When was a time that a game FAR surpassed your expectations?
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Divinity Original Sin 2.
As someone that doesn't enjoy turn-based RPGs and also doesn't enjoy stats-based stuff at all, the game REALLY surprised me. There's enough room for creativity to warrant a second and even a third playthrough, and I was just not expecting that I'd sink so many hours into the game.
As someone that doesn't enjoy turn-based RPGs and also doesn't enjoy stats-based stuff at all, the game REALLY surprised me. There's enough room for creativity to warrant a second and even a third playthrough, and I was just not expecting that I'd sink so many hours into the game.
That's exactly me, yep. In our defense, Sony advertised it wrong.
Mass Effect: Went in expecting a good sci-fi game. Came away with the best sci-fi game (at least until 2 and 3 came around).
Tales of Xillia 2: Sequels to games in series like Tales, Final Fantasy, etc. don't tend to be great. But I liked the characters in Xillia and 2 was on sale, so I checked it out. Xillia 2 blew its predecessor out of the water. Better writing, better characterizations, a focus on actually getting to know your party members, and Rollo the cat. It was all fantastic, and I really hope other Tales games start taking cues from it.
Fallout 4: I was a fan of 3 and New Vegas, so I figured I'd enjoy this too. I did, but far more than I expected. Like Xillia 2, it allowed players to engage with their companions much more than previous games, and that's like catnip to me. Add in a more polished experience than the previous games and the addictive settlement building system, and baby you got a stew going. Plus I play on PC, so thanks to mods, there's always something new to try out every time I do a new playthrough.
Tales of Xillia 2: Sequels to games in series like Tales, Final Fantasy, etc. don't tend to be great. But I liked the characters in Xillia and 2 was on sale, so I checked it out. Xillia 2 blew its predecessor out of the water. Better writing, better characterizations, a focus on actually getting to know your party members, and Rollo the cat. It was all fantastic, and I really hope other Tales games start taking cues from it.
Fallout 4: I was a fan of 3 and New Vegas, so I figured I'd enjoy this too. I did, but far more than I expected. Like Xillia 2, it allowed players to engage with their companions much more than previous games, and that's like catnip to me. Add in a more polished experience than the previous games and the addictive settlement building system, and baby you got a stew going. Plus I play on PC, so thanks to mods, there's always something new to try out every time I do a new playthrough.
My two favourite games of 2017 are Yakuza 0 and Prey. Yakuza 0 I assumed was a low-budget prequel spinoff of the Yakuza series to squeeze out one more game on the old engine before releasing 6 on the Dragon Engine. Something to have fun with and mess around in, but nothing special. Instead I got the game widely considered to be the best Yakuza game yet, with an amazing story and addictive minigames. It is so much better than I expected it to be.
Prey wasn't even on my radar until a week before its release. I saw the reveal during a Bethesda E3 conference and thought it was a faintly interesting take on a Bioshock-y kind of game but details were very vague at the time and I forgot about the game for a while. Then people started mentioning Prey was coming soon, and also saying the words System, Shock and 2 in the same sentence, and suddenly I was intrigued. Turns out that Prey is the System Shock 3 I always wanted, probably more so than the actual maybe-in-progress-maybe-dead System Shock 3 at this point.
Prey wasn't even on my radar until a week before its release. I saw the reveal during a Bethesda E3 conference and thought it was a faintly interesting take on a Bioshock-y kind of game but details were very vague at the time and I forgot about the game for a while. Then people started mentioning Prey was coming soon, and also saying the words System, Shock and 2 in the same sentence, and suddenly I was intrigued. Turns out that Prey is the System Shock 3 I always wanted, probably more so than the actual maybe-in-progress-maybe-dead System Shock 3 at this point.
I can't actually think of a good example. There are plenty of movies that I had that experience with (Tangled being a good example), but games are so much more of a money and time commitment that if I'm expecting to dislike something, I'm extremely unlikely to give it a shot. If I do buy it then something has already made me turn around and think I'd enjoy it.
Yup same. Even with how crazy my expectations were it just blew my mind
CrossCode I'd actually caught someone on twitch doing some of the puzzles in an early section of the game and was SUPER interested in the verticality that I don't usually see in 2D games. The story ended up being great as well, and the combat was fun the entire way through.
To the Moon really had me in a funk after finishing it. Incredibly touching story, and I really need to get down and play the follow-ups
Undertale for what are probably obvious reasons at this point. Loved Earthbound when I was younger and the tone of Undertale was great. The music is absolutely amazing as well.
Metroid Prime is a good one that's been mentioned, as I was dead set on hating a "First Person Shooter" Metroid, but it's absolutely phenomenal.
Honorable mentions for games that I watched let's plays or video essays about but wish I could go back and play them fresh. Prey, Soma, Stories Untold.
To the Moon really had me in a funk after finishing it. Incredibly touching story, and I really need to get down and play the follow-ups
Undertale for what are probably obvious reasons at this point. Loved Earthbound when I was younger and the tone of Undertale was great. The music is absolutely amazing as well.
Metroid Prime is a good one that's been mentioned, as I was dead set on hating a "First Person Shooter" Metroid, but it's absolutely phenomenal.
Honorable mentions for games that I watched let's plays or video essays about but wish I could go back and play them fresh. Prey, Soma, Stories Untold.
That's an interesting question as not many of my top 10s would be listed as I already expected them to be great.
Titanfall 2 single player - I'm not a fan of shooters, I had heard people say this was really good though and it was on sale for $5 so I figured what the hell. absolutely amazing, one of the few shooters I really enjoy playing with the other being Doom.
Outer Wilds - Had just heard it was neat game that the less you knew the better, it's in my top 10 all time list now.
Divinity Original Sin 2 - didn't know what to expect but holy crap it's so good, played with 3 friends and it was just a good time all the way through.
Luigi's Mansion 3 - I expected something pretty similar to LM2 but less "level based", LM3 is so much better than that, extremely creative, beautiful environments, animation, and lighting, perfect length, and just an all around great time. I still think it got overlooked too much at the time and whenever the best Switch games convo comes up due to Fire Emblem overshadowing it at the time.
Titanfall 2 single player - I'm not a fan of shooters, I had heard people say this was really good though and it was on sale for $5 so I figured what the hell. absolutely amazing, one of the few shooters I really enjoy playing with the other being Doom.
Outer Wilds - Had just heard it was neat game that the less you knew the better, it's in my top 10 all time list now.
Divinity Original Sin 2 - didn't know what to expect but holy crap it's so good, played with 3 friends and it was just a good time all the way through.
Luigi's Mansion 3 - I expected something pretty similar to LM2 but less "level based", LM3 is so much better than that, extremely creative, beautiful environments, animation, and lighting, perfect length, and just an all around great time. I still think it got overlooked too much at the time and whenever the best Switch games convo comes up due to Fire Emblem overshadowing it at the time.
Counter Strike Betas from 99-00. Something so incredibly addicting about it at the time. Mods for games at the time were fairly basic modifications of existing modes that shipped in games. Counter Strike brought in so much into a little mod for Half Life.
Outer Wilds. I remembered seeing footage when the game was announced and all I remembered was launching your ship and trying to land on planets. I thought it was a game like Kerbal Space Program. Then, during Easy Allies' GOTY discussions, Ian mentioned that it was his pick but that no one else had played it. I had just finished a game and was in the market for another one, so I figured what the hell? 24 hours later I had finished it and it firmly resides in my top 5 games of the generation.
God of War. Dusted off my PS4, after years in a cupboard, to play TLoU2 and GoW. I had never played a Gears of War title before. For some reason, I was expecting a frothy ARPG. The game has blown me away. In fact, it may well be my GoTG. A truly stunning achievement.
Sea of Thieves was fun but nothing too wild for me but when skull forts became active in Sea of Thieves things turned up to a whole new level. Sort of a look into the future. One was only active every three hours. Some of the best PvPvE times in the game -- up there with the Fort of the Damned update.
Had no faith in TLOU 2 taking me on a journey that I would care or enjoy. It's the best game I 've ever played and one of the most impactful story I've experienced across any media.
RDR2.
I was LTTP so I'd been exposed to a litany of complaints about the poor controls, sluggish pacing, and restrictive mission design. I assumed my experience would be similar, especially with respect to the controls as that's something I'm sensitive to.
My experience instead has been one of awe at such a well-crafted narrative, awesome character performances, and probably the best open world ever created with NPCs that actually behave with intelligence and agency to an extent it greatly enhances the immersion and believability.
I'm only about a third through the game, but I suspect it's likely it ends up in my top 5 of all time.
I was LTTP so I'd been exposed to a litany of complaints about the poor controls, sluggish pacing, and restrictive mission design. I assumed my experience would be similar, especially with respect to the controls as that's something I'm sensitive to.
My experience instead has been one of awe at such a well-crafted narrative, awesome character performances, and probably the best open world ever created with NPCs that actually behave with intelligence and agency to an extent it greatly enhances the immersion and believability.
I'm only about a third through the game, but I suspect it's likely it ends up in my top 5 of all time.
Recently, I have to agree with 13 Sentinels. Just Was really not expecting it to be as special as it is.
Mortal Shell's Familiarity system was a real treat as well and elevated the game quite a bit because of it
Honorable mention goes to Hollow Knight, Outer Wilds and GoW 2018.
Mortal Shell's Familiarity system was a real treat as well and elevated the game quite a bit because of it
Honorable mention goes to Hollow Knight, Outer Wilds and GoW 2018.
Dragon Quest Builders 2. I thought from looking at it I might kinda like it but not 100+ hours of utter obsession like it.
Also I thought the first part might be it but it's like 4 games.
Also I thought the first part might be it but it's like 4 games.
Spec Ops: The Line - Bought it because the setting looked interesting and the trailer had Rooster...man what a ride it turned out to be.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Expected it to be a janky-wannabe-baldursgate-something. I'm still on my first playthrough with 170 hours in and every second of it has been high quality content that leaves other similar games in shame with their boring fetch quests. For long have I thought that games like this just don't get made anymore. Boy was I wrong.
Grow Home - It was just another cheap and crap looking low effort PS+ game to me. Glad I tried it out because it turned out to be one the best and original games of this gen. I really love exploration in it thanks to the wobbly physics and fun "level" design.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Expected it to be a janky-wannabe-baldursgate-something. I'm still on my first playthrough with 170 hours in and every second of it has been high quality content that leaves other similar games in shame with their boring fetch quests. For long have I thought that games like this just don't get made anymore. Boy was I wrong.
Grow Home - It was just another cheap and crap looking low effort PS+ game to me. Glad I tried it out because it turned out to be one the best and original games of this gen. I really love exploration in it thanks to the wobbly physics and fun "level" design.
Kiilzone mercs came with my vita. I don't tend to like FPSs so thought I'd give it a quick go to look at the pretty graphics and then trade it in for something else.
Turns out it great. Different ways to approach the single player levels and good traditional multiplayer without none of the BS that usually drives me away from the genre.
Turns out it great. Different ways to approach the single player levels and good traditional multiplayer without none of the BS that usually drives me away from the genre.
It's kind of funny but Xenoblade Chronicles X is that game for me. I fully was expecting to like the game and was excited for it to come out but I had some concerns. Mainly the sci-fi setting being different from the more fantasy setting of the first Xenoblade and I didn't like the music compared to the first game either. So I went in expecting to like the game enough but not to enjoy it as much as Xenoblade 1.
Now Xenoblade X is easily my favorite Xenoblade game by a large margin. It's honestly one of my favorite games of all time. I think cause I went in not expecting it to be Xenoblade 1, I just took it as it was and what I found was this purely fun-filled experience that I played for endless hours.The soundtrack is also a banger. I don't know what made me dislike it prerelease.
It happened twice in the great year of 2017.
I expected a lot out of Breath of the Wild after hearing about it and watching all that E3 coverage. It still blew my mind. Enough said about that one.
The other one was Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I didn't expect it to hit in 2017. I thought it looked janky and a bit Tales of with its character design, and I largely skipped its E3 showing because I had a work call to take and never felt like looking into it. I took the early reports of it having extremely slow battles to heart, though the same complaint could be leveled at both previous XBC games if you weren't able to figure out how they clicked. I also figured that even with Mitsuda being more heavily involved that the soundtrack cover never in a million years be better than XBC1. I also thought there was absolutely no way I'd like it more than XBC1.
It came out in 2017, it was remarkable from beginning to end, and the soundtrack is even better than the first games. I was pretty sure finishing it in Spring 2018 that it was my favorite game in the series, but I waffled a bit even after playing the amazing Torna expansion. This summer after the DE of XBC1 came out I decided to play 2 from scratch and ended up playing it through beginning to end twice. I'm now entirely sure, not only is XBC2 my favorite Xenoblade game it is also my favorite Xeno series game and my all time favorite RPG.
I expected a lot out of Breath of the Wild after hearing about it and watching all that E3 coverage. It still blew my mind. Enough said about that one.
The other one was Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I didn't expect it to hit in 2017. I thought it looked janky and a bit Tales of with its character design, and I largely skipped its E3 showing because I had a work call to take and never felt like looking into it. I took the early reports of it having extremely slow battles to heart, though the same complaint could be leveled at both previous XBC games if you weren't able to figure out how they clicked. I also figured that even with Mitsuda being more heavily involved that the soundtrack cover never in a million years be better than XBC1. I also thought there was absolutely no way I'd like it more than XBC1.
It came out in 2017, it was remarkable from beginning to end, and the soundtrack is even better than the first games. I was pretty sure finishing it in Spring 2018 that it was my favorite game in the series, but I waffled a bit even after playing the amazing Torna expansion. This summer after the DE of XBC1 came out I decided to play 2 from scratch and ended up playing it through beginning to end twice. I'm now entirely sure, not only is XBC2 my favorite Xenoblade game it is also my favorite Xeno series game and my all time favorite RPG.
The original Kingdom Hearts.
I was an edgy 11-year-old when the game released. The very first week I saw commercials everywhere (not this specific one but close):
youtu.be
I wrote it off as a kids game. Being a 90s born kid there were A LOT of cheap Disney stuff and games. Easy mistake. I also barely had an love for Final Fantasy. I had played 8 but it didn't click with me. In fact, I didn't know Squall was in the game until I got 2 hours in.
My cousin on a whim was guilted into renting the game by our Disney loving aunt and his sister. Our conversation went like:
Him: "Hey so I rented Kingdom Hearts."
Me: "That kids game? Why??"
"Not a kids game. It's pretty good the main character's name is Sora."
"SORA? LIKE DIGIMON?" *bursts out laughing.
Ended up for whatever reason the next week wrapping up a bunch of pennies to clear out (I was 11 years old, my only source of income lol). Got a couple bucks from the bank and ended up renting the game.
Fast forward, it's my favourite game of all time to this date. And while the series I don't think ever reached the heights of the first game and become overly complicated I can't seem to let go of it.
Truly a testament to not judging a book by its cover.
I was an edgy 11-year-old when the game released. The very first week I saw commercials everywhere (not this specific one but close):
Kingdom Hearts Commercial
Kingdom Hearts CommercialYou never know who you'll run into next."
youtu.be
I wrote it off as a kids game. Being a 90s born kid there were A LOT of cheap Disney stuff and games. Easy mistake. I also barely had an love for Final Fantasy. I had played 8 but it didn't click with me. In fact, I didn't know Squall was in the game until I got 2 hours in.
My cousin on a whim was guilted into renting the game by our Disney loving aunt and his sister. Our conversation went like:
Him: "Hey so I rented Kingdom Hearts."
Me: "That kids game? Why??"
"Not a kids game. It's pretty good the main character's name is Sora."
"SORA? LIKE DIGIMON?" *bursts out laughing.
Ended up for whatever reason the next week wrapping up a bunch of pennies to clear out (I was 11 years old, my only source of income lol). Got a couple bucks from the bank and ended up renting the game.
Fast forward, it's my favourite game of all time to this date. And while the series I don't think ever reached the heights of the first game and become overly complicated I can't seem to let go of it.
Truly a testament to not judging a book by its cover.
to the extent that final fantasy xiv basically completely redeemed a formerly beloved game franchise that, for me, had been dead for close to 15 years (post final fantasy xii), i'd have to say that it's the game this gen that far surpassed my expectations...
This usually happens with certain indie titles for me, its always cool finding something that doesn't have a huge budget behind it end up being some of your all time favorites.
Outer Wilds is a great example of this. I had known about this one for over a year before it released so was hyped for it but wasn't expecting the level of polish and presentation that we got. It was a downright spiritual experience, something I can't say really happens in games for me too often.
Edith Finch is another, I'd seen the early positive buzz for it but didn't expect it to hit as hard as it did. Such an expertly delivered narrative and one that had me cutting onions by the end.
Recent example is Paper Beast, I knew the dev Eric Chahi's background and enjoyed From Dust but wasn't expecting something with the scope it ended up having. It being in VR really elevated it too, the thrill of discovery and learning how all the creatures and elemental interactions work together was a joy.
Lastly Disco Elysium, this is one I happened upon prior to release maybe a week or so ahead of time, knowing it had been in dev for so long and was hugely influenced by character focused crpgs like Planescape: Torment felt like a chance discovery. The game ended up exceeding even Torment's quality, my previous GOAT. Amazing writing and such a feeling of freedom in roleplaying I hadn't felt since the late 90s crpg days.
Outer Wilds is a great example of this. I had known about this one for over a year before it released so was hyped for it but wasn't expecting the level of polish and presentation that we got. It was a downright spiritual experience, something I can't say really happens in games for me too often.
Edith Finch is another, I'd seen the early positive buzz for it but didn't expect it to hit as hard as it did. Such an expertly delivered narrative and one that had me cutting onions by the end.
Recent example is Paper Beast, I knew the dev Eric Chahi's background and enjoyed From Dust but wasn't expecting something with the scope it ended up having. It being in VR really elevated it too, the thrill of discovery and learning how all the creatures and elemental interactions work together was a joy.
Lastly Disco Elysium, this is one I happened upon prior to release maybe a week or so ahead of time, knowing it had been in dev for so long and was hugely influenced by character focused crpgs like Planescape: Torment felt like a chance discovery. The game ended up exceeding even Torment's quality, my previous GOAT. Amazing writing and such a feeling of freedom in roleplaying I hadn't felt since the late 90s crpg days.
Wasn't as hyped up for TLOU2 as I was expecting coming into it. Turned out it blew my mind from the start and just went on and on. Had chunks of my mind all over the walls at the end of the game Im teling you. So gross.
Exactly the same for me. I'd seen so much complaining about the controls, the lack of "true" freedom, the handholding, etc etc but I happened to catch a stream of someone who really loved the game just playing it and enjoying it and it looked a lot cooler than the critical vids and reviews I'd seen. I gave it a shot and now I have approximately a zillion hours in it and haven't even completed the main story yet. I love the pacing, I love the characters, and I absolutely adore the world. As a wildlife enthusiast and birder, I was over the moon that Rockstar included dozens of actual, real birds and animals with the correct calls and habitats. It really helped to be able to go into that world during quarantine when I couldn't get out into actual nature very easily. I've spent so much time in that game just camping out, growing a beard, hunting and trotting around that Charles had to ride out to find me and remind me there was a plotline to follow lmao. So, so good.
Also this. Never gave a shit about card games. I have a billion hours in StS and it still owns.
Another one, because its back on my current playlist, Battle Brothers! Holy shit this stupid little game has its hooks in me. I'm a huge XCOM/turn-based tactics fan so I'd seen it recommended when it first came out, but I didn't really dig the art style and simplistic animations. Gameplay videos are really hard to parse unless you're familiar with the mechanics so it just didn't seem like it would be all that good. I finally gave it a shot like a year after it released and it's like nothing else out there. Its such a niche game and its just brutally, unapologetically difficult, but its so rewarding if it clicks.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided. I dropped Human Revolution half-way through and didn't pay any attention to MD when it launched. Bought it cheap in a sale after reading posts praising its atmosphere. It's an amazing game for me, top 5 this gen and a game that I keep thinking about even after all these years. Best atmosphere and environment design this gen and definitely the best sci fi world.
Doom and wolfesntein the new order.I didnt have any faith in any of those game but revitalized the fps genre for me
Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, X and XII. I had high expectations for all of them but they still blew me away. Other games include World of Warcraft (TBC/WotLK), Bloodborne/Souls, Terraria, Skyrim, Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8, etc.
More recently, Dragon Age Inquisition and Death Stranding. I've never been able to get into Kojima games before so it was somewhat surprising that I liked DS as much as I did. That being said, it was also a very frustrating experience.
There's probably more but my memory sucks right now.
EDIT: Forgot about Monster Hunter World, which I put 300+ hours into despite not liking the other MH games.
More recently, Dragon Age Inquisition and Death Stranding. I've never been able to get into Kojima games before so it was somewhat surprising that I liked DS as much as I did. That being said, it was also a very frustrating experience.
There's probably more but my memory sucks right now.
EDIT: Forgot about Monster Hunter World, which I put 300+ hours into despite not liking the other MH games.
The PS4 God of War is one of my favorite games now despite not really caring for the series until that point.
