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[Kikorin]

I was watching this trailer of Atomic Heart and for sure looks impressive. But is even more impressive if you think is coming out by a studio (Mundfish) that has never developed a game before. Maybe it'll turn out bad or average, but release is close and seems really good.



In some days we are going to have also Hogwarts Legacy, that from preview doesn't looks a masterpiece, but still pretty impressive for a studio that developed basically just cheap tie-in and small games before.

Some other games that if will release for real and don't turn out to be vaporware could be in this category are these Chinese/Korean games that sometimes appears on YouTube.

So I want to ask, which games from the past you remember come out from random or new studios and proved to be with a developing value comparable to an AAA game (even if they reviewed bad)?

 

[Kupfer]

Far Cry (2004)

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Apex Legends stealth drop was bananas.

 

[John Bilbo]

So I want to ask, which games from the past you remember come out from random or new studios and proved to be with a developing value comparable to an AAA game (even if they reviewed bad)?

What does developing value mean? Spent resources developing the game? Or polished full priced game?

 

[dreamstation]

No Man's Sky

 

[BennyBlanco]

Bioshock

 

[Yoboman]

Far Cry (2004)

That was pretty hyped from memory. It was part of the big tech showcases for the time along with Doom 3 and Half Life 2

 

[Gamerguy84]

Lots of them tbh. When I used to not visit internet gaming sites I would google games release dates and start looking them up.

I found Infamous that way.

 

[roosnam1980]

riddick escape from butchers bay on xbox

 

[Topher]

Batman Arkham Asylum and Shadow of Mordor. I remember everyone being surprised how good those games were.

 

[Kikorin]

Far Cry (2004)

Yes, Crytek starting with this was insane, I remember the first time I tried the demo and was mindblowing, even if my pc could barely make it works at minimum.

What does developing value mean? Spent resources developing the game? Or polished full priced game?

I mean a game that you could compare with an AAA release just looking at it and know nothing about who developed it or the budget/development time.

Bioshock

This is another one that surprised me a lot back in the days.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Bioshock

I don't think Bioshock fits what OP is asking about.

Bioshock had massive hype, years of previews, and heavy marketing behind it.

 

[Beechos]

Plagues tale is prob another one from recent memory.

 

[diffusionx]

Oddworld Stranger's Wrath

 

[vargas117259]

Fable 2

 

[kanjobazooie]

I don't think Bioshock fits what OP is asking about.

Bioshock had massive hype, years of previews, and heavy marketing behind it.

Plus Ken Levine already had System Shock 2 under his belt, so Bioshock didn't come from "random or new" people.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Hollow Knight and Celeste. And I'd argue, The Messenger, although it still doesn't get the credit it's due.

 

[pramod]

Age of Wonders
Darkest Dungeon
Cuphead

 

[Beastclaw Raider]

A plague tale innocence
Hellblade senua's sacrifice

 

[Nikodemos]

Disco Elysium.

Pity that ZA/UM fell prey to studio drama, and we're not going to get another game like it from them.

 

[GametimeUK]

Hifi RUSH gave me similar feelings recently. Just dropped out of nowhere, is completely random and the fact it's developed by Tango Gameworks just had me even more surprised. Don't get me wrong they're a talented bunch, it's just I never would have guessed the studio would make a game like this when compared to their more recent ones.

 

[Lumpyoatmeal]

From the past that I remember? It has to be hands down America's Army. Who expected the U.S. fucking Army to make one of the best games ever made? Like that actually happened.

Most of y'all are probably too young to even know that.

 

[Kupfer]

That was pretty hyped from memory. It was part of the big tech showcases for the time along with Doom 3 and Half Life 2

Of course, it was hyped just before release because it looked groundbreaking at the time. Before that I only knew the video of x-isle, the techdemo from Crytek and Far Cry looked even better at release.



In the early 2000s I didn't have the internet and had to rely on the monthly PC magazines and the enclosed CD roms with demos and video previews. Maybe that's why my perception doesn't match the general one, but for me Far Cry came almost out of nowhere back then, for me there was no announcement trailer and then 1-year long hyped waiting. It was suddenly there at some point with a bang and praise songs and blew me away.

For Doom 3 and HL2 I have been aware years before release and knew that these will be THE big players at their time, besides, these were not studios firsts and you had a corresponding expectation attitude.

 

[Jennings]

Roller Coaster Tycoon
Tetris
Wolfenstein 3D

 

[Benniewise de Clown]

P.T.

 

[John Bilbo]

I mean a game that you could compare with an AAA release just looking at it and know nothing about who developed it or the budget/development time.

That is a very difficult question. I thought about it for a while and I have to say no one game comes to mind.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Out of nowhere + free with PS+ on release + one of the best OSTs of that gen:

 

[jigglet]

Uniracers. Came out of nowhere and blew me away.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[JohnSpartanLee]

Pinball Dreams

 

[Archaic101]

Half-life (everyone thougth SiN was going to be the next big thing instead)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (nobody was really covering it until it made a huge splash on that Pizaa Hut demo disc, lol)
Spiderman 2 (moderate interest, but low expectations)
Guitar Hero (news of how good this one was spread virally on the internet AFTER release; nobody cared beforehand)
Skylanders (very little press at first, then the brick and mortar stores starting pushing it *hard* when kids started being interested in the displays)
Mortal Kombat 9 (franchise had declined significantly in the ps2 era, but this entry put in on its current trajectory of being one of the biggest franchises in the world)
Rocket League
PUBG
Baldur's Gate (quiet release from a publisher about to go under; ended up "creating" Bioware)

 

[Dev1lXYZ]

Goldeneye on N64. The game was a slow burn at first. Gamer expectations were high from all the magazine hype, but copies were readily available for quite a number of weeks post launch. Then it took off with the general public and we couldn't keep it in stock for months.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Spiderman 2 the game?

 

[Fatmanp]

I had no idea Red Dead Redemption was being made. Y Rockstar as a Wild West GTA until reviews dropped. Still a top 10 game for me.

 

[vodka-bull]

Dead Island. I was a big Borderlands fan back then but Dead Island was ten times better in coop, even though it never was on my radar.

 

[Guilty_AI]

RDR1

Literally dropped into the face of the earth out of nowhere one day, and people were like 'wtf is this wild west gta, wait, this is actually awesome?'

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

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