Summary
- Doki Doki Literature Club! Shocked the world with its disturbing horror elements, leading it to become a cult classic.
- Fez was a one-hit wonder that reached mainstream audiences, inspiring indie developers with its unique gameplay.
- Sleeping Dogs, L.A. Noire, Spec Ops: The Line, Stardew Valley, and Minecraft are examples of successful one-hit wonders in the gaming industry.
The term 'one-hit wonder' is often applied to the music industry, referring to when an artist creates an album that is a critical and commercial success, only for the rest of their projects to go under the radar. This has been seen numerous times in this video game industry where developers, for one reason or another, manage to put out a smash-hit blockbuster, before then either releasing a selection of lesser-known games or, in some cases, just disappearing off the map entirely.
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One-hit wonders don't necessarily need to be seen as a bad thing, though. In fact, there have been several cases where a developer's first game became so popular that all they needed to do was keep updating it to keep the fans happy, rather than working on any ambitious sequels or spin-offs. Still, being able to pull this off is extremely difficult, which is why these types of games tend to be very rare. The following titles are among the most notable examples of one-hit wonders within the industry.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
Team Salvato Shocked The World And Then Disappeared
Doki Doki Literature Club!
- Released
- September 22, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Team Salvato
- Genre(s)
- Visual Novel, Horror
Doki Doki Literature Club! Is an extremely bizarre game, and it's one most people who have played it probably wish they could erase from their memory, considering how downright terrifying it can be. Disguised as a cute and cheery dating simulator, Doki Doki Literature Club! Is secretly a psychological horror game that quickly descends into nightmare fuel territory once some of the characters begin to reveal their true intentions.
The game skyrocketed in popularity after it was played by big streamers at the time of its release, such as PewDiePie and Markiplier, but the disturbing nature of the game also made it a target of controversy. If they really wanted to, there's no doubt that developers Team Salvato could easily have turned this into a long-running franchise, kind of like what happened with Five Nights at Freddy's, but instead, they decided to release one of the most shocking horror games in recent memory before seemingly dropping off the map, resulting in the game becoming a cult classic.
Fez
A Quirky 2D Platformer That Never Received A Sequel, Despite It Seeming Highly Likely
Fez
- Released
- April 13, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Mild Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Platformer
Fez is often considered to be a bookmark in the history of indie games, with the platformer rising to prominence when it was released for the Xbox Live Arcade. The game immediately stands out for its colorful levels and challenging gameplay, but the way it manages to effortlessly switch between 2D and 3D also contributed to making it an experience that felt like nothing else on the Indian market at that time.
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However, another reason it gained such prominence was because of its creator, Phil Fish, who was known for being very outspoken on social media at the time of the game's release. Fish would slowly try to remove himself from the spotlight in the years following Fez's release, and though it was heavily hinted that a sequel was on the way, he eventually confirmed that he had lost interest in creating a followup, resulting in Fez being a one-hit wonder that has inspired countless other indie developers to pursue their dreams.
Sleeping Dogs
The Hong-Kong Open-World Games Is Considered An Underrated Gem By Many
Sleeping Dogs
- Released
- August 14, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
While it may seem like yet another GTA clone on the surface, Sleeping Dogs has gradually become one of the most fondly remembered open world games in the last decade. A big reason why so many people enjoy Sleeping Dogs is the Hong Kong setting, providing a very different environment and locale compared to most open world games at the time, which were either based in America or rooted in a fantasy world.
In stark contrast, Sleeping Dogs provides a mature and gritty look at the criminal underbelly that rests beneath the gorgeous neon-lit cities that make up Hong Kong. While it may be seen as an underrated gem these days, Sleeping Dogs was not enough of a commercial success to warrant a fully-fledged sequel, though that certainly hasn't stopped fans from clamoring for the game to be remade at some point in the future.
L.A. Noire
The Stylish And Immersive Detective Thriller Was Team Bondi's First And Final Game
L.A. Noire
- Released
- May 17, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
While it's not all that uncommon to hear people refer to L.A. Noire as a "Rockstar game," this isn't actually the truth, at least not technically. While Rockstar published this immensely popular crime thriller, it was Team Bondi who were in charge of creating it. Alongside its flashy 1950s aesthetic and giant explorable world, what also drew many people to L.A. Noire and made it stand out was the emphasis on using motion capture for the character performances.
Gamers will need to carefully study the facial expressions of the people they are interviewing in order to try and bust a case, leading to a unique gameplay system that really makes players feel as if they are playing the role of detective for real. Despite being a smash hit, Team Bondi would be riddled with controversy due to the difficult conditions that employees were put under during development, meaning this would be the first and final game that they ever developed.
Spec Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line Deconstructed Shooting Games When They Were At Their Most Popular
Spec Ops: The Line
- Released
- June 26, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
At a time when first and third-person shooters were taking over the industry, creating a game that tried to dismantle and even criticize these genres was extremely risky. Despite that, though, Yager Development decided to do just that with their cult classic, Spec Ops: The Line. While the core gameplay may feel very similar to classic cover shooters such as Gears of War, as the story goes on, the game starts to encourage players to think more about the mindless killing that they have willingly been partaking in.
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Taking inspiration from Joseph Conad's Heart of Darkness, Spec Ops: The Line does an excellent job at conveying the horrors of war through a video game format, being a prime example of a game that can be classed as a form of art. While it seemed likely that a sequel would be well underway, Spec Ops: The Line sadly ended up being a commercial failure, probably because it struggled to convey its true meaning through its trailers alone. Regardless, it is still a game that will remain timeless for its powerful themes and messaging.
Stardew Valley
Eric Barone's Quaint And Cozy Farming Simulator Took The Industry By Storm
Stardew Valley
- Released
- February 26, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Simulation
It's honestly hard to believe that Stardew Valley launched back in 2016, as even today, it is still one of the most talked-about video games within the industry, especially when it comes to farming simulators. While the game was created by a single person over the course of four and a half years, it would go on to sell more than 40 million copies over the following few years. Needless to say, developer Eric Barone was happy to continue updating the game in order to add in more mechanics and features, rather than focusing his efforts on a brand-new sequel.
Stardew Valley stands out for its quaint and cozy aesthetic, alongside the incredible amount of freedom it offers to the player in terms of how they want to go about spending their days. Barone clearly struck gold when he released Stardew Valley to the world, being one of the most notable examples of a major success story that involved only a single developer.
Minecraft
Mojang's Debut Is Now The Best-Selling Video Game Of All Time
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
When Mojang Studios was first founded in 2009, nobody on that team could have ever expected that their debut game would eventually become the best-selling video game of all time. Of course, the game in question is Minecraft, an incredible sandbox title where players are free to build, mine, and survive at their own leisure. The alpha versions of the game had already amassed a sizable fanbase of players, but it was really with the game's official release in 2011 where Minecraft began to take on a life of its own, quickly turning into a cultural phenomenon that, even to this day, is hard to escape from.
Minecraft was quickly ported to every available system, and because of how accessible it is, being extremely easy to play even for non-gamers, it would reach record sales in barely any time at all. Considering this, there was really no reason for Mojang to move on to another project, since it became evident that Minecraft would be around for the long term. While there have admittedly been spin-offs here and there, none of them even come close to the popularity and relevance of Minecraft itself, with it still being considered the most popular one-hit wonder in the video game industry.
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