Sci-Fi has long been one of the most popular genres for video game developers. Part of that is because developers’ imaginations are much less constrained with video games. If you can dream it, you can create it (with enough hard work and money). With that in mind, it’s no surprise that there have been dozens of great sci-fi series over the last several decades. Generally, video game sequels improve on the original, using the created world and extra resources from success to build an even better game. Every once in a while, that doesn’t happen, and a hit series stays relevant, but peaks with its very first game.
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Here are five sci-fi series that peaked their first time out.
5) Perfect Dark
Sadly, we’ve only ever gotten two Perfect Dark games, thanks to mismanagement from Microsoft. While that cancelled reboot might’ve taken the series to new highs, we’ll never know for sure. What we do know is that the first Perfect Dark was a revelation on the Nintendo 64, blowing its FPS competition out of the water.
It looked beautiful, featured complex enemy AI for the time, and had some of the best multiplayer modes on the N64. That’s not a huge surprise coming from the team that made GoldenEye 007, but Rare definitely took things up a notch with Perfect Dark. Unfortunately, Perfect Dark Zero wasn’t able to build on that foundation. It’s still a good game, but far from the game-changer the original was in 2000.
4) Fallout
To be fair, the Fallout series does have one game that many would say challenges the original Fallout. Developer Obsidian Entertainment made the spin-off Fallout: New Vegas, and it has become an all-time favorite among fans of the series. However, if you’re only looking at mainline Fallout games, nothing has really come close to the original.
The sequel might get the closest, keeping that mix of wacky storylines, in-depth RPG elements, and strategic combat. However, when Bethesda took over and turned the series into a shooter, it lost some of the luster of the first two games. Fallout 3 and 4 are still worth playing; they just fail to live up to the heights of Fallout 1.
3) Deus Ex
Deus Ex changed the gaming landscape forever in 2000. By popularizing the immersive sim genre, creator Warren Spector showed players that shooters could be much more than Doom campaigns. Each scenario gave players full control over how they approached a fight. You could go in guns blazing, but you might be better off using stealth, technology, or your charm to get past your enemies.
Subsequent Deus Ex games, including the series reboot with Human Revolution, are phenomenal. You should absolutely try them out and see how the series has evolved from the original. That said, those evolutions haven’t been enough to help them take over as the best Deus Ex game of all time. The way that first game hit has never been topped, and after a new Deus Ex was cancelled in 2024, it’ll be some time before we ever see another attempt.
2) Metroid Prime
If you want to get technical, Metroid Prime isn’t the first game in the series. After all, this is a spin-off of the original Metroid series, ditching the 2D platforming for first-person shooting. However, Metroid Prime fits this list so well that I had to include it. That first game might be the best one Nintendo released on the GameCube, giving players a killer app that everyone had to play.
Like many games on this list, the sequels are solid, but they could not top the original. Prime 2 gets relatively close, but the series has slowly fallen off in the years since. Prime 3 is a solid game, but clearly worse, and Prime 4 is kind of a mess. It tries to add an open world, but it doesn’t work, and leaves players feeling relatively bored with the game design. Hopefully, Retro can turn it around in the future.
1) BioShock
BioShock is basically the poster child for this list. The first game is a landmark release for video games. Delivering a captivating world begging to be explored, an engrossing storyline that kept you on the edge of your seat, an all-time twist that left your jaw on the ground, and some of the best FPS combat of all time. It was the total package.
In many ways, it would’ve been smart to stop there. There wasn’t really a need to turn BioShock into a franchise outside of money. That’s an important reason, and you can’t blame the publisher for pushing for sequels, but the original BioShock is a nearly perfect experience without too many loose ends. While BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite are great games, they failed to lo live up to the original. Granted, nobody should’ve expected them to, but it is a shame that we’ve spent nearly two decades chasing the feeling of the original BioShock without success.
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