With the gaming industry growing, and more and more games dropping each year, it’s pretty tough to keep track of what’s worth taking note of. Every so often a game is completely void of any big hype and excitement and pops out of nowhere to surprise gamers. These are known as ‘sleeper hits’, and thankfully, we’ve seen a fair-share of them of recent years.

So what are some of the big sleeper hits that have been pleasantly delivered to our doors, and which continue to leave a mark on modern gaming?

Portal

Probably one of the most unexpected gaming god-sends we were fortunate enough to get was Portal. Originally designed as a sort-of small off-beat game, Valve definitely had no idea the impact that their little project was going to have.

It was initially released on the Orange Box as a subsidiary game to Half Life 2: Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2, but ended up overshadowing both games.

The fast, unique and mind-bending puzzle game came out of nowhere and showed everyone that you don’t always need a machine-gun and terrorists to have fun.

Portal spurred on the sequel, Portal 2, which went on to unanimously win Game of the Year for 2011.

God of War

The God of War series may be one of the most well-known Sony franchises today, but during its inception and leading up to its first release, it was an unknown entity.

David Jaffe put it his job on the line when pitching the first God of War game, and thankfully for him (and us) it worked out better than expected.

Kratos become an immediate fan-favourite, and the series became the dominant force in the hack-and-slash genre. The brutal finishing kills and titan-sized scale have become the staple that many games today are still trying to reproduce.

InFamous

InFamous was a ‘sleeper hit’ if there ever was one. Getting next to no exposure, Infamous was up against the odds. Releasing the same time as the intensely-hyped Prototype, InFamous was seen as a neglected underdog in the open-world superhero race.

InFamous proved naysayers wrong, and went on to be a stellar success. The game delivered an intricate and captivating story of gaining powers and the consequences that come with them.

InFamous’ hero, Cole McGrath became everyone’s new hero (or anti-hero, depending on your choices) as his electrified powers were a pleasure to control.

Just like McGrath, InFamous went from zero to hero.

Alan Wake

Alan Wake is the perfect sleeper hit. Written off as a ‘lost in development’ project from Max Payne studio, Remedy Games, Alan Wake’s oft-delayed development and lack of details made gamers almost indifferent the action/horror game.

Alan Wake came out and impressed critics around the board. Its ominous atmosphere and clever ‘light versus dark’ fighting mechanics were original and unique to the genre.

The convoluted, yet brilliant story also drew in gamers as the voice acting and presentation was top-notch, along with the gorgeous visuals and eerie town of Bright Falls, which seemed so real and authentic with its interesting backstory and characters.

Thankfully, Alan Wake has recently hit PC, giving those who may of missed out on the former 360 exclusive.

Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed may come as a surprise to most people given that the franchise is one of the biggest names in gaming today, but the original entry into the series didn’t receive the hype and support that the game went on to prove it should’ve.

The sci-fi turned ancient stab-‘em-up came out of nowhere and exceeded all expectations by throwing players into a rich and complex open-word, with a very under-wraps story.

While the gameplay was a little repetitive, the intricacy of the game’s world and detail to every piece of the game was unprecedented. Jumping off rooftops and stabbing ancient royalty in the face became gamers new preferred pastime as Assassin’s Creed was a shocking sleeper hit of 2007.

Notable mentions: Darksiders, Metro 2033, Driver: San Francisco, Arkham Asylum, Alan Wake, Dead Space, Dante’s Inferno, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Rayman Origins

Any games we missed out on? Furious that we didn’t mention one of your favourite sleeper hits? Lets us know below and in the forum section.

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