Generally, people call a gaming series great after it has a couple of amazing instalments. And the inclusion of a few duds doesn't tend to change people's minds about a series. The likes of Resident Evil and Assassin's Creed, for instance, are iconic, but there are a few questionable entries in both.
It's the same for most series as it's extremely difficult for developers to keep delivering the goods over a long period. There are bound to be a few missteps along the way, and most fans accept that. However, there is a collection of series that includes nothing but hits. These are ones where the games might still vary in quality, but none of them are outright bad. Here are several examples.
Updated March 6, 2023 By Ben Jessey: Most of the best gaming series have entries that don't live up to most of the others. Tomb Raider has Angel Of Darkness, Metal Gear has Survive, and Sonic has the infamous instalment from 2006.
These sorts of titles don't tarnish the legacies of their series, but they stop them from being great across the board. Thankfully, not every series has a bad game. And in this list, we highlighted some examples of those with a spotless record. We've now updated it to add more.
11 ꦡ Yakuza Series ꦡ
If you include everything from main entries to spin-offs to remakes, then there have been over 20 Yakuza games. So, it's all the more impressive that there isn't an outright bad one among them. The one closest to ruining the series' spotless record was the Dead Souls spin-off, which is about a non-canon zombie game. It isn't an amazing title, but it isn't awful, either.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon could've also been the game to break the good instalment streak since it significantly messed with the series formula. But a change of protagonist, setting, and combat didn't stop it from being great.
10 🐟 Half-Life Series
Alongside several expansion packs, there have only been a few Half-Life games, much to the disappointment of many fans. However, at least the ones that were released are incredible. After all, the series beg🌳ins with a title that provides a first-person 🃏shooter experience like nothing ever seen before.
As such, living up to it was a tall task for Half-Life 2 and its additional episodes. But Valve built on the formula of the original to create something bigger and arguably better. Half-Life: Alyx is a bit different since it's a VR title, but it's no less impressive. In fact, it might be the most spectacular one since it truly shows the potential of virtual reality gaming.
9 Dishonored Se🌜ries ♍
The Dishonored series contains two main entries and a standalone expansion called Death Of The Outsider. All three of them provide entertaining experiences. The secret to their consistency is the lack of significant changes between entries. They're all very similar in both gameplay and presentation.
Yet, despite the lack of alterations between games, things still don't get boring while playing through the series. This is due to the freedom each title gives you to embark on missions in any way you like, meaning every level is unique.
8 ꩲ The Witcher Series ♛
When fans talk about Witcher video games, the third entry is the one that gets most of the attention. This is because The Witcher 3 is among 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the best RPGs in recent memory. However, it's not like its predecessors are bad.
Witcher 2, for instance, is a very underrated title that tells an interesting tale and provides enjoyable combat. In fact, it lays the groundwork for a lot of what the third game does well. As for the initial title, it's a little dated from a gameplay perspective, but it too has an engaging narrative. Even the spin-offs and side games are at least fine, with Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales being an overlooked classic in its own right.
7 Life Is Strꦰange Series
The first 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Life Is Strange was such a unique and captivating adventure that you'd be forgiven for expecting future instalments to never live up to it. Yet, every entry is wonderful. While you could certainly argue that the original is still the greatest, the successors have all maintained a similar standard whether Dontnod Entertainment or Deck Nine are the developers.
A key to the constant critical success has been the inclusion of multiple different storylines and protagonists. If they had tried to drag out Max's story from the first game, it would've grown tiresome. But instead, they're all compelling self-contained experiences, including The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit.
6 ♈ ✤ Max Payne Series
Despite the first game releasing in 2001, there have only been three Max Payne titles. Each one tells a dark and well-written tale, which tends to involve some sort of conspiracy. From a gameplay perspective, they're also similar as they include third-person gunplay that involves 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:heavy usage of bullet time.
So, the games aren't significantly different, but they don't really need to be when there are only three of them. And thankfully, the Max Payne formula seems to work really well, as all of them are excellent. Maybe the movie adaptation should've studied that formula a little more since the flick certainly isn't great.
5 ♎ 𝕴 Infamous Series
Infamous is an interesting series because, arguably, each entry is worse than the last, yet there's still never been a bad one. Even Infamous First Light is a solid game despite being much weaker than the first two, and the small web browser titles are harmless.
It seems controlling a superpowered being who can wipe out countless enemies with their litany of distinct powers is enjoyable no matter what. The morality system, which features in most of the instalments, is also amazing as it allows you to be the greatest superhero or most despicable supervilla🗹in. And it functions better than similar systems in other titles.
4 𝓰 The Walking Dead Telltale Series
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Telltale's The Walking Dead is structured like a television series. It's broken up into seasons, which all contain a collection of episodes. While the episodes can occasionally vary in quality, the seasons - which are all individual games - are fantastic.
Altogether, they tell the tale of one of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the greatest zombie survivors ever, Clementine. Her story revolves around her growing up in the world of the undead. And each season is important in showing her development. Yet, there are also a couple of spin-offs in the series, which don't involve the protagonist. Her presence is missed, but 400 Days and Michonne are solid adventures regardless.
3 ❀ Football Manager Series
Yearly sports titles generally have some questionable entries. It's understandable as it's difficult to release a good game every single year. Sports Interactive has seemingly managed it with Football Manager, though. Since the series spawned from the remains of Championship Manager in 2004, it has maintained incredible consistency.
These simulation games keep fans hooked every year as players try to build incredible teams and win every trophy possible. The fact that there aren't a lot of changes between each entry in the series likely helps with its consistency. But some other yearly sports games do the same, and they don't maintain quality.
2 U𓄧ncharted Series
At this point, there are nine 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Uncharted games, including those outside the main series. While the likes of Golden Abyss, Fight For Fortune, and Fortune Hunter aren't the greatest games of all time, they're passable.
The main instalments, however, are phenomenal. Each one includes stellar writing, likable characters, enjoyable puzzles, and exciting combat. The original entry perhaps has a few too many shooting galleries and not enough variety in its environments, but it's not enough to make it a bad game. And the ones that came after are some of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the best action-♚adventu🐽re titles of all time.