Whether it be novels, films, or games, sequels have been a dice roll in quality through the years. Some of the worst games in a series have been sequels, such as the archaic and difficult Final Fantasy 2. And then, you have true success stories like Diablo 2 and Starcraft 2 that really outdid their prequels and set a new benchmark for quality games.
Many decades have passed with tremendous sequels. 2010-2011 alone gave us Portal 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2, some of the greatest games of all time. Let’s see how many great sequels come out in the decade from 2013 to 2023. Here’s our updated list of top 10 game sequels from the last 10 years.
10. Psychonauts 2
Psychonauts 2 takes the amazingly unique concepts from the first game and realizes them with upgraded gameplay. That’s not a total rip on the first game, just that the sequel really polished up the platforming ten notches.
Raz and his fellow cadets of psychonauts uncover the mystery of where their leader was taken and enter the minds of some truly wild characters to solve the case. There’s some wonderfully presented dark humor with clever gameplay/story integration throughout the game. The Casino level is particularly impressive with its 3D platforming challenges and narrative.
Psychonauts 2 does everything a sequel should. It takes the original concept of the original and improves the gameplay while continuing the intriguing story in satisfying ways. With great voice acting, a solid script, and some genuinely great 3D platforming levels, Psychonauts 2 is a must-play for any fans of the genre.
9. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
Respawn Entertainment’s sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order excels in its tremendous open-world hub design. I love exploring the lush planet of Koboh and finding new caves and mountain paths. The Metroidvania formula is continued from the first game, with an extensive toolkit for traversal and tons of hidden passages and treasures all around.
The story continues Cal Kestis’ quest to outrun the Sith and takes many twists and turns that fans will never see coming. Character interactions take center stage in this sequel, with Bioware-like conversations and quests between crew members and many relationships blossoming through the tale.
It was very hard to put Jedi: Survivor down when I finished the main story due to the abundance of side content and stuff to do in the game. While Jedi: Survivor had a rocky launch on PC, the PS5 version runs very smoothly. This game is a must-play for Star Wars fans and fans of Metroidvania adventures.
8. Rise of the Tomb Raider
Rise of the Tomb Raider stuck with the same semi-open world structure as the first game, offering several open maps for players to explore and scavenge. You needed to procure new items to access new areas, which only adds to the sense of exploration.
Like the first game, it builds off the outstanding action popularized by the Uncharted games and opens up more of the world. The story isn’t the series’ strongest part, but the environment is so beautiful to behold and easy to lose yourself in that just exploring is enough to keep you going.
Entry originally written by Matthew Herst.
7. Kingdom Hearts 3
While it’s true that every single KH game plays a big part in the whole, fans had been waiting for decades for a new numbered entry. Does Kingdom Hearts 3 meet the expectations of a sequel 14 years in the making? Who knows, but it does what KH 2 did and more.
The story of KH 3 doesn’t follow directly from KH 2, considering the long list of other KH games since 2005, but it does indeed follow in KH 2’s scope. The graphics, voice acting, music, and refined gameplay are the absolute best they’ve ever been in the Kingdom Hearts series.
This time around, Pixar worlds have joined the club, with one of the most amazing levels that we’ll never forget, such as Toy Story. With ultra-refined combat and a satisfying finale to the Xehanort saga, Kingdom Hearts 3 is one of the series’ very best.
6. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
We don’t know how Insomniac Games managed to outdo themselves once again, but they have. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 takes what was so fun about the first game and Miles Morales and polishes every aspect of them with grand success.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the culmination of Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ stories as they come to terms with their responsibilities as superheroes. The scales are heightened here with Craven the Hunter out to capture Peter and Miles or die trying. We couldn’t be happier to play around with Miles’ newly evolved Venom skills and Peter’s Symbiote abilities. If you like open-world action games and like Marvel, websling your way to getting this game.
5. Dark Souls 3
The climatic finale to the Dark Souls trilogy needed to do one thing: refine the gameplay of the first two games and give players a beautiful world to hack, slash, and roll their way through.
It delivered on all fronts, perfectly portraying a dying world overrun with demons. Traps still poked out of every surface, threatening to kill any player who didn’t pay attention to their surroundings.
The slow-paced, deliberate combat that has defined the series is better than ever, especially with the inclusion of more powerful moves that can detach an enemy’s head from their shoulders with ease.
Entry originally written by Matthew Herst.
4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The first two Witcher games were relatively linear affairs. There were side quests to undertake and areas to explore, but they were more closed experiences. The Witcher 3 threw all that out the window, creating one of the largest and most densely populated open worlds ever seen in a video game.
Each side quest or cave has a unique story to get lost in, and the difficulty of the combat means you’ll be mastering it for hours. Just hopping on your horse and riding out into the world can lead you to wondrous discoveries.
Entry originally written by Matthew Herst.
3. Nier Automata
The first Nier game was a niche cult classic and didn’t score exceptionally high reviews due to clunky combat. The sequel, Nier Automata, solves the combat issue with flying colors. With Platinum Games working its magic with smooth spectacle fighting combat and the creative wunderkind Yoko Taro back in the director’s chair, Nier Automata blew up the game industry with its unique genre-defying story.
The game switches between genres effortlessly depending on the context of the story. One minute, you’ll be doing Bayonetta-esque combos against giant robots, the next, you’ll be engaged in a bullet-hell shoot-em-up.
The music is downright phenomenal, with contextual variations on every theme and the versatile Emie Evans singing on many tracks. Nier Automata is a masterpiece that is actually really fun to play this time around, thanks to Platinum Games’ involvement.
2. God of War Ragnarok
The God of War reboot from 2018 signaled a stark shift from the violent hack-and-slash games of Kratos’ past. Kratos now finds himself in a Norse setting, looking to retire away from all the killing and past sins he’s committed. Ragnarok continues this tale from the previous game as more Norse gods come out of the woodwork to hunt the God of War.
Ragnarok takes place during the end of Fimbulwinter, the Norse apocalypse. All hell begins to break loose, and Kratos struggles to protect his son from the forces that aim to take him from the God of War’s grip.
All nine realms of Norse mythology are available to explore this time around, which is something we all wanted after only skimming the surface in 2018’s God of War. God of War Ragnarok was many gamers’ game of the year when it came out in 2022. We wouldn’t be surprised if it spawned another game in a different mythology after its tremendous success.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Breath of the Wild signaled a new era for the Zelda series. A wide-open world featuring a post-apocalyptic Hyrule amazed fans with its exploration and deep customization. Tears of the Kingdom takes that initial template and expands it in every area.
There’s an added verticality as Link can now take flight above the skies of Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom, and the subterranean depths house secrets as well. One of the best parts of Tears of the Kingdom is all the different contraptions players have made, from a working rocket ship to giant mechs.
But what really sets Tears of the Kingdom above its predecessor is how populated the world feels. Breath of the Wild got mild criticism for feeling a tad empty and maybe too open. The sequel solves that with more creatures and characters filling out the space. If you have to play one modern Zelda game, play Tears of the Kingdom.
That’s it for our roundup of the top 10 best game sequels of the past 10 years. Amazingly, three games on this list are from 2023 alone. What a year for gaming! Check out our reviews and guides from all games this year and beyond here on Twinfinite.
