Many gamers quite rightly frown upon developers releasing sequels on a yearly basis. This is especially so for games that bring very little that is new to the table. Many games like sports titles or popular shooters are nothing more than yearly updates with new scenery and a few extra guns or an updated roster.
However, not all sequels are identical clones of its predecessor designed to rinse more cash out of the consumer. The best games are the ones that the developer has clearly spent a long time on not only improving everything about its predecessors but meeting the fan’s expectations and making the game feel like a real evolution built of the foundations the original. This list of ten of the best sequels in the last decade according to Metacritic reflects the hard work every developer has put into their games.
10 Persona 5 (Metascore 93)
Released worldwide in 2017 for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4, Persona 5 is a Japanese RPG set in a modern-day Tokyo. Even though the Persona series is by far the most mainstream JPRG from developers Atlus it’s actually a spin-off from the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series.
Persona 5 takes inspiration from Picaresque Novels and to some degree comic book superheroes. The game is mainly set in a high school academy where the party members interact and develop relationships with each other. It’s stylish, more accessible than its predecessors, and has incredibly deep character development. Those looking to dive into the world of Persona 5 should pick up the expanded version Persona 5 Royal.
9 Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (Metascore 93)
Released exclusively for the PlayStation 4 in 2016, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is an action-adventure game that takes inspiration from the Indiana Jones movies. Its shooting mechanics resemble cover shooters like the Gears of War series while implementing stealth and hand-to-hand combat.
Uncharted 4 was one of the first games that really showed off what the PlayStation 4 was capable of in terms of graphics, lighting, character models, sound design, and unprecedented attention to detail. Just like its predecessors, Uncharted 4 is one of the most cinematic experiences in gaming.
8 Starcraft II: Wings Of Liberty (Metascore 93)
Released in 2010 for the PC, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is a real-time strategy game developed by Warcraft and Diablo creators Blizzard Entertainment. The game and its expansions have earned huge critical acclaim and transcended early criticisms of being simply being “Warcraft in space”.
Starcraft II became a worldwide phenomenon in competitive gaming events with the majority of the game’s biggest eSports events taking place in South Korea. However, the multiplayer aside, it’s easy to forget that Starcraft II has a fantastic and lengthy campaign mode.
7 Divinity: Original Sin II (Metascore 93)
The world of Original Sin II features one of the most realistically reactive worlds ever seen in a videogame. The world grows and develops around the choices player makes and there’s very rarely a simple choice as every action has a consequence that can come back to haunt the player even hours later.
6 Batman: Arkham City (Metascore 94)
2011’s Batman: Arkham City is the sequel to the game that changed the face of superhero games forever, Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game was first released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii U, and the PC before it was remastered for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Arkham City gave gamers a more open-world environment which gave gamers their first real chance to take down street thugs as the titular Batman. Just like its predecessor, it showed that the developers Rocksteady really understood exactly what makes Batman work as a superhero in a videogame.
5 Portal 2 (Metascore 95)
The original Portal released by Half-Life developers Valve seemed like something of a beautiful experiment that became one of the most original and cleverly designed puzzle games in a generation.
The sequel Portal 2 released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PC in 2011 was an improvement in every way. The game rightly won critical acclaim and awards for its originality, writing, and voice acting provided by Stephen Merchant and J.K. Simmons. Additionally, the game’s difficulty and the learning curve is perfectly balanced and seems to develop its difficulty in a way that feels natural and satisfying.
4 Mass Effect 2 (Metascore 96)
Released worldwide in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and the PC, Mass Effect 2 is the direct sequel to the epic science fiction RPG developed by BioWare. The game was a massive improvement over its predecessor and the player really felt like a small part of a massive and expansive universe.
Character choices mattered and gave players a different experience on multiple playthroughs, and the combat system was more action-oriented but still perfectly implemented the game’s RPG mechanics in a way that harked back to BioWare’s previous RPGs.
3 Red Dead Redemption 2 (Metascore 97)
Red Dead Redemption 2 was released in 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, with PC and Google Stadia versions following in 2019. Like its predecessor which was released in 2010, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an open-world action-adventure game set in the American Wild West.
RDR2 is actually a prequel to the first game and features a new protagonist in Arthur Morgan although the first game’s protagonist John Marston also has his own part to play too. It’s a huge expansive game with a massive world to explore and a lengthy campaign. It’s also one of the best looking open-world games released this generation with an attention to detail that is second to none.
2 Grand Theft Auto V (Metascore 97)
First released in 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 and then remastered for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One in 2014 and in 2015 for the PC, Grand Theft Auto V was another benchmark set by its developers Rockstar in open-world gaming.
Seven years on and there are few games that can match its presentation and brilliantly designed world and massive single-player campaign. Additionally, thanks to its online modes which allow up to the 30 players online at once, GTAV is a regular in the top ten gaming charts.
1 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Metascore 97)
Released exclusively for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, Super Mario Galaxy 2 three years after the critically acclaimed original. It was originally planned as an extended version of the first game but the developers added so much more content that it became fully-fledged sequel instead.
While it is true that Super Mario Galaxy 2 is more of the same, the experience has still been refined in a way that it improves on its predecessor to make it a worthwhile experience. Furthermore, there’s no denying that it’s an incredibly fun game with clever puzzles, world design, and difficulty that builds naturally without ever feeling too challenging.
NEXT: The 10 Best Nintendo Games Of The Decade (According To Metacritic)
