8 Video Games That Caught Lightning In A Bottle

8. Doom Eternal

While it's absolutely fair to say that there was considerable thirst for a follow-up to 2016's surprisingly great Doom reboot, id Software could never have conceived how perfectly timed Doom Eternal's release actually was.

Beyond releasing at the onset of the pandemic when folks were sheltered in place and many sought comfort in the escapist world of video games, Doom Eternal also released on March 20th, 2020 - the very same day as Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Once fans of each franchise realised this, they went wild creating hilarious memes depicting Doomguy and Animal Crossing's Isabelle together as best pals.

In a similar vein to the Barbenheimer cinematic phenomenon of 2023, to see two major AAA franchises with such stark tones and aesthetics releasing on the same day captured the Internet's imagination, and each fanbase basically ended up propping up the other.

And given that Animal Crossing: New Horizons was an eye-watering sales juggernaut, ultimately selling over 47 million copies, the interplay between the two franchises evidently rubbed off on Doom, winning it a legion of new fans.

This was confirmed by the fact that Doom Eternal's first-month digital sales were more than triple that of Doom 2016. 

And sure, it was a great game anyway, but it clearly benefitted from its unexpected association with Nintendo's smash hit life sim.