Whether it’s a rocking opening with lots of combat like in Borderlands 3 or a bleak opening that sets the stage for the story as in Mass Effect 3, video game openings do a lot to draw people in. All video games, including the upcoming Gotham Knights, need to have a great intro in order to help solidify gameplay numbers and to provide important information to the players.
There are, of course, some video game openings that stand far above the rest, and Redditors aren’t shy to reveal which video game openings they believe are the best there is. These are just some of the many great intros out there.
Halo: Combat Evolved
Few games have done more for the FPS genre than Halo: Combat Evolved. However, with the IPs huge amount of backstory and lore, the intro had to blend worldbuilding and fun to keep gamers’ attention.
While there’s no combat in the first few minutes, it reveals just enough about major characters such as Captain Keyes, Cortana, and Sergeant Johnson while holding the finer details until later to avoid an information dump. As Ranzo_ notes, “Halo: Combat Evolved did an amazing job of giving you just enough information to know what was going on without overloading you on backstory.”
Beyond Good And Evil
Beyond Good and Evil‘s opening doesn’t do a whole lot to give exposition – but that’s because it’s too busy throwing people right into the action.
The intro may start with a zenlike, peaceful scene, but this bliss is crushed almost instantly when the player is attacked. The game doesn’t waste any time getting players to what they’re all there for: the action. “You’re thrown right into the thick of it,” writes endlesswander, who points to the game not wasting any time with long, boring tutorials and information dumps as why the intro is so great.
Doom (2016)
Even non-horror fans can enjoy the horrific and bloody visuals of Doom. And the intro is perfect for what’s to come in the game.
Within a minute of starting the game, players are instantly thrown into the thick of it, killing demons and monsters even before they get the Doomslayer armor. The dialogue is minimal and is even cut off by Doomslayer punching the comms, which perfectly sums up his character as a no-nonsense juggernaut. “When Doomguy cuts off the villain’s monologue and the guitars kick in… god it gives me chills every time,” says CommanderBly.
Mass Effect 3
The Mass Effect franchise is filled with great visuals and incredibly strong opponents. And each game in the franchise has a great intro to get players right into the story.
Mass Effect 3‘s intro, in particular, does a lot to set the bleak tone of the game. The Reapers are in the galaxy in force, and by the end of the intro, they’ve taken Earth and forced Commander Shepard and the Normandyto flee with absolutely no plan on how to stop the invaders. As Kryrimstercat115 points out, the intro “shows the devastation that the reapers can do in an extremely short period of time and sets the stakes beautifully.”
Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2 is widely known as one of the best games ever made, with great writing, fantastic characters, and a great opening sequence.
Set to The Heavy’s “Short Change Hero,” the intro introduces the characters to the audience as well as shows off their skills, ending with an epic train explosion set up by the game’s villain, Handsome Jack. For fans, the intro really showed off the cooky, off-kilter violence that the game had to offer. “The stylized art and introduction of characters along with some pretty cool music just felt really well done,” comments Redditor Andrakisjl.
Resident Evil 4
Known as one of the scariest games for the Nintendo GameCube, Resident Evil 4 also had a great opening sequence to get everyone ready to fight the undead hordes.
The intro shows new players the basics when playing the game, including combat and strategic tips to help them survive against the nightmares that await them further on in the game. The opening cinematic also introduces players to the situation that the world is facing in the Resident Evil universe. “It’s a perfect design to teach you to play,” redchris18 explains.
Titanfall 2
Though not as poplar as it once was, Titanfall 2 still holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers worldwide, giving them the ability to pilot giant mech robots and take them into battle.
Titanfall 2‘s opening wastes no time; from the moment the cinematic starts to give out backstory, players are witnessing all the action they want before getting thrust into a tutorial. This intro reveals the quick pace that the game is going to take and introduces the basic mechanics of combat and mech piloting. “Titanfall 2’s opening and title card are mindblowing to me, and the rest of the campaign really keep the pace,” says TheLurkingCorgi.
Portal 2
Though lacking a cinematic, Portal 2‘s opening sequence truly sets the stage for how insane the game is going to be.
The opening features a tutorial for players to learn the controls before getting right into the game and the danger. This also begins to show how wild (and funny) the game is going to turn out to be in the end through the use of dialogue and the events surrounding the player. “The game immediately tells you that it is going to be quirky and funny, and you very rapidly get pulled into ridiculous circumstances,” says Redditor TitaniumDragon.
Far Cry 5
The Far Cry series is filled with lots of evil villains, and it’s the main villain of the fifth installment of the game that sets off this fantastic intro sequence.
The intro, which shows the player assisting in the arrest of cult leader Joseph Steed, shows just how far Steed’s followers are willing to go to keep their leader out of prison and stop the player, even if it costs them their own lives. “Arriving on the helicopter and entering the cult’s church to arrest its leader, it’s just so atmospheric,” says Redditor viv322.
Descent: Freespace – The Great War
Though long forgotten except by die-hard fans of the game, Freespace still is worth remembering as a great space combat game that still holds up today.
Its intro is also fantastic. As Fordfff points out, “It set the tone for the game very well.” The intro itself features a panicked pilot, the sole survivor of a mysterious attack, returning to base only for the attackers to follow him and kill not only him, but the entire base. It’s a brutal, shocking moment, even by today’s standards, and it shows the ruthlessness of the antagonists of the game: the powerful, genocidal Shivans.
