10 Video Games You Had No Idea Were Sequels

While many video games might link themselves to other franchises in only the most tangential and Easter egg-y of ways, Hitman: Absolution tethered itself to another Square Enix-published property in extremely amusing and appropriate terms.

The Kane & Lynch franchise fell off a cliff with the critical and commercial failure that was its second game, 2010's Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, but in order to give players a tongue-in-cheek sense of closure, the two title characters made cameo appearances in 2012's Hitman sequel.

The criminal duo were first mentioned in a newspaper clipping in Hitman: Blood Money, but appear in Absolution as living, breathing NPCs who the player is free to assassinate should they so wish.

Kane appears in a bar and Lynch at a shooting gallery, and while you can certainly miss both of them, their presence does allow knowing players to effectively give the two characters the concrete ending they never got in their own series.

Or you could, you know, let them keep living out their criminal lives, but where's the fun in that?