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By Request: Games That Saved a Franchise

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By Request: Games that saved a franchise

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Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil is a classic horror franchise, especially the first three parts are etched in the memory of many. Part four took a turn that left the horror foundation of the original behind and introduced more action. Still, Resident Evil 4 is acclaimed and is even known as arguably one of the best games ever made. Where pure horror games were a niche at the time, that concept was a lot more interesting commercially. Capcom eagerly took advantage of that, because the game has been re-released a dozen times.

Part 4 was acclaimed, but also marked a prelude to dark times for Resident Evil fans. Parts 5 and 6 largely omitted the survival horror element and feel like action games where shooting zombies is the main focus. That’s why most didn’t see Resident Evil 7: Biohazard coming, a game that was initially not recognized when it was announced at E3 2016. When it turned out that it was the seventh part of Resident Evil, there was loud cheering in the room.

On January 24, 2017, Resident Evil finally returned to its origins. The game was another old-fashioned, pretty scary survival horror game. One that in many ways felt like a reboot of the series. For example, the game made the switch to a first
first-person perspective, and did what fans expected from the original games. A scary setting, environmental puzzles, decorated keys: everything that makes Resident Evil, Resident Evil was there. There were even complaints that the game was a little too scary for the general public. That complaining resulted in Resident Evil Village, which is more reminiscent of part four in terms of balance between horror and action. The eighth installment in the series is a commercial success and even nominated for Game of the Year at the Game Awards. Village is still getting free DLC and part 9 is presumably in development, so Resident Evil fans will be in their element for years to come

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Wolfenstein: The New Order follows a long line of disappointing games with one of the most acclaimed titles of 2014. Wolfenstein met a slow and tragic death, with years after years of disappointing releases. Wolfenstein was once great because it was new and revolutionary, but its failure to let go of old habits brought the franchise to its knees over an extended period of time.The success of The New Order, made by Machine Games, came as a wonderful surprise to many fans and long-time fans of the series. Modernized gameplay, a deep story with layers of underlying themes, and more appeal to the masses than in the previous three games combined are a apt way to sum up the pillars on which Wolfenstein: The New Order rests. By identifying and adapting Wolfenstein’s source material to modern times, a whole new generation of gamers fell in love with the classic whack-a-nazi franchise. So hopefully we can enjoy Machine Games’ reboot titles for years to come.

Metroid Dread
2D-Metroid is a big deal, we found out when Metroid Dread was announced at this year’s E3 . That was partly because the fifth part in the Metroid series had to wait about twenty years. Metroid Fusion was released for the Game Boy Advance on November 17, 2002, until recently the last two-dimensional installment. Despite Nintendo releasing the acclaimed Metroid Prime games, 2D Metroid seemed to have died a silent death.In 2017, the 2D Metroid series gave birth again with Metroid Samus Returns on Nintendo 3DS, a remake of Metroid 2: Return of Samus from 1991. The launch felt like a kind of test whether the general public was still waiting for 2D-Metroid. The game was received positively, but it was not a roaring success.

That it audience was waiting for a really new part, as it turned out this year. Metroid Dread is selling like hot cakes and reviews were very positive. Thijs Barnhard gave the game a 9. “Metroid Dread combines the old, trusted Metroid formula with enough fresh ideas to breathe new life into the 35-year-old series. Never before has Samus been so fluidly controlled and the action so spectacular.” To top it off, the game has even been nominated for Game of the Year at the Game Awards. Perhaps because 2021 is not such a great game year, but the achievement of developer MercurySteam is undisputed. With Metroid Prime 4 still in the pipeline, the Metroid franchise seems more alive than ever. Hopefully that also means more 2D metroid games are being developed.

Fallout 3
Fallout 3 was a big step for the franchise, and a much needed one. While previous Fallout games were a critical and commercial success, they weren’t as iconic as RPGs like Baldur’s Gate. Especially with the advent of three-dimensional games, such titles were soon no longer exciting for the general public.

With a mainstream audience in mind, the new developer Bethesda chose to make the next installment entirely in 3D, and like many shooters to keep a first-person perspective. In the ten years that Fallout 3 was in development, two more Fallout games appeared, both so disappointing that interest in Fallout quickly faded.

Ultimately, though, that decade-long development hell turned out to be just what Fallout 3 needed for commercial success. The Outcome is one of the first games of its kind, a fusion between the old-fashioned RPG and a modern action-adventure game. While older fans of the Fallout franchise don’t always agree on Fallout 3, the game’s financial success is undeniable. Currently we are eagerly awaiting Bethesda’s next move, Fallout 5.

Below are again four topics from which you can choose about which the trainees of Write Gamer.nl next time. Decide for yourself which topic that will be:

Sometimes a franchise seems doomed. The one time because no new part has been published for years, the other time because new parts simply miss what made the series so special. However, a few franchise game series manage to turn the tide in a special way. This article lists a few of those comebacks.

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