Console launches are typically one of the most exciting times to be a gamer. Earlier in the console cycle, while we waited for the heavy-hitting software like Uncharted 4 and Halo 5, we were eager to pick up anything that showed off the potential of our brand new gaming machines. Adopting a new piece of hardware at launch is always a gamble, especially when the majority of titles that release early in a new generation of consoles tend to underwhelm.
For a developer with an interesting new idea for a franchise, poor sales or middling review scores shouldn’t have to be the end. With the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One far behind us, and E3 approaching quickly, here is a list of a few such games that deserve a sequel or follow-up to win us over.
The Order: 1886
Developer: Ready At Dawn
Release Date: Feb 20, 2015
What it Was:Ready at Dawn’s Victorian tale of knights and werewolves failed to deliver for a lot of eager fans. The cutscenes, characters and environment models all looked stunning but the gameplay felt bland and the story left something to be desired. The Order: 1886 showed off the powerhouse performance of the PlayStation 4, presenting one of the most cinematic game experiences seen to date. Unfortunately the big werewolf encounters teased in the atmospheric trailers were too brief, sometimes limited to single button prompts. The game’s length caused a noticeable backlash, when players discovered there were only about five hours of gameplay including the drawn-out cutscenes.
What We Want to See Next: Many gamers were turned off by The Order: 1886’s uninspired gameplay. Aiming to fire while your character was in cover felt stiff, remarkably like a ‘last-gen’ experience. A sequel should look to games like The Last Of Us for inspiration, which managed to mix fast-paced enemy encounters in tight hallways with larger areas that offer an opportunity for exposition and dialogue. The gorgeous cinematics should come back, but include more action-oriented gameplay between them. With deeper shooting mechanics and less quick time encounters, more engaging gameplay would keep players invested in the story as it moves forward.
Sunset Overdrive
Developer: Insomniac Games
Release Date: October 28, 2014
What it Was: Sunset Overdrive is easily the most celebrated game to appear on this list. Everything about this game oozed personality, from the goofy character creation options to the colorful cast and meme-filled dialogue. Instead of the melancholy grays and browns of a typical post-apocalyptic city, the landscape featured vibrant orange and gooey greens with fantastic traversal mechanics. There were creative weapons and zombie-like creatures to fight, but they were maniacs addled by a poisonous energy drink rather than scientific horrors. Insomniac Games nailed the game’s controls, as it played like a mix of Jet Set Radio and Gears of War set in a cartoony open world.
What We Want to See Next: Sunset Overdrive didn’t connect with a big audience at launch, but recently received a boost in attention thanks to the Games with Gold program, and that might get gamers who initially missed it to fall in love and put a sequel on their radar. The multiplayer and co-op were fun additions that felt inspired by Borderlands. Branching out the RPG systems present, like looting and weapon crafting could give the game another layer of depth to keep players hooked. Borrowing the raid strike concepts from Destiny and The Division feels like a natural progression if Sunset Overdrive wants to offer more options for players to team up.
Ryse: Son of Rome
Developer: Crytek
Release Date: November 22, 2013
What it Was: Ryse: Son of Rome tells the story of Marius Titus, a revenge-seeking soldier blazing a warpath through gorgeous battlefields and colosseums. Crytek’s Xbox One launch title was a thoughtful recreation of life in Rome, from the detailed armor, to the way shield-carrying soldiers marched in phalanx formation to defend their captain from a flurry of flaming arrows. Before Microsoft decided to move away from the idea, Ryse was designed as a Kinect-heavy experience from the first-person perspective. The gameplay was conceived around motions that could be physically performed by players commanding in-game soldiers. Many of the combat encounters felt on-rails and clunky, left to play out like glorified quick-time events.
What We Want to See Next: Much like The Order: 1886, Ryse’s problem wasn’t with presentation but rather how the game played. Ryse’s potential was neutered by its inception as an interactive movie, but the finished product ended up being a serviceable third-person action game. Shifting to a more robust hack-and-slash style of faster swordplay would do wonders for this series. Taking down enemy soldiers should feel rewarding rather than cumbersome, and the combo-chain focused frenetic action of games like the Bayonetta and Batman games would work well in these environments. Increasing enemy variation is a must too, as no one wants to beat up the same faceless swordsman over and over again.
Find out what we hope to see in Watch Dogs 2 and other potential sequels on page 2.