10 AMAZING Video Games That Didn't Get Sequels
9. L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire was released in 2011; the game had a troubled seven-year production and the now defunct studio, Team Biondi, delayed the game’s release several times during development.
The game is a police-procedural sim set in 1947, Los Angeles. The story follows war-hero-turned-cop, Cole Phelps (Aaron Staton), and his meteoric rise through the ranks of the police department.
Gameplay involves searching crime scenes for clues, which can later be cited as evidence during the game's famous interrogation scenes.
Those interrogations were a major selling point; L.A. Noire was the first game to utilize MotionScan technology, which accurately captured actor’s facial expressions in remarkable detail. During interrogations, the player can query witnesses’ testimony or outright accuse them of lying.
Almost as soon as L.A. Noire was released, a spiritual sequel was announced that would explore the 1930s Shanghai criminal underworld. Scheduled for a rough release of 2016, news of that game dwindled over time until it was confirmed as cancelled in 2016.
Surprisingly, given its commercial success, L.A. Noire remains somewhat unique; although some similar games exist - David Cage’s games share some DNA - spiritual sequels have been thin on the ground.