What's the last AAA game you played that wasn't part of a preexisting IP?

[Johnny Novgorod]

Indies and Steam fodder notwithstanding, what's the last AAA game you played that wasn't a sequel, prequel, adaptation, remake, reboot, "re-imagining", spin-off, tie-in, spiritual successor or otherwise part of a series of household IP? What's the last big game you played that wasn't an openly derived product? And when?

Extra points if the game didn't go on to spawn a franchise itself.

In my case it's Catherine, about a month ago. On top of being a peculiar game unto itself, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction playing something, for once, that wasn't riding on an artifact title, wasn't leading me on to more games, wasn't comparing itself to other entries in a series of ups and downs, wasn't cashing in on anything other than itself and most importantly told all there was to tell about what it was telling. It was just this one game, "shaped like itself", and that was that. That doesn't happen that often doesn't it?

 

[Zhukov]

Dishonored.

I attempted a replay in February. Didn't get far before getting bored.

It's not a bad game I suppose, but it makes me want to play the game it could have been instead. Mostly it's just too fucking easy, with the player's various abilities being hilariously overpowered. Story is shit too. Setting was great though.

It's getting a sequel, naturally.

 

[Erttheking]

Bloodborne I think. I can't really think of anything else.

 

[Nimcha]

Kind of cheating but I played Destiny at a friend's place, I don't own it myself. I'm thinking of getting it now though, the new expansion seems to really make it a good game.

 

[Kingjackl]

That depends. Most recent was 'Life Is Strange', but that may not count as triple A. It's not really indie either, but it might be considered kind of middle-ware. Anyway, I finished episode 4 literally yesterday so it's definitely most recent.

Then it would be 'Bloodborne', but that's often counted as part of the Souls series. If we don't count either of those, then we'd be going quite a way back to find one. Actually, it might even be 'Last of Us', since I only played it when the re release came out.

 

[Aerosteam]

Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is AAA, right?

 

[theSovietConnection]

Right now, it'd be Destiny. I saw it for $10 and figured I may as well give it a shot.

 

[Qvar]

Does Star Citizen count? If so, then that. If not... Hmm I haven't played any, apparently. It's all IPs. Metro: Last Light, Tomb Raider, Dark Souls II, Skyrim...

 

[Casual Shinji]

Until Dawn

It's obviously homaging the shit out of various other horror movies, but it remarkably becomes its very own thing past the halfway point. It was probably one of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had -- Just pure, unadulterated horror shlock.

It's garnered quite a bit of critical praise, and has become somewhat of a Let's Play hit due to its genre and pension for jump scares, but I doubt they'll turn this into a franchise seeing as all the characters can die. And to just have another group of teenagers go back to the lodge/mountain would be retreading the exact same ground.

 

[Zontar]

Does Star Citizen count?

I think "being released" is a prerequisite, as is being finished, so I'd say "no".

OT: I think Splatoon would be mine if you count that as Triple A. If not, then Dishonoured.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Well, this is tougher than I thought. Does Pillars of Eternity count?

 

[Evonisia]

I started playing Bloodborne today. But that's basically Demon's Souls 4 so I'm not sure if it counts.

So far I'm very much liking it. The setting is something we don't really get much of especially in the AAA space and I find myself much more happy to go exploring than in Dark Souls 1 because of the more offensive, fluid combat. The boss fights are shit, as usual, but they're just an obstacle to remove so I can keep exploring the world and finding new enemies to engage in sword play with.

 

[sonicneedslovetoo]

Uhhh, Splatoon? maybe Styx master of Shadows? that seems pretty high quality, honestly I don't play a lot of triple A games these days.

 

[tippy2k2]

Catherine was freaking awesome! Good call.

To answer the question, it kind of depends on your line of AAA so I'll name the few that I have played lately...

The Last of Us (about two years ago when it came out and the only one of these games I played when it came out)
Catherine (about a year ago)
Watch_Dogs (this year)
Beyond Two Souls (this year)

I'm not sure how well this counts since (as you can see by my games and when I played them), I am right now going through my "Finish off the 360/PS3 games I wanted to play but may have missed" phase of my life as I now have a Xbox One just itching to be played with...

 

[DoPo]

maybe Styx master of Shadows?

It's the prequel of Of Orcs and Men so it doesn't count.

 

[balladbird]

Until Dawn.

The point of this thread is a valid one, AAA games have become so dependent upon franchises that finding one that isn't linked in name to one that came before is as rare as gold.

Still, the timing of the question feels strange for the PS4 crowd, when not even a month has passed since an original AAA IP. XD

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Looks like Splatoon for me. Splatoon is considered triple-A, isn't it?

Anyway, it's a Nintendo franchise so there will likely be another Splatoon eventually and even if we have to wait a couple of decades the inklings are going to be used in things like Super Smash Bros and possibly even Mario Kart down the line. Before 2015 though, Splatoon wasn't a thing so there's that.

If we're not counting Splatoon (or rather, if I move on to portable consoles), I think Bravely Default would be another one to fit the bill...although I don't think it should really count since Bravely Default is a truer Final Fantasy title than XI - XIV (and more than likely XV).

...I get the point here. Aside from Splatoon and Bravely Default I've played Watch_Dogs within the past year and that's basically just Ass Creed with guns. L.A. Noire is another one that I played very recently that's new and refreshing though...I played that after Splatoon too so I guess that's my real answer. It's like playing a point-n-click adventure with puzzle conversation bits. Then some jerk makes you play GTA-4 vehicle chases and shoot-outs.

 

[FPLOON]

That I "Own" (Last 3):South Park: Stick of TruthLollipop ChainsawCaherineThat I've "Played" (Last 3):SplatoonCodname: S.T.E.A.M.The Last of UsOut of the ones I played, only Splatoon and, to an extent, The Last of Us made me want a copy of my own... Sorry, S.T.E.A.M., but just like with Project X Zone, I was only interested in your characters...

 

[Zetatrain]

Umm Destiny, though that was only because my brother bought it. I've rented a few others over the past year, but if we go with one that I actually bought that would be....you know I'll get back to you on that.