It’s always a risky endeavor when a game developer decides to radically shake things up for a new entry in a popular franchise. On the one hand, big change can potentially bring in new fans who might not have initially been interested in the series’ previous entry or entries. On the other hand, deviating too far from what made previous entries so popular runs the risk of alienating and upsetting the core fanbase; and I’m sure there are few things more hazardous to a developer than a passionate fan whose passion is morphed into anger (except maybe a whole mob of passionate-turned-angry fans). Still, that doesn’t stop many developers from trying, and below I’ve detailed a few of the more infamous cases and how they ended up affecting their associated series’.
Dragon Age: Origins – Dragon Age 2
When BioWare’s new fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Origins was released back in 2009, it became an instant hit with RPG fans thanks to its more traditional turn-based combat, its broad character customization and specialization suite, and its focus on party-based adventuring that allowed the player to forge meaningful relationships with the NPC’s they ventured alongside. After spending a year developing new DLC content for Origins (ten DLC packs in total including one major expansion), BioWare finally got around to releasing a proper sequel, Dragon Age II, in early 2011.
Unlike Origins, which featured a traditional fantasy art style and character models, Dragon Age II went for a more stylized approach much to the displeasure of some fans. Also unlike Origins, Dragon Age II abandoned the turn-based tactical combat of its predecessor for a more action-focused approach that allowed players to perform weapon combos, cast spells, and perform special attacks all in real-time. Whereas in Origins the player could pick from several different playable races (Human, Elf, or Dwarf) when creating their character, Dragon Age II cast players in the role of a Human member of the Hawke family (the character’s gender, class, and facial features could still be customized).
While Dragon Age II received mostly positive reviews from critics, it wasn’t very well-received by fans of the first game. Old-school RPG fans who enjoyed the more tactical slow-paced combat of Origins criticized the sequel’s more action-oriented approach and many other fans weren’t happy with the game’s recycled environments, smaller setting, and unfocused story. While Dragon Age II still managed to sell quite a few copies, the overall consensus from fans is that it took all of the great elements of Origins and made them worse.
Fortunately that wasn’t the end of the Dragon Age franchise. BioWare is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the third major game in the series, Dragon Age: Inquisition which is slated for a late 2014 release. Inquisition will feature the return of multiple playable character races (including the addition of playable Qunari in addition to Humans, Elves, and Dwarves) as well as a combat system that seeks to fuse the best elements from both previous games. Dragon Age II may be remembered as the dark point in the series’ history, but it has also paved the way for better things to come.
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Lords of Shadow 2
The Castlevania series is without a doubt one of the most iconic video game franchises in the industry so fans were naturally skeptical when developers MercurySteam revealed it was planning to release a rebooted Castlevania title in 2010. However, not only was Castlevania: Lords of Shadow a great game, it also had the two-pronged effect of breathing new life into a series that had admittedly grown somewhat stagnant. Four years later, fans of the first game finally got a proper sequel with Lords of Shadow 2.
Sadly, while Lords of Shadow 2 made a worthy attempt to carry the story of the first game forward, the execution left much to be desired. The game’s new modern city setting felt like a less-developed version of the traditional gothic medieval architecture from the first game and MercurySteam’s attempts to shoehorn in stealth-based gameplay resulted in certain sections that felt frustratingly pointless. The new characters and story elements introduced in Lords of Shadow 2 were solid enough, but a majority of the game’s other additions were so poorly executed they left many wondering whether MercurySteam had even tried to produce a quality game (the developer previously confirmed that Lords of Shadow 2 would be the last Castlevania game it developed).
Rumors of internal dissent within the studio, with fingers pointed specifically at studio head Enric Alvarez, helped to explain the sequel’s polarizing execution but naturally such allegations can’t be confirmed so it’s tough to know what really happened. Either way, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 will likely be remembered as a disappointing sequel to an amazing new attempt to revitalize the series. What sort of future the Lords of Shadow series has is tough to measure but for now fans will have to make do with what MercurySteam has given them.
BioShock – BioShock: Infinite
While each year brings with it many great new games, few of these games will likely influence the industry as much as BioShock did when it was released way back in 2007. It wasn’t just its original setting (an underwater 1960’s city called Rapture) that made developer Irrational Games’ new shooter such a breakout hit, nor was it the other original elements such as Plasmids, Big Daddies, or the ever-looming presence of the villainous Andrew Ryan; what made BioShock so memorable was how it took all our pre-conceived notions and ideas of player agency and turned them completely on their heads. After the somewhat mediocre BioShock 2 (which was actually developed by another studio, 2K Marin), Irrational decided to return to the series in 2013, only this time instead of going back underwater, they had the opposite direction in mind…
Whereas BioShock sought to challenge the player’s conception of choice and morality in a ruined underwater city, BioShock Infinite took players up to Columbia, a city in the clouds, and there forced them to confront the ugly realities of America’s past (the game is set in 1912) while also telling a reality-bending story about family, prophecy, and the ties that bind. While BioShock had a very claustrophobic horror-themed aesthetic, Infinite went for a more bright and open approach that still left players feeling suffocated by Columbia’s harsh racial and moral prejudices. The bond forged between Infinite’s protagonist Booker DeWitt and the young woman Elizabeth he was sent to rescue, resonated with fans far more deeply than the plight of the silent protagonist from the first BioShock and helped the sequel stand out from its predecessor’s shadow.
Despite its somewhat shoddy shooter mechanics, BioShock Infinite still managed to be just as influential, if not more so, than its predecessor. Sadly, Irrational studio head Ken Levine recently announced that Irrational Games is shutting down, which means Infinite is likely the last BioShock game we’ll be seeing for a while (the BioShock IP is now being handled by publisher 2K Games). Irrational did manage to give fans one last treat with the Burial At Sea DLC, taking familiar characters and story elements from Infinite and injecting them into the Rapture setting from the original BioShock. While the future of the series is currently up in the air, both BioShock and BioShock Infinite remain as two of the best examples of games that did more than just entertain players, they also contained stories and moral lessons that would resonate with fans for years to come.