10 Video Games You Didn’t Realise Were Secretly Sequels

It’s not hyperbole to claim that many of the greatest games of all time are sequels. Half-Life 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Mass Effect 2, Portal 2 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are but a few examples of this in practice. They all expanded on their predecessors in exciting ways, garnering critical acclaim and allowing their respective studios to skip happily all the way to the bank. 

That last point is no surprise, given that sequels are often massively profitable. All you need to do is take an already beloved property, improve the formula, and, hey presto, you’ve got financial dynamite. However, that’s not always what happens, as sometimes a studio decides to release a sequel without telling you it’s a sequel. 

The following ten games are prime examples of this, as they were advertised and sold as their own thing before revealing that they were directly related to other titles. Some revealed this explicitly in the game’s story, whereas others were sneakier with it. Either way, they all did their best Metal Gear Solid impressions by going full stealth mode and keeping their identities secret. 

Deathloop, a game created by the acclaimed Arkane Studios, is a banging FPS that shares a lot of DNA with the studio’s flagship series, Dishonored. This makes complete sense, given that the company has a unique visual and gameplay style. There’s bound to be some surface-level crossover there, right? As it turns out, the connection between these games runs much deeper than gamers were initially led to believe. 

There are plenty of allusions to Deathloop taking place within the Dishonored universe. For example, a lot of the buildings found on Blackreef Island share the same architectural style as those within the Empire of the Isles. Additionally, there are numerous documents dated with the series’ unique calendar style, a recording of a whaler’s song, and even weaponry from the Dunwall Imperial Armory. The list goes on and on. 

Some might argue that these are just references, but the game’s director Dinga Bakaba confirmed (via Bethesda) that the game is, in fact, a follow-up, taking place in the future after Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. What a sneaky way to sell a sequel.