By: Levi Spotz
On December 10, The Last of Us Part 2 won the Game of the Year award for 2020. Due to the backlash, the question of how to make a proper video game sequel has surfaced. Click ‘Read More’ to see what it takes to create a sequel in the gaming industry.
Note: This will not be a review of the games, but how the games were received critically will be brought up. This is more of an analysis of how they compare to their predecessors.
Why do we need sequels in the first place?
Ever since the concept of creating stories in media like books and films has become popular, sequels have become mandatory with heavily praised stories. When you create characters and a world that connects with people, they want to know what happens after the last page or after the credits roll. The concept of creating another story that exists in the same world and with the same characters has become increasingly popular in the modern day.
However, creating sequels has had its criticism. From butchering the characters, to ruining an already perfect and complete story, sequels have been soiled with the likes of cash grabs and marketing ploys. People will sometimes create a sequel, and people will wish that it never existed.
This is sad, because sequels can be great opportunities to provide more of what people want and even improve the original. This is why a sequel should be done with care, especially if it's a sequel for a heavily beloved property.
How to Succeed Perfection.
Red Dead Redemption and The Last of Us are two of the most beloved, critically praised, and influential games of all time. Look at any best games of all times list, and more than likely these beloved classics will appear. While no game is perfect, these two come very close.
When it was announced that these games were getting sequels, there were high expectations for these new entries.They could have made these sequels two ways. One is to just give the players more of what they liked about the originals, while the other is to try to be better than the original.The first option would not have as much of an impact, and will be considered nothing but a cash grab by players. The second option would be a lot more impressive, but how do you make a better sequel to a game that is already almost perfect.
There are many things you will have to consider when trying to create a better sequel. If you are successful, you can provide players with the same groundbreaking experience they had with the original. But if you fail, you could disappoint fans and even be accused of ruining the original.
Improving the gameplay of the original.
When creating a sequel to a game, people can agree on one thing the developers should do: improve the gameplay. This can be rather simple, especially if you're creating your game for new hardware. You update the graphics, tweak the controls to be more refined, and add new gameplay mechanics to make it feel fresh. However, if you want your new game to be considered a classic along with the first one, you will have to stand out more.
Red Dead Redemption 2 took the gameplay of the original game, and added several new weapons and mechanics, while still feeling like a Red Dead
Redemption game.
The controls were tweaked slightly, but not enough to lose some of the chaotic charm of the somewhat out of control game that was Red Dead Redemption 1. Where it really improved was with the graphics and the open world. No longer was the world reserved mostly for a desert climate. The new game world now was five times bigger, and included multiple different climates to explore. The AI also was massively improved, now having scripted dialog for different situations and actions. The game sought to improve on the original, and it did in almost every way.
In The Last of Us part 2, the gameplay was not changed as much as in Red Dead Redemption 2. True, The Last of Us series is more about the story than the gameplay, but many people(including myself) fell in love with the survival third person shooter gameplay of the original. The sequel had very similar gameplay, only adding a few new moves and weapons. While the game world of the sequel looks downright gorgeous,the gameplay is still the same from point A to point B style of world progression of the original, only emphasizing exploration just to find more items.
This is where The Last of Us part 2 does somewhat right for the most part. The gameplay was not the major focus of the original, so if we keep what fans loved about the gameplay, they will feel familiar with the mechanics. However, I feel that if the game was experimental with its gameplay, it could have stood out from its predecessor. They could have made it less linear, allowing players to fully explore and immerse themselves in this apocalyptic world rather than just blazing through it to get to the story. Just imagine an open world Last of Us game.
Succeeding the previous games story
The stories of the original Red Dead Redemption and The Last of Us tell some of the best video game stories in the industry. They introduced iconic characters and stories that stick with people for years to come. This is a question for almost any sequel to a beloved story, where do you go from here?
There are a few options. You could tell a completely new story with new characters set in the same universe, but you have the difficulty of making players fall in love with new characters and a new plotline. Many people have done this, from the Grand Theft Auto series, to the Final Fantasy series. However, sometimes a great marketing tool is to attract people to a story that tells more about their favorite characters.
Red Dead Redemption 2 chose not to create a new story, but to actually make a prequel rather than a sequel. We include iconic characters like John Marston and Duch van Der Linde, while introducing new characters like Arthur Morgan, Saddie Adler, and Micah Bell. This story can show the events that lead up to the first game, while still keeping us invested as we learn more about what the characters were like in the past.
However, what really makes the story worthy of succeeding its original is how it still feels like a Red Dead Redemption story similar to the first. The concepts of the first game are still kept in the sequel. You feel like the two games can sit next to each other and you would be able to identify both of them as Red Dead Redemption games.
Compare this to The Last of Us part 2, which received heavy criticism for its story. The original Last of Us game did similar things to Red Dead Redemption, giving us iconic characters to fall in love with. The difference is that Red Dead Redemption’s story was pretty much complete. With the major characters dying, and the age of the old west swiftly passing away at the end, there really was no more story to tell. That is why the developers chose to create a prequel rather than a sequel. The original Last of Us, on the other hand, had much more story to tell and was set up for a sequel from the beginning.
The Last of Us part 2 should have been an easy story to build. You could have the iconic characters be forced on a new dangerous mission, new characters are introduced, maybe a few characters eventually die, and have an impactful ending. With proper direction, it could be as good if not better than the original. However, the developers decided mostly to promote being woke rather than being a good story. Woke stories have a bad reputation for trying to prioritize appealing to political activists and journalists who rarely buy games rather than appealing to fans. This leads to the story having major issues.
5)How to properly Change Themes with Sequels.
Read Dead Redemption changed a few themes from the original game. The original was more along the lines about a man trying to leave the violent life he used to live for a peaceful life with his family, only to be forced back into the lawless world he once lived. There were also themes about how America changed between the old west and the modern age, how people can change, and how the corruption of power can affect the world we live in.
The second game kept many of these themes, but now was about a ruthless gunslinger trying to come to terms with who he is as the world is changing around him. In the end, he comes to terms with who he is, and finds peace within himself at the last moment.
These changes in themes provide a fresh take on the story, allowing us to get a different viewpoint about the world and characters. The theme of how the old west changed is still present, and the idea of how people can change for the better is still a fundamental idea.
The Last of Us part 1 was about a man who had lost everything living in a harsh world where he cares about no one. He is tasked with transporting a young girl across the country, and over time learns to open up to her about his past mistakes and in the end finally finds something worth protecting. There is a sense of dread mixed with heartfelt moments that still can make players shed a tear at its bittersweet ending to this day.
The Last of Us Part 2 takes these themes, shoves them into a toilet, and decides to do its own thing. The themes now are changed to fit more of a woke audience, while throwing out its joy mixed with sadness feelings of the original. Now it was nothing but a petty revenge story that kills iconic characters way too early and unemotionally to make way for characters that were not given enough time to develop. This led to what many consider nothing but a depressing game that ignores what the original game was about.
Even if you believe that the Last of Us part 2 was as good if not better than the original, the game is still not a good sequel. As a stand alone game, it can be considered okay at best and has its fans. But with how it treats its original characters and story, and with how it did not try to improve much game wise from the original, I don’t feel good sitting it next to the original masterpiece that came before it.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a much better example of a sequel done right. Many consider it better than the original while still sitting both games up as the best games of all time. Red Dead Redemption fans like myself love replaying both games and enjoying how they connect to each other while debating over which one did what better.
That is what I believe a video game sequel to an almost perfect game should be. Something that can be as enjoyable and influential as the original. A sequel should be something we can play alongside the original. If your sequel does not do the first game any justice, then you might as well just call it a spin off, or maybe even a completely different game. Sequels to legends need to be legends themselves. What is your favorite sequel? Let me know in the comments below.
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