10 Amazing Video Game Sequels That Won Back The Fans

2. Hitman

As is the case for most franchises on this list, there came a time in Hitman's life where the publisher and developers wanted the brand to be bigger. It was already gaming royalty - hell, there had even been two attempts to break it into Hollywood - but in the late 2000s, studios decided the only thing that sold was action games.

Like survival-horror, stealth was suddenly seen as unbankable, and Hitman: Absolution was made to be more immediate, more action-orientated, and more appealing to a wider audience. I actually still really enjoyed it, but I can see why it p*ssed off die-hard fans: the worlds were smaller, players had less freedom, and scripted action set-pieces were everywhere.

IO Interactive went back to the drawing board for the next game, and at first it appeared as though they were continuing to make mistakes and move away from what players wanted from the franchise by making it an episodic release.

That change in structure actually allowed them to create the best Hitman in years though, as the episodic release meant that the levels had to be infinitely replayable - each one an intricate sandbox full of hilarious and brutal assassination possibilities.