Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

There isn’t a heap of enemy variety in Nathan Drake’s first outing in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Mercs and pirate-types aside, the monster-like infected Descendants at least provide a terrifying alternative when they first arrive. Their persistence does start to wain though, but still, the game excels as a piece of cinematic storytelling more than anything, and the Descendants provide a firm narrative backbone to support ultimate final boss Atoq Navarro’s stance that the pathogen which formed the Descendants is far more valuable than any golden treasure. Drake and Navarro’s showdown is more a stand-off than battle; Drake waits for him to reload, edges closer in three movements, a brief bit of hand-to-hand, QTE, done.

Far Cry 2

Yet another excellent game that doesn’t really have a boss battle. It has enemies, of course, some weaker, some stronger, but in a genre where there are at least one or two boss fights, Far Cry 2 stands alone. The assassination of the game’s faction bosses and old lieutenants is rudimentary, with primary antagonist The Jackal – the arms dealer whom your mercenary was originally hired to kill – serving more as a narrative think-piece as the story goes on. He’s someone believed to be bad by profiting from death, but that’s exactly what you do in order to get close to him. A final showdown wouldn’t make sense in this context.

Prey (2017)

Prey (2017) has no boss fights whatsoever. Sure, the substantially dangerous form of Typhon the Nightmare perpetually antagonises the player throughout the game but the fact killing it is optional, either slay or evade, means it can’t be considered a true boss fight. It’ll respawn anyway, whatever you do. The most humungous of all Typhon, the Apex, doesn’t need to be fought in the traditional sense either. There are two ways to kill it: one, self-destruct Talos I, and two, detonate the Coral to destroy the Apex without damaging Talos I. Even central antagonist Walther Dahl doesn’t need to be killed, with distinct outcomes depending on whether you choose to kill or stun him.

Deus Ex

In Deus Ex, you will engage enemies on the elite side of difficulty but the game’s usual fayre of tactical, first-person combat involving stealth, cover, and hit-and-run strategy is consistent with regular hordes of enemies as it is the elite. A principal idea – and a relatively ground-breaking one for the time – in Deus Ex is for the player to spend their time developing their stealth skills alongside augmenting their character’s nano-tech. It’s a system seen today in games like Cyberpunk 2077, a multi-directional upgrade tree that can tune player-characters towards damage absorbing human tanks, weapons specialists, or hacking and lock picking experts. There just aren’t any major bosses with which to test your builds and skills, but Deus Ex still shines as a bright forbearer for dystopian RPGs to this day regardless.

The Last of Us

Another Naughty Dog entry on this rundown. Plainly, the studio just isn’t that fond of boss battles, and this is true of their zombie-ravaged post-apocalyptic survive-a-thon series (the horrifying Rat King from The Last of Us 2 aside). Joel and Ellie’s first outing sees the pair face-off in arena-type locales against overpowered enemies – the bloaters in the school gymnasium and the creepy hotel basement spring to mind – but these are strong, recurring enemies consistent with the timeframe in which the host has been infected, according to The Last of Us lore. The one possible exception in is Ellie’s battle with David inside the burning restaurant. It’s a one-on-one battle of wits, but Ellie at the time doesn’t have any of her inventory so it can be argued this encounter is not a true boss fight.

Max Payne 2

Remedy Entertainment’s bullet-time third-person shooter started out with numerous boss fights; mobsters, in the first Max Payne, who could withstand heaps of punishment. Max Payne’s second entry largely did away with this formula. Leader of the Squeaky Cleaning Company Kaufman was a tougher than usual foe, but still didn’t take too many bullets before going down. The game’s final battle against Vladimir Lem plays out more like a puzzle encounter than a one-on-one fight of brute force. Max must shoot the legs of the scaffolding Vlad is standing on then take out the support of the spire above him before being able to target him directly. The final phase is akin to a boss fight, to be fair, but it’s barely a test.

Red Dead Redemption

Like Naughty Dog, Rockstar are a studio which by-and-large eschew boss battles in their open world games. Red Dead Redemption is no different; there are no major boss fights to speak of. Central antagonists Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, and Dutch van der Linde whom John Marston is forced into hunting down across the vast Wild West don’t have final encounters resembling boss fights. The only encounter close to a boss fight is Jack Marston’s duel with Bureau of Investigation ringleader Edgar Ross, but this is just a duel – a dishonourable one for Ross – but a commonplace duel all the same. This encounter only has notoriety for the gravitas of revenge attuned to it by John’s son Jack.

Grand Theft Auto IV

The only conceivable boss fight in Grand Theft Auto history is the showdown with Big Smoke in GTA: San Andreas. All other fights, even against central antagonists, are gunfights or chases against narratively significant adversaries, but they’re not stronger than regular enemies. Niko’s final showdown and execution of Pegorino, accessible via the revenge ending option, is a thrilling chase sequence rather than one-on-one boss fight. Prior to this, Niko’s final encounter with major tormentor Dimitri Rascalov involves sneaking through the decks and cargo holds of the Platypus, with a brief cutscene emerging once Niko has wiped out all Rascalov’s goons.

Watch_Dogs 2

Another game with next to no boss-like encounters in this rundown, this hacktivism sequel takes a more nuanced approach to dealing with its antagonists. Case in point, Mark Thruss’s comeuppance comes when player-character Marcus Holloway downloads and releases evidence of vote rigging before election day. Blume Corporation CTO and chief antagonist Dusan Nemec’s downfall comes after Marcus infiltrates Blume HQ and steals data corroborating DedSec’s accusation of Nemec’s wrongdoing. Henceforth he rots in jail forever.

Alien: Isolation

Yeah, you’re probably thinking that Alien: Isolation is a game with a boss encounter; the persistently stalking Xenomorph is surely the boss, right? Well, yeah, maybe. However, there’s no distinct boss battle or one-on-one fighting section to speak of. The Xenomorph, truth be told, is so overpowered, it’s an unkillable nemesis, so dangerous in fact its more prudent to run and hide than face it head on. You’ll only lose.

PS5 players gain access to the Standard Edition of Wild Hearts, Koei Tecmo’s ill-fated action RPG, and Ride 5. On the PS4 side, there are PS Plus re-releases like Watch Dogs 2 and Naruto to Bortuo: Shinobi Striker alongside Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet, and Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization.

If that’s not enough SAO, Premium subscribers gain exclusive access to the PS3 version of Sword Art Online: Lost Song, playable on PS4. Everyone else can settle in with TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for PS4 and PS5. Finally, PS VR/VR2 users can experience Vacation Simulator. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks, especially for titles leaving the service.

CONTROL

Those simply mainlining the game can finish Control in about a dozen hours, but with plenty of optional content also available, Remedy’s shooter is a game that you can easily get about 20 hours out of- and boy is it an unforgettable 20 hours. From excellent design and stellar atmosphere to bombastic action and gameplay, Control knows exactly how to keep you completely captivated from its first second until its last.

ALAN WAKE 2

Another Remedy Entertainment game, and a very different one from the one we just spoke about. As opposed to the adrenaline-fueled Control, Alan Wake 2 is much more deliberate and slower paced- and yet every second of this cerebral horror journey feels earned. Whether you’re playing as Alan in the horrifying Dark Place or as Saga in the safer yet still utterly bizarre real world, this is a game that never lets up.

LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN: THE MAN WHO ERASED HIS NAME

Ordinarily, a Yakuza / Like a Dragon game is not exactly the right choice for someone looking to play a brief, 15-20 hour game, but unlike its 50-100 hour behemoth siblings, last year’s Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name is a much shorter experience. Does it touch the heights that the likes of, say, Infinite Wealth or Yakuza 7 do? Maybe not. But with a strong story, predictably enjoyable brawler gameplay, and plenty of enjoyable side content, it’s well worth looking into nonetheless.

A PLAGUE TALE: REQUIEM

A shining example of how even smaller-budget games from independent teams can still deliver the kind of polished, compelling, narrative-driven experiences that you ordinarily expect from the AAA space, A Plague Tale: Requiem is everything that its excellent predecessor was, and then some. Delivering a solid blend of stealth, combat, storytelling, and light exploration, Asobo Studio’s action-adventure game is an 18-20 hour journey that shouldn’t be missed.

BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY

A major, AAA open world game being about 20 hours or so long for something looking to do the main story and a decent chunk of the side quests may be almost completely unheard of in 2024- but back in 2011, not only was Arkham City able to deliver that with no issues, in doing so, it also became widely touted as one of the greatest games ever made. You can foil The Joker and Hugo Strange’s plans, clean up the streets of Gotham City, and engage in a fair few optional quests and get a good, memorable 20 hours out of Batman: Arkham City.

MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2

So maybe a modern AAA open world game being about 20 hours long isn’t completely unheard of. In a market that’s grown an unhealthy obsession with making games larger, last year, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was all too happy to deliver a relatively brief experience (by modern open world standards, at the very least) and it was better for it. A largely well-told main story, gripping optional content, meaningful gameplay improvements on top of an already excellent foundation- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 checked pretty much all of the boxes that it needed to.

SLEEPING DOGS

Sleeping Dogs is forever going to be remembered as one of the most criminally underappreciated games of all time, and yes, we’re going to talk it up every chance it gets for exactly that reason- including now. Because, after all, you’re going to struggle to find too many games that will make as strong of an impression on you across a 15-20 hour runtime as Square Enix’s 2012 open world game will. Even now, mor than a decade on from its launch, Sleeping Dogs remains a great game to go back to.

STAR WARS JEDI: SURVIVOR

You can, of course, get way, way more than 20 hours out of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor if you choose to engage with its healthy quantities of optional content (which is excellent), but a quicker, briskly paced 20-hour story is also an option for those who want it. As the second instalment of the series Jedi: Survivor boasts stronger writing from a much more confident development team, with characters, a story, and gameplay improvements that all build on the first game’s foundations in meaningful ways.

METRO EXODUS

4A Games took the semi-open world approach with Metro Exodus, and fans of the game will tell you that it was absolutely the right choice. The post-apocalyptic shooter strikes an excellent balance between linear, scripted sections and more open-ended areas, while also delivering a much meatier experience than its two predecessors. Metro Exodus somehow manages to have its cake and eat it too, and stands as another great example of how balancing size against quality of content is perhaps way more important than pure quantity.

MAD MAX

Avalanche Studios has delivered a string of fun, explosive open world games over the years, so when people say that 2015’s Mad Max is easily one of the studio’s best games ever, you know that that’s not light praise. A blasted, desolate world full of zany personality, a strong gameplay foundation that emphasized explosive combat and vehicular action, and an addictive loop of content scattered throughout its world- in spite of being a classic case of “diamond in the rough”, 2015’s Mad Max still had all the elements in place to deliver a compelling gameplay experience. Of course, for anyone looking to do more than just the main story, the game is also much longer than 20 hours.

METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS

We could have included one of several Metal Gear Solid games in this feature, but for now, let’s just stick with this one. From a design and gameplay perspective, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a hell of a stealth game even now, well over a decade and a half from its launch, and on top of that, typically enough for a Kojima game, it’s also a cinematic masterpiece. Does it have its fair share of narrative issues? Boy, does it. But ultimately, there’s way, way more to love about this package than not.

PREY

Arkane’s 2017 revival of the sci-fi IP Prey was not at all what fans of the original 2006 game may have expected it would be, but as an immersive sim, it’s better than most similar games in existence. Anyone clocking 20 hours into this masterpiece is going to be assured of a gripping, intricately handcrafted gaming experience that you’re not likely going to forget anytime soon. You can, of course, get way more out of the game if you wish (especially if you play the excellent Mooncrash DLC), but even a runthrough of just its main story is heavily recommended.

MARVEL’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

We’d love to get a glimpse into an alternate reality where Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy released before Marvel’s Avengers did. The latter being as disappointing as it was led to poor sales for the former, but Eidos Montreal’s single-player action-adventure game was a really, really good game that deserved way more success. Boasting an incredibly written and wonderfully performed core cast of characters, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is an 18-20 hour journey that you shouldn’t be missing.

MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR

Obviously, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor can be significantly longer than 20 hours for those who wish to fully commit themselves to its open world, but even for someone just looking to play through its critical path, it’s a hell of a game. Slick combat and traversal, a fun take on a beloved IP and universe, and of course, an ingenious and innovative gameplay pillar in the Nemesis System- Shadow of Mordor has plenty of major strengths that make it an attractive prospect even now, a decade on from release.

WATCH DOGS 2

Whether or not we ever get a new Watch Dogs game is anyone’s best guess, but the franchise is, at the very least, going to have one major notch on its belt in the form of Watch Dogs 2. The sophomore Watch Dogs outing is still its best one, thanks to a fun, vibrant open world that was always a blast to explore and a much stronger cast of characters (coming with a much lighter tone) than its predecessor. Being a Ubisoft open world game, Watch Dogs 2 has dozens upon dozens of hours of content for players to dive into, but sticking to the golden path, you can hit credits in roughly 20 hours without too many issues.

WATCH DOGS 2

The Watch Dogs franchise obviously has its own unique DNA with its pseudo-cyberpunk trappings and its hacking-centric gameplay mechanics, but there’s still a lot of GTA in Ubisoft’s franchise, and no game captures that better than Watch Dogs 2. If what you’re looking for is a large open world sandbox where you can have all kinds of chaotic (and criminal) fun with solidly implemented mechanics, in addition to a healthy dose of GTA-esque missions and side activities, Watch Dogs 2 offers that in spades.

SAINTS ROW 4

By the time the Saints Row franchise got to its fourth instalment, it had moved quite far away from how similar it used to be to the Grand Theft Auto games in its earlier days, and though that’s a stick that’s often used to beat Saints Row 4 with, on its own merits, as an open world crime action game, there’s a lot to love about it. From the bombastic, over-the-top mechanics that the game arms you with to wreak havoc with in the world to just how fun it is to simply explore the sandbox and mess about with its systems, Saints Row 4 offers a solid dose of open world action.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

Let’s get to some of the painfully obvious picks now, because even though they’re obvious they’re well worth mentioning. Rockstar’s very own Red Dead Redemption 2 is, in fact, by far the best game on this list. Owing to its period setting, its more somber tone, and the added focus on character-driven storytelling, Red Dead 2 is obviously quite different from GTA in some key ways- but it’s a Rockstar open world. The sheer size of the map, the astounding variety and attention to detail it exhibits in spite of how large it is, the spectacularly designed content it’s brimming with, the complex web of systems that make the sandbox an infinitely enjoyable one- all of the hallmark Rockstar qualities you’d want in an open world game, Red Dead Redemption 2 delivers in extreme abundance.

GRAND THEFT AUTO 4

You don’t need us to tell you that you should be playing GTA 5 to scratch your GTA itch. More than a decade on from its launch, people can’t stop buying and playing it. That does mean, however, that some of its predecessors don’t get the retrospective attention that they deserve. Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance, has aged remarkably well. Not only does it have one of the strongest stories in the entire series, its open world is also one of the best-designed and most intricately detailed ones even today, so long after the game first came out. Do yourselves a favour and hop back into GTA 4, because it’s an absolute classic.

YAKUZA 5

Yakuza and Grand Theft Auto games might not be as similar as many often perceive them as, but particularly where Yakuza 5 is concerned, there’s a lot of GTA DNA in it. It is, for starters, one of the series’ larger games where pure real estate is concerned, while similar to GTA, it also offers a smattering of excellently designed side content that you can pour countless hours into. On top of that, you obviously have plenty of opportunities to commit outrageous crimes throughout the game’s world, and there are also multiple protagonists to play as, similar to GTA 5 (though that’s the case in several other Yakuza games as well, to be fair).

MAFIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION

2K’s Mafia franchise doesn’t put as much stock into the open world sandbox aspect of its experience as something like GTA does, instead putting the vast majority of its focus on storytelling. But even so, if you want to run and drive around an intricately crafted real-world (or real-world adjacent) city as a hardened criminal, Mafia: Definitive Edition is a game that’s likely to appeal to you. On top of that, it adds extra flavour of its own with an incredibly authentic and atmospheric period setting, allowing it to stand out in what’s clearly quite a crowded category.

FAR CRY 6

The Far Cry and GTA franchises have often had very similar sensibilities, in spite of how outwardly different they tend to be, and that’s abundantly evident in Far Cry 6 as well. Yes, having an open world that’s mostly wilderness and rural areas does give it a different flavour from Rockstar’s franchise (though Far Cry 6 does have way more urban environments than any of its predecessors), but from the systemic nature of its open world mechanics to the driving to so much more, Far Cry 6 does owe a lot of itself to GTA. 

GHOST RECON WILDLANDS

You might stand on the opposite sides of law in Ghost Recon Wildlands and Grand Theft Auto, but the former still borrows liberally from the latter in several respects. On top of offering a massive, systemic open world featuring third person shooter combat, Ghost Recon Wildlands is also a great game for someone who simply wants to get behind the wheel in a vehicle and cruise around the open world. And of course, it becomes doubly enjoyable if you’re doing all of that stuff in co-op.

JUST CAUSE 4

The Just Cause franchise has always been famous for its unique brand of open world chaos, and there’s plenty of that to go around in Just Cause 4 as well. Though the game is not without its issues in some key departments (like its storytelling and many of its bland missions), the actual sandbox itself is an absolute blast to exist in. From the explosive combat to the riotously fun wingsuit and grappling hook loop to the addition of extreme weather, Just Cause 4’s open world is brimming with opportunities to have fun of your own making.

CYBERPUNK 2077

Until quite recently, Cyberpunk 2077’s attempts to inject its open world with elements similar to the Grand Theft Auto games were unsuccessful ones, to say the least, but in the wake of Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty, that’s certainly no longer the case. The open world is alive and buzzing, and the game does an excellent job of immersing you in its dense metropolis. From driving around in your vehicles to engaging in a variety of side activities to committing crimes to your heart’s content and wrangling with the cops, Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty are the closest we’ve ever come to a futuristic take on GTA.

Before we proceed, keep in mind that we’re limiting this list only to games that are set in actual, real places, which games that are set in fictional places that are based on real locations won’t be included- so you won’t see games like Grand Theft Auto or Red Dead Redemption in here. With that out of the way, let’s get started.

SLEEPING DOGS

One of the most criminally underrated open world crime games we’ve ever played, Sleeping Dogs is something of a shoo-in for such a list. Its open world Hong Kong setting was one of its biggest highlights, thanks not only to how detailed and authentic it was, or how vibrant, alive, and dense it felt, but also how perfectly it served as a setting to the game’s bombastic combat and action.

We are, of course, talking about Watch_Dogs, which was an attempt to create a new-age open-world action game centered around hacking. Over the course of just three major entries, Watch_Dogs has managed to garner quite a following for itself, and the latest entry Legion has been received pretty well by fans and critics alike. However, it’s been close to three years since Legion came out and the lack of any updates on a new entry is rather surprising. So, what the hell is going on here?

The first Watch_Dogs was marketed as a showcase title for the power of eighth-generation consoles, and the E3 2012 gameplay trailer showcased a ton of impressive lighting effects and an open world that looked better than anything else on the market. Trees would sway to the tune of the winds, NPCs would behave in a realistic manner, the rain effects looked slick, and much more. Expectation from fans was at an all-time high, and all that was left for the developer was to deliver on its promise for Watch_Dogs to be a smash hit.

Watch_Dogs would finally release in May 2014, and it was generally well received among critics. A rather respectable Metacritic score of 80 backs that sentiment. Watch_Dogs had some fresh gameplay ideas, and while the open-world was generally cut from the same cloth as other open-worlds – it made for an enjoyable adventure nevertheless. The story surrounding Aiden Pearce’s revenge is compelling in some aspects, but it also felt a bit too bland as the characters lacked any form of personality.

But the biggest criticism by far with Watch_Dogs was its graphics downgrade. It was evident that corners had been cut when compared to that E3 trailer, and the visuals were just not up to those pre-release standards. This in turn sparked a ton of controversy over the internet and outrage. Despite being a decent game, Watch_Dogs is generally deemed as one of the biggest letdowns of that year. Regardless, Watch_Dogs managed to make some impressive sales with over 10 million copies sold in its lifetime. All in all, the developer knew that Watch_Dogs’ IP had a lot of potential, and there was money to be made with a potential sequel that can correct the original’s shortcomings.

Jump to November 2016, and Watch_Dogs 2 was released for consoles and PC after just being announced earlier that year. There was a ton of skepticism surrounding this release due to the first game’s controversies, but most of those worries eventually turned into anticipation as favorable reviews started flowing across the internet.

Watch_Dogs 2 transports players to a high-tech rendition of San Francisco, and you take on the role of a new protagonist Marcus Halloway as he joins the Dedsec organization in an effort to take down the intrusive ctOS 2.0 network. Watch_Dogs 2 ditches the overtly grim tone of the original, and instead presents a colorful cast of characters that have a ton of personality – and it works well to create a markedly more engaging narrative than the original.

The gameplay had also seen major improvements, with the addition of parkour being one of the biggest additions to the player’s set of movements. You also get new tools to play with such as drones and RC cars to remotely hack systems, and all of this beautifully comes together in the game’s set of open-ended missions where you can use these tools in interesting ways to complete objectives. Even the multiplayer component was a lot more fun this time around. It featured a total of four distinct game modes that served as a worthy distraction from the single-player component.

There were still some apparent technical flaws within the experience, which were later patched, but by and large – Watch_Dogs 2 was a worthy sequel that corrected almost every shortcoming of the original. Fans absolutely loved it, and the game once again sold pretty well – despite originally having fewer pre-orders than the first game. The developer reported that Watch_Dogs 2 sold well over 10 million copies, and now that the franchise’s reputation was restored once again, the future was looking pretty bright for the IP as a whole.

Fast forward to 2020, the industry saw the release of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X | S. A new Watch Dogs subtitled Legion also joined the party. The game followed a similar pattern of a relatively short marketing cycle with an announcement in 2019 and a release set to align with the new consoles’ release in late 2020. Set against the backdrop of a futuristic London, Legion offered a brand new twist to the Watch Dogs experience. Instead of playing as a fixed protagonist, you have the option to recruit any NPC to your cause and play as that person.

It’s a rather fresh mechanic that was executed well enough, though Legion was not immune to some inherent flaws that come along with this new system. Each NPC has their own set of abilities and special tools that enable more personal expression in the gameplay, but the lack of a well-written protagonist also means that you don’t get a story that involves any personal stakes.

As for the gameplay, Legion builds upon what came before – and refines the mechanics in some neat ways. The systemic open-world design of prior entries was brought over but since there were different characters to play, it also meant that there were different tools, gadgets, and styles to play with. The open world of futuristic London also looks stunning with excellent attention to detail. It’s a mostly great game, but reception seems to be somewhat divisive as some fans didn’t really jive with the play-as-anyone mechanic.

The developer tried to solve those complaints with Bloodline, a post-launch DLC. At the end of the day, despite some problems, Legion seems to have largely turned out to be a successful venture. We don’t know how much the game has sold to date, but Legion reportedly sold almost 2 million copies in just three days – which was an impressive start to say the very least.

It’s already close to three years since Legion released, and there’s little information on what’s next for the future of the franchise. Looking at release patterns of prior entries, The developer has churned out a new Watch_Dogs game every three to four years on average. Between this and the impressive sales of Legion, it’s a rather curious case as to why we haven’t heard anything of a new Watch Dogs in development.

As you can already imagine, it’s pretty hard to pinpoint why that is the case exactly, but all speculation point to Mirage being the biggest fish. In addition to the upcoming entry this year, we have Red, Hexe, and Jade in development right now alongside a VR game and a standalone multiplayer game called Invictus.

As such, the developer might just not have the bandwidth to undertake a new Watch_Dogs project at the moment, though we suspect that this will change at some point in the near future. Sales figures and critical reception are proof that there is a lot of potential in the Watch_Dogs IP, and it’s very likely that the developer will eventually circle back to this franchise. Exactly when, though? That is one question that will likely will not be answered for a while.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

However, there are games which turn out even better than expected. Even if they looked good, the final result is something truly special. Here are 15 games that are way better than they initially had any right to be.

Inside

Coming off the success of Limbo, Playdead Games began work on Inside, a spiritual successor of sorts. Many praised the former for its presentation and gameplay in 2010. However, despite starting development on Inside two months later, it was a long journey for the studio. Revealed in 2014, it faced some delays, which wasn’t enough to create overwhelming concern. At the time, many expected Inside to be good, but not that good.

And it was more than good on release in 2016. Earning near-universal praise from critics, its dark mood and storytelling were arguably superior to Limbo. The short length also exemplified how a video game could deliver pitch-perfect pacing with compelling puzzles and mechanics, on top of an incredible plot that didn’t hold the player’s hand.

Several years later, Inside is remembered even more fondly than Limbo, transcending its indie identity to become one of the best games ever made.

Fallout 76

While Fallout had already switched gears from being a top down RPG to a full blown first person adventure with the third entry, the franchise’s biggest risk to date has undoubtedly been Fallout 76. Released in 2018, Fallout 76 sought to take what was a predominantly single player franchise and morph it into a live service game. But that process was far from smooth, and the launch version of Fallout 76 was criticized by fans on account of its empty world and technical inefficiencies galore. But thankfully, Bethesda didn’t give up on the game and Fallout 76 has become much better with each new content update. As it stands now, Fallout 76 is easily one of the best ways to experience the franchise – which ultimately makes this risky venture a smash success.

Grand Theft Auto 5

The latest entry in Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto has become the most profitable entertainment product of all time, and that achievement can be credited to the sheer amount of fun that anyone can have within the confines of Los Santos. Take up high-stake heists, blow stuff up, meet strangers, participate in sports or racing, or do all that and a whole lot more with other people in the ever-evolving GTA Online. It’s a game that’s brimming with possibilities, and it’s no surprise that it has remained one of the hottest games around despite being almost a decade old.

PS4 players also gain access to Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX and Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 5. But other titles includ Spiritfarer: Farewell Edition, Chicory: A Colorful Tale, and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Origins, Rabbids Invasion: The Interactive TV Show, Rayman Legends, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game – Complete Edition, and Watch Dogs 2 are also included.

The Classics Catalog, exclusive to PS Plus Premium subscribers, includes Syphon Filter 2 on the PS One. PS3 titles available via cloud streaming include Bentley’s Hackpack, The Sly Collection, and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. The new PlayStation Portable titles for the month include Kingdom of Paradise and Toy Story 3.