There are a surprising number of sequels releasing in 2019: while those with even a casual interest in the industry will be aware of major upcoming blockbusters like The Last of Us Part II and Red Dead Redemption II, there are a ton of lesser-known video game iterations launching next year that should have fans equally excited.

Releasing a follow up to a beloved stand-alone title can be a tenuous proposition: while fantastic sequels can help to elevate potentially lackluster first outings, terrible second tries can sometimes damage a series’ legacy as a whole. For instance, Duke Nukem was once an unmitigated FPS triumph until his 2011 outing marred his reputation forever. Similarly, fans of complex mech games praised the Steel Battalion series until From Software essentially destroyed it with their Kinect-exclusive Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. In some cases, it may be better for a franchise to remain dormant.

That doesn’t mean that we haven’t been treated to some exemplary sequels in the past, and there are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic heading into 2019. Long-promised video game sequels may be debuting in 2019, and near-vaporware titles like Beyond Good and Evil 2 and Capcom’s long-fabled Resident Evil 2 remake may soon be in the hands of gamers everywhere. As summer turns to fall and the lineup of soon-to-be-released games becomes ever more enticing, we count fifteen video game sequels that we can’t wait to play (and fifteen we never want to see).

30 Upcoming: Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Despite passing away in 2013, Tom Clancy remains one of the most prolific video game designers of our time. Sarcasm aside, his name has appeared on such recent titles as Ghost Recon: Wildlands, The Division, and the ever-popular Rainbow Six: Siege. 2015’s The Division was, unfortunately, made a casualty of its own marketing campaign which pitched the experience to be a great deal more compelling than it actually turned out to be. That said, players will be departing the first game’s frigid New York climate for a sunny romp through the nation’s capital. Perhaps this IP’s second outing can stand as a hallmark Ubisoft experience.

29 Not Interested: Mass Effect Andromeda Sequel

Though the original Mass Effect games were major successes for Electronic Arts and stood as one of the premier video game experiences of the previous console generation, 2017’s Mass Effect Andromeda was a huge misfire which may have spelled the end for the series as a whole. Straying from the narrative presented in previous games, Andromeda elected to allow players to create their own characters and define their own journeys. That said, the game was obviously rushed and completely unrefined. Had it remained in the oven for another year or so, it may have been a fine experience. As it stands, however, many are content to allow this franchise to stagnate lest we receive yet another half-baked clunker.

28 Upcoming: The Last Of Us Part II

Though it initially released in the waning years of Sony’s third PlayStation console, The Last of Us: Remastered was, in many ways, a killer app for the PS4 and one of the best video game experiences available on current generation hardware. Rumors of a sequel had circulated for years, but speculation was finally put to rest during 2016’s PlayStation Experience conference when Naughty Dog finally introduced us to a grown-up version of Ellie playing a guitar to an audience of none save Joel and a corpse. The Last of Us Part II will drop sometime in 2019, and PS4 owners are chomping at the bit—not unlike the game’s zombie-like infected—to play it.

27 Not Interested: Need for Speed Payback Sequel

While EA’s Star Wars Battlefront II caught most of the flak concerning the company’s PR nightmare which spawned from their implementation of pay-to-win loot box mechanics in some of their games, 2017’s Need for Speed Payback featured similar slimy strategies. Yet, contrary to EA’s face-saving pre-release microtransaction abdication for the former title, loot boxes, mini DLC pieces, and pay-to-win mechanics made their way—in all their malignant glory—to the most recent Need for Speed title. The game was reviewed poorly, panned by gamers, and raked the long-beloved NFS name through the mud. While some are still hungry for more fast-paced street racing action, nobody wants another Payback.

26 Upcoming: Doom: Eternal

2016’s Doom was a totally fresh and unique experience in an industry that had long shunned the concept of the run-and-gun, tough as nails shooter genre. With fast-paced, twitch gameplay, it was a heaven-sent piece of software for those longing for some classic 90’s shooting experiences in the modern gaming era. Doom: Eternal, which has yet to receive a definitive launch date but will likely release sometime next year, looks to offer up even more demon-slaying mayhem. Taking the series to planet Earth for the first time in its long history, FPS fans need to keep an eye on this one.

25 Not Interested: Sea Of Thieves 2

Sea of Thieves was touted as Microsoft’s killer app which would single-handedly drive Xbox sales for the rest of the console generation. Despite these expectations, the game was remarkably shallow, and it was a far cry from the so-called “Rare-vival” gamers were promised. Though subsequent patches may have increased the game’s playability, Sea of Thieves still managed to miss the mark pretty drastically and doesn’t seem to deserve a sequel. Unless Microsoft and Rare deliver an absolute masterpiece should they decide to release a second game, Sea of Thieves is better left marooned.

24 Upcoming: Beyond Good And Evil 2

2004’s Beyond Good and Evil was a terrific and bizarre mix of a bunch of different styles and genres, and could only really be described rather ambiguously as an “action adventure” game. Though a total commercial failure upon initial release, the game developed a cult following in the years after its release, and this meager attention soon exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. A sequel, appropriately titled Beyond Good and Evil 2 was rumored to be in the works for nearly a decade and a half before we E3 2017 finally outed the project. A major switch in terms of atmosphere and tone, Beyond Good and Evil 2 looks to be a 2019 standout.

23 Not Interested: Agony 2

Here is a brief public service announcement for budding game journalists eager to lump each and every new horror title into the “survival horror” genre. Resident Evil is a survival horror title because a major portion of the experience was centered around inventory management and appropriate bullet-to-face resource expenditure. Hide-and-hope-the-monster-goes-away titles like Outlast and Agony aren’t survival horror. In fact, 2018’s Agony was a great many things, and none of them were good. A totally unfinished, poorly thought out romp through the underworld, the only thing it had going for it was its concept. Agony will almost certainly never get a sequel, and that is perfectly fine with us.

22 Upcoming: Spelunky 2

Derek Yu’s indie classic Spelunky was, along with Edmond McMillan’s unforgettable flash title The Binding of Isaac, one of the pioneers in the now-commonplace roguelike (or roguelite) genre. Tough as nails and addicting as anything, Spelunky invited players to test the limits of their abilities while learning from their mistakes, capturing fabulous treasures, and saving literal damsels in distress. Spelunky 2, which seems to be slated for a release sometime next year, will put players in the shoe’s of the first game’s protagonist’s daughter, who seems to be keeping up the family treasure-hunting tradition. For those who couldn’t quite get enough of the hazardous caves and dangerous dungeons in Spelunky, the sequel is sure to please.

21 Not Interested: Rime 2

In a vacuum, last year’s atmospheric, mysterious puzzle adventure Rime would be a fantastic experience. Unfortunately, it bears the burden of existing in a universe alongside so many other similar titles. We’ve seen this formula seemingly hundreds of times: a small child, a simple yet beautiful artistic style, and an ambiguous quest to find answers or right some kind of nebulous wrongdoing. Games like Shadow of the Colossus, Inside, and The Witness tread this same path, yet each are more compelling than Rime in their own unique ways. A sequel to Rime may, in fact, hold some potential, but most probably wouldn’t be interested enough to pick it up.

20 Upcoming: The Wolf Among Us Season 2

The goodwill Telltale Games once earned as a result of fantastic, industry-defining releases like their Walking Dead and Tales from the Borderlands interactive experiences is beginning to wear thin, and consumers are slowly starting to lament the trite, increasingly uninspired drivel the studio continues to pump out (Minecraft Story Mode—case in point). However, 2019 may see a Telltale revival as a result of the sequel to their well-regarded 2013 episodic detective narrative The Wolf Among Us. These California-based developers may be drawing their cel-shaded choose-your-own-adventure schtick out a little too far, but The Wolf Among Us 2 may just serve as a reminder of what made Telltale great in the first place.

19 Not Interested: Sonic Forces Sequel

The Sonic the Hedgehog 2017 release lineup detailed once again just how poorly thought out and lazily implemented most 3D Sonic games are. That isn’t to say that they are all bad, but Sonic Forces was a completely abhorrent experience which made the already great Sonic Mania look like a total masterpiece in comparison. Sega seemingly can’t grasp what makes Sonic fun to play, instead opting to jam in a bunch of strange customization levels and downright boring “retro” sections into their title. While a far cry from the blue blur’s totally unforgivable 2014 outing, fans likely aren’t pining for another entry into the Sonic Forces canon.

18 Upcoming: Elex 2

The original Elex game launched last year to generally favorable reviews, though it was relegated to relative obscurity thanks to a release window which included major titles like Call of Duty WWII and Super Mario Odyssey. Though it certainly had its flaws, Elex was a competent open-world action RPG which sought to marry the feel of a game in the Witcher series to a more cyberpunk atmosphere. Fans of this overlooked title will be happy to know that a sequel has been slated for release in 2019 and looks to improve upon much of what made the first game a bit of a drag to play.

17 Not Interested: Metal Gear Survive Sequel

Nobody is quite sure what is to become of the historically fantastic Metal Gear franchise now that its creator, Hideo Kojima, has been hastily ousted from Konami. While many are eagerly anticipating the release of his upcoming title Death Stranding, few can say what will become of the franchise which brought him fame. 2018’s Metal Gear Survive was an abysmal spin-off which totally misunderstood the fundamentals of the Metal Gear series, and most are desperately hoping that Konami will mercefully abandon the series rather than continue to pump out a collection of lame misfires which further mar the name of these once-great titles.

16 Upcoming: Rage 2

Releasing all the way back in October 2011, id Software’s Rage was touted as being the next great franchise to spawn from the makers of such titanic titles as Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3D. That wasn’t exactly the case, though, and this underwhelming FPS vastly underperformed in sales despite advancing at least a few interesting ideas. Though dormant for just about eight years, the series will return in 2019 with Rage 2, which promises to be a huge advancement in terms of scale and scope. Where the original was relatively restrictive and ended abruptly, Rage 2 promises to be a massive, endlessly-entertaining experience.

15 Not Interested: Arms 2

Arms was a decent game in its own right, but it has been totally overshadowed by subsequent blockbuster Switch titles like Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Though fun for an hour or two, Arms doesn’t offer players much of a reason to return time and time again, and the new IP didn’t seem to earn enough fanfare to warrant a sequel any time soon. Arms was, unfortunately, just a bit too loud and obnoxious for its own good, and Nintendo may want to go back to the drawing board before rehashing this formula.

14 Upcoming: Psychonauts 2

The original Psychonauts was a sixth-generation classic which is often touted as one of the most imaginative video games of its era. Earning a legion of frenzied fans, Tim Schafer—the auteur mind behind industry darlings Double Fine Productions—eventually saw fit to produce a long-awaited sequel to his 2005 masterpiece. Unfortunately, Psychonauts 2 has experienced an unprecedented amount of roadblocks, and the game’s original 2018 release date was moved back by about a year. There’s still plenty of reasons to be excited for this quirky new platforming adventure, we’ll just have to wait a bit longer to get our hands on it.

13 Not Interested: The Order 1886 Sequel

Developer Ready at Dawn’s 2015 Sony-exclusive third-person shooter The Order 1886 was touted as being a must-have next generation title. Though the game was graphically stunning, it was incredibly shallow and could be completed in as little as four to five hours. Launching at a ridiculous retail price of $60, many PS4 owners felt cheated by the game’s anemic offerings. While a sequel may amend some of the original game’s flaws, it is likely too late for another adventure in steampunk 19th century London to reignite the goodwill of most gamers. Most Sony fans would rather move on than trudge through more mediocre digital mire.

12 Upcoming: Ori and the Will Of The Wisps

2015’s Ori and the Blind Forest was a breathtaking 2D platformer which was so incredibly heartfelt and visually stunning that a screenshot from the game might fit on the Sistine Chapel. That may be a bit of hyperbole, but this Microsoft-published sidescroller was perhaps the pinnacle of mid-eighth-generation visual fidelity. Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a follow-up of 2015’s release, promises to be equally as charming as its predecessor. Though it may not pack quite the same punch as other high-profile 2019 releases, this games should be on just about everyone’s radar, though Microsoft seems to believe it to be a standout on the Xbox One in particular.

11 Not Interested: 1-2 Switch Sequel

Nintendo’s Wii Sports was perhaps the most prolific pack-in title to ever be included with any console ever released. The Wii sold so well and was so ubiquitous that your tech-illiterate grandparents probably still have one sitting on their tacky, outdated media center next to their tube TV. It inadvertently set a standard for included-in-the-box Nintendo titles, and while the Wii U’s Deluxe Edition pack in Nintendo Land was a bit of a disappointment, the company sought to right the ship with 1-2 Switch, which was clearly intended to be the first game many Switch owners would experience. Unfortunately, it was less of a video game and more of an aggrandize board game, and it totally failed to show off what made the Switch so good.