, builders knew that you simply wanted a robust story to go alongside the gameplay to make a profitable recreation. We have since seen franchises go on to dozens of sequels and iterations which have carried the story ahead, rebooted, or spun off into new instructions. I like new IPs as a lot as the subsequent particular person, however there’s one thing about lastly getting a sequel to a recreation I beloved that gives a special feeling of excitement.
I have been taking part in video games for an embarrassingly very long time and have felt the sting of ending a recreation many years in the past with no hope of a sequel ever materializing.
The unhappy actuality is, although, that not all video games find yourself getting sequels. Studios shut down, or groups transfer on to different franchises with no indicators of ever returning. This has resulted in far too many video games leaving gamers on narrative cliffhangers or wishing {that a} cool or unique gameplay mechanic can be used once more. I have been taking part in video games for an embarrassingly very long time and have felt the sting of ending a recreation many years in the past with no hope of a sequel ever materializing. These are those that also harm to consider. I am going to strive to not spoil the whole lot, however be warned that I’ll element among the dangling story threads.
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1 Half-Life 2
Valve at all times stops at 2
What checklist of unresolved sequels may probably begin with something however Half-Life 2? That is the gold commonplace avid gamers level to when bemoaning a promised sequel that by no means got here to be. Each Half-Life titles have been revolutionary for his or her instances when it comes to design and mechanics, but additionally storytelling. These have been among the first video games to inform a compelling and wealthy story in a first-person shooter with out cutscenes or taking management away from the participant. The sequel expanded the scope and stakes to new heights, just for it to simply… fizzle out.
As an alternative of a 3rd recreation, Valve launched two DLC episodes for Half-Life 2, which solely left us on a fair greater cliffhanger. After that, there was not a peep from this franchise till 2022 after we obtained a by-product VR recreation. Whereas superb, it nonetheless felt a little bit like a slap within the face for all of us ready for the story to maneuver ahead, which this recreation did not do. Issues solely worsen when the lead author, who has left Valve, launched one thing known as “Epistle 3,” which modifications a number of names however tells the story of what that recreation would’ve been.
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2 Titanfall 2
Put together for disappointment
If you have not performed Titanfall 2, you have not lived. That is, with out exaggeration, one of the crucial inventive and mechanically tight shooters ever created. The primary recreation arrange the universe, weapons, and parkour-like motion methods however lacked a single-player element. The sequel launched a narrative however did not simply cellphone it in, as some Name of Obligation video games have. There are stakes, villains, twists, and a rising relationship between your predominant pilot and their robotic AI. Every degree has one thing totally different happening to maintain the tempo quick however by no means repetitive. “Impact and Trigger” particularly is one degree that also impresses me to today.
Nevertheless, as a consequence of a mix of poor launch timing and maybe low curiosity primarily based on the primary recreation, Titanfall 2 did not find yourself promoting in addition to it ought to have. This pushed Respawn to vary instructions and make Apex Legends on the bones of Titanfall, solely now as a battle royale with out the story or big robots. Moreover nothing else providing that very same combination of tight gunplay, slick motion, and big robotic motion, the story additionally left us wanting extra. Is BT actually gone? The decoded message from the post-credits scene suggests not, however we could by no means know for positive.
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3 Shenmue
Lan Di will get away
I am lucky within the sense that I by no means obtained invested on this sequence personally. If I had, I would put it on the prime of the checklist out of spite, however I can nonetheless admire how a lot followers of Shenmue have suffered. The primary two video games got here out at tempo and obtained folks invested within the plight of Ryo making an attempt to trace down Lan Di after he murdered his father. After the second recreation, most individuals thought that was as a lot as we might get. If the story had ended there, it would’ve nonetheless made my checklist. But it surely will get worse.
Eighteen years and one Kickstarter marketing campaign later, Shenmue 3 picked up the story as soon as once more. The one drawback is that this wasn’t the place the story was supposed to finish. Lan Di as soon as once more escaped, and Ryo’s quest appears farther from over than ever. With its poor gross sales and middling-at-best crucial rankings, a fourth entry appears extremely unlikely, and I doubt even essentially the most hardcore followers are prepared to attend one other 18 years to see it occur.
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4 Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
Again to the longer term
As a large fan of the unique Sly trilogy, I’ll admit that Thieves in Time is not the strongest entry within the franchise. That mentioned, I do admire the dangers it took in altering up the components and the inventive methods it tried so as to add new methods and mechanics. The time journey framework is enjoyable if you do not get too hung up on the mechanics of adjusting the previous and all that. Assembly and taking part in as a bunch of Sly’s ancestors with their very own playstyles was a blast, although the twist of who the true villain was did not make a lot sense or really feel very earned.
This recreation has two cliffhangers we have to see concluded. First, Penelope obtained away and would little question be plotting one thing, however the destiny of Sly himself is what cannot be left the place it’s. If you happen to get the true ending by amassing all of the trophies, you see a scene the place Sly wakes up stranded in Historical Egypt. The unhappy actuality is that this story has nearly no likelihood of being picked up. Sucker Punch, the staff that made the unique trilogy, moved on to InFamous for 3 video games and is now centered on Ghost of Tsushima. Odds are it will not be going again to this franchise with how profitable Ghost turned. Sanzaru, who took up the mantle for Thieves in Time, has since been acquired by Meta, so it will not be touching a PlayStation IP ever once more. I assume Sly will simply need to get used to dwelling within the desert.
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5 The Conduit 2
I am not making this up
If you happen to’ve by no means heard of both Conduit recreation, I do not blame you. These have been among the uncommon makes an attempt at making hardcore shooters for the Wii. The primary entry was a reasonably commonplace sci-fi story a couple of man combating again in opposition to an alien invasion. It was a brief, not-all-that-impressive little shooter that was extra of a novelty being on the Wii than the rest. Solely a yr later, it obtained a sequel that took issues in a really… bizarre course. The plot all of a sudden began incorporating Sumerian mythology and closely referenced the Reptilian Conspiracy idea, which suggests {that a} group known as the Annunaki have been truly aliens that enslaved people up to now.
If that was the word the sport ended on, that may be loopy sufficient. The factor is, it in some way tops even that with an ending that, to today, baffles anybody who sees or hears about it. When your predominant character lastly reaches John Adams (sure, the previous second President of america), who seems to be a secret alien in Atlantis, a sign is shipped out that calls one other spaceship down. When it lands, who else however George Washington and Abraham Lincoln emerge and pledge to assist your character defeat the aliens as soon as and for all. If that is not the last word cliffhanger, I do not know what’s.
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6 Everlasting Darkness
Driving me loopy
Everlasting Darkness has garnered a cult following within the years since its launch on the GameCube and was even fairly extremely reviewed for the time. That mentioned, a horror recreation on a Nintendo console at the moment was combating an uphill battle. Once you add in simply how formidable this recreation was when it comes to storytelling and horror methods, it nearly felt destined to fail commercially. It is a recreation the place the story would not demand a sequel. Actually, all of it wraps up reasonably neatly for such a big story informed throughout so many time durations. The explanation I, and lots of others, desire a sequel is due to the notorious sanity results.
Whereas taking part in Everlasting Darkness, your present character has three meters: well being, magic, and sanity. The primary two are widespread in video games, however that third one is the place Everlasting Darkness stands out. When your sanity begins to get low, unusual issues occur. You would possibly enter a room and be on the roof. You may be strolling alongside and your character’s head merely falls off. However the most effective ones broke the fourth wall, corresponding to your TV quantity turning all the way in which down by itself, or the sport telling you your save file was deleted while you attempt to save the sport. These introduced the concern out of the sport in a manner I might by no means seen earlier than and hardly have since. Sadly, Silicon Knights isn’t any extra, and even the non secular successor the previous staff tried to kickstart failed miserably.
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