Preparing for 2023's Biggest Sequels: A Smarter Player's Guide

A certain type of player tends to ignore a game until a sequel announcement makes it irresistible. The moment a follow-up becomes official, the original suddenly looks like required reading. This habit can backfire in spectacular fashion. A gamer binges the first entry so hard that by the time the sequel arrives, they are completely burned out. That happened with Fire Emblem Awakening before Fates, The Evil Within before its sequel, Horizon Zero Dawn before Forbidden West, and plenty of others. By 2023, the smarter approach was to stop treating the backlog like a sprint. Now, looking back from 2026, the sequel wave of 2023 still offers a useful case study in how to prepare without losing the plot.

Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2 was never going to be a simple follow-up. The original 2010 game felt dated by modern standards, but the remastered version ironed out many rough edges. Anyone hoping to understand the full picture before release had a tall order: Alan Wake, both DLC chapters, Control, and the Control AWE DLC. That is at least 35 hours of playtime, and it required juggling Remedy's growing shared universe. For lore hounds, that dive was worth every minute. By the time Alan Wake 2 arrived in October 2023, it rewarded patient fans with one of the boldest survival-horror sequels of the decade.

Remnant 2

Some games do not need a massive story recap. Remnant: From the Ashes was an exquisite soulslike third-person shooter set in a demon-infested post apocalypse. The sequel announcement at The Game Awards caught plenty of players off guard. The main game could be finished in about 20 hours, but its two huge DLCs, one featuring a roguelike mode, made it dangerously easy to sink 100 hours without noticing. Remnant 2 doubled down on that formula in 2023 and became one of the best co-op surprises of the year. For anyone who missed it, the first game remained a sleeper hit worth playing on its own terms.

Stalker 2

The road to Stalker 2 was shaped by real-world tragedy. Developer GSC Game World, based in Ukraine, was heavily affected by Russia's attack on the country. A planned 2022 release slipped into 2023, and eventually the game faced further delays before finally seeing the light of day. Stalker 2 was actually the fourth entry in the first-person survival horror series, with each previous game running around 15 hours. The series had a huge influence on horror games, and the long-awaited sequel became a symbol of resilience. In 2026, its atmosphere and tension still hold up for players who appreciate a slow-burn, white-knuckle experience.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong is the white whale of modern Metroidvanias. It began life as a DLC chapter for the original Hollow Knight, but Team Cherry kept expanding it until it turned into a full sequel. The original game was exceptionally long for the genre at around 26 hours, and many players spent 60 hours or more chasing every upgrade and optional boss. Many still consider Hollow Knight the best Metroidvania of all time. As of 2026, Silksong remains a masterclass in anticipation, and its delay has become a running joke among fans. The advice remains the same: do not sleep on the original.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the elephant in the room for any 2023 sequel list. A direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, it promised a more narratively connected follow-up than any previous Zelda. Breath of the Wild demanded at least 50 hours for a basic playthrough, so newcomers had their work cut out. Tears of the Kingdom arrived in May 2023 and built on its predecessor in wild, creative ways. By 2026, its sandbox systems are still the gold standard for open-world experimentation.

The Rest of the Pack

Not every sequel required a full homework assignment. Dead Island 2 launched in April 2023, and playing the original was not exactly essential. For undead co-op, Dying Light was often the better warm-up. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 arrived in the fall of 2023, with the previous games setting up Peter and Miles, though no one needed a recap to understand Spider-Man. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor released in March 2023, but Fallen Order could feel tedious on a crunch, so a video recap was a perfectly reasonable shortcut.

For Diablo 4 and Baldur's Gate 3, history was not a barrier. New players could jump straight in and still have a blast. The same applied to Pikmin 4, Payday 3, Ark 2, Space Marine 2, The Lords of the Fallen, and Street Fighter 6. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was a different beast, requiring Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the Crisis Core prequel for full context. Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals was a direct sequel set five years later with new characters, but the first game was only about four hours long, excellent, and available on Netflix, so there was little excuse to skip it.

The lesson from 2023 is clear: playing the original should be a joy, not a second job. A smart player plans a balanced run, leaves time for the sequel, and does not let FOMO turn a beloved hobby into a chore. By 2026, many of these sequels have become classics, and the originals are still there waiting for anyone who wants to do it right.