Every year, we get a slew of incredible games that simply don’t get a fair shake in terms of sales and popularity. These titles, despite being experiences that deserve to be played, are usually victims of circumstance. Either they launch alongside highly acclaimed entries in long-running franchises, or they introduce a new series that a lot of people are too skeptical to invest in. It’s disheartening when a quality endeavor fails to deliver high sales figures, and it’s even more upsetting when we never see those franchises again. With a new console generation on the horizon, however, there's plenty of room for some quality sequels, and there's definitely a possibility for success when you consider the fact that new consoles need games despite all of their snazzy new features.
Here are 10 disappointingly underrated titles that deserve a second chance in the form of a sequel on the next crop of video game platforms.
Mirror's Edge
In before the comments section below gets filled to the brim with “What about Mirror's Edge, you d*ck?!” comments. In all seriousness, Mirror's Edge was a clever first-person parkour platformer that featured bright visuals and tons of style. The game certainly wasn't flawless, but it was good enough to warrant a sequel. We've yet to see the true continuation of this franchise, but with EA not ruling anything out, there's a good chance we'll see the return of runner extraordinaire Faith Connors someday. Thankfully, it's looking more and more likely that Mirror's Edge 2 will happen thanks to a listing appearing on the German Amazon storefront.
Alone in the Dark
The reaction to Alone in the Dark didn't propel the game into cult status like Deadly Premonition, but the verdict on this survival horror game was quite split. While it did require a bit of patience to really enjoy, this adventure was filled with a bunch of puzzles and great ideas, some of which fully realized their potential. With the tech we're bound to get with the next wave of consoles and developers continuing to raise the bar and move forward, an Alone in the Dark sequel could very well be a survival horror fan's dream come true.
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Some of the top caliber fantasy action-adventure franchises of the last several years include instant standout hits such as The Legend of Zelda, God of War, and Shadow of the Colossus. It makes sense, then, that something more obscure like Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom didn’t shine as brightly as it could have. Ultimately, the game’s audience was split between people who dug certain aspects of the experience and others who absolutely cherished the entire package. Majin has drawn comparisons to Ico and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West due to its companion mechanic, but unlike those games, the majority of fantasy action-adventure fans just didn’t seem to catch on. With such a wondrous world, a larger-than-life monster protagonist, and genuinely enjoyable gameplay, let’s hope we see a sequel to this terribly underrated fantasy adventure in the future.
Syndicate
In 2012, Starbreeze Studios set out to reboot the Syndicate franchise. The developer took the aptly titled Syndicate and went in a more traditional FPS experience compared to the tactical entries in the franchise from the '90s. Still, some interesting enemy control mechanics and fun co-op were blended with rewarding shooting gameplay to create a truly magnificent game. Despite being critically praised, Syndicate fared poorly in terms of sales. Let's hope the low profit margin of the game doesn't discourage a sequel from being developed somewhere down the road.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
It's possible that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will largely be remembered as that one game that was released by that one company owned by that one former athlete who screwed a bunch of his employees before the studio went under. Well, when you look past all of that, Amalur was actually a fine game. Its hack-and-slash combat and customization elements came together to form an entertaining Western RPG that was worthy of merit. With co-publisher and developer 38 Studios no longer around, the future of the Amalur brand is unclear at best. Still, if some publisher and developer want to team up and release a spiritual successor, that would be pretty cool.
Rage
A lot of the disappointment surrounding Rage was geared toward its lack of innovation. Despite its dystopian appeal and insane amount of hype, the id Software-developed project wasn’t heralded as the next amazing shooter. That’s a bummer, because while it may not have been all that revolutionary, it was still a great FPS. Rage was id Software doing what it does best: delivering an outstanding, cathartic, action-packed shooter. This game was about taking on hordes of enemies old school-style and pumping them full of bullets. Rage didn’t bring anything new to the table, but it did provide one of the best pure FPS experiences of 2011, loaded with great visuals and some of the most realistic character animations of this console generation. Imagine what id could do with a next-gen sequel.
Singularity
While Rage may have suffered from not evolving the FPS, Singularity was celebrated for successfully borrowing various genre elements and making them its own. Was it wholly original? Not quite. Regardless of that, Singularity was surprisingly solid and delivered each of its mechanics in prime fashion, capitalizing on the successes of past shooters and even throwing in some insane power-ups for good measure. The game was a highly entertaining romp, and the fact that fans may never get a sequel is downright shameful. Here's hoping those rumors about a Singularity 2 turn out to be true once the next generation of video game hardware arrives.
Wet
When Wet hit the scene in 2009, it delivered a highly stylized experience that sadly didn’t appeal to the masses. Sure, the game wasn’t exactly varied, but it was still enjoyable and totally awesome, putting you in the shoes of a kickass bounty hunter named Rubi Malone. Wet was soaked in blood and gore, sending players on an immensely satisfying B-movie ride that blended shooting gameplay with good ol’ fashioned slicing and dicing. The game featured bold grindhouse elements that were undeniably Tarantino-esque and a rad punk rock and rockabilly soundtrack. Bethesda went on to say that it won’t be publishing a sequel, and all rumors about a Wet 2 game were disregarded. Here’s hoping the franchise gets picked up by another company down the road so we can get that sequel.
Shadows of the Damned
Suda51, Shinji Mikami, and Akira Yamaoka formed the supergroup behind Shadows of the Damned. It’s saddening that even with such star power, this action-shooter didn’t fare all that well commercially. Reviews were positive, but with subpar marketing on EA’s part, Shadows of the Damned was doomed before it even launched. The gameplay was excitingly blissful, throwing protagonist Garcia Hotspur right in the center of Hell to seek out his love Paula. With his trusty sidekick gun Johnson to aid him, nothing would stop Hotspur from succeeding on his quest. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the sales of Shadows of the Damned. These days you can find the game at retailers for a fairly low price. If you’ve yet to play it, give it a shot. We may never get a sequel, but that could always change. Here’s hoping it does.
Sleeping Dogs
Like a lot of the games on this list, Sleeping Dogs was never going to win any awards for originality. Simply put, this was just a wonderful open world crime game that resulted from the cancelation of True Crime: Hong Kong. After Activision pulled the plug on that endeavor, Square Enix picked up the rights to the project, and thus developer United Front Games continued work on the newly titled Sleeping Dogs. What the game offered was a hell of an action-adventure experience set in a crime-filled Hong Kong. Some crazy moments, awesome characters, and a compelling protagonist made this a thrilling open world game that wasn't exactly evolutionary or revolutionary, but it was still ridiculously entertaining.
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