Sometimes it's easy to miss, but many video games (even some of the industry's best) are divided. Chapters or Episodes. Needless to say, this particular structure style can be a double-edged sword, as it can ruin or enhance the game's pacing depending on how the story is designed and how much content each chapter contains.
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While hundreds of great games follow this design philosophy, there are only the absolute best titles that look perfect from start to finish and as a result, Don't feature a single bad chapter In which something is insignificant. This is true for some of the most iconic and popular video games, with the following eight being the most notorious examples of this practice.
Resident Evil 4/Resident Evil 4 Remake
The perfect blend of survival horror and third-person action
Although survival horror is sometimes seen as one of the most inviting genres out there, Resident Evil 4 Still cited as one of the best video games ever made. Its huge success and popularity can be explained by the fact that Capcom brilliantly designed an over-the-shoulder third-person combat system that not only felt incredible, but also influenced many action and horror games that followed.
There's never a dull moment in Leon Kennedy's bone-chilling adventure across rural Europe. Every single chapter features either an intense survival horror segment or an over-the-top action set piece (and sometimes both). Yes, some players weren't too fond of “Chapters 3-4”, where they had to play as the defenseless Ashley Graham, but it was actually a brilliant way to elevate the survival horror gameplay. Additionally, this chapter had more fun Resident Evil 4 RemakeWhich deserves a special mention for being an almost complete game.
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
One of the best hack-and-slash video games
Since all entries in cried the devil Series follow this structure, most of them essentially have a chapter that everyone hates to replay. Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is The only exception. This shouldn't be too surprising, considering it's the game that single-handedly saved and revived the franchise.
Every single chapter of this prequel is full of fast paced action, tough enemies and powerful bosses. Yes, unlike some of its follow-ups, Dante is the only playable character DMC3But he has such a vast and varied array of weapons and abilities that controlling him is never boring. The only slightly controversial chapter in the game is “Mission 18: Invading Hell,” which has a bunch of bosses, but not only are these fights so well-crafted that replaying them is actually quite fun, but the player technically only needs to defeat three bosses to advance, and all the others are optional.
Half life 2
An FPS so perfect that fans are still begging for a sequel (or a third episode).
Back in 1998, the original half life Revolutionized the gaming industry and redefined what an FPS should be (especially on PC). Just six years later, Valve knocked it out of the park again when Half life 2 came out and quickly became an overnight success. The sequel's campaign starts very slowly, which is a clever way to slowly build up how much the world has changed since the last game, but it quickly develops into an incredible adventure full of action, drama and horror.
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Most gamers are aware of this fact Half life 2 received two additional episodes (which is why many of them are still begging Valve to release a third episode or a brand new sequel), but some have already forgotten that the base game and its two subsequent episodes are divided into chapters, which is ultimately a proof of how flawless it is. However, most Half life 2 Fans can agree that “We do not go to Ravenholm…” is the best chapter of the entire game.
The Walking Dead
A point-and-click title that relives the popular episodic story
In the early 2010s, based on the idea of a point-and-click/graphic adventure game The Walking Dead It seemed like a recipe for an IP disaster. However, Telltale proved everyone wrong. As a result, The Walking Dead Not only did it receive glowing reviews, but it helped popularize both its genre and its episodic format.
Lee and Clementine's story is incredibly heartbreaking, captivating, and emotional, not to mention that it's full of diverse dialogue options to choose between and tough decisions to make. Also, The Walking Dead's episodic release perfectly complemented its story, allowing players to join together to anticipate what would happen in the next episode, which was a mind-blowing experience back in 2012.
The last of us
A full-motion emotional survival horror adventure
Yes, this list features not one but two different video games that were released between 2012 and 2013, and are about an adult man and a young girl traveling through a post-apocalyptic version of America. They undoubtedly deserve their flowers, because both The Walking Dead and The last of us Amazing video games that don't have any weak chapters.
In each chapter The last of us Joel and Ellie are divided by which area they are visiting, which is not only a clever method of story pacing, but it makes each location more memorable. On top of that, the game brilliantly uses the four seasons (summer, autumn, winter and spring) as if they were seasons of the show, to elevate each chapter within them. Many claim The last of us It boasts one of the best stories ever told in a video game, and if it had a single bad moment it wouldn't have earned that coveted title.
Bayonetta 2
A beautiful and stylish hack-and-slash game with non-stop action
Platinum Games' Bayonetta The series deliberately borrows many elements from cried the devil series, including its chapter-based format. However, while the first Bayonetta While the game was notorious for having some less-than-stellar chapters (such as those that rely on ridiculous quick-time events or those in which the title character rides a motorcycle), its incredible 2014 sequel fixed and/or removed most of these issues.
The moment a player wakes up Bayonetta 2 And experiencing its over-the-top opening chapter, it's immediately clear that this is a hack-and-slash game like no other. each one Bayonetta 2Chapters is filled with great set pieces, satisfying combat, beautiful environments, and of course, some of the best boss battles in gaming history. It's safe to say that any dedicated fan of the hack-and-slash genre needs to try this masterpiece.
Deltarun
Toby Fox's ambitious RPG may not be finished yet, but it's already a masterpiece
When Toby Fox (producer of Undertale) began releasing their next game — known as Deltarun – Episodically, fans were initially concerned that this format would ruin the story's momentum. Fortunately, they soon found out that they were wrong. Not only did this structure allow him to take more time to develop each section of this ambitious RPG, but he and his team also put more effort and content into each chapter.
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Consequently, all chapters Deltarun Feel like complete games with their own identity instead of feeling like small parts of a larger product. To make things even better, the story it tells is deep, fascinating and fascinating, and its episodic release schedule has encouraged gamers to flood the Internet with extensive speculation and thousands of fan theories. Only four Deltarun Chapters has been released so far (with a scheduled release in 2026), and is still considered one of the best indie RPGs ever made.
Dispatch
The episodic superhero game that took the world by storm
Unfortunately, the original Telltale games closed in 2018, but its spirit lives on in various modern games that have adapted the studio's episodic releases and point-and-click gameplay style. One of the most prominent examples is AdHoc Studio DispatchWhich was made by a bunch of former Telltale developers.
Dispatch is a surprisingly refreshing superhero story full of lovable characters and brilliantly written dialogue. As always, its episodic release helped the anticipation of thousands of players who were dying to see what would happen next week. It's easy to understand why Dispatch 2025 became one of the most popular games, seeing that each of its episodes was effective and important, and none of them felt like unnecessary filler.
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