Future Classics

[SlumlordThanatos]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and submit Warhammer 40K: Space Marine as my choice for a future classic.

It serves well as an introduction to the 40k verse, has fun, satisfying, and visceral combat, and the main character almost single-handedly saved the Ultramarines from the scrap heap. The game still has its fair share of flaws, but I think this game was good enough to have a cult following.

 

[Zhukov]

Dark Souls is part of a series and has created a sub-genre of games that will most likely continue to improve...

True. We've already seen a few imitators and obvious inspirations.

Whether that becomes an enduring thing or just a passing fad remains to be seen.

... so that doesn't make the original game as unique as Demon's Souls is.

Utterly irrelevant to whether or not it will be remembered.

Demon's started the whole affaire...

No, it didn't.

The industry did not sit up and pay attention when Demon's Soul came out to a mediocre reception and mediocre sales. Demon's Souls did not inspire imitators.

Those things happened when Dark Souls came out to widespread acclaim and significantly better sales.

Dark Souls was the success. Demon's Souls was just the prototype.

Plus, a ton more people have played Dark Souls than Demon Souls. People tend to remember games that they played better than ones that they heard someone talk about on a forum a couple of times.

 

[maninahat]

So its essentially games who's other qualities can outlive their contemporary graphical limitations (that is to say, classic games look like ass after a decade or two, but are enjoyable enough for that not to matter).

 

[Vanilla ISIS]

Individual titles:

- Bioshock (it will be a classic in the same way as Citizen Kane, where very few people have actually seen it but everyone praises it)
- Minecraft
- GTA V
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Mortal Kombat 9

Franchises:

- Call of Duty (especially the Modern Warfare and Black Ops titles)
- Gears of War (excluding Judgement)
- Assassin's Creed (especially the first 2)
- Mass Effect
- Dead Rising
- Fallout

 

[Bocaj2000]

-Pillars of Eternity as a gem of writing close to Planescape Torment's
-Nidhogg as a near perfect dueling game
-Alpha Protocol as an overlooked cult classic (not perfect but not "broken")
-Lisa for its character study and depressing themes
-Witcher series for being the dark horse in both quality and success within the AAA world despite their untraditional practices
-it won't but Swapper should be a classic with its philosophical themes, well-designed puzzles, and stop-motion graphics
-Hotline Miami and Spec Ops: The Line for having the being the harbingers of the postmodern game narrative

I'm sure there's more (especially since I'm only stating PC games) but that's off the top of my head.

 

[Evonisia]

"Halo 3" will probably stick around as fondly remembered, especially given how well its aged nearly ten years on already.

Personally I'd rather "ODST" be a classic, but I'm being realistic.

 

[B-Cell_v1legacy]

- Bioshock (it will be a classic in the same way as Citizen Kane, where very few people have actually seen it but everyone praises it)

but i dont praise it my friend. i absolutely hate it as its just poor mans System shock 2 but infinite was so bad that make first bioshock feel like system shock 2.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

The Mass Effect Trilogy.

Bioshock

Assassins Creed 2 maybe if Ubisoft running the series into the ground doesn't distort that series moment of glory.

Portal 1 and 2

COD4?

Mirrors Edge(bleh)

The first two Arkham games?

Fallout 3 (uuugh)

Skyrim (grrrr)

 

[Something Amyss]

So its essentially games who's other qualities can outlive their contemporary graphical limitations (that is to say, classic games look like ass after a decade or two, but are enjoyable enough for that not to matter).

I'm pretty sure it's more [game I personally like].

"Classic" is hard to predict anyway I suppose it's safest to go with your faves. After all, in 100 years, Twilight could be the best book series, Ride to Hell could be the ultimate video game, and Epic Movie could be the greatest comedy of a lifetime.

Similarly RE4 laid the template for modern third person shooters which is what makes this game a genre-defining classic.

I somehow doubt this foundational title deal that puts RE4 on par with Super Mario Bros or Street Fighter is widely held.

Also, while SMB may be the foundation, it seems people are more prone to calling 3 or World the classic. You will probably find the same with CE or Turbo.

 

[Simonism451]

Far Cry 2 (A man can dream, right?)

Probably Dark Souls

Half Life 2 (+the hope for Half Life 3)

XCom (without hyphen) for reviving to some extent the turn-based strategy genre.

Metal Gear Solid 4 + 5 (if only for the hype leading up to them)

Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker (for actually being good)

Arma 2/3

 

[JaKandDaxter]

-Demons Souls
-Dark Souls
-Batman Arkham Asylum
-Gears of War (the original for sure. Lots of memorable shotgun battles and great chainsaw kills).
-Alpha Protocol
-LittleBigPlanet
-Minecraft
-Dead Space (2 was pretty good as well. 3 is hated somewhat, but I still liked it)
-Mass Effect Trilogy (despite its flaws. It's a great sci fi adventure)
-Valkryia Chronicles
-Yakuza 3
-NBA 2K (the later games in the series are masterpieces of a great sports game. And both fans and NBA players love the series).
-FIFA Soccer/Football (I know people who spend hundreds of hours on the FIFA games. And its loved internationally)
-X-COM Enemy Unknown (its sequel was highly anticipated for a good reason. By both PC and console gamers)
-Rockband (at least the original. Great times with friends)

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Arkham Asylum and City to a lesser extent, Mass Effect trilogy but 2 will be hailed as the best one, Assassin's Creed 2, Bioshock Infinite (first one is already a classic), The Witcher 2, Red Dead Redemption.

 

[Sharia]

Cult classics tend to be my favourites, but they are a different breed. Though I don't personally agree with them, the likes of Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock, Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us will be on the classics list in the future.

 

[stroopwafel]

The industry did not sit up and pay attention when Demon's Soul came out to a mediocre reception and mediocre sales. Demon's Souls did not inspire imitators.

Those things happened when Dark Souls came out to widespread acclaim and significantly better sales.

Your logic doesn't even make any sense and makes me doubt you understand how business works. Why would Bamco invest in publishing Dark Souls if it didn't have any precedent to rely on? Demon's Souls was that precedent. Even Yoshida of Sony Japan was surprised by Demon's succes and tried to backpedal on it's mistake of not having published the game themselves by developing its spiritual successor Bloodborne. If Demon's Souls had mediocre sales there simply would be no Dark Souls(or Bloodborne for that matter). The sales of Demon's were actually pretty good for such a niche title.

The only reason Dark Souls is more popular is b/c it isn't an exclusive and there mostly being PC-gamers on this forum.

 

[Fox12]

The only modern classic I can really think of is Demon's Souls. I think this is really one game that will still be remembered 20 years from now.

In 20 years?

Dark Souls possibly.

Demons Souls, not a chance in hell.

To be fair, Demon Souls may reach cult status. That said, it will never be as important as Dark Souls. Not only will Dark Souls last a long time, it rewrote the book on game design, and spawned numerous imitators. It was a "game changer," if you'll forgive the pun. Heck, Demon Souls owes part of its recent popularity to Dark Souls. It's kind of like Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The Hobbit is good on its own merits, but it has nowhere near the importance of Lord of the Rings. I actually like The Hobbit more, but no one would be reading that or The Silmarillion without The success of Rings.

Otherwise? Hard to say. Probably the first Bioshock, even though I hate that game. Portal, most likely. I'm convinced that The Last of Us won't make it, as much as I loved it. It didn't innovate in enough areas, and I don't think the story was enough to carry it forever.

At one point I would have said Mass Effect. It had numerous flaws, but it had a huge impact on game design. Player choice became more prominent after its release, and a lot of people will probably expand on the ideas popularized there. Unfortunately it's reputation is now in ashes, and if it's remembered in 20 years, it certainly won't be for a good reason.

 

[Nimcha]

Definitely Fallout New Vegas. And maybe Fallout 4 too but that depends on the DLC I feel.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Personally I feel the Mario Galaxy games will hold up and still be perfectly playable in years to come.

Thoughts?

I first played Super Mario Galaxy after playing Super Mario 3D World and it blew me away. I haven't played the sequel yet but the first one is one of the few Wii games that presented Wii-mote functionality that I didn't hate.

---

I can see a few games being referred to as "classics" in a few years from now. Things like...

Alien: Infestation (DS...haven't played this)
Alien: Isolation (haven't played this one)
Batman: Arkham City
Bioshock
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dishonored
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans (DS. If I keep praising this game maybe people will agree with me)
Final Fantasy IV (DS)
Halo Reach (it was my favorite, people will probably say Halo 3 was better)
Kirby's Triple Deluxe
Mass Effect 2 (probably 3 too. ME1 would probably be looked at as a cult classic)
Portal
Portal 2
Puppeteer
Spec Ops: The Line
Super Mario Galaxy
Wolfenstein: The New Order

I'm sure there will be others but those are the ones that I would assume would at least be considered.

 

[Zhukov]

The industry did not sit up and pay attention when Demon's Soul came out to a mediocre reception and mediocre sales. Demon's Souls did not inspire imitators.

Those things happened when Dark Souls came out to widespread acclaim and significantly better sales.

Your logic doesn't even make any sense and makes me doubt you understand how business works. Why would Bamco invest in publishing Dark Souls if it didn't have any precedent to rely on? Demon's Souls was that precedent. Even Yoshida of Sony Japan was surprised by Demon's succes and tried to backpedal on it's mistake of not having published the game themselves by developing its spiritual successor Bloodborne. If Demon's Souls had mediocre sales there simply would be no Dark Souls(or Bloodborne for that matter). The sales of Demon's were actually pretty good for such a niche title.

Mediocre does not mean bad.

Games with mediocre sales get sequels all the time. Although strictly speaking Dark Souls isn't a sequel. It's what they call a spiritual sequel, ie "let's take what worked with that game and start afresh by putting it into a technically unrelated game".

Oh hey, notice how there have been Dark Souls 2 and soon Dark Souls 3 but nary a sign of a Demon's Souls 2? I wonder why that is. I'm sure someone who understands business as well as you can take a guess.

The only reason Dark Souls is more popular is b/c it isn't an exclusive and there mostly being PC-gamers on this forum.

What?

The PC port was an incompetently produced piece of shit. It was so slapdash that an amateur was able to came along and fix many of it's issues in 24 hours. One guy was able to do in one day what an entire studio of supposed professionals was somehow unable to do in months.

And you think that port was the reason for its popularity? Phht.

The port only exists because the game was a hit on consoles and PC gamers were asking for a slice of the fun.

Not that it matters, come to think of it. The non exclusive nature of Dark Souls just means that more people will have played it and thus more people will be more likely to remember it.