What games surpassed your expectations?

Assassin's Creed Syndicate is the first game that sprang to mind. A real return to form from the series with far superior gameplay to the previous 3 titles Other than that-

Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall
Sleeping Dogs(really underrated imo)
Dex
Mark of The Ninja
Bastion
Kingdoms of Amulur(It dose sooo much right, but unfortunately didn't seem to get many people playing it. I would have loved a sequel)
Salt and Sanctuary(had high hopes, but it exceeded them by far)

That is about it I think.

Edit- Also, the Skyrim Mod Enderal. Better than most games released nowadays.
 
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Spuj said:
Recently for me it has to be Stardew valley. I picked it up when it came out (I loved the harvest moon games when I was younger) and I absolutely fell in love with the game. I really didn't expect it to be as much fun as it is and there is a lot to it. I stopped playing for a while but am now back into it with the recent big update and it's really good fun. Well worth the £10 you can pick it up for now, I've paid a lot more for big games that have let me down.
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This. Completely sucked me in for 2 weeks. Dying Light is a good shout too, superb DLC as well.
 
Far Cry - it was overshadowed at the time by Half Life 2, but I was astounded by the gameplay (at least before the mutants arrived) and the lush open world landscapes.

Skyrim - just got me completely hooked, and i didn't expect to be.

Guild Wars - dragged me away from World of Warcraft. Expansions developed it into a complex and engrossing MMORPG.
 
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Spuj said:
Recently for me it has to be Stardew valley. I picked it up when it came out (I loved the harvest moon games when I was younger) and I absolutely fell in love with the game. I really didn't expect it to be as much fun as it is and there is a lot to it. I stopped playing for a while but am now back into it with the recent big update and it's really good fun. Well worth the £10 you can pick it up for now, I've paid a lot more for big games that have let me down.
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That looks like something from the ZX Spectrum days! I've added to my Steam wish list and may pick it up at some point, just to see what the fuss is about.
 
Dark Souls.

I originally tried Demon Souls on the PS3 and didn't really enjoy it ( got about an hour in). I impulsively bought Dark Souls for my PS3 thinking that maybe I was wrong. Didn't really like it on my first outing.

My brother gifted me Dark Souls on steam about a year later. I had no intention of playing it but tried it again to try and relieve my RPG itch. 150+ hours later I was hooked on a second playthrough.

The series now remains my favourite.
 
I don't often play games right through but recently just finished brothers a tale of two sons and spec ops the line, both really good stories
 
Rifte said:
Dark Souls.

I originally tried Demon Souls on the PS3 and didn't really enjoy it ( got about an hour in). I impulsively bought Dark Souls for my PS3 thinking that maybe I was wrong. Didn't really like it on my first outing.

My brother gifted me Dark Souls on steam about a year later. I had no intention of playing it but tried it again to try and relieve my RPG itch. 150+ hours later I was hooked on a second playthrough.

The series now remains my favourite.
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I agree, in fact I'm adding Dark Souls to my list as it did the same to me as it did to you :)
 
TNA said:
None that I can think of the past couple of years. These days games struggle to meet my expectations, let alone surpass them.

I think Dishonored 2 has a good chance to though. Hopefully it does.
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I find it hard to get excited about games these days. No idea why. I still consider myself a gamer, whatever that is.

Anyway, like you, nothing much in the last couple years.

Terraria - wasn't expecting much from this. So cheap. Probably a shallow kids game. Turned out to be amazing.

Borderlands 2 - I saw the cartoony graphics and dismissed it. Played it and was instantly hooked.

EverQuest - we're really going back now. Playing with other people probably isn't much fun. Oh wait, it is... and EQ was the most absorbing (and addictive) experience you can imagine. (Btw the "EverQuest" you can play today is not the same game, so if you missed it, you missed it).

Baldur's Gate (#1). What's this I got free with my Pioneer slot-loading DVD drive? Can't be much good if they're giving it away...

Metal Gear Rising - I suck at this, but damn if it isn't massively more fun than I thought a 3rd person dice-em-up would be.

Psi Ops - a free FPS shooter... and a great game.

Psychonauts - this game is always dirt cheap on Steam... and everyone raves about it... it probably sucks... Wrong again, FoxEye!

--

Must admit I tend to have the opposite problem a lot more. Games that get good reviews, high user scores, and I feel are average at best, even poor.

Divinity: OS - boring.
XCom:EU - pale imitation of a 90's legend.
BioShock - why does everyone love this? SS2 is so much better.
Every single modern MMO: I've had more fun picking my nose.
Metal Gear Solid 5: MGS without everything that made it good.
Dragon Age - another game that's outclassed in every way by its precursors.
Diablo III - I'm just not having fun.

I think there's a theme here. Old games that I loved where the sequels (spiritual or otherwise) fail to do justice to the games that inspired them.
 
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kration said:
Far Cry - it was overshadowed at the time by Half Life 2, but I was astounded by the gameplay (at least before the mutants arrived) and the lush open world landscapes.
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This. I haven't played an fps like it since. If someone can recommend one similar that'd be great, was a big fan of the huge open scenery & sniping etc.

Starcraft 2 vastly surpassed my expectations. I can and do play the multiplayer to death.
 
Plants vs Zombies.

Got it free from Origin a few years ago and loved it, the wife and daughter then both bought it on their tablets as a result. It's just a shame that No 2 was a shameless mobile only cash grab.
 
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It's very underrated, but easily one of the best zombie survival games I've played! It's not a 2D independent effort either, and looks beautiful thanks to CryEngine.

I especially love that you can switch between characters, each of which have different traits, and the freedom of being able to enter every building in the game.
The ability to move your community to a new location, upgrade your base, and even send AI survivors to scavenge supplies in real-time is fantastic!
Incidentally, the fact that cars are actually a finite resource is a nice touch. There are literally hundreds of different weapons in the game also, each with their own statistics.
The soundtrack is atmospheric, and best of all, there is no hand holding. The game literally drops you in the deep end, with no long-winded cutscenes or tutorials!
 
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The only one I haven't seen mentioned yet is The Swapper. Ridiculously good and at times irritatingly difficult puzzle game with a surprisingly decent premise and really unsettling atmosphere to go with it.

It's one of the few games that's ever managed to make my stomach sink... which given the lack of any enemies or combat surprised me a lot.

The new Doom also blew me away.
 
Overwatch

Prior to release it looked to have that free to play or soon to be free to play look about it. However being blizzard i gave it a chance and was blown away. Best thing for that genre in a long time.

Mates of mine are still holding out but i think its obvious now that overwatch is here to stay and certainly wont be going f2p any time soon and probably not at all
 
Bishie said:
c5hrg5D.jpg


Ds8HO3R.png


It's very underrated, but easily one of the best zombie survival games I've played! It's not a 2D independent effort either, and looks beautiful thanks to CryEngine.

I especially love that you can switch between characters, each of which have different traits, and the freedom of being able to enter every building in the game.
The ability to move your community to a new location, upgrade your base, and even send AI survivors to scavenge supplies in real-time is fantastic!
Incidentally, the fact that cars are actually a finite resource is a nice touch. There are literally hundreds of different weapons in the game also, each with their own statistics.
The soundtrack is atmospheric, and best of all, there is no hand holding. The game literally drops you in the deep end, with no long-winded cutscenes or tutorials!
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I may have to retry this. Didnt give it much time when i got it. Wouldnt say its under rated mind, maybe on pc? Not sure but it was a big hit on xbox 360 i believe
 
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