Dialogue Options | What games subverted our expectations?

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We discuss the best kind of surprises on this week's Dialogue Options

The best video games are those that subvert our expectations… or are they? As The Last of Us 2 recently exemplified, players aren't always happy when a developer deliberately misdirects them with its promotional material for a video game, only to tell a story that's not exactly the one that played out in our minds leading up its release. 

On the other hand, in the era of ever expanding marketing budgets, it's increasingly difficult for a game to genuinely surprise us, and those that do often linger in our minds long after putting them down as a result. A game can only exceed our expectations if those expectations aren't bang on the money, after all.

So, which are the games that surprised us the most, and why? More importantly, do we like going into video games blind, or would we prefer to know as much as we can before splashing $60/£40 on a new title?

For the latest episode of Dialogue Options on GamesRadar+, Features Writer Alex Avard, Video Editor Ellen Causey, and News Editor Ben Tyrer sat down to talk about the games that completely unwound our preconceptions of them going in, and whether we enjoyed the experience we got instead. 

Beware, the full conversation above does contain some mild spoilers for Spec Ops: The Line, Firewatch, The Last of Us Part 2, Dead Island, and… uh, Cuphead. You have been warned...

For more on GamesRadar+, why not check out the biggest new games of 2020 on the way? 

GamesRadar Staff
GamesRadar Staff
The GamesRadar+ Team

GamesRadar+ was first founded in 1999, and since then has been dedicated to delivering video game-related news, reviews, previews, features, and more. Since late 2014, the website has been the online home of Total Film, SFX, Edge, and PLAY magazines, with comics site Newsarama joining the fold in 2020. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills. We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos.