Video games get bigger and bigger every year. With more consoles and players to go around, the industry is bigger than it ever was, with developers all around the world releasing games for people to enjoy. One of the most common strategies in game design is to start a franchise. With each subsequent release, developers can target a loyal fanbase while trying to hook a new group of fans along the way.

This year has been home to many sequels. AAA developers and indie developers alike released new entries in their popular franchises. Many were critically acclaimed and have become some of the best games this year. Unfortunately, other sequels hit rock bottom and were either poor renditions of their past or continuations of bad franchises.

While it seems like the good sequels are more common because they get the most attention, that isn’t necessarily the case. There were plenty of awful sequels released this year that were so poor that most just forgot about them a few days after they came out. It’s better to dwell on the games that deserve your money over the ones that don’t. If it’s not worth your time or money, then don’t give it more thought.

There were plenty of video game sequels released this year, and we’re going to look at the best and worst of the bunch. Join us as we look at 20 of the worst video game sequels in 2018 and 10 of the best. Do any of these sequels strike your fancy?

30 Worst: Fallout 76

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Fallout 76 has been a mess since day one. While a new Fallout game had people excited, this one is entirely online and has plenty of bugs and other issues. It was a stark contrast to what the series was known for, and people weren’t happy. To make matters worse, Bethesda hasn’t been very helpful about issues with this game. Those who purchased the special edition received a collectible they could find at a dollar store, which just added insult to injury.

29 Worst: State Of Decay 2

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Surviving the zombie apocalypse is an idea that will probably always remain relevant in pop culture. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always lead to good games. Make no mistake, State of Decay 2 is no The Last of Us or Resident Evil. It lacked depth and was practically unfinished on release. It was so disappointing to fans of the first game because there was an actual framework there. Unfortunately, it seemed like less effort went into this one that just made fighting zombies look boring.

28 Best: God Of War

via digitaltrends.com

With this game receiving the Game of the Year award for 2018, we needed to talk about it. Not only did it reinvent what the God of War series could be, it reinvented who Kratos was, turning him into a tragic character that’s worth your sympathy.

The game refined the action, making it feel more intentional and satisfying as well as changing the violence.

Destruction was no longer the goal but rather a framework for telling a story about a man who’s been through it all.

27 Worst: Mario Tennis: Aces

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To be fair to Mario Tennis: Aces, it was a step in the right direction after the Wii U’s abysmal Ultra Smash. This game brought more characters and courts to the mix, but the variety sort of ends there. The adventure mode felt like something put in just out of necessity and not out of any sort of creativity. With little replay value, Mario Tennis: Aces became an irrelevant Nintendo game just a few short weeks after it came out.

26 Worst: NBA Playgrounds 2

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When people play an arcade-style basketball game, they just want to jump in the action and have a good time. That was the original intent with NBA Playgrounds, but big corporate money got a hold of NBA Playgrounds 2, and a consumer-focused experience was pretty much stripped away. The sequel did little to iron out the issues of the first game, but to make matters worse, it threw in tons of microtransactions, despite being a $20 game at launch. It was just a slap in the face to basketball fans.

25 Best: Overcooked 2

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Overcooked was one of the most creative multiplayer games ever made, so when Team 17 released a sequel, fans were excited to discover that it was even better than the last one. Overcooked 2 brings back the frantic cooking action but centers it around new recipes, more dynamic levels, and more chefs to unlock. With its gameplay as tight as ever, this game remains one of the best local multiplayer experiences on the market. It’s also on home consoles.

24 Worst: Fear Effect Sedna

via microsoft.com

When it came to making a sequel to the PS1’s Fear Effect series ten years later, the developers had an uphill battle before then. The games were popular, but they had some issues of their own. Unfortunately, the resulting Fear Effect Sedna desperately tried to rid those gameplay problems but, in turn, created many others.

The game’s genre was changed, but the combat was just as clunky as ever.

Then there is the voice acting and story, which probably would’ve been better off being removed from the game entirely.

23 Worst: Metal Gear Survive

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It’s hard to believe that after the astounding Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Konami could turn around and release Metal Gear Survive, which was one of the worst things they ever did to the franchise. Throwing away everything that made the Metal Gear series unique, Survive feels like Konami lazily threw something together just to make a quick buck. Based entirely on survival mechanics that don’t always work and are extremely unbalanced, there’s little reason to enjoy playing this one.

22 Best: Ni No Kuni 2

via playstation.com

Many people slept on Ni No Kuni, which was a JRPG that was developed by Level 5 and partially animated by Studio Ghibli. It was an impressive game that got a sequel this year in the form of Ni No Kuni 2. While Ghibli couldn’t return for the sequel, Level 5’s impressive game design still stands out as one of the best and most charming of its class. Managing a city, fighting monsters, and trying to run a kingdom has never looked and felt so good.

21 Worst: Secret Of Mana

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While technically a remake of the original Secret of Mana, the new game on PS4 had every chance to spawn a rebirth for the franchise and bring over a host of new fans. Unfortunately, Secret of Mana failed in just about every way. It looked surprisingly basic for a current-gen video game from Square Enix, it had plenty of bugs, and somehow lacked all the charm that was present in the original game. With their remakes generally being on point, we expected better from Square.

20 Worst: Dynasty Warriors 9

via gamespot.com

When you think of a hack and slash game, you think of parading around levels and mowing down crowded hordes of monsters and enemies until you win. It’s cathartic and exciting. However, Dynasty Warriors 9 decided to make the game open-world, which doesn’t mesh well with the tight hack and slash gameplay. To make matters worse, the game somehow fails in every aspect, including the story voice acting, and performance. It was a massive disappointment for fans of the series.

19 Best: Red Dead Redemption 2

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One of the most anticipated games of 2018 was Red Dead Redemption 2. It seems that Rockstar did it again with the sequel to their immensely popular open-world western game.

This time around, the characters all feel even more well-designed and intentional.

The world is nothing short of stunning, and the same goes for the music that accompanies the journey. There is so much depth and refinement with this game that it’s hard to imagine where Rockstar can take the franchise next. It won plenty of awards at the Game Awards this year.

18 Worst: Scribblenauts Showdown

via nintendo.com

It’s been a while since a Scribblenauts game has come out, but it seems that the franchise is starting to lose some steam. Scribblenauts Showdown takes the game’s formula and tries to apply it into a party game. Unfortunately, the result is a subpar minigame collection that never tries to go above and beyond its own premise. There’s not much reason to play this game, especially with Super Mario Party already out on the Nintendo Switch. Here’s hoping that the franchise can rescue itself with later releases.

17 Worst: Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn

via mobygames.com

Of all the games to get a sequel, no one thought it would be Shaq-Fu. While there’s a lot of humor to the mere existence of Shaq-Fu: A Legend Reborn, that joke runs its course halfway through the game. What you’re left with is a beat-em-up game with little depth and strange humor. If fighting giant behinds as boss fights strikes your fancy, then you’ll certainly get your fill. Sadly, the game almost banks entirely on its humor for enjoyment. It has to, though, because the repetitive combat won’t give it to you.

16 Best: Dragon Quest XI

via hardcoregamer.com

The Dragon Quest series has never looked better, and Dragon Quest XI is one of the best of its kind. In many ways, the game is a return to form for the series. It tries to bring back an old-school dungeon style formula to modern hardware and design. Not only does it result in one of the most beautiful games ever made, but one of the most charming and fun adventures in the entire series. Fans of the series will have a lot of fun with this one, and newcomers will like its take on the genre.

15 Worst: Just Dance 2019

via nothingbutgeek.com

There’s a certain market for Just Dance, which is the only reason why it’s still going even today. The worst part about Just Dance 2019 is that it’s nothing more than what you’d expect. It takes popular songs of the year and makes you try to follow the unclear movements of characters on screen in a goofy way. There’s no further creativity put into these games. However, the fact that Just Dance 2019 was also released for the Wii just shows that people are still throwing money at the series.

14 Worst: Kirby Battle Royale

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Kirby Battle Royale is a sequel to Kirby Fighters Deluxe in a lot of ways. Instead of basing itself around 2D fighting action, Battle Royale adds a few new minigames to the mix. Unfortunately, the result is a game that is far from worth the full price of $40. The effort to bring the puffball into the third dimension is much appreciated, but trying to make a short, combat-based experience from Kirby was never a good idea. HAL should stick to platformers after that point.

13 Best: Monster Hunter: World

via polygon.com

Monster Hunter has never been friendly to newcomers. It’s difficult systems and complex grinds have made it extremely hard to get into. However, Monster Hunter: World simplifies the system, sets it in a beautiful new setting, and allows each monster to behave like a real creature.

This game is suddenly more accessible to a wide variety of people, and it’s a lot of fun along the way.

Taking down monsters has never felt better, as current-gen hardware makes each encounter feel larger than life itself.

12 Worst: Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

via wccftech.com

Dissidia Final Fantasy was like The Avengers for Final Fantasy games. Bringing together many of the franchise’s most popular characters and having them fight each other with tight combat was excellent fan-service for the series. However, the sequel, Dissidia Final Fantasy NT, missed a lot of what made the original so spectacular. With a focus on competitive online play, there was almost no content for those who played by themselves. The story was tacked on, and the game seemed to work against the player most times. Then there’s that annoying tutorial Moogle.

11 Worst: Lost Sphear

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While not a direct sequel, Lost Sphear is the follow-up to I Am Setsuna. This is a subseries from Square that attempts to keep the classic, old-school JRPGs alive and fresh. I Am Setsuna was a charming adventure that could’ve benefitted from more environments and a few tweaks. Unfortunately, Lost Sphear doesn’t do much to rectify these mistakes. It feels crafted with less love than its predecessor. It has moments of fun, but it’s bogged down by inconsistent difficulty and added mechanics that aren’t integrated seamlessly.