Key Takeaways
-
Undertale
shocked fans with its non-violent gameplay, a unique approach that captured the hearts of players worldwide. -
Stardew Valley’s
success is thanks to its developer’s dedication, consistent updates, and appeal to new audiences through streamers. -
Helldivers 2’s
unexpected rise was propelled by its cooperative gameplay, pure luck in timing, and addictive core loop for players.
Whether it be unexpected AAA journeys or hidden indie gems, the gaming landscape has seen a number of vastly unexpected success stories over the years, thriving off of hits like Minecraft and Terraria that were taken to greater heights than ever imagined. Through these unprecedented successes, gaming fans have found a consistent stream of new games that pop out of the woodwork, seemingly coming out of nowhere with an army of dedicated fans behind them.
Reflecting on where these games came from and how they reached the acclaim they’ve found today, let’s take a look back at how some of the most successful games found their footing, beating the odds to still be considered as some of the more incredible gaming experiences out there.
8 Undertale
An RPG With No Reason To Kill
Surprising even its creator with its success, Undertale has led as a smash indie hit since its release in 2015, changing the genre in many ways for RPGs that have come after it. That success couldn’t have been more unprecedented, with its main developer Toby Fox hoping the game would stay out of the limelight, wishing for its tale to be experienced by players rather than smothered online for all.
Despite those desires, Undertale became something of an indie legend. Through gameplay that allowed players to end boss fights without killing anything, multiple endings and more, the stand-out nature of its offerings made an impact on players, streamers, and YouTubers everywhere. Toby Fox’s own original audience also played a big part in his success, bringing over listeners of his incredible gaming soundtracks to discover his venture in making Undertale.
7 Stardew Valley
The Cozy Life-Sim
Selling over 30 million copies, the cozy life and farming simulator Stardew Valley remains a smashing success after its release back in 2016, continuing to reach new audiences to this day. Created by solo developer ConcernedApe, this Harvest Moon-inspired gem added a new level of depth into the life-sim genre, featuring hundreds of hours worth of content to be enjoyed solo or with friends.
Its substantial success could be for many reasons; finding many new players through streamers and YouTubers playing the game, as well as ConcernedApe’s endless love and care for his game that’s continually being poured into it. With consistent updates, including a substantial addition of an entire island with new characters, Stardew Valley is clearly a project made from the heart, and players can feel that while they play.
6 Helldivers 2
Fight On Behalf Of Super-Earth
Released as a sequel to the 2015 Helldivers, Arrowhead Game Studio’s Helldivers 2 achieved a substantial success that many would’ve never predicted. While the original reached a large audience itself, it garnered such numbers over the span of seven years, with only a few thousand people ever playing at one time. Helldivers 2, on the other hand, reached millions within its first week, challenging the servers with the mass number of players eager to fight for super democracy, and taking over the internet with memes and commentary.
As a cooperative third-person shooter, Helldivers 2 found much of its success with simple, pure luck. Reaching audiences at the right time with the opportunity to use online mulitplayer with friends, or to meet new people. The core gameplay loop is addictive as ever too, delivering different sized missions for players to hop into no matter their busy schedule.
5 Vampire Survivors
An Addictive Gameplay Loop Amid Roguelite Chaos
With minimalist artwork and addictive but simplistic gameplay, Vampire Survivors is a gaming success story that players never would’ve expected. Created by just the solo developer poncle, this rougelite project began with a few open-levels and reused assets, a handful of abilities, and waves of enemies that progressively get harder. Surviving to the half hour mark is the only objective, delivering a concept that sounds bare but, in practice, proves to be one of the most replayable games of its kind.
Much of Vampire Survivors’ success is owed to the streaming community, with streamers sharing the game to their different numbers and varieties of audiences, and ultimately pushing the viewer to pick it up and start a run of their own. The low price tag is another reason that so many mass viewers were quickly turned into players themselves, with such little cost to get hooked on Vampire Survivors for life.
4 Outer Wilds
A Vast Open-World Space Adventure
Created by the small team at Mobius Digital, Outer Wilds quickly became a success beyond any scope imaginable, launching in 2019 to a fan base now praising it as one of the greatest indie games of all time. With just two previous projects made by the studio, a mobile exploration game called Beacon 38 and a puzzle RPG called Terra Chroma, the incredibly unprecedented reception for Outer Wilds can’t be understated.
As an interstellar adventure that stands out for its incredibly rich storyline and lore, all packed into an open-world that can be explored in any order, Outer Wilds delivers a pretty much faultless experience for players. Through puzzle-solving, secret hunting, world building and diverse characters, it’s no surprise that once this hidden gem was discovered, it soon reached millions. Reaching those heights as a small studio with little else behind them is a feat that certainly does make the success of Outer Wilds a completely and utterly surprising success story.
3 Deep Rock Galactic
Epic Combat Mining Missions With A Dwarven Twist
Coming out of Early Access as a complete surprise success, Deep Rock Galactic has swiftly become a number one multiplayer game for many over the years, delivering on aspects that gamers had been yearning for long before it arrived. Standing out with a unique identity through dwarven character designs and fun catchphrases like “Rock and Stone!”, the Ghost Ship Games team immediately captured players through a concept that’s bizarre and memorable in the best way possible.
That’s not all though. The consistent combat, co-operative play, and procedurally generated caves and missions allow a new feel to the game every time players return. Through all these little details, Deep Rock Galactic quickly made a name for itself despite its small presence and smaller development team, making its way out of Early Access as one of the most renowned games of its kind.
2 Fortnite
The Game That Made Battle Royale Essential
While nowadays the success of Fortnite seems obvious, its launch tells a completely different story. Taking inspiration from PUBG’s Battle Royale mode — a game that, while popular, never quite reached outside of its niche audience — Fortnite delivered a new take on the genre with an impactful game of its own.
An overnight success of sorts, Fortnite quickly became the game everyone was talking about, reaching streamers, YouTubers, and casual players everywhere. Perfect for players of all ages, this quirky offering stood out from the masses as something more colorful, more fun, and more unique than anything that ever came before it. With gameplay mechanics like builds, vibrant artwork, and cartoon-y character design, it took an already loved genre of game and made it into the stand-out success it’s become today.
1 Baldur’s Gate 3
A Magical Role-Playing Adventure
While it’s no surprise that Baldur’s Gate 3 was a successful game, the heights of its success were truly far beyond any expectation. Between winning the Game Of The Year award at all major award shows, and going on to sell over 15 million copies, this previously-Early Access gem has reached audiences well beyond what it was originally expected to.
Through social media clips, promotion through various streamers, and more, it feels incredibly clear that a lot of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s success is down to how readily it was shared, leaving its niche of Dungeons and Dragons lovers or RPG players, and instead attracting audiences that may have never even picked up a video game before. Its whimsical story, gorgeous art, beloved characters, and consistently shocking moments of incredible narrative choices have set a precedent for all games, something Larian Studios could’ve never imagined when the game first launched.
