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Sony sequel watch - were they better than the OGs?
- Thread starter cormack12
- Start date
kingkenny76
Member
The Cockatrice
Member
The most obvious answer is Horizon FW being better. The god of war and last of us examples are tough to answer. Ragnarok is an improved sequel, thats for sure but I can hardly call it a sequel. It feels like an expansion, it looks and plays the same, has the same stiff animations, repetitive enemies, etc. Story was was not better either but not worse either. Atreus parts really dragged on and ruined the mood, Odin was underwhelming, etc.
As for the last of us vs the second one, uff. Story wise? We can all agree that the first one is miles ahead of the second. Everything else tho? YOu'd be an idiot to say the second is worst than the first. Amazing animations, better gameplay, atmosphere, etc. Problem is, the last of us to me is more of a story focused franchise and as such I think the story matters more than the rest.
So yeah, for Horizon I can easily call FW a true and better sequel, amazing visual upgrade, feels like different generations from one another, better and more important side quests, side characters feel like they have more impact and you can start appreciating them more, better presentation, better gameplay, etc. maybe main story falters but not by much, the first only had the twist that was good and thats it. But for God of War and TLoU I cant call their sequels better or worse. Hard to say.
As for the last of us vs the second one, uff. Story wise? We can all agree that the first one is miles ahead of the second. Everything else tho? YOu'd be an idiot to say the second is worst than the first. Amazing animations, better gameplay, atmosphere, etc. Problem is, the last of us to me is more of a story focused franchise and as such I think the story matters more than the rest.
So yeah, for Horizon I can easily call FW a true and better sequel, amazing visual upgrade, feels like different generations from one another, better and more important side quests, side characters feel like they have more impact and you can start appreciating them more, better presentation, better gameplay, etc. maybe main story falters but not by much, the first only had the twist that was good and thats it. But for God of War and TLoU I cant call their sequels better or worse. Hard to say.
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Mr Hyde
Member
Horizon Forbidden West was a much better sequel than Zero Dawn. More interesting world, better combat and more options for traversal. Story was not as good but the amazing graphics and exploration made up for it.
Ragnarok was not as good as the original. It felt great when I played but now that the hype has died down I think it's a sub par sequel that offered marginal improvements to the original game and very little in terms of additional content and story. Best part was Odin and Thor and the events of Asgard. Everything else was kinda meh.
TLOU 2 surpassed the original for me. It was a bold sequel that took the story in a completely different direction than what I expected. Combat system was way better, with more intense action scenes. I had no issues with Abby. Thought she was an interesting character that added a fresh perspective to the themes in the game, particularly about revenge and how meaningless it is to pursue. The directing from Neil Druckman is on another level of you ask me, it's just years ahead than what we usually see in big games like this.
Ragnarok was not as good as the original. It felt great when I played but now that the hype has died down I think it's a sub par sequel that offered marginal improvements to the original game and very little in terms of additional content and story. Best part was Odin and Thor and the events of Asgard. Everything else was kinda meh.
TLOU 2 surpassed the original for me. It was a bold sequel that took the story in a completely different direction than what I expected. Combat system was way better, with more intense action scenes. I had no issues with Abby. Thought she was an interesting character that added a fresh perspective to the themes in the game, particularly about revenge and how meaningless it is to pursue. The directing from Neil Druckman is on another level of you ask me, it's just years ahead than what we usually see in big games like this.
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Fbh
Member
Horizon: I like Forbidden West Better
While the story is better in Zero Dawn, Forbidden West looks way nicer, has more and better enemy variety, better melee combat, more weapons, better sidequests, better traversal and some fun new mechanics.
The Last of Us: I like 1 better
While 2 has better combat, I like the story, characters and pacing way more in 1. Also the multiplayer was awesome.
I'm waiting on a sale for Ragnarok. Games have gotten too expensive around these parts.
While the story is better in Zero Dawn, Forbidden West looks way nicer, has more and better enemy variety, better melee combat, more weapons, better sidequests, better traversal and some fun new mechanics.
The Last of Us: I like 1 better
While 2 has better combat, I like the story, characters and pacing way more in 1. Also the multiplayer was awesome.
I'm waiting on a sale for Ragnarok. Games have gotten too expensive around these parts.
sainraja
Member
People can also be pretty fickle. Look at the new Destiny expansion. It has brought so much that people were asking for, from QOL features to making the game more challenging. The campaign missions are also pretty good (minus some things Bungie could have handled better), but the story didn't land, and so people are disliking it. You wouldn't know this if you didn't play the game. People like to downplay the story part of a game, but it can also make or break a game, even if there is nothing wrong with the gameplay part.
I mostly agree with what you are saying. There are aspects that are stronger in both games of each series. Story can definitely make or break a game, sometimes to its detriment.
Slothbeing1209
Member
I played both of Horizon games but both doesn't click with me, didn't finish both. I vote for the sequel because it's more pretty.
I like GowR more than 2018. More fun to explore and even got the Platinum.
Tlou 2 is better than Tlou 1 in almost everything except the pacing ( too many flashback).
I like GowR more than 2018. More fun to explore and even got the Platinum.
Tlou 2 is better than Tlou 1 in almost everything except the pacing ( too many flashback).
Madflavor
Member
Gameplay
TLOU2 > TLOU1
Story
TLOU1 > TLOU2
Last of Us Part 1's story is just far better paced and tightly written than Part 2's. Also looking back on Part 2, even though it's much longer than Part 1, it doesn't seem to have as many high points in it's story as Part 1 did. From a more personal standpoint, Part 2 is a pretty unrelentingly miserable story, whereas Part 1 has more moments of levity to occasionally let the viewer breath.
TLOU2 > TLOU1
Story
TLOU1 > TLOU2
Last of Us Part 1's story is just far better paced and tightly written than Part 2's. Also looking back on Part 2, even though it's much longer than Part 1, it doesn't seem to have as many high points in it's story as Part 1 did. From a more personal standpoint, Part 2 is a pretty unrelentingly miserable story, whereas Part 1 has more moments of levity to occasionally let the viewer breath.
jm89
Member
Horizon FW > Horizon ZD
Even though i prefer the story of HZD, HFW just beats it handly in quality of side missions.
GOW Ragnarok > GOW 2018
Prefered the story of ragnarok, found the the villains far more interesting like heimdall, odin and thor
TLOU 1 > TLOU 2
Preferred the story of 1, but TLOU 2 has the edge in combat found it more frantic and andrenaline pumping, and stealth sections were great with more randomness of the AI.
Even though i prefer the story of HZD, HFW just beats it handly in quality of side missions.
GOW Ragnarok > GOW 2018
Prefered the story of ragnarok, found the the villains far more interesting like heimdall, odin and thor
TLOU 1 > TLOU 2
Preferred the story of 1, but TLOU 2 has the edge in combat found it more frantic and andrenaline pumping, and stealth sections were great with more randomness of the AI.
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llLeonhart
Member
To me the only sequel that was actually better was Horizon.
Gow Ragnarok was nothing special felt very much like a expansion of the first, with worse pacing. Atreus gameplay was kinda cool, but got old very fast, and his story was easily the worst part for me. Felt dragged, and not gonna lie, by the time I actually platinumed it, I immediately deleted the game.
Tlou2 is technically better in every technical aspect(except lack of multiplayer). but the story didn't resonate with me at all. so I prefer the first one.
Gow Ragnarok was nothing special felt very much like a expansion of the first, with worse pacing. Atreus gameplay was kinda cool, but got old very fast, and his story was easily the worst part for me. Felt dragged, and not gonna lie, by the time I actually platinumed it, I immediately deleted the game.
Tlou2 is technically better in every technical aspect(except lack of multiplayer). but the story didn't resonate with me at all. so I prefer the first one.
LordOfChaos
Member
Forbidden West was better, in the other two cases the original/first reboot were better
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
I’m glad Sony has good exclusives, will these exclusive franchises travel to PS6? I hope they learned their lesson from ps3, that you can move forward with exclusives to next gen consoles.
The Cockatrice
Member
God of War Ragnarok has better combat than 2018 but pretty much everything else is worse.
Horizon's story premise was what kept me interested at first and made me push to the finish line. The sequel didn't grab me at all and I stopped after a few hours. This could be due to the fact that I played it on PS4 after playing Zero Dawn on PC (albeit, I also originally played it on PS4 Pro). This might change when I get a PS5 or play the PC port whenever it comes out but for now, I prefer the original game.
Didn't play enough of TLOU2 to know so I didn't vote.
Horizon's story premise was what kept me interested at first and made me push to the finish line. The sequel didn't grab me at all and I stopped after a few hours. This could be due to the fact that I played it on PS4 after playing Zero Dawn on PC (albeit, I also originally played it on PS4 Pro). This might change when I get a PS5 or play the PC port whenever it comes out but for now, I prefer the original game.
Didn't play enough of TLOU2 to know so I didn't vote.
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GHG
Member
Valt7786
Member
I found with all 3 of those, each one improved the gameplay for sure and the graphical quality can't be knocked but all 3 absolutely dropped the ball when it came to the storytelling.
Horizon with its sudden inclusion of magic invincible immortal space wizards
GoW : R with it's terrible Atreus parts and Freya just deciding to forgive Kratos for murdering her son and becoming his BFF by the end. Just...no.
Last of Us 2 had Abby and her whole section.
Horizon with its sudden inclusion of magic invincible immortal space wizards
GoW : R with it's terrible Atreus parts and Freya just deciding to forgive Kratos for murdering her son and becoming his BFF by the end. Just...no.
Last of Us 2 had Abby and her whole section.
Hugare
Member
I'm glad that you made this thread, OP, because this is something that I've been thinking about for quite a while
I hated Ragnarok, and loved GOW 2018. That game was a mess in terms of pacing, story, dialogue and etc,
I hated H:FW, and tho I dont like the original game that much, at least I finished that game.
TLOU Part II is a difficult one. I love that game, but it isnt as good as the first game in many ways.
Sony have been droping the ball in terms of sequels for quite some time, imo
It seems like they are at their best when they have a new IP. Because they give studios lots of freedom, so it usually doesnt feel derivative.
Even Ghost of Tsushima being basically an AC game in Japan, it still felt fresh in many ways
I fear for Spider-man 2 and the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima for those reasons.
I trust Kojima to make something different with DS 2
I hated Ragnarok, and loved GOW 2018. That game was a mess in terms of pacing, story, dialogue and etc,
I hated H:FW, and tho I dont like the original game that much, at least I finished that game.
TLOU Part II is a difficult one. I love that game, but it isnt as good as the first game in many ways.
Sony have been droping the ball in terms of sequels for quite some time, imo
It seems like they are at their best when they have a new IP. Because they give studios lots of freedom, so it usually doesnt feel derivative.
Even Ghost of Tsushima being basically an AC game in Japan, it still felt fresh in many ways
I fear for Spider-man 2 and the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima for those reasons.
I trust Kojima to make something different with DS 2
DenchDeckard
Member
I'm gonna jump into forbidden west soon as part of my plus subscription but so far I'm in rhw camp of last of us part 1 is better than two and god of war 2018 is better than ragnarok.
Let's see with horizon forbidden west
Let's see with horizon forbidden west
GymWolf
Member
Horizon zero dawn was better than forbidden west, mostly for the plot, the sequel really fumbles the third part of the game and the gameplay didn't improved enough to make me forget about that.
I think gow 2018 has better writing and a more focused, less bloated story, but ragnarock is the superior game for almost everything else.
I barely give a fuck about ND stories amd chara so tlou2 wins by default just by having better combat, level design, animations and graphic.
I think gow 2018 has better writing and a more focused, less bloated story, but ragnarock is the superior game for almost everything else.
I barely give a fuck about ND stories amd chara so tlou2 wins by default just by having better combat, level design, animations and graphic.
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GHG
Member
So you're trying to tell me you've been chatting shit about forbidden West this whole time without actually playing it?
CatLady
Selfishly plays on Xbox Purr-ies X
TLOU is better than TLOU2 - The reveal for TLOU2 is what made me decide it was time to dump the PS4 killing off Joel was a huge turn off. It just was NOT for me.
HZD is better than HFW - I don't have a PlayStation anymore so I didn't play HFW but I keep hearing the story is inferior, and Aloy is annoying. HZD was one of my favorite games last gen and that was due primarily to a compelling story and a likeable character.
HZD is better than HFW - I don't have a PlayStation anymore so I didn't play HFW but I keep hearing the story is inferior, and Aloy is annoying. HZD was one of my favorite games last gen and that was due primarily to a compelling story and a likeable character.
yurinka
Member
GoW 2018 is also a sequel. Other than that, I think Ragnarok improves basically everything of 2018 excluding the story because of reasons (pussyfied Kratos and some portions feel forced or too long to give protagonism to female characters), and that combined with the fact that it's a direct sequel, so there isn't the freshness of the previous one that made a bigger change to the franchise with big improvements in many areas, I think makes the first one better for me.
Same can be said in my opinion about TLOU2. Sony continued on their track to remove some of their most iconic characters because for some people its 'problematic' to have hetero white males as protagonists. Included many uncharismatic characters to add 'diversity' and 'inclusiveness' but that didn't add anything interesting to the game, so it feels too long specially because these portions are in the middle of a big cliffhanger and you want that portion to end to continue with the cilffhanger, an also you're controlling an uncharismatic character that you hate for what she did in the story. And for me that makes that like Ragnarok, even if improves the original TLOU in basically everything (mechanics, all the tech and visuals sides, animation, sound, combat, etc) it makes feel the first one a better game. Specially because the first one focused in something unique, the magic of the relationship between the very charismatic Joel and Ellie, that almost doesn't appear in the 2nd game and they focus instead on representation checklists.
I think Horizon Forbidden West improves everything about HZD, period. In this case, like in GT7, they didn't an iconic cis hetero white male to replace or any representation checklist to 'improve' so didn't fuck it up with this.
Same can be said in my opinion about TLOU2. Sony continued on their track to remove some of their most iconic characters because for some people its 'problematic' to have hetero white males as protagonists. Included many uncharismatic characters to add 'diversity' and 'inclusiveness' but that didn't add anything interesting to the game, so it feels too long specially because these portions are in the middle of a big cliffhanger and you want that portion to end to continue with the cilffhanger, an also you're controlling an uncharismatic character that you hate for what she did in the story. And for me that makes that like Ragnarok, even if improves the original TLOU in basically everything (mechanics, all the tech and visuals sides, animation, sound, combat, etc) it makes feel the first one a better game. Specially because the first one focused in something unique, the magic of the relationship between the very charismatic Joel and Ellie, that almost doesn't appear in the 2nd game and they focus instead on representation checklists.
I think Horizon Forbidden West improves everything about HZD, period. In this case, like in GT7, they didn't an iconic cis hetero white male to replace or any representation checklist to 'improve' so didn't fuck it up with this.
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Robbinhood
Member
All fantastic games but the sequels definitely improved the gameplay in all instances. TLOU2 especially.
That is how you do sequels.
That is how you do sequels.
JimmyRustler
Member
Found all OGs better than it’s sequels. Mainly because the latter just got more bloated.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
MadchesterManc
Member
Can't comment on Ragnarok or TLOU2 as I've played neither, but Forbidden West is definitely less bangers than Zero Dawn, while looking great on PS5, so it gets my vote.
saintjules
Member
TLOU2 > TLOU1 in every way but no MP was
I think I'm one of the few that wasn't into the MP. To be fair though I'm not big on MP stuff.
DenchDeckard
Member
rhodesianshepard
Member
The worlds created in the sequels were far better than the originals. Gameplay for TLOU2 superb compared to TLOU ,while HFW and Ragnarok solidly improved on the foundation of its predecessors. Story wise, all three of the OG's were better than its sequels
GHG
Member
It came across like you'd played it that's all. It's a shame that you allow your perception to be shaped by random people to the point whereby you're willing to have a strong opinion on the game despite having the means to try it for yourself.
This is very different in terms of how you talk about other people's perceptions on games they haven't or can't play, particularly if said perceptions are negative about games that you personally like. Wish I was surprised.
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bender
What time is it?
I didn't care for either Horizon game. I've only played GOW (2018) which was fine but didn't really leave me wanting more. I prefer TLOU to the sequel as I think it has better characters and relationship building and while it might have overstayed its' welcome a bit, the sequel dragged on far too long.
analog_future
Member
- Ragnarok was worse than GoW 2018
- Forbidden West was worse than Zero Dawn
- TLOU Part II was much better than the first TLOU
Trogdor1123
Member
never played last of us 2 or ragnarok yet but I plan on it. Horizon 1 was better than 2 but only by a small margin. Both games are stellar.
Games of Today
Member
Ragnorok was cool until you get to one of the most underwhelming endings I've ever seen. It kind of gave me Joel vs Golf Club idis all over again.
Basically I didn't hate either of those instances, they just kinda made me cringe a little bit and say "That's it? WTF?".
Basically I didn't hate either of those instances, they just kinda made me cringe a little bit and say "That's it? WTF?".
Jigsaah
Member
I've only played both Last of Us games. I simply remember feeling more for TLOU1. I know that sounds sappy but TLOU2 improved the visuals and the combat...story was not really grabbing me though. That's kinda what I signed up for.
Part of the problem I guess was obviously by TLOU2 we are familiar with the character save for Abby and the other folks who really didn't move me one bit. So it takes more to have an impact.
I'll probably buy it again when it eventually comes to PC and playthrough it again, see if I feel the same way.
Part of the problem I guess was obviously by TLOU2 we are familiar with the character save for Abby and the other folks who really didn't move me one bit. So it takes more to have an impact.
I'll probably buy it again when it eventually comes to PC and playthrough it again, see if I feel the same way.
iorek21
Member
Voted for the OGs but I do not agree entirely on it.
I mean, in technical and in the gameplay aspect, the sequels are way better, but as stories and experiences, not so much.
Forbidden West's story was forgettable at best; TLOU2 has pacing and character development issues; Ragnarok has pacing, character and world design issues.
I mean, in technical and in the gameplay aspect, the sequels are way better, but as stories and experiences, not so much.
Forbidden West's story was forgettable at best; TLOU2 has pacing and character development issues; Ragnarok has pacing, character and world design issues.