It’s not just movies that use opening sequences so mind-blowing that the audience cannot help but watch the full movie. Video games often employ a similar technique, and when executed successfully, the effect can be nothing short of incredible. Instead of putting a player through a lengthy tutorial in a single-player game, which can often get boring, it’smuch more immersiveif they’re put right in the middle of the story from the very start or if the game does something so iconic that it gets imprinted in the minds of the player.
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Such opening sequences stay with the player long after they have finished the game, and even more than that, help keep the player hooked to the game. Here are seven opening sequences in games that never left the fan’s minds.
7Forza Horizon 4
It’s All About The Music And The Cars
Forza Horizon 4
Arguably the most unexpected title that could have a great opening sequence,Forza Horizon 4not only hooks players into its world, but also plays with their emotions thanks to its exceptional soundtrack. The whole introductory sequence can only be described as breathtaking; players are greeted by “A Moment Apart” by Odesza, the theme song of Horizon 4 and one of the best songs of all the Horizon games followed by a cutscene showing beautiful vistas with a narrator telling the player about the Horizon Festival.
And then the player is sent hurling across an open countryside road in a McLaren Senna under the sunset sky, cutting through the leaves drifting in the cold, autumn air. The scene then changes to every season of the year, each with a different type of race which the players will eventually play in the game.
Forza Horizon 4 is one of my favorite racing games, and its theme song for me personally is probably the best piece of music in the history of video games. It works so perfectly with the introductory sequence and beautifully conveys the emotions of freedom and awe that the game wants the players to feel.
6Fallout 4
“War Never Changes”
Fallout 4did something that no previous Fallout game had ever done. It actually showed players how the atomic bombs fell and how the world went into ruin. And the best thing is that all of this happens not in a cutscene, but in real-time while the player is in control of the character.
The game opened up in a time before the nuclear fallout had happened. It lets you move around in the character’s home and everything is fine and dandy. Players then customize their characters and go about their lives when there’s a sudden announcement on television regarding confirmed nuclear detonations. That’s when panic ensues and everybody, including the player, his wife and their baby runs towards their nearest vault. But before they enter the vault, a nuclear bomb explodes nearby, sending a shockwave that barely misses the player.
5God Of War 3
Kratos Against The Might Of Olympus
God of War III
When it came to the opening sequences, the Greek God of War games always used to one-up their predecessors, but God of War 3 did something that could never be topped. There’s the Gods of Olympus and then there’s Kratos, who holds a murderous grudge against them. In this Greek finale, both forces collide, but this time, Kratos brought an army of Titans with him.
As the game opens up, the camera pans up from the base to the peak of Mount Olympus. The Titans are climbing up the mountain with a ruthless and furious Kratos riding on the back of Gaia, and the Greek Gods have gathered to deal with the common threat. But this opening sequence is enough to convey to the player that the eventual fate of the Gods won’t be a happy one.
4Batman Arkham Asylum
Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill For The Win
Batman: Arkham Asylum
BeforeArkham Asylum, practically every Batman game was mediocre at best. All of them failed to capture the essence of what it meant to be the dark knight. But in 2009, this streak was broken when Rocksteady made one of the best superhero games of all time.
The game opens up with the caped crusader bringing Joker to Arkham Asylum, the facility for the mentally disturbed. He escorts the Joker to his cell, keeping a vigilant eye on the seemingly unperturbed villain. But right before the guards put him in his cell, Joker gets away, revealing that getting caught had been his plan all along and now the entire asylum is under his control.
The sequence perfectly captures the psychotic atmosphere of the asylum, the brooding nature of the Bat and the unpredictability of Joker’s character, beautifully setting the stage for a long and suspenseful night.
Nothing Is As It Seems
The opening sequence ofPreyis a curveball and should be experienced first-hand without any spoilers. The game opens up with the player in an executive room with nothing out of the ordinary. After a call from their brother, the player is taken on a helicopter for a scenic flight around the futuristic city after which they land at TranStar facility for some routine tests. Even though nothing weird has happened so far, the player can feel an unsettling air about all of this.
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And then suddenly, all hell breaks loose when a black, spider-like alien creature attacks one of the scientists and kills him. Everything blacks out and the player wakes up in their apartment. But when they realize that it’s the same day playing out again, the fabric of reality starts to crumble. Slowly, it’s revealed that nothing is what it first seemed and the player had been living out a simulation on Talos 1, a space station that’s been overrun by unknown aliens and they now have to fight for their survival.
2Doom (2016)
Never Has A Silent Protagonist Been So Expressive
Doomdoesn’t beat around the bush in its opening sequence and fans love it for that. There’s no tutorial to sit through, just an atmosphere of chaos, the palpable anger of the Doomsguy and loud, metal music in the background.
The game opens up with the Doomsguy waking up to demons closing in on him and making quick work of them. He then gets a gun, then his helmet and eventually his iconic shotgun as the game slowly reveals what’s going on. As Samuel Hayden reveals that the demonic invasion is his fault but their intentions were for the betterment of humanity, and Doomsguy looks at a mutilated dead body in the elevator he’s on, players can feel the fury of their character.
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And without wasting any second, the game title shows up, heavy metal music starts playing in the background, the Doomsguy cocks his shotgun and the player is thrown headfirst into the world to deal with the demons as he pleases.
1The Last Of Us
Get Ready To Cry A River
The Last of Us
Probably no other game has an opening sequence that’s executed better thanThe Last of Us. Not only does the game reveal how the cordyceps infection spread, but it also tugs and then rips the heartstrings by adding one of the most iconic death scenes in the history of video games within the very first few minutes of the game.
Sarah is Joel’s daughter who’s raising her by himself. The game shows some father-daughter bonding moments before slowly raising the tension as it’s revealed that the world, as they know it, is over. As Joel and Sarah try to escape the city with Tommy, Joel’s brother, they get in an accident and have to run to safety, with Joel holding Sarah in his arms.
The opening sequence ends with Joel being chased by infected who are shot down by armed personnel who had arrived on the scene, but as it turned out, the guy had instructions to shoot everyone on sight. He fires at Joel but the bullets hit Sarah instead, who slowly starts to bleed to death in Joel’s arms.
