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Thread Title: Unnecessary Subtitle (A thread talking about games with unnecessary subtitles)

Plum

Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,299
So with the recent rumour that 'Gods and Monsters' has changed its names to 'Immortals: Fenyx Rising' the phenomena of games having subtitles added on to perfectly-adequate names seems to be continuing. Note that I'm not really referring to games which are part of an ongoing franchise (e.g. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, XCOM: Enemy Unknown), but first instalments in game franchises that may-or-may-not get sequels. The games I'm talking about could almost always work with one of their two titles as the other rarely adds proper context, and often just re-iterates what the initial main title implied.

Here's some examples:

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Detroit: Become Human
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Halo: Combat Evolved
RIOT: Civil Unrest
Halo 5: Guardians (I know it's a sequel but... why???)

I'm sure there's many more.

Now what does Era think of this? Of course it's not a big deal but, at the end of the day, do you feel that these subtitles enhance or detract from the general titles of the game (or do you think the subtitles could have been the title of the game)?

For me personally I see it as one of the most weird things that the gaming industry does. No other mediums add random unnecessary subtitles on to their main titles and, when they do have subtitles, it's something to clearly denote that it is part of a franchise. Even then that's very rare, as even something like Star Wars didn't have "Episode IV: A New Hope," in its initial theatrical run. I mean, lets take some famous pieces of media and put them into this formula:

Inception: Dreams Explored
No Country for Old Men: Fate
Breaking Bad: Crime Doesn't Pay
Family: The Godfather
Lord of the Flies: Innocence
1984: Ignorance is Strength
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

...and so on. They just sound unnatural, right? So why does gaming love doing it so much?
 
Last edited:
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

Member
Oct 30, 2017
17,708
Subtitles exist because game marketers want to have it both ways. They want to have a short, snappy brand that passes the let's-play-blank test ("let's play Immortals"), but one word doesn't give you a ton of room to be very evocative, so they add a subtitle to "explain" the title. And that's how you get Starlink: Battle for Atlas and Halo: Combat Evolved. Or else they don't add a subtitle, and then you have a title like Destiny or Anthem or Valorant that conveys very little meaning besides sounding suitably "epic." These titles are empty vessels; they could literally apply to almost any game, but with enough advertising spend, that doesn't matter.

A lot of movies have subtitles (just look at the Terminator or Transformers franchises) but generally only for sequels.
 
Desmond

Desmond

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,387
I had hoped Sega would keep the Yakuza subtitles for the remasters as they did for 6, but alas.
 

sheaaaa

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,556
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an example of the exact opposite.

Suicide Squad = meh as fuck
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League = now you got my attention
 
Patitoloco

Patitoloco

Member
Oct 27, 2017
23,691
I think the Detroit and Suicide Squad ones work though.

"Detroit" can be absolutely anything, from a car game to a open world crime game etc.
"Suicide Squad", "mmm is that a movie tie in? ughh"

Their subtitles at least give them something.
 
OP
OP
Plum

Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,299
jaggies said:
Subtitles exist because game marketers want to have it both ways. They want to have a short, snappy brand ("let's play Immortals") but one word doesn't give you a ton of room to be very evocative, so they add a subtitle to "explain" the title. And that's how you get Starlink: Battle for Atlas and Halo: Combat Evolved.

A lot of movies have subtitles (just look at the Terminator or Transformers franchises) but generally only for sequels.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, I can see why they'd have it. However I feel that a lot of the time it barely does anything to really explain the title. Like what does "Battle for Atlas" mean? They're battling for Atlas... OK? What's Atlas and why should I care? Same goes for many others I listed, which is why I do find them quite unnecessary lol

Subtitles in movies are different as, like you said, they don't tend to happen until sequels. Off the top of my head I can only really think of is 2001: A Space Odyssey when it comes to standalone films with subtitles explaining what they meant.

SageShinigami said:
I don't understand why ya'll care so much about titles like this.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I don't, but since this is a video game forum I thought it would be an interesting thing to talk about.
 
Nooblet

Nooblet

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,635
Plum said:
So with the recent rumour that 'Gods and Monsters' has changed its names to 'Immortals: Fenyx Rising' the phenomena of games having subtitles added on to perfectly-adequate names seems to be continuing. Note that I'm not really referring to games which are part of an ongoing franchise (e.g. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, XCOM: Enemy Unknown), but first instalments in game franchises that may-or-may-not get sequels. The games I'm talking about could almost always work with one of their two titles as the other rarely adds proper context, and often just re-iterates what the initial main title implied.

Here's some examples:

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Detroit: Become Human
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Halo: Combat Evolved
RIOT: Civil Unrest
Halo 5: Guardians (I know it's a sequel but... why???)

I'm sure there's many more.

Now what does Era think of this? Of course it's not a big deal but, at the end of the day, do you feel that these subtitles enhance or detract from the general titles of the game (or do you think the subtitles could have been the title of the game)?

For me personally I see it as one of the most weird things that the gaming industry does. No other mediums add random unnecessary subtitles on to their main titles and, when they do have subtitles, it's something to clearly denote that it is part of a franchise. Even then that's very rare, as even something like Star Wars didn't have "Episode IV: A New Hope," in its initial theatrical run. I mean, lets take some famous pieces of media and put them into this formula:

Inception: Dreams Explored
No Country for Old Men: Fate
Breaking Bad: Crime Doesn't Pay
Family: The Godfather
Lord of the Flies: Innocence
1984: Ignorance is Strength
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

...and so on. They just sound unnatural, right? So why does gaming love doing it so much?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
en.m.wikipedia.org

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Your examples sound unnatural because they were quickly made subtitles.
 
OP
OP
Plum

Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,299
Patitoloco said:
I think the Detroit and Suicide Squad ones work though.

"Detroit" can be absolutely anything, from a car game to a open world crime game etc.
"Suicide Squad", "mmm is that a movie tie in? ughh"

Their subtitles at least give them something.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I think Detroit might have worked better if it were just "Become Human." The game itself barely has anything to do with Detroit beside being set there (and maybe the vague connection between the android industry and the car industry, I don't know).

Nooblet said:
en.m.wikipedia.org

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

Your examples sound unnatural because they were quickly made subtitles.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I put that one in as a joke...
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,438
I say Assassin Creed Revelations, because those early games all have revelations. There's a big conspiracy story. Assassin Creed Brotherhood because most of the games have the Assassins' brotherhood in an important role.
 

Deleted member 5334

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,815
Wasn't there a couple movie based games that were based off a game that were literally the "the movie the game" in the title?
 
Oregano

Oregano

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,878
Isn't it to make it easier to secure Trademarks?

Also possible for SEO reasons.
 
ZeroX

ZeroX

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
21,266
Speed Force
Yeah a couple of your examples work. Detroit and Suicide Squad have pretty clear alternatives outside of gaming that they could be easily confused with. Also Kill The Justice League is just a damn good and very clear subtitle. Like that's a specific summary that draws your attention in.

That said like Halo 5 and Fall Guys, yeah, who cares about those subtitles. Pointless.
 
KOT

KOT

Member
Oct 27, 2017
95
Minsk
Subtitles are generally given to secure a trademark if it comes to PC/Console games. It is stupid, yes, but it's a necessary evil.

Plus yes, marketing promotion plays a major role.
 
Jegriva

Jegriva

Banned
Sep 23, 2019
5,519
Beyond: Two Souls was a very stupid title

For a lot I thought it was Beyond Two Souls, as in "we are beyond just two souls", but it has the two little points in the middle.

Choos your title, game! It's Beyond, or it's Two Souls?
Most of the time, just the title or the subtitle are better than the sum of the two.
 
SanTheSly

SanTheSly

The San Symphony Project
Member
Sep 2, 2019
6,518
United Kingdom
Plum said:
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Detroit: Become Human
A Plague Tale: Innocence
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
Halo: Combat Evolved
RIOT: Civil Unrest
Halo 5: Guardians (I know it's a sequel but... why???)
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Detroit: Become Human makes sense for a vignetted story about humanity set within Detroit.

A Plague Tale: Innocence is rumoured to be getting a sequel. Maybe it's an anthology series so the followup could be called something like A Plague Tale: Hope or A Plague Tale: Despair.

I'm not a fan of Suicide Squad's subtitle but it does at least differentiate the brand from the godawful movie that is likely still fresh in a lot of people's minds.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is directly related to the story and mechanics of that game.

Halo: Combat Evolved was a fittingly confident statement about the strength and potential of the franchise on the industry. It changed everything for console FPSs, this subtitle is fine.

Your other examples are fine though.
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,438
Jegriva said:
Beyond: Two Souls was a very stupid title

For a lot I thought it was Beyond Two Souls, as in "we are beyond just two souls", but it has the two little points in the middle.

Choos your title, game! It's Beyond, or it's Two Souls?
Most of the time, just the title or the subtitle are better than the sum of the two.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I just called it The Ellen Page Game, which would have been an amazing title.
 
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

Member
Oct 30, 2017
17,708
Plum said:
Yeah, I can see why they'd have it. However I feel that a lot of the time it barely does anything to really explain the title. Like what does "Battle for Atlas" mean? They're battling for Atlas... OK? What's Atlas and why should I care?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

You're not expected to know who or what Atlas is. It's just meant to sound exciting, and to let you know it's a combat game. Without it, "Starlink" could just as easily be a title for a match-3 puzzle game.

Now, you could say, jaggies, surely all the rest of the marketing materials would make it clear that Starlink isn't a match-3 puzzle game? And you'd be right, which is why more confident companies who are planning huge ad spends can "get away" with riskier titles like "Starfield." But if you're not as confident in your vision or your ability to build a brand that has equity with the game-buying public, it's easier to give in to the marketing folks who say you have to add an explanatory subtitle to beat people over the head with what the game is.
 
Melpomene

Melpomene

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jun 9, 2019
18,290
I mean, the book version of The Hobbit also technically has an "unnecessary" subtitle - it's officially entitled "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again."

Lots of books use that title-subtitle format, actually, although it was more common historically than it is now.
 
.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,240
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Presumably because they still had that MMO planned. Still, it's such a bland subtitle that doesn't say anything about the game as far as I can remember.

I'd prefer more original titles, but perhaps that's a little tricky with the chronic sequelitis this industry suffers from.
 

Wulfram

Member
Mar 3, 2018
1,478
I don't really see a problem with it, its a pretty solid way to convey an ongoing franchise. It looks a bit pointless if the game doesn't get a sequel, but there's no harm in planning ahead.
 
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

Member
Oct 30, 2017
17,708
Of the ones in the OP, "Riot: Civil Unrest" is hands-down the best, because the subtitle is just defining the title. Like, yup, that's what a riot is.

Imagine if there was a game called "War: Series of Battles"
 
lazygecko

lazygecko

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,628
.exe said:
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Presumably because they still had that MMO planned. Still, it's such a bland subtitle that doesn't say anything about the game as far as I can remember.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The annoying as hell QTE spam at the end of combat encounters to absorb their souls or whatever was dubbed "the reckoning mechanic". But I feel pretty confident that entire thing was likewise tacked on by marketers who were concerned that their high fantasy game wasn't "cool" or "visceral" enough.
 
Master Chuuster

Master Chuuster

GamingBolt.com
Verified
Dec 14, 2017
2,651
Well, as far as Sekiro is concerned, that was just supposed to be Sekiro. It only has a subtitle because Activision asked FromSoft to keep the "Shadows Die Twice" from the teaser TGA reveal.
 
ItchyTasty

ItchyTasty

Member
Feb 3, 2019
5,907
A Plague Tale: Innocence is such an unecessary subtile, doesn't seem like a game that lends itself to more installments?
 
SamAlbro

SamAlbro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,352
With one word titles, part of it could be that you can't copyright a pre-existing word, so adding subtitles to things like Halo, Detroit, and Beyond makes them into titles that can be protected.
 

Strandr

Member
Oct 12, 2019
540
I still fondly think back to Metal Gear Solid: Rising and how it went from having a somewhat normal name and then getting shortened and adding a dumb word with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
 
Lowrys

Lowrys

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,399
London
jaggies said:
Subtitles exist because game marketers want to have it both ways. They want to have a short, snappy brand that passes the let's-play-blank test ("let's play Immortals"), but one word doesn't give you a ton of room to be very evocative, so they add a subtitle to "explain" the title. And that's how you get Starlink: Battle for Atlas and Halo: Combat Evolved. Or else they don't add a subtitle, and then you have a title like Destiny or Anthem or Valorant that conveys very little meaning besides sounding suitably "epic." These titles are empty vessels; they could literally apply to almost any game, but with enough advertising spend, that doesn't matter.

A lot of movies have subtitles (just look at the Terminator or Transformers franchises) but generally only for sequels.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
As a writer, I came to post exactly this. Marketers want to have their cake and eat it. Happens all the time in business too, where people come up with a short, snappy, meaningless name for a product or service or whatever that they then need to supplement with a prosaic strapline almost every time it's used so people understand what the hell the damn thing actually is.
 
Ruisu

Ruisu

Banned
Aug 1, 2019
5,535
Brasil
Someone has already said it probably, but the reason this has become so popular is that many publishers have realized that having a subtitle is a lot more practical for your game if you eventually want to have a sequel or something like that. By having a subtitle, from the start, you avoid the need to number any further games in the series.

And honestly I think that works A LOT better than numbered sequels. There are even games that could have dropped the numbers by now since they already use both numbers and subtitles, like Ace Combat for example. The latest game could very well have just been called Ace Combat: Skies Unknown.
 
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