The first impression is often the most important. This is as true for people as it is for entertainment. Just as the first five pages of a book should grab a reader’s attention and the first few minutes of a movie should convince a viewer to keep going, so the beginning of a video game should draw the player into the journey they take. going to start.
As video games have soared in popularity over the past few decades, they have become media as beloved as famous movies and TV episodes. Setting up intrigue and establishing the game’s premise from the get-go, the cinematic opening scenes of some video games quickly became iconic.
10 Skyrim’s opening became a meme
While the jury still doesn’t know whether… The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimThe introductory cutscene is actually good or not, there is no denying that it has become famous. The opening line of “Hey you, you’re finally awake” haunts gamers to such an extent that fans have turned it into a meme to share their experience.
Almost everyone who interacts with gaming communities has seen some version of this Skyrim meme. The game welcomes players to a highly customizable, open world full of choices by placing them in a cart for several minutes, leaving the player with nothing to do but listen to the conversations of others.
9 Red Dead Redemption smoothly enters the stage
When players first boot Red Dead Redemption, the opening movie tells them everything they need to know before giving even one gameplay instruction. The cutscene clearly depicts the setting, time period, conflicts and core themes without awkward exposition or narration.
Interestingly, the main character, John Marston, says nothing during the entire scene. Instead, he listens to his fellow passengers on the train. By the time the player takes control, they know exactly what kind of existential threats they will face and what dangers lie ahead in the wilderness.
It is not uncommon for video game protagonists to die, both at the hand of the player and the writer. However, Mass Effect 2 takes a different approach, revealing Shepar’s death to players before they have a chance to intervene.
This series tells fans of Mass effecthow the stakes have risen without relying on cumbersome descriptions or comparisons. Showing gamers their own protagonist, whom they created in the previous game, suffers in the infinite vacuum of space perfectly explains how dire the situation has become.
7 Half-Life introduced a whole world
half-lifeThe opening scene may not be the most action-packed cutscene in the world, but it’s memorable for that very reason. Before Gordon Freeman’s infamous experiment throws the world into utter chaos, players are introduced to that world in the most mundane way.
It’s just another day at Black Mesa, and everyone, including the public, is trudging through their standard commute routine. half-life perfectly instills a sense of dread about the disaster that is sure to follow. With every second that goes by, players know that the calm Gordon feels on the train won’t last.
6 Fallout 4 maintained the series’ reputation with new methods
Fans of the precipitation series knows each game’s iconic opening line: “War. War never changes.” precipitation has built a reputation for delivering consistent quality in each of the games’ intro movies.
Amongst them, Fallout 4 stands out for its use of new techniques and for being the second game in the series with a different narrator. Fallout 4s became the first game in the franchise to integrate live-action footage into the opening scene, aptly revealing how the world reached the post-apocalyptic state players find it in.
Between the iconic introductory scenes, no gamer can ignore the impact of the original Metal Gear Solid. From the moment Solid Snake breaches a nuclear base filled with highly armed enemies, players are hooked.
Not only did Metal Gear Solid popularizing and reinventing the stealth genre, but it also set the standard for opening cutscenes and what they could achieve. This scene expertly explained the protagonist’s purpose and commitment via audio from a mission briefing, setting the mood for the game.
4 Uncharted 2 jumps straight into the action
It’s hard for players to see an opening movie like . to forget Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Within seconds, fans discover that protagonist Nathan Drake is extremely injured and in a dire situation, on a train dangling from the edge of a snowy cliff.
Not only is the player unable to rectify the situation before Nate starts falling, they don’t even know how he got there. By the time the chapter title fades and the player is in control, they must climb the crashed train car to get Nate out and find out what started the whole mess.
3 Final Fantasy VII’s Opening Was Like Nothing Ever Seen Before
When Final Fantasy VII The 3D graphics technology, which first premiered in 1997, barely started to take its first steps. Despite those limitations, Square Enix made an opening movie that rocked the game world.
Final Fantasy VII introduced players to an entire city in minutes as the epic score soared in the background, making the film truly seem like the beginning of an unforgettable adventure. Final Fantasy VII was also one of the first video games to have a smooth transition to gameplay, a revolutionary concept at the time.
2 Kingdom Hearts II made for a beautiful reintroduction
As the first main game after a long string of spin-off titles, Kingdom Hearts II had work to do. As it was supposed to reintroduce players to the world, the opening cutscene achieved that goal and became a work of art in its own right.
Scored by Utada Hikaru’s iconic song ‘Sanctuary’, the movie at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II beautifully set out the story thus far, where each character stood, and their objectives. In a series known for its stunning introductory cutscenes, Kingdom Hearts II miles exceeded the standard.
1 The Last Of Us broke the hearts of gamers
The opening cutscene for a zombie apocalypse survival game would never be a happy one. However, what gamers saw at the beginning of The last of us turned out to be far more heartbreaking than they could have ever imagined.
Players were able to spend just enough time with Joel and his family to feel connected to them, only to see Joel suffer the loss of his daughter as chaos took over the world. This tragedy would not only become the driving force behind Joel’s actions, but also fuel the players.
0 Comments