In 2022, a number of new IPs came into the spotlight, many of whom thought that they might have interesting futures will go ahead, although a number of new franchises weren’t among them. Sequels aren’t often as exciting as new IPs inherently are, but they can build on existing foundations to deliver more efficient experiences. Thankfully, many such games have been played over the last 12 months. I was going to talk about the things that we loved.
GOD OF WAR RAGNAROK
Calling Ragnarokone of the most highly anticipated releases in recent memory will be a massive understatement, but how it did, nevertheless, successfully reaches the highest expectations. With its incredible combat and consistently engaging exploration, the game builds on its predecessors gameplay core in excellent ways, while the story builds on an excellent job of raising the scope of the series further, while simultaneously bringing the Norse saga to a close and teasing up exciting things for the future.
A PLAGUE TALE: USE A REQUIREMENT.
Asobo Studio delivered the textbook definition of a frank bear with The Plague Tale: Innocence in 2019, and this year a sequel hobged the ball in the park again and gave it the lead. The Plague Tale brings the original style to the most famous classic with original ties. While it is a fairly small team and so it’s arguably one of the best games we have played today.
SHADOW WARRIOR 3
Shadow Warrior 3nt did obliviously fire a world’s world when it went public this year. While there were certain shortcomings in the game that makes it easy to understand it, the game did not look even like an easy one. To those who invested in the series, this was a very good time. The hard part of the loot mechanics of its predecessor would not be able to focus on a much mailre and more adrenaline-fueled combat loop, but also became more interesting and rich with the enjoyable and dynamic traversal mechanics. It’s good for fans of this genre.
BAYONETTA 3
We waited for this game a long time, and because of the lack of radio silence that happened most of the time, PlatinumGames and Nintendo couldn’t wait even more torturous. A good title has been made by Jolly. All of the series’ hallmark characteristics are displayed in full display here, from its elegant and mechanically dense combat to the ridiculous sense of scale we all know and love. The whole collection was cranked up to 11 at once. It may not touch a height ofBayonetta, but quite often, it’s really near.
SPLATOON 3
Splatoon 3 is a textbook example of an iterative sequel, but if that weren’t enough, it reverted, the first era. The thrill of battling a team for the crown of the prize in a competition of whoever can cover the map in their choice was an amazing experience since the originalsplatoon broke out, and remained in this area just as fun in the game three. Add to the solid single player campaign, and you get a great sequel.
HORIZON VEROZON FORBIDDEN WEST.
Horizon Forbidden Westdoes almost everything we could have wanted a sequel to the Horizon Zero Dawnto. You’re larger and better in almost every way- the many great machines that roam its huge and beautiful world are an absolute joy to use in combat, the progress mechanics have been significant improved, and no matter where you go in the world, there is always something fun to do (and that’s all that amazing). It doesn’t really take much risks, but when it’s as good as it is likeHorizon Forbidden Westis, it must be very serious.
XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 3
Yenoblade Chroniclesas a franchise has wowed us since its inception and is surely getting lots of fuel left in the tank. While the third installment in most successful franchises might settle into a familiar groove,Xenoblade Chronicles 3ii decides to do its own thing. Sure, its very much an iterative sequel in terms of combat and world design, but at the end of the story it gets very bold. The way that can be a self-sufficient story while still ingeniously tying that to the original story cannot be praised enough.
YES FROM MONKEY ISLAND!
Once old and beloved media franchises return from long hiatuses, often they go in too hard to enjoy nostalgia, and in doing so, they are losing control of themselves.Return to Monkey Islandsidesteps that problem in depth. I don’t know about nostalgia mining here. For example, it’s just enough for the series,Return to Monkey Islanddoes that in so funny and somehow bizarre ways. Its story is fascinating from start to finish, the author is sharp and sharp, and puzzles are an absolute blast, so there is some of the best solutions for modernising the experience and improving quality. Now this is what you call a triumphant return.
YING LIGHT LOT 2 STAY HUMANS.
Techland had made it clear that it had no intention of becoming bigger and better withDying Light 2, Stay Human,and that its safe to say that the game won’t disappoint (for the most part). It is still a little rough around the edges and has plenty of room for improvement, but, on the other hand, it is concocts a good game loop focused on parkour and slick first-person combat. In addition to day and night cycling, there is excellent use for a big open space. There’s always risk in exploring the massive open world. As far as he came away,Dying Light 2 Stay Humanise is very much a diamond in the rough.
RUSH LEGACY 2
The wait for the book of the trilogy may be very long, but most fans were confident that their patience would be rewarded- was also wrong. Several good rogue titles have benefited us for a while. However, Rogue Legacy 2surely is a good fit in that series. Addictive advancement mechanics, pixel-perfect platforming and combat, incredible boss battles, finetuned difficulty, impressive and flexible build variety- all of this and more.Rogue Legacy 2delivers in the spades.
HARBELLI & RABBIDS HOPE SPORTS.
Unfortunately, when people decide to play something safe, not many sequels like that in this list,Mario + Rabbids of Hopeboldly decided to shake up their winning formula. It was a gamble that paid off, because incredibly, its an even better, much better and more full-featured experience than its predecessor. The new and improved combat system feels more powerful, with a significantly increased focus on exploration, a wide array of character options to use in combat, each more fun than the last one, and the deeper RPG mechanics make progress feel rewarding throughout the experience. One-upppingKingdom war wasn’t easy, but to be a true peacekeeper.
SNIPER ELITE 5 (SNIPER ELITE)
Sniper Elite has always been a classic example of a niche, double AA franchise, but still has a lot of traction with fans.Sniper Elite 5 follows all the improvements that the series has made over the last two years, hones them to an incredibly polished game, and sets them together in a solid, entertaining military stealth game that fans will love. With vast maps, emergent stealth mechanics, a focus on player agency, and more,Sniper Elite 5deliver solid stealth experience in a industry in which they were starved for them.
SONIC FRONTIERS
Sonicfans don’t like hearing this, but series 3D efforts over the last 10 or so have been in complete dissatisfaction. As the next big 3DSonicgame and will go with you for a long time and be able to reinvent the franchise, the original Frontiers will be quite successful – and, for the most part, it delivers. Certainly this might be aSonicgame if it didn’t have a lot of baffling design decisions and frustrating issues, butSonic Frontiersmanages are working to defeat those with a very good core and inherently fun gameplay. For the future, it seems to be the foundation for the series that will hopefully continue to build on a lot better than it has been in the past.