Video game history is filled with long-awaited sequels that lived up to the hype. Is Hollow Knight: Silksong next?
After eight long years that felt like 80, the sequel to Team Cherry's Metroidvania classic Hollow Knight is finally here! Hollow Knight: Silksong was announced almost immediately after the release of the first game in 2017, yet it took so long in development that many fans wondered whether it was a tangible piece of software or a myth propagated by the internet. If the game is as good as advertised, those who waited patiently will receive the ultimate payoff for their troubles.
Hollow Knight: Silksong isn't the only sequel to take nearly a decade or longer to come out, contrary to what its fans might assert. In fact, putting up with development hell is one of the great drawbacks of being a video game geek. And although it seems unfair during the hiatus for a long-dormant franchise, a wonderful sequel after an extended wait feels like Christmas morning! These are the best video game sequels that hit it out of the park after years in the dugout.
When it comes to platform games, not many companies outside of Nintendo have been able to get a foothold in the genre in the 21st century. Enter Tim Schafer's Psychonauts. Propelled by a quirky story about a kid exploring a camp full of others with psychic powers, the premise and the gameplay come together to manifest a cult classic.
The game's financial misery made it seem like a sequel was merely a figment of fans' imaginations, but an aggressive crowd-funding campaign and a sale to Microsoft allowed Double Fine to make Psychonauts 2 in 2021, 16 years after the first game. The game was the spiritual evolution of the genre, a fantastic mix of old-school 3D platforming and new concepts that will be modeled by other developers in the future.