The games that managed to surpass our expectations

The beginning of 2024 was marked by the release of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. After many years of absence, Ubisoft revived this iconic franchise that had shaped an entire generation of gamers. However, the announcement of the title was not unanimously welcomed. Between nostalgia for the franchise and mistrust of a publisher often criticized for the uneven quality of its productions, the public was divided. Ultimately, the game lived up to its ambitions and met with well-deserved critical acclaim.

Black Myth: Wukong is also part of this selection of games. Until the last moment, many didn’t believe in it. Between a few controversies, rather slow development, and the fact that the studio had never undertaken a project of this scale, it was difficult to imagine what the outcome would be. However, upon its release, the title proved to be very good and was a huge hit, with more than 2 million players simultaneously on Steam alone. To date, the game has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide.

Still on the subject of stratospheric sales, Palworld is not to be outdone. Upon its release, a tidal wave of players rushed to Pocketpair’s production, mainly thanks to word of mouth and streams on the Twitch platform, which are proving hugely popular day after day. It must be said that the game is easy to pick up and fun to discover. Almost a week after its release, Palworld also had more than 2 million concurrent players on Steam alone and now has 32 million players to date.

On the smaller project side, R.E.P.O and Peak both enjoyed unexpected success. Available since 2025, they quickly won the hearts of players looking for fun cooperation in games that don’t take themselves too seriously. They have 270,000 and 170,000 concurrent players on the Steam platform, respectively.

Described as an unusual mix between Bloodborne and Pinocchio, Lies of P has made a lasting impression. In short, it’s a Souls-like game that takes the story of the famous puppet and transposes it into a dark but elegant Belle Époque setting. Considered by many to be one of the best Souls-like games, it has been a critical and commercial success.

No Man’s Sky exceeded expectations in terms of content and follow-up over time. Released in 2016 in an unstable state, Hello Games, the studio behind the title, decided to redouble its efforts to provide players with the experience they deserved. Over the years, updates and expansions have been pouring in: it’s a golden age for No Man’s Sky. The title has attracted a large number of players and continues to be talked about in 2025 with its latest expansions.

To name a few others, God of War has also exceeded expectations. Released in 2018, this installment represented a major renewal for the franchise, offering visceral action combined with a paternal narrative. Where we expected a spectacular beat ’em up, we were treated to a narrative masterpiece that greatly appealed to its audience and spawned an equally good sequel in 2022.

And in a really different genre from the games mentioned above, Powerwash Simulator, is a game that simply involves cleaning very dirty environments with a pressure washer. Surprisingly well made and satisfying to play, the game currently has over 12 million players and extremely positive reviews on Steam.