10. Batman: Arkham Origins

Launched in an effort to shorten the wait between Rocksteady’s Arkham Metropolis and Arkham Knight, Batman: Arkham Origins is described as a “12 months Two” story, going down on Christmas evening, eight years earlier than the occasions of the primary recreation. Developed by WB Montreal, it stars a 27-year-old Batman dealing with off in opposition to eight of Gotham’s deadliest assassins, together with Bane, Deathstroke, and Deadshot, who’ve all been employed by Black Masks to kill the Bat for $50 million. These occasions additionally function an origin story for The Joker, who makes himself recognized to Gotham for the primary time and introduces the town to his distinctive model of legal lunacy.

On the time of launch, Arkham Origins was maybe unfairly in comparison with Arkham Metropolis. However this comparability was a disservice to Arkham Origins, which acts as a unbelievable accompanying act to Rocksteady’s second chapter slightly than one-upping it. WB Montreal took all the pieces that made Rocksteady’s video games so nice, held them faithfully in place, and used them to create a compelling early story for the Arkham-specific variations of Batman and the Joker. Greater than that, Arkham Origins units the stage for the principle Arkham trilogy by introducing TN-1, Bane’s tremendous soldier serum that’s ultimately used as the idea for Titan, a extra highly effective drug that has main penalties over the occasions of Arkham Asylum and Arkham Knight.

9. God of Conflict: Chains of Olympus

Regardless of arriving on a handheld, the PSP’s God of Conflict: Chains of Olympus was no smaller in scale than the unique house console trilogy when it got here to story.. A prequel to 2005’s God of Conflict, Chains of Olympus takes Kratos and his Blades of Chaos to The Underworld and again on a foreboding story that units his’ story in movement, laying the constructing blocks for his disdain for the Gods.

By fueling that fireside of hatred, developer Prepared at Daybreak not solely created an entry steeped in thrilling God of Conflict lore, however carried out borderline witchcraft in getting a PlayStation Moveable recreation to each look so good-looking and play so responsively. Maybe probably the most visually spectacular launch to hit Sony’s first handheld, the studio managed to translate God of Conflict’s breakneck motion and signature head-splitting combos for the tiny system, making certain these blades felt simply as satisfying to swing with abandon regardless of the shortage of a second analog stick. It’s a brief, trendy burst of ungodly violent motion that would simply stand alone, however as a prequel to considered one of PlayStation’s landmark trilogies, it serves as a unbelievable growth of Kratos’ blood-soaked Greek saga.

8. Tremendous Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Following the discharge of Tremendous Mario World in 1990 and with the 3D revolution looming on the horizon, Nintendo wanted one final, nice, side-scrolling Mario platformer for the SNES. So, with Miyamoto’s blessing, Yoshi creator Shigefumi Hino acquired the inexperienced gentle to develop a recreation starring his in style dinosaur creation. The end result was Tremendous Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, one of many best 2D platformers of all time.

Nintendo’s headline act will not be sometimes involved with timelines and canon, however Tremendous Mario World 2 jumps backwards to inform a narrative about how a bunch of Yoshis rescued Child Mario earlier than all of them set off to rescue Child Luigi from Kamek. It’s a cute origin story that explains how an toddler plumber turned buddies with a dinosaur, however narrative is actually irrelevant. With Yoshi’s Island, Nintendo set out with a objective to make a extra “light and stress-free” recreation that inspired exploration over exact platforming. To do that, Nintendo eliminated deadlines for gamers to allow them to progress at their very own tempo, and Yoshi’s particular moveset, just like the flutter bounce, made it simpler to regulate the character within the air.

However past simply Yoshi’s distinctive talents, Tremendous Mario World 2 is an iconic send-off to the SNES period. The lovely, marker-like artwork model was drawn by hand and scanned digitally, and Koji Kondo’s Yoshi’s Island theme is an earworm so excellent you’ll be able to’t assist however hum together with it each time it comes on. It could present us a few of Child Mario’s very first steps, however as a full package deal, it’s the fruits of a 2D-platforming improvement staff placing all of their distinctive visible, audio, and technical design expertise on show.

7. Divinity: Authentic Sin

Whereas Divinity: Authentic Sin isn’t technically the earliest level on the Divinity timeline (that may be Dragon Commander, an uncommon marriage of role-playing and technique recreation techniques) it’s the solely recreation within the sequence we’d genuinely contemplate a prequel. Going down over a millennium previous to 2002’s Divine Divinity, this RPG charts the early years of Rivellon, Larian Studios’ unique high-fantasy world. Whereas not an important foundational chapter of the land’s lore, Authentic Sin does a unbelievable job of creating the hazards of Supply magic and the motivations of those that use it. And due to Divinity’s immortal wizards, longtime followers get to fulfill a lot, a lot youthful variations of characters like Zandalor and Bellegar.

However Authentic Sin’s story will not be what makes it particular. As a substitute, this prequel’s triumph is in the way it spun the destiny of the Divinity sequence on its head, taking it from a struggling cult curiosity and placing it on the highway to changing into an all-time RPG heavyweight. Larian developed a model new turn-based fight system for Authentic Sin, fuelled by an elemental method that means that you can mix results to provide exhilarating outcomes; freeze liquid with an ice spell and drive your foes to slide on the blood that they spill, or bolster forked lightning with the assistance of a bit electricity-conducting rain. All this makes battle a deeply tactical, versatile affair, and the identical consideration to element is afforded to the RPG parts, too. With the liberty to method quests in nearly any method you’ll be able to consider, Authentic Sin laid down the foundations for not simply its distinctive successor, Authentic Sin 2, but in addition Larian’s a number of Game of the 12 months-winning Baldur’s Gate 3.

6. Satan Could Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening

Set a number of years earlier than the primary recreation, Satan Could Cry 3 incorporates a a lot youthful Dante, as soon as once more sporting the cool and smug persona that had been misplaced within the moodier, extra critical second recreation. Going again in time allowed developer Capcom to revive the persona that followers fell in love with within the first place. Greater than that, Satan Could Cry 3 even retcons the early lifetime of Dante’s twin brother, Vergil, making certain a teenage model of the fan-favorite character might be alive for the occasions of Dante’s Awakening.

Satan Could Cry 3 had the unenviable job of salvaging Dante’s sullied repute and did so with aplomb. What’s extra, whereas Satan Could Cry 2 remains to be technically canon, the occasions of Dante’s Awakening function the foundations for all later DMC video games, and clarify essential character motivations whereas fixing plot holes.

Past returning Dante to his cool roots and resurrecting Vergil, Satan Could Cry 3 delighted followers by being wickedly tough. To place issues into context, Capcom famously made the Japanese model of the sport’s laborious mode the traditional problem for the North American launch. That posed a hurdle for some, however many followers relished the additional problem, particularly given how in style the modifications to the battle system had been.

Whereas Dante was all the time capable of mix-and-match melee and ranged weapons to chain trendy combos, DMC 3’s largest enchancment was including totally different fight types that modified the way in which Dante managed. You could possibly give attention to both melee (Swordmaster), ranged (Gunslinger), dodging (Trickster), or parry (Royal Guard) types and play utilizing your most most popular playstyle, an overwhelmingly in style selection for a recreation that challenges you to chain the most important, coolest combos.

5. Halo: Attain

For 10 years, followers journeyed alongside the silent Grasp Chief as he fought and finally defeated the alien invaders often known as the Covenant. However for its last Halo recreation, Bungie rewound the clock to the early days of the intergalactic battle, when humanity was very a lot on the shedding aspect.

Set through the weeks earlier than the occasions of Halo: Fight Developed, Halo: Attain casts you as a member of Noble Workforce, a special-ops Spartan unit, on a fateful mission to guard the planet Attain from falling to the Covenant. The absolutely self-contained prequel feels nearly liberated by the absence of Grasp Chief, with the numerous personalities of Noble Workforce highlighting how totally different different Spartan troopers might be from the sequence’ most well-known character, regardless of their shared heritage.

This staff’s doomed however however important last mission sees them escort Cortana from a lab on Attain to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn ship, thereby kickstarting the occasions of the primary Halo. It’s each an ideal send-off for Bungie and a very good closing-the-circle second for the Halo story. However these triumphs are tinged by tragedy; Noble Workforce’s actions could set off Grasp Chief’s quest to avoid wasting the universe, however their last mission calls for heavy sacrifices. Noble Six remaining on the dying planet in a last-stand battle in opposition to the Covenant is now a legendary second within the Halo franchise – its personal Rogue One second that arrived years earlier than Star Wars did it – and one of many best last ranges ever made.

4. Yakuza 0

Yakuza has lengthy been considered one of Sega’s largest Japanese sequence, however solely comparatively lately has it gained traction within the West. This surge in reputation might be traced to Yakuza 0, a prequel that reintroduces heroes Kazuma Kiryu and Majima Goro to a brand new technology of followers who could have missed out on the primary Yakuza recreation again in 2005.

Yakuza 0 is ready almost twenty years earlier than the occasions of the primary Yakuza recreation, and tells the curious story of a small vacant property lot that someway drags all of Kamurocho’s largest crime households into an unlikely turf battle. To say anymore would spoil a wild story filled with Yakuza bosses jockeying for energy, Chinese language assassins, and head-spinning betrayals. Fortunately, because of its prequel nature, gamers want no prior data of the sequence to leap proper in.

Whereas Yakuza 0’s engrossing story will please any fan of Japanese crime dramas, it’s the possibility to see a youthful Kazuma and Majima, who act fairly otherwise of their youth in comparison with their later years, that delivers the sport’s largest surprises. Kazuma is extra hot-headed, not but the stoic elder gangster he ultimately turns into, whereas Majima’s wild canine persona has but to totally type, so the Joker-like gangster is as a substitute extra of a silent and funky protagonist. Their evolution into the characters they ultimately turn into types the spine of Yakuza 0’s sprawling narrative, and makes this prequel the right place to begin for anybody trying to get into Sega’s now massively in style sequence.

3. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

There’s an argument to be made that Deus Ex: Human Revolution watered down numerous what made the unique Deus Ex a landmark success. It’s much less versatile and extra streamlined than its extremely freeform forerunner. Regardless of this, Human Revolution earns its place among the many greats, partially because of how its prequel story takes a deeper, extra private have a look at the sequence’ transhuman parts.

Protagonist Adam Jensen is robbed of his arms in an early-game catastrophe, his limbs forcibly changed with mechanical prosthetics. However whereas they save his profession, they unwittingly drive him right into a cultural battle between the world’s rich, augmented elite and the disadvantaged working lessons. As each Jensen himself and his damaged lavatory mirror inform you, he “by no means requested for this.” Whereas the sport’s central story efficiently takes on the conspiracy-fuelled sci-fi of the unique, it’s the cultural and moral questions posed by Human Revolution’s augmented society that actually elevate it excessive. Each character has their very own tackle the world’s dividing problem and, regardless of some barely hamfisted racism metaphors, the story makes salient factors on the hazards of unrestrained, capitalism-fuelled science.

Deus Ex’s Matrix-coded, nanotech-fuelled world was a far-fetched fictional future on the flip of the millenium, however it has solely grown more and more life like with every passing yr. Human Revolution efficiently bridges the hole between the unique’s nearly satirical method and one thing extra knowingly critical, leading to a deeply compelling cyberpunk dystopia.

2. Metallic Gear Strong 3: Snake Eater

Hideo Kojima performed the last word prank in Metallic Gear Strong 2: Sons of Liberty, making newcomer Raiden the shock protagonist as a substitute of everybody’s favourite spy hero, Strong Snake. Three years later, Kojima carried out one other variation of this prank by having Metallic Gear Strong 3: Snake Eater be a prequel starring Bare Snake, the person who would ultimately turn into the sequence’ primary antagonist, Huge Boss.

We didn’t know when it was first introduced, however Metallic Gear Strong 3 would turn into arguably crucial recreation within the sequence, each from gameplay and story views. It revolutionized the stealth style by placing Bare Snake out within the open jungle and fulfilling Kojima’s dream of getting a Metallic Gear recreation happen in an expansive setting. A technical triumph, the PS2 hardware-pushing Soviet jungles had been a serious departure from the walled corridors of Shadow Moses or Huge Shell, with a sensible adaptive camouflage system changing static hiding locations like lockers. Because of this new design, all the pieces from stealth to boss fights is dramatically totally different in Metallic Gear Strong 3 in comparison with earlier video games, with loads of room to experiment with learn how to defeat a boss or infiltrate a compound.

Nevertheless it’s not simply in the way you battle every boss that magic might be discovered, however within the story that every of them tells. The occasions of Metallic Gear Strong 3 set the foundations for all the pieces that got here earlier than and after it. Not solely does Snake Eater reveal the origins of the Patriots, the shadow group and supreme antagonist of the sequence, but in addition the tragic origins of Huge Boss. The aftermath of his face-off with The Boss endlessly modified the way in which we view Kojima’s iconic villain. As his mission progresses, Bare Snake transforms from CIA spy right into a tragic determine, whose betrayal by the hands of his nation units him on a path that leads by means of each Metallic Gear recreation, all the way in which to the saga’s chronological ending in Metallic Gear Strong 4: Weapons of the Patriots.

1. Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2

How do you comply with up a masterpiece? Effectively, should you’re Rockstar Video games, you merely make one other masterpiece.

Taking full benefit of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Rockstar created one of the crucial breathtaking, expansive open-world video games ever placed on a disc with Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2. The stage of element the studio put into it’s merely head-spinning, from the way in which new protagonist Arthur Morgan’s weight fluctuates relying on how a lot he eats, to how animal carcasses will decompose nearly in real-time. And sure, Rockstar could have gone a bit overboard after they made it so your horse’s testicles shrink and develop relying on the temperature, however it all goes in direction of absolutely recreating an exquisite(?) imaginative and prescient of the Outdated West.

However the technical achievements nearly pale compared to Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2’s epic story of a dying Wild West on the cusp of a brand new, industrial century. Arthur Morgan is a person whose time is coming to an finish, not due to his legal life-style, however as a result of he’s slowly being made redundant by the quickly altering United States because it evolves into a contemporary nation. Roger Clark’s efficiency as Morgan is frankly staggering, portrayed with equal components confidence and vulnerability as his accomplices, life-style, and personal physique proceed to betray him. Throughout the twilight years of his legal profession, Arthur sees firsthand how his beloved gang disintegrates because of the negligence of its chief, Dutch, and that downfall offers a powerful platform for the passing of the baton from Arthur to John Marston, the unique recreation’s protagonist.

Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2 does all the pieces you may ever want for from a prequel — from bettering on each facet of a sequence’ gameplay, to telling a narrative that builds out its world’s mythos to unimaginable impact — and is why it tops our record of the best online game prequels.

And there you’ve gotten it, our picks for the very best prequels in video video games. Was your favourite included? Tell us what you consider our decisions, or share your favorites within the feedback under.

Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Options Editor. Further contributions from Matt Purslow and Simon Cardy.