Originally by Ranker GamesList RulesOnly the second game in a series. Vote up the best games that followed (and even surpassed) the first game in a series.
Video games have gone from something you did with buddies at the local arcade to a multi-billion dollar industry that spends and makes more money than Hollywood does making films. With so much money coming in, it's no surprise video games get sequels made to keep the cash flowing, but which video game sequels are the best? There are hundreds of them out there, but only a few could be considered to be equal or even better than their predecessors.
This list focuses specifically on direct sequels to the first game—there are no Super Mario Bros. 3s or Tekken IIIs in here. All games ranked on this list are second to one and are considered to be some of the greatest video game sequels ever made. What makes these games good has a lot to do with the games that came before, but in the end, these sequels stand on their own.
If we missed any of your favorites, add them to the list and don't forget to rank the games you think are the best sequels of them all!
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Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game, Beat 'em up, Stealth game
Batman: Arkham City is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Rocksteady Studios and released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game... more
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2011Developer: Valve Corporation
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game, Puzzle game, Platform game
Portal 2 is a 2011 first-person puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to Portal and was released on April 19, 2011, for Microsoft Windows, OS X,... more3
2004Developer: Microsoft Studios, Bungie Studios, Pi Studios
Genres (Video game): Shooter game, Action game, Adventure
Halo 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise... more4
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game, Stealth game
Assassin's Creed II is a 2009 historical fiction action-adventure open world stealth video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the... more5
2004Developer: Valve Corporation
Genres (Video game): First-person shooter
Half-Life 2 is the well-recieved sequel to Half-Life. Half-Life 2 takes place in the dystopian City 17 and the surrounding area, almost 20 years after the events of the original Half-Life. In the... more6
2010Developer: BioWare
Genres (Video game): Third-person Shooter, Action role-playing game
Mass Effect 2 is an action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on January 26, 2010, and for PlayStation 3... more7
1998Developer: Factor 5, Gearbox Software, Rockstar San Diego, Capcom, Tiger Electronics
Genres (Video game): Horror, Third-person Shooter, Survival horror, Science Fiction
Resident Evil 2, known in Japan as Biohazard 2, is a 1998 survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil... more8
Developer: Infinity Ward
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game, First-person Shooter
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a 2009 first-person shooter political war thriller video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft... more9
Developer: Rockstar San Diego
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game
This game is an open world, western action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles on May 18,... more10
2012Developer: Gearbox Software, Iron Galaxy Studios
Genres (Video game): Action role-playing game, First-person Shooter
Borderlands 2 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game, developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games on September 18, 2012. It is the second game in the Borderlands series... more11
Developer: Naughty Dog
Genres (Video game): Shooter game, Action-adventure game, Platform game, Third-person Shooter, Action game
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a 2009 action-adventure third-person shooter platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is a... more12
Developer: Nerve Software, id Software
Genres (Video game): Shooter game, Survival horror, Action game, First-person Shooter, Science Fiction
Doom II: Hell on Earth is a first-person shooter video game, the second title of id Software's Doom franchise. It was originally released for MS-DOS computers in 1994 and Macintosh computers in 1995.... more13
Developer: Capcom
Genres (Video game): Fighting game
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in 1991. It is the second entry in the Street Fighter series and the arcade sequel to the... more14
2005Developer: Aspyr, Infinity Ward
Genres (Video game): Shooter game, Action game, First-person Shooter
Call of Duty 2 is a 2005 first-person shooter video game and the second installment in the critically acclaimed Call of Duty series. It was developed by Infinity Ward and published by Konami in Japan... more15
2000Developer: Blizzard North
Genres (Video game): Isometric projection, Action role-playing game, Action game, Hack and slash, Role-playing video game
Diablo II is an action role-playing hack and slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Windows and Mac OS computers. The game, with its dark... more16
2007Developer: SCE Santa Monica Studio
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game, Action game, Hack and slash
God of War II is a third person action-adventure video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 2 console on March 13,... more17
2010Developer: 2K Marin
Genres (Video game): First-person shooter
BioShock 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Marin for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The sequel to the 2007 video game BioShock, it was released worldwide on... more18
2001Developer: Konami, Team Silent, Creature Labs
Genres (Video game): Survival horror
Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The game was... more19
Developer: Traveller's Tales
Genres (Video game): Open world, Action-adventure game, Platform game, Action game, Adventure
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is a multi-platform action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts and TT Games. It was released on September 11, 2006.... more20
1998Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, Konami
Genres (Video game): Shooter game, Action-adventure game, Action game, Stealth game
Metal Gear Solid is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and first published by Konami for the PlayStation in 1998. The game was directed, produced... more21
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Genres (Video game): Isometric projection, Real-time strategy, Strategy video game
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Released in 1999 for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating... more22
Developer: Square Enix
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure game, Action role-playing game, Action game, Role-playing video game
Kingdom Hearts II is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sequel to the 2002 Disney Interactive and... more23
kwillymac added2018Developer: Rockstar Studios
Genres (Video game): Action-adventure
Red Dead Redemption 2 (stylized as Red Dead Redemption II) is a Western-themed action-adventure video game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4... more24
1993Developer: Acclaim Cheltenham, Midway Games, Sculptured Software
Genres (Video game): Action game, Fighting game
Mortal Kombat II is a competitive fighting game originally produced by Midway Games for the arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including the PC, Amiga, Game Boy, Sega Game... more25
Developer: Aspect
Genres (Video game): Platform game
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is an 8-bit side-scrolling platform video game developed by Aspect and released by Sega for their Master System and Game Gear formats. The Master System version was released in... more
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