10 Games That DON'T NEED A Sequel

10 Video Games That Don’t Need A Sequel

Welcome to MojoPlays and sometimes less is more and not everything needs to be turned into an unending franchise. We’ll be looking at games that should avoid new entries whether they already had sequels or not as long as their ending brought everything to a satisfying conclusion.

“Sunset Overdrive” (2014)

Insomniac rarely misses and Sunset Overdrive, despite not being a commercial success remains one of the studios best titles. The game’s wacky presentation and narrative coupled with its inventive weapons and even more inventive traversal created an experience that not even the developer’s famed Ratchet & Clank series could compare to. Even with the entire fanbase clamoring for a sequel, there’s almost no way to replicate or even improve on what Insomniac created with Sunset Overdrive without leaning too heavily into gimmicks or the formula becoming stale. Sunset Overdrive is special because it represents the experimentation that the industry used to be known for and the game’s traversal focused primarily on speed and constant movement was later adapted into their successful Spider-Man entries, which might not have been possible if not for the innovations of Sunset Overdrive.

“Alien: Isolation” (2014)

Although the Alien franchise has had a multitude of video games over the years, none have managed to capture the atmosphere and dread of being stalked by a Xenomorph the way Alien: Isolation did. Picking up canonically as a sequel to the original Alien movie, Ellen Ripley’s daughter Amanda searches for her mother aboard the Sevastopol Station and encounters the same species that terrorized her mother. The constant cat and mouse game combined with the perfect recreation of Ridley Scott’s classic low-fi tech and remains the benchmark for the franchise that no game before or since has managed to perfectly encapsulate. Although the game does technically leave itself open to a potential sequel, much like the franchise that inspired it, it would be extremely difficult to replicate that sense of terror and would instead do better switching genres entirely.

“Rogue Galaxy” (2005)

Sometimes a video game doesn’t need a sequel because the developer managed to create something that would be nearly impossible to improve upon with a follow up. Such is the case with Level 5’s planet hopping RPG Rogue Galaxy. Oftentimes rightfully described as a Star Wars JRPG and technical marvel on the PS2, featuring seamless worlds with no load times, -back on the PS2 Starfield!- the game weaved a galaxy spanning narrative full of twists, turns and memorable characters and although the game ends with little more than a bit of narration, the cast of characters all achieve their collective goals and manage to bring peace to the galaxy. Although the story could continue in another galaxy, considering the original game’s cult status and beloved cast, there’s more likelihood it could end up as a Mass Effect Andromeda situation than a fresh adventure that would be embraced by the fan base.

“Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance” (2013)

While few would argue that Kojima overcomplicated his own creation, there’s no denying the series one and only console spin-off -Metal Gear Survive doesn’t count- was lightning in a bottle and the perfect game at the perfect time. Infinitely memeable, Revengeance managed to out-Kojima the mad man himself with its over the top encounters and boss fights and dialogue that is still being quoted over a decade later. With its inventive “Blade Mode” and memorable characters, Platinum Games played to their strengths and created some of the most satisfying hack and slash combat in gaming that has yet to be duplicated even by the talented studio. While a sequel could undoubtedly become something even more outrageous, it’s more likely that the cyborg ninja is better off having only one solo adventure and any potential follow-up would only tarnish the one-offs charm and Raiden’s redemption arc.

“Mass Effect 3” (2012)

Divisive as it may be, the ending of Mass Effect 3 still provided a solid conclusion for Shepard and the crew of the Normandy and while the ending came down to more of a binary choice than any other throughout the trilogy, there wasn’t really any kind of ending that would have satisfied everyone. Along with time and distance from the initial outrage and the release of the Legendary Edition, playing the trilogy in its entirety provides a more satisfying end than it felt like it did back in 2012. Although Bioware tried to recreate the “Bioware Magic” with Andromeda, the bugs and glitches weren’t the only issues with that entry as the many characters lacked the charm of the original cast and Andromeda’s adventure ended up being entirely forgettable. With Bioware once again seemingly resurrecting the Normandy and possibly even Shepard again, we’re more than happy to let the Commander finally rest.

“BioShock Infinite” (2013)

Ken Levine might be one of the greatest storytellers in gaming and his most mind-bending tale to date is undoubtedly Bioshock Infinite. The tale of a girl and a lighthouse, Infinite, opened up infinite possibilities while also managing to tie directly into Levine’s previous opus, the original Bioshock. However, while there may be infinite realities within the Bioshock universe, unlike the OG title, Infinite doesn’t need a revisit. The time bending, reality hopping tale of Booker Dewitt and Elizabeth perfectly closed the loop by game’s end and quite honestly closed the book on the entire series with the ending of the Burial at Sea DLC. In a lot of ways, Infinite represented both the beginning and the end of the Bioshock universe and while there is an expected Bioshock 4 in the works, Levine left very little room for the new entry’s narrative to link back to the original 3 games.

“Celeste” (2018)

Celeste is one of those rare games that happens only once a generation. A beautifully told narrative combined with difficult gameplay that rewards the player for their perseverance the same as the character of Madeline as she ascends the titular Mount Celeste and confronts her many demons along the way. As Madeline’s confidence grows, so too does the players’, and the mountain continues to challenge the player with ever increasing obstacles to overcome. The journey up the mountain in which Celeste overcomes every obstacle and battles the darkest parts of herself is one of the most unexpectedly rewarding experiences in recent years and would be extremely difficult to replicate and any potential follow up could risk undermining the initial game’s message.

“Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End” (2016)

It’s not very often that a video game hero or heroine gets their ultimate happy ending, but Naughty Dog managed to let Nathan Drake and Elena finally find solace in their day-to-day lives without the constant threat of death chasing rare and dangerous artifacts all over the globe. Considering all the time Nate and even Elena were near death throughout the series, while many fans, including the devs at Naughty Dog would like to see the series continue, we’d argue that the series’ most recent release Lost Legacy would be the only and best way for the franchise to continue. There is no shortage of memorable characters in the Uncharted games and any one of them could take up the swashbuckling mantle and allow Nate and Elena to live out the rest of their lives in peace, reminiscing about their past adventures.

“Portal 2” (2011)

While the original Portal game might've ended with Chell’s escape, this was later patched before the sequel showing her being dragged back into the Aperture Facility and once again at the end of Portal 2, Chell makes her escape but this time it felt much more permanent. With GLaDOS and Chell bonding over their journey to usurp Wheatly from GLaDOS’ throne, GLaDOS’ newfound respect for Chell allowed her to let the test subject finally leave the facility without needing to blow it up this time. Portal 2’s additional co-op campaign hints that GLaDOS has moved on from live test subjects and while there is always the potential for her to grow tired of her robotic test dummies, we wouldn’t want Chell to somehow be forced into playing GLaDOS’ games again as she more than earned her freedom. Whatever that may look like in the distant future. At least she has her companion cube though.

“Bloodborne” (2015)

Outside of their Dark Souls and Armored Core series, FromSoftware isn’t really known for doing sequels to their beloved properties. But that hasn’t stopped their die-hard fan base from begging or rather, demanding a sequel to by far one of their best: Bloodborne. The combination of the developer’s tough but fair gameplay combined with an H.P. Lovecraftian Eldritch nightmare inspired and spawned some of the greatest creature creations in the studio's history. Bloodborne also marks one of the clearest narratives from the studio with a solid and engaging lore for those who search for it, but more importantly, a solid and satisfying conclusion that has no need to be continued. We will, however, accept the long in demand remaster and 60FPS. Sony? FromSoft? Are you listening? Give us the damn remaster!
What video game do you feel should never receive a sequel? Let us know your picks in the comments below.