Summary

  • Stardew Valley sold over 30 million copies, exceeding all expectations for an indie game developed mostly by one person.
  • Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's Nemesis System was a sleeper hit, unique and dynamic in gameplay experience.
  • Hades by Supergiant Games surprised everyone, smashing high expectations with incredible artwork and a compelling story.

Games often fall into predictable patterns. There's the game you expect to be amazing, and then is, garnering great sales and critical acclaim. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a great example of that. Sometimes a game is expected to be great, but players quickly discover problems. Cyberpunk 2077 is probably the best example of this in recent memory, although the game is now in incredible shape.

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The rarer, and more exciting possibility, is a game that exceeds all expectations. You may or may not have thought it would be good, but suddenly everyone realizes it's amazing, an awards contender. We thought it would be interesting to look at some of these success stories and remember how special they are.

Updated on May 18, 2024: We've added our video list for you to check out, just in case you want to take a closer look at some of the games that absolutely blew us away - and might just do the same to you.

8 Stardew Valley

Over 30 Million Copies Sold

Stardew Valley

Released February 26, 2016 Developer(s) ConcernedApe Publisher(s) ConcernedApe Platform(s) PC, Xbox One, Android, iOS, PS4, Switch Powered by Expand Collapse

No one could have predicted just how successful Stardew Valley would be. It showed all the signs of being great, and had very strong initial sale numbers, but over 30 million copies sold for an indie game developed mostly by one person is astronomical.

Sales aside, the game continues to exceed player expectations. Developer ConcernedApe just will not stop updating the game with new content. Not only is all the new content for the game welcome, it's all completely free.

7 Middle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor

The Nemesis System

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

Released September 30, 2014 Developer(s) Monolith Publisher(s) Warner Bros. Games Platform(s) PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Linux, macOS Powered by Expand Collapse

Middle-earth: Shadow of War perfected the formula, but Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor caught everyone by surprise. It felt like a true sleeper hit at the time, when Lord of the Rings had been a mixed bag for so long. The smooth gameplay was a lot of fun, but that wasn't what made it exciting.

The Nemesis System was a dynamic feature that caused enemy Uruks to react to events, developing traits and gaining strength based on their experiences. The fact that this was then copyrighted and hasn't been used since Shadow Of War is one of the great tragedies of gaming; it's too good a system to sit on the shelf.

6 Until Dawn

Cinematic Gaming

Until Dawn

Released August 25, 2015 Developer(s) Supermassive Games Publisher(s) Sony Platform(s) PS4 Powered by Expand Collapse

Until Dawn had an unusual road to launch, first announced as a PlayStation 3 game that would focus on using the Move controllers. Thankfully, that version of the game isn't what we eventually ended up with; instead, it's a choose-your-own-adventure cinematic treat.

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Until Dawn was, and is, so good that it ended up raising the profile of Supermassive Games... well, supermassively. It's built a catalogue of similiar offerings since 2015, and while none have been quite as good as Until Dawn, they each have their own dark charms.

5 Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

It Still Doesn't Seem Real

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Released August 29, 2017 Developer(s) Ubisoft Milan, Ubisoft Paris Publisher(s) Ubisoft Platform(s) Switch Powered by Expand Collapse

You have to admit that, even now, this is one of the strangest games to ever actually turn out to be good. The initial response to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle before its launch was far from positive. The art style was critiqued, people were done with Rabbids, and the idea of a Mario game in the style of XCOM 2 seemed beyond bizarre.

And yet, the game is good. Really good. The gameplay is fun, holding its own identity within the genre, and the humour almost always lands. Credit where it's due, Ubisoft hit a target no one even knew existed with this game. Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is also wonderful, but it wasn't the shock success that its predecessor was.

4 Pokemon Red & Green

The Entire Series, Really

Pokemon is a pop culture behemoth. Games, anime, movies, a collectible card game, action figures - if you can think of it, Pokemon has done it. When you cast your eye back to the original games, Pokemon Red & Green in Japan, no one could have predicted the success this series would go on to have.

It's especially incredible when you realize the games barely got made at all. A turn-based RPG based on the developers obsession with bug collecting doesn't sound like a great pitch, and developer GameFreak barely skirted bankruptcy during the development. Yet here we are today, with Pokemon one of the most dominant franchises in the world.

Pokemon Red & Green first released in 1996, but it still has secrets being discovered — a testament to the passion of the developers.

3 Sleeping Dogs

More Than A Clone

Sleeping Dogs

Released August 14, 2012 Developer(s) United Front Games Publisher(s) Square Enix Platform(s) PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC Powered by Expand Collapse

There are always trends in gaming that publishers and developers scramble to jump on. Battle royales, live-service games — whatever is popular and successful becomes all the rage until something new comes along. For a time, this was open-world games designed to capture the success of Grand Theft Auto. Some of these 'GTA clones' spawned their own series, like Saints Row.

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Arguably the best of the bunch was Sleeping Dogs, set in Hong Kong, where you took on the role of an undercover cop. This gave it a different narrative spin than other games of its type, and added a flowing martial arts combat system. A sequel would have been amazing, but we'll just have to let Sleeping Dogs... well, you get the idea.

2 Hades

Style And Substance

Hades

Released September 17, 2020 Developer(s) Supergiant Games Publisher(s) Supergiant Games Platform(s) PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Switch, PC Powered by Expand Collapse

Everyone expected Hades to be good. Supergiant Games had a proven track record with the genre, and bringing Greek Mythology into the mix is usually a good way to pique people's interest. No one expected Hades to be as unbelievably good as it is, though.

Incredible artwork meets the perfect roguelite experience as you battle through the Underworld, all backed by a story that is far more compelling than it has any right to be. It can't be stressed how hard it is for a game everyone thinks will be a winner to smash the glass ceiling of already high expectations, but Hades did exactly that.

1 Final Fantasy 14

A Realm Reborn

Final Fantasy 14 (2010)

Released August 27, 2013 Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Platform(s) PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Powered by Expand Collapse

Final Fantasy 14 is a game with a development story like no other. When it first launched, it fell far, far short of expectations and required the development team to split its efforts in two, working to improve the game that existed while also working on a brand-new version of the game.

Relaunched as A Realm Reborn, Final Fantasy 14 then exceeded the expectations it had set for itself with its own poor launch, going on to become one of the most successful and popular MMORPGs of all time. No one expected it to make such a miraculous recovery, salvaging a badly tarnished reputation and surprising us all.

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