10 Surprise Hits That SHOCKED Its Own Developers

[@ahmadjaber5293]

I expected to see Hollow Knight Or even Cuphead! Those two games were just top notch and their success was unprecedented

[@gameranxTV]

👆🏻

[@RottenSloth93]

Why? Two super niche games that did about as well as the devs expected?

[@agentepolaris4914]

Nah, everyone knew cuphead would be a success from the very beginning

[@keynanmartinez]

​@@gameranxTVSplatoon should be on a Sequel list.

[@ashtinpeaks9972]

@@RottenSloth93 Cuphead i would agree with being expected to do well, but hollow knight not really. It just blew up out of no where with no previous title from what I understand. (Unless you count hungry knight lmfao not really a full game)

[@brooklynvlogs9396]

On the subject of Hellblade. finding out years later that the dark Rot going up your arm doesn't actually delete your save data blew me away. Every time I died in the game I legitimately panicked, it brought back that feeling of old video games that would start you from the beginning if you ran out of lives, but it was all just a ruse the developers used to help the player get into the mind of Senua who suffers from a form of psychosis (A mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality) way better than anything I've ever gotten out of a AAA game.

[@manaash4316]

The special features on it talks about how they worked with real people who shared Senua's disorder to make sure they got it right. I read somewhere that a teenage kid played the game and realized that his brain wasn't totally broken, just disordered, and he spoke to his mom about things he was seeing so he could get treatment. He had been making plans to off himself before that. And the face model for Senua was actually just one of their office workers they had originally planned to use as a stand in for an actual actor, but she was so good that they kept her in the part. Like, it's just a fundamentally great game, but the stories about its development and its impact are just so impressive and wholesome to me.

[@pye2574]

It was actually quite clever. It says about the rot spreads if you die and if it reaches your head gameover. However it will reach your head and will be gameover. I thought it was a genius concept that they technically didn't lie about it. Just made it so people misinterpreted it

[@Spr0ket]

@@pye2574 I'm gonna be this person :D "Godzilla had a stroke trying to read your comment and died"

[@Luv2Flood]

Great video! I've always loved Baldur's Gate. The humbleness in the comment "...I hope there's no big bugs left" just shows the amount of work put in. All the praise is thoroughly deserved. You guys rock. Awesome game. Well done!

[@jimmythegamer2231]

Too bad there were big bugs left at launch, plenty of them, especially in Act 3.

[@criticallol3039]

​@@jimmythegamer2231True but you can't deny they've been staying on top of their patches/hotfixes pretty well. I mean you look at their major patch notes and you end up scrolling for a while. It does prove your point about the amount of bugs the game was released with and still has but they appear to be pretty transparent about it (even when their patches/hotfixes causes more or other bugs), which I respect.

[@benedictjajo]

​@@jimmythegamer2231none of them are game or immersion breaking though, at least for me.

[@winstonsmith8597]

GOTY

[@jimmythegamer2231]

​​​​@@criticallol3039 Most devs that release unfinished and/or buggy games are transparent about it to an extent and actively try to patch it post-launch, as was the case with Cyberpunk, Cities Skylines 2, and more. Doesn't make it acceptable that the game launched in the state it did. BG3 and Larian get a massive pass that other AAA studios don't just cuz "game good" and cuz they're independent and not owned by someone like EA. Game could be your favorite game of all time for all I care, doesn't excuse it nonetheless when said game releases with major bugs/glitches and a half-baked ending at launch. People need to call out when devs release unfinished games and not blindly fall into the hype train.

[@Merellin]

I'm surprised Minecraft is not on the list, One of the biggest games ever, Originally cretaed by a single man before he built Mojang to help with further development of the game. After the first month of sales in Alpha he made 11 million dollars from the game, And having never expected to become rich over a month he was in total shock. During interviews when asked what he did with his money he could just stammer out that he bought a hat while looking totally shell shocked. And it only went up from there.

[@Fivemonthslater1]

I checked the comments to say exactly this. Minecraft is the biggest “shocked its developer” ever!

[@Twigg4075]

That's because their lists are almost always lacking.

[@MrCode4money]

You hit the nail on the head. Falcon probably left it off the list deliberately to get the interactions "down in the comments". 😂

[@SquallLeonhartlo]

Also, he kind of went crazy after being bought out by Microsoft. They probably don't want to draw attention to him.

[@ExTAzY101]

League of legends was also created by a single team in small office before it started breaking records.

[@wendahu5943]

A Plague Tale somehow has this mesmerizing charm with it's story that managed to be extremely dark and heart-warming at the same time. It leaves the player a strange unique feeling that's no other game can deliver.

[@MtnNerd]

I want to play it but I'm terrified of rats the way some people are about spiders.

[@ernovanchannel]

​@@MtnNerddamn. If you are afraid of rat the it will feel overwelming to you. Because by looking at them from a distance I got shivers, especially in the first flood. I said flood it literally flooding with rats..

[@MtnNerd]

@@ernovanchannel Yeah I'm going to have to sit this one out. I'd basically be Ellen from those Arachnophobia videos.

[@WaffleOnTheRun]

I do kinda understand Miyazakis suprise, the series was known for basically being only played by hardcore players and Elden Ring ammased a huge audience with a ton of people that would probably consider themselves more casual gamers, it has sold 20 million as of March this year. With it's sucess though I think it just showed that honestly the games aren't nearly as hard or confusing as people potray them to be, it doesn't hold your hand but thats kinda the beauty of the game, because going in almost any direction will bring you to something cool.

[@datboyjesus9004]

i can definitely vouch for this. elden ring was my first ever fromsoft game and it got me roped into the world of dark souls and souls-like games. one of my favorites now is lies of p lol

[@prajyotkumar9644]

yep...the other dark souls basically stuck you at a point if you cant beat a boss and its annoying af. elden ring went out of its way to not do that. You can even move 90% of the time without any fight and just running away and killing who you can. I really cant just get stuck at one place fighting a boss. The other game who semi applied this is " seikiro shadow die twice ". You can directly some of the minor bosses if you want and it gives a lot of option to movement.@@datboyjesus9004

[@Voldemorts.Nipple]

I like the freedom for sure but I still wish there was a story easy to understand. At least it doesn't force you into "missions"

[@DoomsdayMayBeOkay]

@@datboyjesus9004 Try Bloodborne if you can, that one is pretty especial...

[@A-Duck]

The games have never been "hard" and I don't mean that in a snobby elitist way, but I believe it's important to note. The best way to describe the Fromsoft catalogue, in my opinion, is uncompromising. From the challenge to the worldbuilding, they have an internally well defined design philosophy and adhere to it strictly. Part of that happens to be 'minimal hand holding'. At the time they started making these games way back around 2009, an uncompromising challenge without handholding was an EXTREMELY underserved niche in the industry. I cannot stress enough how different the gaming landscape was back then. The idea of deliberately _not_ guiding your audience as much as possible was considered a failure, not a deliberate and valid design choice. Making sure every player got to experience every scrap of content was considered an objective merit, and not doing so an objective misstep. It was this environment that created a deep desire in the market for experiences without excessive hand holding, and it's there Fromsoft found their audience. It's also why they will never include a difficulty setting, and why that's a good thing.

[@ARIXANDRE]

In hindsight, it sounds crazy but Rocksteady wasn't too sure about Arkaham Asylum. The Batman IP was in the gutter when they made the best Batman trilogy ever.

[@legendsclan9108]

how? Batman Arkham Asylum came out in 2009 and TDK, one of the best CBMs of all time and one of the best Batman movies of all time came in 2008, so although they may have been worried about it, the Batman IP was not in the gutter, culturally wise.

[@JoJoZaka]

​@@legendsclan9108the market was oversaturated and media sales outside of the movies were tanking. to the point that even mentioning batman outside of his own stories in the comics was banned for a short period.

[@nintendork23]

He didn't phrase that very well, but I think what he's trying to say is that batman video games did not have a great track record at the time, which was true.

[@LeStacheman]

That's exactly what he meant but these other 2 trolls are braindead apparently

[@wgnd1614]

he phrased that perfectly fine and i have no idea how yall missunderstood his comment...

[@mtnman8783]

Two gameranx videos in one day?? Truly we live in a blessed age

[@Azreal357]

Now, none for a month. The scales will balance out!

[@visionhawk4403]

The thing about Hellblade is that, the way they made it, it simulates schizophrenia very well. It's the biggest reason I had a hard time playing it for lengthy times at once, because I have schizoaffective disorder. The way they recorded voices, the visual hallucinations, hell, they even simulated paranoia by making you believe that you would lose your save if "the rot" got to your head by dying too much.

[@snake_doc1788]

I'm shocked that Stardew Valley wasn't on here!? I can't believe that sole dev thought it would be as popular as it is!!

[@gameranxTV]

👍🏼 part 2

[@kinginthenaught]

Even terraria... That was WAY more successful, has more current players and even highest concurrent players than many AAA games on steam alone. For a game over 12 years old!

[@Azreal357]

That's what I said. It has outsold Elden Ring, had 1 developer making it and didn't need a 200 million dollar budget.

[@MightyGreedo]

I seem to recall that (back in the day) Valve was shocked at how popular Portal 1 became. They had just thrown it into this collection called The Orange Box as an afterthought. It came with Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2. Epic collection!

[@kaldo_kaldo]

Had never heard of Valve or any of the games before The Orange Box.

[@Free_speech_is_dead]

Both Plague Tale games are 10/10 masterpieces.

[@danielh12345]

Absolutely love those games! Storytelling is great! Although I'm normally not really into super linear games those games kept me so interested and engaged. Wouldn't have wanted it differently!

[@cea5er]

The truth has been spoken

[@thelastpersononearth9765]

​@@danielh12345Some games Like Plague Tale, Uncharted and Resident evil are way better being linear. They wouldn't work as open world imo.

[@tiacool7978]

@thelastpersononearth9765 for A Plague Tale, I think what bothers people is the sort of on rails movement. Really felt like you couldn't go anywhere except where they wanted you to. The sequel loosened it's grip though, which was greatly appreciated. Even Hugo was less annoying in it.

[@Aschwiftbreeze]

plague tale is such a good series, super slept on beautiful journey

[@gameranxTV]

👍🏼

[@DicepairGames]

​@@gameranxTVPlease stop spoiling the game's twist 😣.

[@drgonzo123]

I want more people to play A Plague Tale: Requiem. That story, especially the way it wraps up, just floored me. They’re short games. If you haven’t played them you’re missing out.

[@omarmainuddin7251]

Double header Saturday, thanks Gameranx!

[@GruncleSheeku]

Honestly id put the OG Subnautica on a list like this. Yeah some success was expected just because of the survival crafting aspect but the whole underwater thing was originally thought it would be a detriment because everyone HATES water levels yet they essentially made their whole game a water level. and everyone LOVED it. Couldnt get enough.

[@hagenstein3130]

Yes. Subnautica was my first thought when reading the title. Another one I miss: Banished. Made by a sole developer. And it has become the game a lot of other games in this genre are compared to, i.e. are they as good as it?

[@dustinyoshimura5612]

WoW could have gone on this list. I don't remember the actual numbers any more, but their high end estimations were say 200K players beyond other similar games. Which was a decent sized upscale on the data they were using. Their servers basically filled up immediately (I remember jokes about playing the WoW board game while you waited in queue), and they had to scramble to increase the amount of servers they had, which also filled up almost immediately.

[@Zytrazz]

Miyazaki's way of thinking about his games really deserves so much respect and we should appreciate him more. Only few would think of that way. Others would only see it as an opportunity for the game to be their cash cow. And yes, just like what Ubisoft are doing with their main titles. This must be the reason why they were mad to Elden Ring open world design, completely total opposite mindset.

[@stuartmorley6894]

As a voice hearer, Hellblade was such a good game to go through. I know everyone's experience is different but just seeing and playing a game that truly made an effort to use and explain that experience was fantastic. Even if it helped only a few people understand voice hearing better thats a great result. I know the actual game, which i really enjoyed, is the more important thing to most but it just felt good to be "seen".

[@mintymushrooms8025]

Yeah I felt they took mental distinctiveness to another level and handled it beautifully. Honestly in my top three games of all time

[@redmannamder3620]

What is a voice hearer?

[@stuartmorley6894]

@@redmannamder3620 someone who hears voices either inside their head or externally that others can't. There's more too it and lots of different possible reasons but that's the basic.

[@MegaHassan3000]

damn I thought it was some kinda of job to hear voices or something@@stuartmorley6894

[@dorabrooks76]

I wasn't able to play it, but I did watch a play through. I watched with surround sound headphones on, and the effect was incredible! It really felt like the voices were inside my head. If that's even a fraction of what you and others experience... I'm so glad they made the game and did such a great job with it. I'm happy for you that it made you feel seen. I hope it's helped people understand a little better what your experience of life is like, as I imagine it's hard to fully describe. Cheers!

[@BrandonMarshall547]

Thank God two uploads within a couple hours. They must know I’m bored at work! 😂

[@elijahe7612]

A game I thought of when I saw the title was The Last of Us. I know Neil Druckmann has talked in the past about how much of a passion project it was, and he was so certain that it'd be a failure and that people would want Naughty Dog to stick to the successful Uncharted and Jak and Daxter games instead of a grounded cinematic M rated game. And since then, it's become many people's favorite property from the studio and it's become a wildly successful drama show.

[@avez-ch1np]

Flappy Bird also deserves a mention. A game that exploded out of nowhere, media tried to frame it as evil, all accumulating to the dev shutting it down from stress.

[@IntimateGamer]

Hell Blade is pure perfection. The puzzles and fight mechanics were kept simple as so not to detract from the story and it worked amazing well. Everyone whose played this game cried at the end.

[@liamvermaak982]

I know I cried in the final fight. Needing to accept fate and give in, even when all you want to do is keep fighting, even when the odds are impossible

[@denzo3882]

2 videos in a day, I feel blessed

[@gameranxTV]

👍🏼

[@juancarloang]

Kinda surprised that Flappy Bird wasn't in this list.

[@liamvermaak982]

My time with Hellblade was truly breathtaking. I was so blown away by the story and atmosphere. Can't wait for the sequel to finally release, cause Senua's Sacrifice was not just a game, it was almost a spiritual journey. AND HOW COULD ONE FORGET THAT CHILLING SOUNDTRACK?!

[@mt_baldwin]

Elden Ring was so successful because there was one big fear non-souls players had about playing a souls game, that they'd get stuck on some hard boss and be unable to finish the game, and Elden Ring being open world greatly alleviated this fear. It was the last ingredient needed to finally launch a souls game into mainstream popularity (23 million copies sold in 21 months, this is Zelda and Final Fantasy levels of mainstream). The other reason were souls fans speak of these games with such awe and reverence for the story, settings and game play and being able to beat one is a badge of gaming honor. So for a lot of these people, myself included, it was the best chance to finally get into one of these.

[@Alloveck]

Personally, I'd say its greatest success was simply going open world right when my frustration with game design that's basically a bunch of linear narrow hallways hit its tipping point. Wide open spaces and choosing which direction I felt like going was exactly what I was hungrier for than I ever had been before, and it delivered. Aside from that, I'd say Elden Ring has other strengths and even some significant weaknesses if not steps backward, but that feeling of open exploration is just such a big deal it made up for the problems. So yeah, I'd agree that being open world was THE singular greatest reason it succeeded so hard, but not because of a fear of hitting a brick wall of a boss in my case. I just really like when games let me explore to the left, right, and behind as much as forward.

[@FlashesSoccer011]

​@Alloveck it wasn't just that it was open world. Plenty of games have open world design. Ellen Ring felt FULL. You could stumble onto a new vista at any second, find a secret, a dungeon, a random boss, a crazy ass encounter, or even take a seemingly innocuous elevator and end up in a new zone that felt like you were in an entirely different universe. It was simply sensational.

[@trcthorkun]

I love that the UI is so unintrusive, there is no handholding, quest markers and shit clogging up my screen and the map. You just go explore. Sure that means that it's very difficult completing an NPC questline in Elden Ring without looking it up, but I'd rather do that than have the game have 15 blinking arrows filling my screen pointing to the objective.

[@CardinalZyn]

Hell blade is such an immersive and fun experience, I’ve played through it more than I did Halo 2 when I had nothing better to do. It doesn’t take long to complete, but every play feels new and different. Fantastic idea and so much fun

[@Yggdrasil42]

I'm sure the Outer Wilds developers didn't expect to make such a well loved game.

[@GYTCommnts]

Other thing about Hellblade is that they worked about an important issue that is mental illness. Not only they deserved the success because of the quality, but for the subject they chose to work and the way they did it.

[@Kumagoro42]

Yeah, Hellblade's behind the scenes featurette is illuminating. They didn't just consult with medical specialists, they scheduled sessions with people suffering from Senua's illness, showed them the game at various stages of development, and incorporated their notes. That's an absurd amount of time and money invested just to do justice to a theme. I don't think anybody else ever did such a thing for a game.

[@Alloveck]

I know next to nothing of the game aside from seeing little snips of gameplay that make it seem like some sort of fantasy adventure, and that it somehow deals with mental illness and hearing voices. Which has lead me to suspect it's ultimately an "all a dream" or symbolic sort of deal where a significant amount or all the cool/fantastic stuff happening turns out to be just in the character's head or metaphorical or whatever, or is left ambiguous whether the cool magic things happened or not. As such, despite people saying it's good, I've avoided it because personally, I've never found that trope to be at all satisfying to put it mildly. So... is my suspicion correct?

[@Kumagoro42]

@@AlloveckNot exactly. It doesn't really use that trope, it's smarter than that. Senua's journey actually happens. We don't know what exactly happens during it, because she doesn't know, because she can't know. It's first and foremost the most accomplished schizophrenia simulator ever attempted (and it can be very upsetting in that sense). The real people suffering from the disorder they consulted with (as documented in the featurette that's accessible through the game menu) were so unbelievably touched for being seen at this level of authenticity for the first time in any media. It's a milestone not just for video games.

[@tortyfoo42]

How can Vampire Survivors not be in this list probably at #1? The game created a whole genre.

[@P1P31150]

and they added Elden Ring.....

[@L-kun]

Gameranx doesn't pay attention to Vtubers.

[@AnthonyCruzader]

Should be on the list, but it didn't create the genre. That was "Magic Survival" (also a great game).

[@blanket7031]

@AnthonyCruzader made it mainstream

[@Philpot1992]

Because the guy who made that game used to work at casinos and made it to be deliberately addictive. I'm sure he knew it would be popular lol. I need to go back to it and give it a chance because it must be better than my experience with it. Every time I play I just want to play halls of torment instead.

[@muzamilnabinadroo]

Im very happy for Baldur's gate 3 because this game redefined to many of us what a True RPG means. Many people have been considering Sony style Action Adventure games with skill trees as RPGs.

[@andrewcarter9649]

I really wish you idiot gatekeepers would pull your heasd out of your arses, there's more than one way to make an RPG.

[@shabr1ri]

Exactly. No other game gives you so much freedom over deciding your direction. Just as easily as you can be the good-guy, you can be the antihero, you can straight up be the villain if you choose, whenever you want. The story lays out clear consequences and outcomes of your actions, but you still have the freedom at nearly every turn to navigate a situation in a way that suits your character. This, combined with gameplay mechanics that truly reflect Larian’s dedication- shows that so many aspects of BG3 are major improvements to the top-down genre. This may be my own personal opinion, but even compared to my running of Divinity Original Sin 2 DE, BG3 is just _better._

[@doctordoom85]

Well, to be fair, even a few of those Sony games have their RPG elements still feel more authentic in comparison to the nothingburger that was Final Fantasy XVI’s “RPG” elements. “Hey, congrats, you upgraded your sword and gained a level!” Cool, does the upgrade unlock a new skill or passive ability? Maybe Clive could learn a different weapon type option? “Hahaha, NO. Enjoy those minor stat increases that barely make a difference in almost any fight.” Well, could we at least have elemental weaknesses/resistances so the different combat styles actually matter? “Fuck you.” …….alrighty then, uninstalling and will just wait for FF 7 Rebirth as at least Nomura knows how to make a action RPG. (I laughed my ass off at seeing a thread blow up talking about how GOW Ragnarok was more of a RPG than FF 16, because the people mad about hearing it were grasping at straws to claim otherwise) But just to be clear, BG 3 is easily my GOTY, just that not every RPG needs to be like it. Variety is the spice of life.

[@Celedhring-pv4js]

Great video as always! I feel that World of Warcraft should at least get an honorable mention on this list, even if this happened 18 years ago ... after all, how many other games do you know of where they had to ask folks to stop selling the game because it was too successful? Six months in, WoW's servers were so impacted, the hardware simply didn't exist to be purchased, so Blizzard reached out to retailers and asked them to stop selling the game.

[@TheOdMan]

WoW should have been number 1 on the list. To not even include it is just weird.

[@Yuki-rh1ie]

valheim in vr is a BREATHTAKING dream come true. i cud live in it FOREVER. spendin a huntin night out in the woods n sleepin in the grass under the canopy in the fog, gettin back hom at dawn n just takin in the sun rise over your village. there's just nothing like it. there just is no words to express sailing in it in vr

[@ninjalemurdude]

I'm surprised Fortnite wasn't here. The original game took years to develop and was a bit of a flop. They absolutely did not expect the battle royale to take off the way it did.

[@69Mikou]

The love for a plague tale is so appreciable!!! I Love the games too!! The second one took a bit too much time for my taste to start, but... I am still recovering from its ending, such an incredible game ❤

[@Pixeleyes]

The most exciting thing about the success of BG3 is that studios and publishers are going to be much more interested in reviving old franchises that everybody thought were dead.

[@stuartmorley6894]

I'd hope that's not the lesson, at least not the major one. The lessons should be that you should make something daring and original even if it's in a franchise. That you should invest in your talent and promote depth. That you should listen to players along the way to constantly improve. That you should stick to your vision regardless of trends. No point reviving old games if you just turn out generic crap wearing the skin of an old game.

[@mimcduffee86]

​@@stuartmorley6894Wait, you're excited that there is going to a ton of shitty sequels and a severe lack of original content?

[@stuartmorley6894]

@@mimcduffee86 you think Larian are going to pump out loads of BG content as sequels? I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding you.

[@wgnd1614]

@@stuartmorley6894 original? baldurs gate 3 is not original at all

[@lyndonmarquis414]

Really pleased to see Plague Tale and Hellblade on this list. The latter I have played through probably 6 or 7 times now even though there’s no real re-playability options. Hope the sequel expands on the first without losing what made it great. And hard agree on the full-assedness of Plague Tale.

[@Kumagoro42]

I'm a bit conflicted about Hellblade 2. On one hand, I really really want to play as Senua again. On the other hand, I'm not sure what to make of the trailer showing her fighting a giant alongside other Celtic warriors. Given how the first game ends, and what it retroactively means for the story, I don't know how to reconcile those scenes. But ultimately I trust Ninja Theory to know what they're doing.

[@lyndonmarquis414]

@@Kumagoro42 Maybe the group mêlée is a cutscene flashback? Certainly the first game is a very solitary endeavour and I don’t know that I want very much more in-game interaction _but_ like you say, I trust Ninja Theory to nail it.

[@WalleBrown]

Great list, and I think Vampire Survivors could be a really good honorable mention.

[@Melvinator311]

What a great morning!! TWO fantastic videos from the best in the business. Keep up the amazing work gameranx!!

[@FaisalDonno]

Wasn’t Fortnite an unexpected success? It started off as a hobby for the epic devs that took a long time, and was mainly a zombies survival game that then added a BR which skyrocketed in success out of nowhere. I would say it should be Number 1 on the list. (Not a fan of the game, ngl miss the zombies mode but still )

[@rikko47]

I swear I seen a plagues tale years ago and was like "man idk what it is but I wanna try this game" and I Love it, its different and it's amazing

[@Name_Lessness]

Elden Ring, it's an open world Dark Souls, the first of it's kind, it's not that complicated as to it's success. This list goes to show that a new idea is valued with it's simplicity. These games will go on to inspire other fresh ideas while showing a possibility of great success.

[@x01021]

On the other hand, Souls type games are successful but still considered “niche.” A lot of people maybe tried DS1 a long time ago and decided the entire genre wasn’t for them. That’s why the success of ER would still be a shock to FromSoft because it sold at the level of a big budget AAA with tons of hype. Goes to show that gamers reward passionate devs!

[@VictorGabriel-ht5qp]

Yes, exactly, people say like no one could have seen Elden Ring's success, but lots of games from From Software were already famous, like Dark Souls, Sekiro and Bloodborn

[@FrenchyMcToast]

I've seen so many examples of people learning the wrong lessons from their success and trying to recapture it unsuccessfully that I think that Miyazaki's answer here is exactly the correct one. "I've captured lighting in a bottle, I'm not really sure how, but we probably won't be able to do it again. Let's just move on."

[@InnerSunshine]

Plague Tale Innocence was also good due to the WRITER. I went back and looked as his priors. Unusually talented guy. He created engaging characters, a rarity in games where 99% of the devs are coders 🙂

[@MikeTheGreek]

Good video Falcon. Keep it up on Gameranx

[@Runeclaw]

The developers of #8 Valheim, Iron Gate, are from the same small town of Skövde as the developers of #4 V Rising, Stunlock Studios. Oh, and also Coffee Stain Studios (Goat Simulator) and Landfall (Totaly Acurate Battle Simulator) are also from that town of just about 50.000.

[@irecordwithaphone1856]

So what you're telling me is small towns breed big talent

[@Runeclaw]

@@irecordwithaphone1856 They started a school program for game development 20 years ago and have "The Game Incubator" to help out local studios and developers get the needed resources and find good contacts in the industry. And now the result is showing, as there are even more developers from Skövde.

[@ernovanchannel]

I agreed on everything you said on A plague Tale. Truly horrifying-calming-satisfying game to play. The sequel is even better especially the ending.. I can't think of any game that makes me feel what I feel towards the ending of the sequel.

[@thangadurairajac3101]

Elden ring not only sold well it even got "game of the year" even 8 months after the release

[@GamerMan05]

Elden Ring's immense success was due to its timing. At a time when everybody was sick of Ubisoft-esque checklist games with microtransactions, buggy and unfinished at release, Elden Ring was the perfect remedy, no handholding, exploration oriented (kinda like both) with no microtransactions and at launch, you had the full game. This played a part and made it more successful than it would have been if it had launched at any other time.

[@fotisj321]

To say that it wasn't as bad as many other games doesn't really do justice to the incredible heights of game design that Elden Ring has reached. The specific mix of open world and progression, allowing everyone to move on to the next boss encounter when they are ready, is wonderful. The rich and lush graphics, where you can take screenshots in most places and frame them. The consistent atmosphere of the world, an atmosphere of deep pathos and desolation. The boss design, the crafting system, the density of the world etc. etc. So: No, its immense success was not due to its timing, but because it is - from my perspective after 30 years of games - one of the best games ever designed. And we have a lot of really good games, especially in recent years (some are on the list in the video).

[@alister101]

I feel like the kid controlling the rats could've been kept a secret, it was nice to stumble on it.

[@shaanix4811]

just finished the game last week, almost got spoiled by the old bird :)

[@CUbanageNT_24]

Isnt that game a rip off of "The" Suicide Squad character RatCatcher 2 ?

[@CUbanageNT_24]

Not to mention the original character from before 2021

[@irecordwithaphone1856]

​@@CUbanageNT_24I don't think you can copyright the concept of controlling an animal, actually

[@metal4lifewp]

Its more about that tale of the rat catcher I think

[@MrBerniemcgovern]

I like to imagine all the fans of Game of Thrones who were burned by the last season flocked to Elden Ring to get their RR Martin fix. It's such a niche group that it's probably not possible, but the Venn Diagram with From Soft fans would be passionate. Love your videos!

[@FightYourCouch]

The Witcher 3 deserves a mention. Barely anyone talked about the second game other than, "it looks really good". The Witcher 3 completely blew everyone away and had people talking about how hollow bethesda games were retroactively.

[@jimmythegamer2231]

Lol can't get Bethesda out of your mind, can you? Both Bethesda games and The Witcher 3 have different goals and are different games in comparison. There's a reason why games like Skyrim, Fallout 3, Oblivion, etc. sold well and it's not because they're "hollow." The Witcher 3 is, by comparison to Bethesda games, hollow when it comes to environmental interactivity and sandbox-y nature, among other things. Perhaps that's because, shocker, the Witcher isn't a sandbox game like Bethesda games are.

[@FightYourCouch]

@jimmythegamer2231 I don't care any which way about Bethesda and wasn't trying to say any of the crap you're ranting about. I'm sorry Starfield sucks and your favorite game studio is creatively bankrupt. Calm down my dude.

[@bigd8055]

A Plagues Tale blew my mind, absolutely loved it!

[@josephpretorius8607]

Hellblade was an amazing game. Very linear. Does not divert from the story at all. You have one goal and it's all in until the end. They also do a great job showing an inside view on depression and grief without telling you that's what it is.

[@AkaManah45]

2 videos in one day!?! WICKED AWESOME!!

[@frikyouall]

Sometimes, perhaps most of the time, it's best to block out the success and hone your art. That's what will make the next game great. Dragon's Dogma was Devil May Cry in an open world, and would have never come to pass if the team had just focused on replicating their success.

[@CosimaNonymouse]

A plague tale: Innocence is just so full of details, one playthrough is not enough to discover them all. Like Amicia's hair at the beginning of the game and as the game continues, it falls apart just like it would in real life (that is just one of the first things I noticed so, yeah). And Baldur's Gate 3 is more than I've expected, so much more. They didn't try so hard to appeal to a new audience and as someone who has played the previous two titles, I feel appreciated.

[@claytondeloach4142]

To me plague tale was what happened if you combined Tomb Raider and The Last of Us. Its a good mix of both, but has its own spin.

[@RQuinton79]

Absolutely shocked Minecraft wasn't number 1, and not even being mentioned is head scratching. Number 1 selling game of all time, studio selling to Microsoft for 2 billion, and all stemming from a guy who just wanted to try programming blocks.

[@mugiwara12321]

Elden ring , Idk how he didnt have alot of expectations. For me i went in for the combat, challenge, bosses and the good looking horse torrent. However, i never expected the open world to be this good and big. This is exactly what was a bit off in the other darksouls games where exploration sometimes felt like a task. but in elden ring i never wanted the world to stop expanding and it almost never did. it kept getting bigger and when u make such a world u would expect this to be appreciated as a masterpiece. Its crazy he didnt expect this when i look back at the game it was the most freaking amazing game ever if no the best of all time

[@nanach6276]

I though Limgrave was the whole game at the startXD

[@mugiwara12321]

@@nanach6276 I mean that is fair it was huge yet it was only like 10% of the game

[@plipplop728]

I think it's more because of how niche the genre is. I myself shocked when I saw the sales numbers of Fromsoft's games before Elden Ring, I thought they were easily tens of millions each, but no, even though these games seems to be so popular seeing how people talks about it nonstop on the internet. And then came Elden Ring, now this is a AAA sales hit number.

[@Nitro_Foundry]

The shots of SpongeBob’s full ass had me dying 💀😂

[@OrelhaKanjo]

Miyazaki not playing his own games is the reason he's a lunatic😂

[@MaidenlessScrub]

I read somewhere that the devs actually forced him to at least test his games out because they knew he sucks. So if he could pass some bosses, it would mean the difficulty was not over tuned 🤣

[@electricluna2774]

That's how most creators are. They don't enjoy their own creations

[@spamuel98]

I actually bought the game on release because I heard lots of good things about it the whole time it was in early access. It was the first game in a long time that I actually paid full price for.

[@Jay-mt6nu]

Genshin impact should have an honourable mention because i dont think hoyoverse thought at that point how big that game would get

[@P1P31150]

Twitch went wild for a wild as well with it

[@youngshaun2004]

List like this is great because there are so many games that are excellent that typically missed if it's not AAA title. Especially some older games you can get used and enjoy!

[@Curt_Randall]

While I really suck at FromSoft games, and in Elden Ring several aspects about that game frustrate or disappoint me, I will grant that the overall game experience was remarkable and unforgettable.

[@Baskeva]

I absolutely LOVE V-Rising, i really hope they do so much more with it!

[@naddiithequeenholler5341]

I love how Falcon points out that BattleBit only costs 14 dollars when its actually 14.99 dollars. 🤣😂🤣

[@istofar560]

"....with all seriousness this man is a lunatic" got me cracking 😭😂😂😂😂😂

[@Schizm1]

Miyazaki is a humble genius. Like literally - One of the VERY few game directors that I can call that. I'm glad From is now under his supervision.

[@markomamic2169]

I really enjoyed Plague Tale Innocence.Great story,interesting boss fights and good graphic. Can't wait to play Requiem 🙂

[@jamesfinch-t7l]

Pretty shocking that Vampire Survivors didn't make this list. It actually ushered in a new genre of video game.

[@pgaboury]

Never heard of it.

[@mimcduffee86]

​@@Unknown_Geniusit didn't even do that. Shoot em ups have been around and relatively mainstream for almost 50 years.

[@VictorGabriel-ht5qp]

A new genre? 😂😂😂 Man, just because the game is good doesn't mean it created a new genre

[@chiballer20]

Battlebit is simply amazing for what it is and what it cost. I got a chance to join a couple play test over the last two years and just knew it was going to be a great game. Its all I play today for shooters, no more Apex, COD or Battlefield. Its just more fun. I'm glad it turned out great for the developers.

[@JoaoPedro-sb5sq]

Elden Ring didn’t just cater to FromSoftware fans, it also reached new audiences. They made a bridging game that could introduce other gamers to their franchise.

[@flicka25]

I have many of the games you mentioned (V rising, Valheim) but you forgot Stray. Stray is a phenomenal game. It's right up there with the Plague Tale Games which I also played. You did mention one game I might pick up...Hellblade. Never head of it then again so many games so little time.

[@reecesmith5819]

A plague tale is so good. Played the first a few months before the second game came out. The developers clearly care about the games and that’s awesome to see.

[@user-uk9rj4rx5y]

I started Elden Ring recently as a player new to souls-likes, who doesn't like medieval tones, or fantasy with childish elements like unicorns, elves, magical dwarfs etc. After 2 weeks I'm totally possesed by the game and I think the formula for it's success is really simple - this game just does everything right. It gives a lot of freedom with gameplay. Sound design is incredible. Fighting gives a lot of satisfaction. World design with its verticality makes it bigger than it actually is and introduces effort to get to some places. You don't collect trash and everything is useful for crafting. Lore isn' overwhelming and allows itself to be discovered with your own pace. It reminds me Half Life 2 with it's approach to players fun - you get toys and the game does everything to not interrupt you and throw you events or scenarios that allow to have fun with these toys. Elden Ring isn't revolutionary in any way, it is just a great execution of everything that's fun in gaming.

[@vaenii5056]

"I think it would be a bad idea to analyze it deeply and to consciously trying to replicate it in another game" That is why we love Miyazaki and From Software. They always want to come up with something new and exciting.

[@nanach6276]

On he game awards he even said that we should expect even more and better things to come and somehow not sounding like he was bragging. Damn I love japanese people. Especially Miyazaki and Eiichiro Oda, author of One Piece. Such masterminds

[@phoenixundrfire2349]

When Gameranx reviewed the MSG reboot they hit the nail on the head here. They said that nostalgia is hard for companies to grasp. When we as consumers want nostalgic games, most companies believe that means we want the exact same game/ mechanics/ story. What it really means is that we want the game to blow us away just like it did the first time we experienced it. everything that comes out of From Software is just so unique and exhilarating. They have their formula, but the individual titles share inspiration like separate paintings from a master artist. you can tell it was the crafted by the same hands, but its an entirely new experience to behold each one.

[@Tyler40k]

I’ve been watching these for years… finally subscribed. Sorry for the delay.

[@shanemoore2617]

Love ya Falcon!! You helped with some dark times. Always kept a light on the ready. I appreciate all the work you do and thank you so much please keep making videos!! Thank you so much love the videos man

[@collinvesel9362]

How can you make a list like this and not mention Minecraft, which got so successful that Notch didn’t know how to handle it?

[@ryanschindler923]

Not putting Minecraft on here seem illegal at best. The success of Minecraft from where it started is unreal.

[@avalineriley6809]

Elden Ring did something no other Souls like has done, it did the dirty word some gamers hate, it made them "accessible". I'm in the middle of the road between casual and hardcore. I spend a lot of time gaming but i'm more interested in story based ROG's than hardcore games like Dark Souls etc. It was my partner that bought me Elden Ring and i've sunk so many hours into it it's unreal. The other in the genre i've played are the 2 Remnant games. I own Dark Souls and Bloodbourne but never played them. To be fair I got Bloodbourne free with my PS+ and Dark Souls on my PC came in a bundle. TLDR; I love Elden Ring even though it's not really my kind of game usually. BG3 is more my speed and that I love too.

[@shakingsticksatthings6628]

After Dark Souls becoming legendary with it's difficulty and the YOu Died meme and shirts, and the absolute brutal beauty of Sekiro, the buzz I was picking up prior to Elden Ring was that as other devs like Ubisoft were hit and miss, Fromsoft was invincible. Then there was the whole "is this just Dark Souls 4?" debate... and that kinship was all ER needed in the current climate to be a home run. Throw JRR Martin in on the lore and it was a perfectly baked Fromsoft cake. Everyone was excited about it. I wasn't surprised about it's success at all. Open world Dark Souls was irresistible.

[@Boss_Fight_Index_muki]

The game i'd put here is Final Fantasy, the game wasn't just a surprise, it created Squaresoft as we know it today. The title itself refers to the creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's final attempt at a videogame, since the two before failed.

[@dolo429]

Number 1 definitely has to go to minecraft. Literally one of the biggest franchises in gaming. Notch was so shocked when it blew up and then went on to sell it for like a billion dollars.

[@WolvenSpectre]

ARK: Survival Evolved ranks under this too. New indie studio makes a prototype version of a game that could go several ways. They had to contract other studios to get it going and make an e-sports mode because they didn't think that many people would play it. Then BOOM, epic starts looking into integrating some of its custom code and pushes them to upgrade to the latest engine, money is rolling in, and one of the main partners isn't even off his non-compete yet. They then try to turn the prototype into the game they eventually wanted to make. Now all these years later they have 2 games in the top 10 most played, an animated series waiting to be launched, and the top selling game on Steam.

[@punishertahsin]

2 videos in 1 day. NIce

[@gameranxTV]

Thanks

[@oneevilchef]

The way falcon said "if you have $14..." immediately made me think of, "If you have time to watch Twitch, you have $10."

[@AmritSingh-gj5rw]

Plague tail was amazing

[@NeverlandSystemPixie]

Senua's sacrifice is AMAZING... it's such a GREAT look at psychosis and hallucination and grief... it's AMAZING for that... It SUCKS ASS that MS bought the studio to shut it out of PS, too... limiting a MASSIVE part of its gamer base. The game is INCREDIBLE and I bet the next one will be good, too... and cutting a big part of the audience out will SUCK for the devs.

[@albertawheat6832]

I agree, I won't be buying an xbox either.

[@andybolton3971]

I think the secret to elden rings success is it had the core souls like player base but then it appealed to the fringe market of players that wouldn't normally go for a souls like but felt like this was a middle ground because it was an open world

[@D71219ONE]

I’m not a FNAF fan, but dang, do I respect Scott and what he’s built. He went from nothing to legendary game dev status in a few years. The media despises him. The game industry despises him. He’s a real person who had a super interesting idea, and he was successful. No greed. No agenda.

[@Mabaz]

I kind of expected the number one game on the list to be Minecraft. I mean nobody expected MC to blow up to those proportions. It literally reinvented a whole game genre and is still thriving to this day.

[@JSUTrumpet]

Plague Tale: Innocence is FUCKING FANTASTIC!

[@zoopzoooom]

“full-assed!” “Full-Assed!!” “FULL-ASSED!!!” “Oh you better bet THAT shit is full-assed.” An epic Falcon classic.

[@BritReadsBritAuthors]

Honestly, if this video was made two weeks after its release, I think *The Amazing Digital Circus* might have earnt itself at least an honourable mention.

[@KomaedasOneTrueHope]

That is not a video game

[@DesGeneral]

Not to say it’s at the level of these, but Bad Company 2. It was made to test the new Frostbite engine at the time, its campaign ended on a cliffhanger, the whole thing was just an in between leading to BF3 but it took off like they never imagined. It topped both CoD MW2 and Halo 3 in player count until people realized it wasn’t getting any real substantive additions. Because it was never supposed to be popular in the first place. They never made BC3 because they could never figure out what they had done so correctly in 2.

[@TheStormComando]

So surprised The Last of Us wasn't on this list. The Devs at Naughty Dog admitted that they believed it would flop and not only was it a huge success, but they had to re release it like a year later when the PS4 came out and it resold at pretty much the same volume.