There is nothing worse than finishing a game you love and realizing that that is the end. No more of your beloved characters, no more adventures. Some games just need a sequel, no matter how many years it’s been.
Some titles that need a sequel
Too many games brought something to the table that has just never been repeated. Some characters have a charm that no others do. Some stories are just never quite finished. And, for me, some gameplay has just never quite been matched.
Whether it is because the original sales didn’t do too well or the studio got bought out, sometimes we are just left hanging. Either way, there are many games out there that I would love to see brought back from the dead and given the sequel they deserve.
Conkers Bad Fur Day
Maybe the sequel to Conkers Bad Fur Day wouldn’t exactly fit in today’s social framework, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting it. This game had me in stitches when I was younger, and that isn’t too common these days.
The off-color humor, weird-level design, and intermittent film quotes made for an experience quite unlike any other. Bashing my way through the daily chores of Conker was something that has stuck with me forever. The outrageous one-liners, rampant alcoholism, and adult themes set this game apart from the rest. I mean, how many games have a musical piece done by an enormous poo?
The chances of ever seeing the urinating, beer-drinking, womanizing squirrel returning to our screens is nigh on impossible. The title was owned by Rare, and they’re dead and gone. The original game also saw quite low sales due to its niche audience.
However, over time, the game has gathered quite the cult status. Maybe, if we’re lucky, someone will be brave enough to pick up the game for the long-awaited sequel.
Left 4 Dead
Yes, we got a second game as a sequel, but three is the correct number. It has been too long since the last game came out, and the one-of-a-kind zombie survival game needs a reboot. Nothing since has quite matched the fun of zombie slaying like the first two games.
The problem lies with Valve. They have a real aversion to making a third game, as noted later on in the list. One and two is fine, but making a third game, no matter the success of the first two, is always a no-go.
The company, Turtle Rock Studios, that made the first game also made Back 4 Blood, but that just didn’t sit right. What we need is the magic of Left 4 Dead 2 brought through to the modern age in the sequel to the second. It could be called Left 3 Dead or something.
Titanfall
I feel like Titanfall 2 was a slow burner on everyone’s lists. Looking at the Steam player charts, it makes a remarkable comeback about once a year. Titanfall 2 actually hit its second-ever highest player count in 2023, with 22,733 players. This is a call for a sequel to the game if I have ever seen one.
Free running, mech warrior fighting, energy weapon wielding mayhem has never felt so good as with Titanfall 2. Along with the majorly addictive multiplayer comes the engaging and deep campaign that will have you hooked. No corner was cut when producing this game, and it is ripe for a sequel. And lest I forget to mention that Titanfall 2’s fifth level, the story mission called “Effect and Cause,” is one of the best single-player levels ever made. That level alone is worth the price of admission and only scratches the surface of what a third entry in the series could hold.
Respawn Entertainment hasn’t been slacking, though. They haven’t brought out a sequel, but in the meantime, they have produced Apex Legends and Jedi: Fallen Order. These are two huge titles and ones that no doubt take up a lot of the team’s time. However, I really think they should consider putting their newfound piles of cash towards Titanfall 3.
Bully
Yet again, this is one of those games that didn’t get a sequel because it didn’t do quite as well as it should have on release. Bully was overshadowed by a lot of the other Rockstar games out there and was marketed badly. However, it is a classic that sits fondly in many gamers’ hearts.
A sequel to Bully could so easily see another misguided youth moving their way through the daily politics of high school life. The sequel could even have the return of James Hopkins as he slowly makes his way up the education system. The grand finale could be him graduating from college and leading beautifully into a new GTA. My contact details are on my profile page. Rockstar, I’ll be awaiting your call.
I think the market is ready for another high school game. Hogwarts Legacy has done unbelievably well. It’s time we got one in which you can wedgie your teacher.
Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs did something that the other third-person open-world RPGs weren’t doing. United Front Games took the focus away from gunplay and put it directly into hand-to-hand combat. This was a new approach for the genre, and one, I think, worked beautifully.
Upgrading moves and punching my way through the Japanese Triads made me feel like the hardcore street cop I was tasked with playing. As a fan not only of gritty crime fiction but also Japanese cop movies, it hit all the right spots.
Of course, Yakuza is out there, but it just doesn’t quite do what a sequel to the 2012 game would do. Sleeping Dogs took itself seriously, and it painted a picture of corruption and hardship that a lot of others in the genre haven’t matched. I would love to see a sequel to the game released, making the most of beautiful ray tracing and modern engines to bring the mean streets to life.
Mirrors Edge
Free running, rooftops, gunplay, VR. It all just makes sense, and why Mirrors Edge 2 wasn’t a release for the PSVR 2 is beyond me. I think they would have sold millions more headsets if they had just put money into the second Mirrors Edge sequel to the first of the games.
Mirrors Edge had a flow and crispness to the movement and rhythm that doesn’t exist in many other games. I recently reviewed Ghost Runner 2 and noted the similarities between the two, but the concise, sleek speed of Mirrors Edge belongs to that game alone.
With the new advances in VR technology, I don’t feel that there are enough games out there that make the most of it. A rehash of Mirrors Edge could be just the thing to not only bring in a new crowd but also cause some serious motion sickness.
Shadow of The Colossus
I know The Last Guardian is out there, and of course, I will never forget ICO, but I want to see something else. The other two are spiritual successors based in the same universe, but they’re not what I am talking about.
I want to see Collosi, I want the studio to go back and bring to life the game they left buried under so many layers of map and code. Anyone familiar with the game will probably know about the legends of the lost Collosi. The game, as is common today, was rushed out and resulted in a lot of cut content. It originally intended to have a total of 48 but only ended up featuring 16.
Ever since my university days, when I delved far too deep into the myths and tales hidden behind the lost Colossi for a university piece, I have dreamed of a completed game. I would love to see a sequel in which the game’s finished world exists. To be able to see new, hulking monsters patrolling the desolate wastelands of Shadow of The Colossus rendered in modern graphics would be a dream.
The emptiness and freedom of interpretation given by the first game leaves the world open to so much more. The foundations for a second game are broad and could support anything the developers could want to build on it.
Honorary Mention: Half-Life
This is the one that has been on everyone’s game sequel list since before the dawn of time, and we all know it isn’t gonna happen. Gabe hates trilogies, and we need just to accept that as a fact.
Half-Life: Alyx was a masterpiece and did what the first two games did – it pushed the boundaries of what we understand as gameplay and introduced us to the capabilities of what our technology can do. The first two captured the hearts and minds of gamers for exactly this reason. They gave us the chance to play games in a way that felt completely new and wrapped it up in an amazing storyline.
Alyx is not the sequel, though, and we all know it. We want a third game, and I feel that until technology progresses enough for Valve to consider it worthy, we’re just going to wait. This is one of these games that may just never end up seeing a sequel.
