Looking Back at 2023's Sequel Tsunami: Hits, Misses, and What It Means Now

It's 2026, and I still find myself loading up The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom just to glide off a sky island and get lost in Hyrule again. That feeling of wonder, the exact same one that hit me back in 2023, is something I didn't know I needed until Nintendo finally delivered. But let's rewind a bit. Remember the chaos of 2020 and 2021, when delays were piling up and we were all biting our nails over every major release? The industry was shifting sands, and suddenly 2023 became this towering mountain of sequels everyone was staring at. I've got to be honest, I was skeptical. How many of these could actually stick the landing?

Turns out, quite a few. And some? Well, let's just say the road got bumpy. With teams adapting to remote pipelines, Cyberpunk 2077 still fresh in our collective trauma, and hardware shortages making everything harder, the pressure was immense. But here we are, three years later, and those 2023 releases have shaped how I think about sequels today. Let me walk you through the heavy hitters, the heartbreakers, and the one that still has me checking my calendar.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – The One That Had Us Talking

Rocksteady returned after years of silence, dragging us back into the Batman: Arkham universe. I was all in. The co-op chaos, the banter between Harley, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang—it felt like a party. But let's face it, the Metropolis open world and live-service elements left a lot of us scratching our heads. The story? Honestly, the idea of a brainwashed Justice League and Brainiac pulling the strings was brilliant. Skull-shaped ships hovering over the city gave me goosebumps. Yet the execution, the grind, that conversation about whether this really honored the legacy of Arkham Knight? It's still going on in 2026. You know what, though? The game has its die-hard defenders now, and I've seen communities breathe new life into it with mods and headcanon. It wasn't the sequel I dreamed of, but it certainly left a mark.

Alan Wake 2 – The Survival-Horror Masterpiece I Didn't See Coming

Remedy Entertainment finally yanked the franchise out of limbo, and boy, did they deliver. I still remember when Sam Lake said you wouldn't need to play the first game to understand the sequel. That promise held. Alan Wake 2 dropped in late 2023 and turned the story into a full-blown survival-horror nightmare—think Resident Evil meets a waking dream. The Dark Place was no longer just a concept; it was a twisted, looping hellscape I couldn't look away from. Remedy didn't just make a sequel; they reinvented the series. Three years later, its storytelling structure is still studied by writers. I occasionally replay the \"We Sing\" chapter just to feel that bizarre blend of terror and musical genius. That moment alone justified every delay.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Worth Every Second of the Wait

Nintendo announced the Breath of the Wild sequel way back in 2019, then hit us with that Spring 2023 delay. When the game finally arrived as Tears of the Kingdom, I took a whole week off. No regrets. The same Hyrule, but layered with sky islands and the terrifying Depths—it was overwhelming in the best way. Fusing weapons, building monstrosities, solving puzzles with a flick of my Ultrahand—the mechanics felt like pure magic. I mean, the first time I built a rudimentary plane and soared over the Gerudo desert, I literally screamed. This game redefined what a sequel could be. It didn't just iterate; it exploded. Even now, in 2026, speedrunners are still finding wild new glitches, and the community's creativity shows no signs of slowing. It's the golden child of 2023, and I don't think that crown is going anywhere.

Payday 3 – A Heist That Needed a Do-Over

Starbreeze and Koch Media brought Dallas, Hoxton, and Wolf back, moving the heists to New York City. I was beyond excited. Payday 2 dominated my weekends for years. But when Payday 3 launched in late 2023, the always-online requirement and progression hiccups made the community groan. The core loop? Still solid as a vault door. Modernized tech, smarter AI, and those cinematic heist moments had flashes of brilliance. But we had to wait for updates to get the game feeling like a true successor. Now, after several content drops and a shift in their approach, it's in a much better place. I can comfortably recommend it for a weekend of chaotic fun with friends. The silver lining? It taught studios a hard lesson about respecting the player's time and offline freedom.

The Wolf Among Us 2 – The One That Kept Us Guessing

Telltale's resurrection was a fairy tale of its own. After LCG Entertainment saved the studio, The Wolf Among Us 2 became this beautiful promise floating just out of reach. Early teasers showed a therapy-attending Bigby Wolf, Dorothy, the Tinman—a Fabletown noir I absolutely craved. But delays pushed the game beyond 2023, then 2024, and now in early 2026, we're finally holding it in our hands. I won't spoil anything, but sitting down with that first episode felt like catching up with an old, troubled friend. The writing is as sharp as ever, and the visual style is a love letter to the Fables comics. It took forever, but honestly, the industry needed a reminder that patience can pay off.

Looking across this list, I feel a strange gratitude. 2023 threw a lot at us—some triumphs, some face-plants—but every single one of these games pushed the sequel conversation forward. Tears of the Kingdom and Alan Wake 2 proved sequels can be revolutionary; Suicide Squad and Payday 3 showed us how even ambitious ideas need a solid launch. As we enjoy the new sequels of 2026, I still glance back at that pivotal year. Without those gambles, without those delays and redemptions, we'd be stuck in a much safer, less interesting loop. Here's to the messy, beautiful business of building worlds that just keep going.