5 Outstanding Video Games That Never Saw a Sequel

These days, when a new game does exceptionally well, earns significant praise, and is beloved by players, it’s all but guaranteed that it will receive a sequel. That makes sense, seeing as there’s already a built-in audience eager to jump back into a game world, but it doesn’t always happen. Sometimes, a fantastic title comes along with no follow-up. This can result from market changes, studio mismanagement, licensing, or a myriad of other factors. These five games all came along, wowed players and critics, and never saw any sequels, and they’re arranged in chronological order.

1) Grim Fandango (1998)

Grim Fandango is a 3D adventure game developed and published by LucasArts in 1998. It’s an innovative take on the genre, using interactions to solve puzzles, and it’s set in a unique world that approximates American 1950s retro-futurism. The art design, direction, writing, and gameplay have received significant praise, and it’s well known among adventure game aficionados. Unfortunately, it came along at a time when the genre was in steep decline and became a leading factor in LucasArts’ decision to stop developing adventure games. That killed any hope of a sequel, though a re-release with several enhancements was dropped on various systems between 2015 and 2020.

2) Vanquish (2010)

In 2010, a 3rd-person shooter arrived on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, surprising many with its innovative approach to the format. Vanquish features fast-paced gameplay and other elements that have ensured it received widespread acclaim. Vanquish sold well, and critics were incredibly happy with it, as were players, but it never saw a sequel. It won several awards and moved over a million units. Still, outside of a remastered release to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Vanquish remains a one-and-done game, and it’s unclear why. Sega likely thought it would sell better, but it wasn’t a commercial failure despite expectations, so perhaps its world will be revisited one day.

3) Until Dawn (2015)

Until Dawn is a survival horror game about a group of eight people who must make it off Blackwood Mountain with their lives. It features an interesting story mechanic, where the player’s actions make significant, branching changes to the overall narrative, and it’s super creepy. The game inspired a live-action Until Dawn movie, as well as a VR spin-off and a prequel. What the world hasn’t seen is a proper sequel that keeps the story elements going. The game received a remake in 2024, but it was panned as unnecessary, since it doesn’t really add anything new by reworking the PlayStation 4 game for the PlayStation 5.

4) Stardew Valley (2016)

If you’ve never played Stardew Valley, that’s a bit surprising, as the game has been one of the most successful indie titles of all time. The farming and lifestyle sim was developed by one person who continues to update it a decade after its release. It has sold more than 50 million copies across multiple platforms and is an award-winning title that has yet to see a sequel. Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone keeps Stardew Valley going with updates, but instead of a sequel, he’s been working hard on an entirely new game called Haunted Chocolatier. That said, Barone has said he’d be down to make a sequel, but isn’t sure what it would be about.

5) Marvel’s Midnight Suns (2022)

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a 2022 game focused on the Midnight Sons, Runaways, and X-Men from Marvel Comics. Gameplay involves creating a superhero called “The Hunter” who leads the others against Lilith, the mother of all demonkind. It includes several gameplay mechanics from multiple genres, excellent cutscenes, strategic gameplay, and more, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns wowed critics and players. It has received four DLC packs that add new content, but word of a sequel hasn’t surfaced. That’s likely due to poor sales despite the critical acclaim, making a sequel incredibly unlikely, which is a shame.

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