Video Games That Surprised Us All From Mediocre Expectations to Unbelievable Excellence

The ongoing year has been a moving year for e-sports. Following some giant releases in the first half of 2023, the upcoming lineup of video games is nothing less than brilliant. Although with the strong evolution of gaming in the past few years, gaming developers have been subjected to a major challenge. For a title to remain relevant in the star-studded lineup of releases, developers tend to try every move from the book. While most of the remains are on big labels, sometimes we come across pleasant surprises. 

The majority of the sale projections today depend on the brand of a particular title or the name attached to its developing team. Legacy stands out as a bankable form of investment in the e-sports market. But there are a lot of examples that break the shackles of the long-running format. These video games are special in their ways. Moreover, they inspire other enthusiastic developers to back even the smallest of projects with potential. Let’s dive deeper into the article to revisit some similar honorable notations. 

Video Games that broke the barriers of expectations

A title’s journey from its announcement to release happens to be quite eventful. From a narrow perspective, there are two basic approaches for a video game launch. One is on the higher side of expectations, with a lot of speculations running around the walls of social media during the game’s promotional campaign. 

What game did you go into thinking it was going to be mediocre but then was blown away by it?
by u/Deadtoast15 in gaming

The other one is the quiet knock on the door. The second approach is mostly associated with titles with no big names or backing from industry giants. However, in some rare episodes, the second league games exceed every expectation taking the industry by storm. 

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For context, Starfield, the Bethesda giant, has been under fan scrutiny for a while now. The expectations were already sky high. Hence, for Starfield to surprise the fans, it would have to be something way more than outstanding. While this puts the industry giants in a tough space, it favors the odd ones frequently. 

One of the most successful examples of this is FromSoftware’s Elden Ring. Exceeding every expectation, the video game went on to win the GOTY 2023. 

Fans share their favorites

A Reddit user sparked this debate on the platform, inviting a lot of interesting mentions from the community. Also, he picked Hollow Knight as his favorite. Have a look at what the fans had to say and see if your favorite underdog is among these video games. 

As we can see, @Thopterthallid has his heart for ‘The Outer Wilds’!

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by u/Thopterthallid from discussion What game did you go into thinking it was going to be mediocre but then was blown away by it?
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A fan picks the horror thriller Alan Wake and explains why.

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by u/maithamharb from discussion What game did you go into thinking it was going to be mediocre but then was blown away by it?
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Another Reddit user called @illsk1lls has all his votes for Elden Ring.

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by u/illsk1lls from discussion What game did you go into thinking it was going to be mediocre but then was blown away by it?
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Another interesting choice we have from players is Death Stranding.

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by u/Fit-Philosopher9849 from discussion What game did you go into thinking it was going to be mediocre but then was blown away by it?
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Assassin’s Creed Odyssey makes the list. 

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by u/AvoidingTheMooks from discussion What game did you go into thinking it was going to be mediocre but then was blown away by it?
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Did your pick make the list of video games? If not, let us know your choice in the comments below.

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