Games that took you by surprise

[merciful84]

So what games have you all played that totally took you by surprise when you played them? I'm not necessarily talking about an underrated title. This can be in a good, bad, or any other way. For me:

 

Virtue's Last Reward - I originally played it just to experience something different...but I didn't expect for me to get as hooked on it as I did. It was like one of those "choose your adventure" books but with puzzles. That may not sound very appealing but its the execution. Its unlike any game that I've played before and its one of the rare titles from the most recent of generations that I consider an all time favorite.

 

Knytt Underground - I walked into this game "knowing" that it was a 2D platformer and expected the usual experience that I get from one. I ended up getting something very very different. Indeed, it's layout is that of a metroidvania game but the actual gameplay is more consistant to an adventure game. I found myself getting totally invested in searching every area of its insanely huge map for all sorts of secrets and items. Everything from the gameplay, characters, environment, story, and sound was unlike anything that I'd played before. Like Virtue's Last Reward, its one of those games that I'm definately glad I took a chance on.

 

Two Worlds II - Everyone always talks about how bad the first game was but I didn't hear much of anything about this one, so I went into it with not many expectations. I was shocked by how massive the open world ended up being, the good amount of enemy variety, the amount of quests to partake in, advanced and fun magic crafting system, the seperate online campaign, and versitlity of the character stat/ability/job building. Why more people haven't played or is talking about this game...I still have no idea.

 

Skullgirls - Its one of those games that I constantly heard was really good but put off playing due to just taking it for face value. Boy was i wrong. The story, art design, combo system, and especially music really sucked me in. It had that "old school" arcade feel that missed in gaming since playing games like Marvel vs. Capcom.

 

Demons Souls - Everyone and their mom was online raving about how great this game was, so I finally caved in and got. Honestly, I was expecting A LOT more. For some reason, I just walked away feeling that it was a really mediocre experince. I've had other games to kick my butt a lot worst than this did. I think a lot of it has to do with everyone calling it a RPG. I was expecting some sort of character or story development, open world, and stat building...I got none of that. It honestly felt like a dungeon crawler with minor RPG elements.

 

Mindjack - This game seems to the get the exact opposite feed back from people in that it is commonly bashed. However, the concept and the gameplay footage still had me very interested in the game, so I picked it up new for $10. Man, am I glad I used my better judgement. I ended up really enjoying the game and honestly not seeing what in the heck people were complaining about. What's ironic is that it has similar approach to online multiplayer that Demons Souls has and personally, I think it does it a lot better! In Demons Souls, you need certain items to access some of the multiplayer features...however in Mindjack, you recieve a one time upgrade and from then on you can "hack" other players' games. It was absoulely awesome to either be in the middle of my own campaign or someone else's and battling it out with SEVERAL players at once. You could just be playing the game normally one minute and the next, you're involved in a team death match right in the middle of a boss battle. Outside of that, I really feel that the game absolutely delivered on the premise of the gameplay: jump in & out of enemies or NPCs AND turn other ones into friendly A.I to assist you in gun fights. It was not only awesome but one the best and unique experiences that I've had playing on my PS3!

Edited May 13, 2014 by merciful84

[Parker]

Uncharted - I think this is the first game that really showed off what the PS3 was capable of. I remember being stunned with the visuals, story and characters and it remains a favorite to this day. 

 

BioShock - I don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said about this masterpiece. 

 

Spec Ops: The Line - This one really surprised me with the story. I assumed it was going to be another generic third person shooter but boy was I wrong. A genuinely great story with some great TPS gameplay. 

 

Sonic Generations - Ever since Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic fans have been shit out of luck when it comes to awesome games but this one hit all the right spots. It has everything that made the 2D Genesis games great as well as things that made the 3D adventures great, all in one game. 

 

 

Parker

[willmill97]

WipEout HD because there's absolutely nothing like it, which is what makes it brilliant.

 

Guitar Heros and Rock Band are just plain fun to play. 

 

Grand Theft Auto IV and Max Payne 3 surprised me by how great and complex the story was.

 

And Spec Ops: The Line, for having the best ending in gaming history!

Edited May 13, 2014 by willmill97

[Goro]

Yakuza 3, i randomly bought it years ago half expecting it to suck but it ended up being my favorite series of all time.

[itzzh3lixx]

Sonic generations: i expected another dull sonic game but boy was i wrong, may even be one of my favorite games of last gen

Dead Island Riptide: i was a huge fan of Dead island so i immedietly pre ordered this as soon as i heard about it and i expected it to be more than just dead island 1 with water. Safe to say that i might not pre order the next dead island game

Call of Duty 4: when i first heard about it i tought it would be just another FPS but i was completely baffled when i played it at my friends house, i was spechless. I still see my self playing it every once in a while still to this date

[Carville87]

Tokyo Jungle single player is good but co op with a friend is amazing.

[merciful84]

Tokyo Jungle single player is good but co op with a friend is amazing.

 

Ah, I still need to play that game!

[StrickenBiged]

Can I mention Tearaway?  Every moment of that game was an absolute joy.  

 

I wasn't expecting that when I bought it.  But when so many game reviewers had said it was their GoTY, maybe I should have expected it.  I think the visuals made me think I might find it too "kiddy".  Nothing could have been further from the truth.

[merciful84]

Can I mention Tearaway?  Every moment of that game was an absolute joy.  

 

This is another one that I may cave in and get too. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

 

A few more that came to mind:

 

Sine Mora : As much as I like shoot'em ups, I unexpectingly didn't care for this one. Which does surprise me because its one of the more visually impressive games in the genre that I've seen in awhile and I just tend to like indie shoot'em ups in general. Its a combination of the ranking system, combo system, story layout, and none of the characters having English voice overs. The story was especially dark but I still felt very disconnected from it due to none of it being played out in a language that I can understand and the great wall of text to read in between missions weren't enough. Even from what I could understand, the story still seemed all over the place and the gameplay didn't make up for it.

 

Velocity: This is absolutely the most unique shoot'em up that I've ever played. I was expecting a traditional vertical space shooter experience and got something far more. It manages to add puzzle solving in a way that doesn't interrupt the action but actually intergrates it. There are so many different mechanics in the gameplay that breathes a bit of fresh air into an aging genre.

 

A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks: Yet another shoot'em up game that caught me by surprise. Its a PS Mini that's...well...$2 but it gives you far more in value. The game was much larger than I thought it would be, with hilarious voice overs, great art direction, plenty of content to playthrough. Its one of the best PS Minis that I've played to date.

Edited May 13, 2014 by merciful84

[TwilightSpira]

Well recently?

Bioshock infinite I knew the game would be good since I loved bioshock 1 but I didn't know it would sore to my top 5 of all time.

I had some Amazing experiences if some indies

Outlast, lone survivor( shows that visual isn't everything in a game)

I could say the best ps3 game in my opinion, but I knew it would be good since is naughty god. The last of us.

Can I mention Tearaway?  Every moment of that game was an absolute joy.  

 

I wasn't expecting that when I bought it.  But when so many game reviewers had said it was their GoTY, maybe I should have expected it.  I think the visuals made me think I might find it too "kiddy".  Nothing could have been further from the truth.

This gane was amazing, it will probably stay as one of the best vita games ever.

[miki-iki]

Bayonetta, for sure. I mean, I liked the game at first glance but I thought it was gonna be very lackluster with an ordinary story + dull/just ok gameplay + fairly likeable but ultimately forgettable, female protag (like BloodRayne, Heavenly Sword, Red Ninja: End of Honor) but I was impressed and LOVED everything about it! The gameplay, (addictive, fun and very nice to look at) story was very unique and interesting (could live without Luka though) and of course Bayonetta, she is far from forgettable. I haven't played the game in a long while but I can throw out some things she has said verbatim. 

 

Final Fantasy XIII - I just bought this on a whim because I needed some RPGs for my ps3 at the time. I didn't really know FF at that time either, (only ones I played were 1, 7 & 8 - was not serious about them did not finish) Though the game was linear, I was so focused on the story I didn't care. I loved the story, I loved the characters and especially the music. It is definitely a game I am glad I did not miss out on and after I finished it, I went back and finished the FFs I had and even played more of the series. 

 

El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron - When I played the demo, I thought "wow, this is a cool ass game. I want it. And it's one of those games where you'll actually learn something new. YES, I WANT IT."

I really liked the gameplay but I had no idea it would be so stagnant once I actually got the full game. Every level felt the same except with a different background. I mean, beautiful visuals will only get you so far. The game was so monotonous I just could not finish it....but I will...someday. 

 

Last Rebellion - I'm pretty sure a few people have seen my posts about this game. I didn't expect a whole lot from it, but at the same time, I didn't expect it to be so horrible, either. It is definitely one of those games where you are like, "ugh, am I at the end, yet?!" You just cannot wait til it's over, I am serious! After I realized the game was bad - about 30 mins in, I just skipped all the dialogue, cutscenes, everything. And I never do that because I am an absolute fiend for RPGs and their stories. Any game that makes me do that, you'd best run away from it. Terrible VA, weak characters, broken battle system, shitty music and horrible graphics (graphics generally do not matter to me but jeez, Last Rebellion, offer something!). Just failed in all categories.

 

Tales of Legendia - I'm an ardent fan of the Tales series, but none of them disappointed me like ToL. If I remember correctly (haven't played in over 5 years maybe)...about the only characters I liked was Sherry and Chloe. I hated everyone else because there was nothing special or cool about them at all. I hated that the battles were in 2D (boring & lame - battles were always rather quick to me) and I hated the design of the characters - I can't even remember the story so that tells you how I feel about it. It shouldn't have been a Tales title at all because it sure did not feel like one. Huge letdown. 

Edited May 13, 2014 by miki-iki

[Dr_Mayus]

I am just going to go with this generation as this list would be WAY too long

 

Mortal Kombat 9-Honestly I never really liked Mortal Kombat games as I found the controls to be too clunky. I stopped playing them after 3 but my buddy begged me to get this one and I am SO glad I did. This is probably my favourite fighter of all time and I will get the platinum in it eventually

 

Velocity Ultra-bought this game for 2 bucks because I wanted a distraction on the plane. Turned out to be a fantastic top-down shooter and is among my favourite Vita games.

 

Persona 4 Golden-Hype is something that generally kills a game for me (mass effect 2, red dead redemption fallout 3) but in this case the hype was completely correct. This has some of the best dialog and characters in any game I have played, the story is interesting and has great mechanics that actually are used to enhance the game.

 

Bioshock-The world completely sucked me in and it is one of the few games that I actually enjoyed more on the most difficult setting.

[xVolloxx]

Enslaved Odyssey To The West - Bought this game a few years ago and loved every second of it 

the story was extremely surprising near the end 

 

Bioshock Infinite - Without spoilers the ending had my Brain going crazy 

it was a really in depth story and brilliantly written 

 

Dragons Dogma - The whole game was fantastic ! And the ending in my opinion 

is one of the best gaming endings of all time ! 

 

Spec Ops The Line - It's only till the end when you realize everything !

fantastic game ! 

 

Virtue's Last Reward - I didn't expect much going into the game but the more i played 

the more i got into the story and the story is one of the best written stories in a game period ! 

it's brilliant , the ending was the biggest mind f**k i've ever experienced with a video game

and it keeps putting it on you , layer after layer  

[PREDRAG-K]

Borderlands. I bought this because my friend was bugging me to play with him. I expected another generic shooter, but boy was I wrong. It was a fun shoot and loot game, and I'm glad I bought it. However, it is very boring compared to Borderlands 2.

Dragon's Dogma. I bought this when I was bored. I wanted a new RPG to play, and had heard some pretty good things about this game. I never expected to get hooked so easily. I love it so much, it's now one of my top 5 games of all time.

Skyrim. Exact opposite of Dragon's Dogma. I bought this based on all of the hype. None of my friends could stop talking about how great it was, and how it was the best game ever. All I played was a boring, glitchy, repetitive fetch quest filled RPG. I had fun for the first hour or so, before I realized every side quest was almost the same, and every dungeon was Draugr, Bandit, Draugr, Draugr, Bandit, etc.

Bioshock. I randomly found this when I was looking through PS Store for demos. I had fun with the demo, so I went out and bought the full game. I'm not a huge FPS fan so I definitely didn't expect it to become my all time favorite game.

[Carville87]

 

Persona 4 Golden-Hype is something that generally kills a game for me (mass effect 2, red dead redemption fallout 3) but in this case the hype was completely correct. This has some of the best dialog and characters in any game I have played, the story is interesting and has great mechanics that actually are used to enhance the game.

100% agree the most memorable characters in a game i have ever played

[closertim]

Borderlands, wasn't expecting much when I first started playing but I'm enjoying it. A little bit too much.

[Sigma999]

Tomb Raider(2013)- I had recently played Uncharted 3 and didn't fulfill what i expected like Uncharted2 did. Then i got Tomb Raider thiking it wouldn't be nothing special like a Uncharted clone and i got amazed by how much i loved the game and suprass the Uncharted 3 by far in my opinion. Bioschock- Never was a fan of FPS and Bioschock was a gamble without expecting nothing. Oh man, the story, the enviroment, the plasmid system and of course BIG DADDY made this masterpiece one of my favorites of all time. Bayonetta- This one i had a little hype until i get it but it suprised very much by how good it felt for me. The huge combo system, stylish gameplay were very godd in contrast it felt short beacuse i was having too much fun ( should have got a "bloody palace" like DMC)

[wildstwawberries]

HOTLINE MIAMI

 

 

 

got it from PS Plus and thought it looked like I would hate it and just another "Lets kill things for no point and no fun"

Later,  I was looking for a new vita game so i went through old PS plus games. I game it a shot and 100% LOVED it

From story to art style to MUSIC 

 

 

THIS THING IS A MASTERPIECE

[WuTangJase-]

Wolf among us

[JaM]

I'm so glad people are appreciating VLR...

 

Anyway:

 

The Walking Dead: I admit, I bought this game in my Vita last year due to the fact that it is Easy Platinum but after I have played the 1st Episode...got hooked on it...

 

Muramasa Rebirth: I tried to searched last year what are the top 10 Vita games and it is always on the list.. somehow skeptical about it because I am not a fan of slashing game... but man, after I played the game for an hour and put my headset on... I loved it.

 

Velocity Ultra: Another Genre I am not a fan of (tks to Sine Mora) also I am somehow a perfectionist that's why I thought this game and I will not get along well... but man, thanks to PS+ IGC...I have got this and give it a try... moments later, got hooked on it and already on mission 15+ 

 

Soul Sacrifice: I hate Monster Hunter franchise (and still hate it until now) and God Eater [seriously, I still don't get people's hype with these games] so when this game is released, I am 100% sure that I am not buying it... then it got free in IGC.... got nothing to play that time so I gave it a shot... I still have to adjust with ARPG but what hooked me into it is the story... from Protagonist's friendship to Soltiara to the Ending is one of the greatest story in gaming I have played so far... 

 

Back to the Future: 4th TellTales game I have played (next to TWD, TWAU and TWD2). I didn't expected much in this game since I know it was released years ago and it might have some lag/graphic/gameplay issue... and I was not wrong but what really surprise me is how Telltales can create games with awesome plots...

Edited May 14, 2014 by jeieem

[merciful84]

I'm so glad people are appreciating VLR...

 

Anyway:

 

The Walking Dead: I admit, I bought this game in my Vita last year due to the fact that it is Easy Platinum but after I have played the 1st Episode...got hooked on it...

 

Muramasa Rebirth: I tried to searched last year what are the top 10 Vita games and it is always on the list.. somehow skeptical about it because I am not a fan of slashing game... but man, after I played the game for an hour and put my headset on... I loved it.

 

Velocity Ultra: Another Genre I am not a fan of (tks to Sine Mora) also I am somehow a perfectionist that's why I thought this game and I will not get along well... but man, thanks to PS+ IGC...I have got this and give it a try... moments later, got hooked on it and already on mission 15+ 

 

Soul Sacrifice: I hate Monster Hunter franchise (and still hate it until now) and God Eater [seriously, I still don't get people's hype with these games] so when this game is released, I am 100% sure that I am not buying it... then it got free in IGC.... got nothing to play that time so I gave it a shot... I still have to adjust with ARPG but what hooked me into it is the story... from Protagonist's friendship to Soltiara to the Ending is one of the greatest story in gaming I have played so far... 

 

Back to the Future: 4th TellTales game I have played (next to TWD, TWAU and TWD2). I didn't expected much in this game since I know it was released years ago and it might have some lag/graphic/gameplay issue... and I was not wrong but what really surprise me is how Telltales can create games with awesome plots...

 

Same when it comes to Velocity. I didn't realize that many people had played it.

 

Soul Sacrifice's approach to and the overall quality of the story caught me by surprise as well. I actually felt sorry for a good number the monsters after reading through their backstories.

[Xxleonardo97xX]

Spec Ops The Line

 

Mafia 2 -  the best here

 

Sleeping Dogs

 

Can't say I've been suprised by MGS franchise because it's just the best 

[R-A-F-I-Q-U-E]

Syndicate was surprisingly good imo, even the MP was great and I usually hate playing online.

Bayonetta i didn't expect much, just wanted to have fun but it turned out to be one of my favourite games.

[JaM]

Same when it comes to Velocity. I didn't realize that many people had played it.

 

Soul Sacrifice's approach to and the overall quality of the story caught me by surprise as well. I actually felt sorry for a good number the monsters after reading through their backstories.

IKR... these games is the reason why I am really thankful being PS+ member...

[Lady Lilith]

Sonic Generations and Yakuza 3.  Also Knack, especially after it got pretty mediocre reviews.