10 Video Games I Knew Would Be Masterpieces from the Opening Sequence
First impressions matter, and that statement holds particularly true when it comes to the entire opening sequence of a game. Gaming is such a time-demanding hobby that many people will often choose not to keep playing a game if the first couple of hours of gameplay don’t capture their attention quite to the degree they demand. Inversely, an instantly-gripping opening sequence can make it impossible to put the controller down for however long that sequence lasts.
Over the years, there have been ten particular games which I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt would be 10/10 masterpieces merely after playing or witnessing the opening sequence. From modern gems like Ghost of Tsushima to foundational classics like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, these are titles which you could reasonably stop playing after half an hour with the confidence that you’ve just started playing what’s bound to be a near-perfect game.
There are spoilers ahead for the opening of each entry!
10
‘Ghost of Tsushima’ (2020)
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Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment</figure>
Influenced by the classic samurai cinema of auteurs like Akira Kurosawa and games like Shadow of the Colossus, Ghost of Tsushima came right at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, making it abundantly easy for players to invest dozens upon dozens of hours into it. It is, after all, one of the best video game masterpieces of the last 10 years, and a must-play for fans of samurai games and stories.
The opening sequence of the game is a masterclass in hyper-cinematic game design, seamlessly blending narrative and gameplay in the Battle of Komoda Beach. It’s a flawless in media res opening, throwing the player right in the middle of the bloody action and pulling zero punches with all the carnage and death around them. By the time Jin Sakai escapes the massacre and rides his horse across the pampas grass with the title card making its appearance, you know that you’ll absolutely adore Ghost of Tsushima.
9
‘Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty’ (2001)
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Image via Konami</figure>
Hideo Kojima‘s Metal Gear franchise started out with the relatively niche 1987 computer game, and it was the arrival of Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation in 1998 that allowed the series to become a cultural phenomenon. That was followed in 2001 with the PlayStation 2’s Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, widely recognized as one of the most intelligent video games ever made.
The game’s opening is a riveting cinematic which, back in 2001, was seen as a watershed moment for cinematic direction, technical detail, and serious storytelling in video games. With the scene of the badass Solid Snake running across a rainy New York City and making it into the tanker USS Discovery to get his mission briefing, Metal Gear Solid 2 immediately sets the neo-noir-ish tone that will define everything that comes after.
8
‘God of War’ (2018)
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Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment</figure>
The God of War franchise became a cornerstone pillar of the PlayStation library as soon as the original game established itself as a masterful hack-and-slash action title back in 2005. Thirteen years later, the identically-titled God of War completely overhauled the franchise with a sort of soft reboot that took the story to the realm of Norse mythology.
It’s one of those games that are epic from start to finish—and boy, is that start epic. Opening the new installment in a franchise that had established itself as one of the most violent in gaming history with a quietly emotional, restrained funeral scene was a massively ambitious decision, and it paid off. Follow that with the establishment of Kratos’ complicated relationship with Atreus, the arrival of terrifying Stranger, and Bear McCreary‘s booming score, and you get one of the most masterful openings in gaming history.
7
‘Mass Effect 2’ (2010)
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Image via EA</figure>
Upon release in 2007, the original Mass Effect became one of the Xbox 360’s biggest commercial and critical hits, and is still remembered as one of the greatest action RPGs of the 21st century so far. Mass Effect 2 had an awful lot to live up to, and thankfully, it achieved even more success both with critics and in terms of sales. If the original game is one of the best RPGs of the 2000s, its sequel may even be one of the best of all time.
At the very least, it’s one of those 2010s games that are officially classics in 2026, a must-play title for all those who love science fiction gaming. In one of the boldest and most subversive opening sequences in gaming history, Mass Effect 2 opens with the abrupt ambushing and destruction of the SSV Normandy. Destroying the ship and killing off the protagonist that fans had grown attached to throughout the first game was a risky move, but one that ultimately allows Mass Effect 2 to pull off all manner of fascinating narrative tricks.
6
‘BioShock’ (2007)
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Image via 2K games</figure>
Just as much of a cult classic as it is a mainstream critical and commercial hit, BioShock won several Game of the Year awards back in 2007 and 2008, and is still widely remembered as one of the greatest video games of the 21st century. Thanks to its profound political critiques and philosophical ponderings, it’s usually one of the most studied titles in the conversation of whether video games have come far enough to be considered a full-on art form.
A plane crash, a survivor, a lighthouse, a descent into a magnificent underwater metropolis. It’s one of the most iconic opening sequences in gaming history, and for good reason. The graphics have aged like fine wine, the world-building immediately sets up the perfect foundations for the story’s political and philosophical comments, and the atmosphere takes mere seconds to become absolutely enrapturing.
5
‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ (2018)
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Image via Rockstar Games</figure>
The original Red Dead Redemption was a masterpiece unlike anything else Rockstar Games had ever delivered, with a story so perfectly self-contained that fans were skeptical when a prequel game was announced. The rest, however, is history. Many people’s favorite video game of all time, Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best single-player video games ever made, a must-play for anyone who loves the medium.
Everything about Red Dead Redemption 2 is utterly perfect. That includes, of course, a flawless opening.
From the unparalleled sense of realistic immersion to Arthur Morgan’s flawlessly-written redemption arc, everything about Red Dead Redemption 2 is utterly perfect. That includes, of course, a flawless opening, which finds the Van der Linde gang trudging through deep snow after a blizzard and then riding out to find missing members. It’s not only an early display of the game’s jaw-dropping technical perfection, but also deeply atmospheric and full of engaging character dynamics.
4
‘Doom’ (2016)
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Image via Bethesda Softworks</figure>
The original Doom from 1993 is one of the most revolutionary first-person shooter games in history, a masterpiece which has endured the test of time as an essential cornerstone of gaming pop culture. In 2016, Bethesda rebooted the franchise with the aptly-titled Doom, one of those sci-fi games better than most movie blockbusters.
The game’s opening sequence is a famously perfect distillation of every quality that makes the franchise what it is: speed, brutality, an unapologetic rejection of most shooter genre tropes, and a heavy metal attitude. After awakening chained to a demonic altar, the Doom Slayer breaks his chains, kills a demon, and starts hearing a corporate suit attempt to deliver an explanation about the demonic invasion. Our badass hero destroys the monitor instead of hearing the speech, and the title card follows. The message is clear: the story here is secondary, the carnage is the whole point.
3
‘The Last of Us’ (2013)
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Image via Sony Computer Entertainment</figure>
Whether one is playing its 2014 remastered version or its 2022 remake, one thing remains certain: 2013’s The Last of Us is one of the biggest, greatest, most cinematic video games of all time. As far as the survival horror and action-adventure genres go, it doesn’t get much better than this, a game which proved just how serious Naughty Dog’s storytelling could be. Over a decade later, it’s a game that still feels as modern as any AAA title that has come out this year.
If The Last of Us is one of the most universally loved video games launched since 2000, it’s largely because it’s so emotionally riveting; and if it’s so emotionally riveting, it’s largely thanks to how perfectly its opening sequence sets the season for this dystopian world and Joel Miller’s character arc. What seems to start out as a normal day in the lives of Joel and his twelve-year-old daughter soon turns apocalyptic, and watching them survive the beginning of the infected outbreak only for Sarah to be suddenly killed doesn’t stop being depressing even after several playthroughs.
2
‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ (2017)
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Image via Nintendo</figure>
The Legend of Zelda franchise has been one of Nintendo’s flagship IPs ever since the days of the NES, and the way it has evolved over the course of the last few decades has been an absolute joy to follow. Nintendo had already perfected the Zelda formula going into the late 2010s, but never before had fans seen anything even remotely like what Breath of the Wild had to offer.
Almost a decade after its release, it’s still praised by many as not only one of those Nintendo games that are amazing throughout, but perhaps even as the greatest title of the entire 2010s. Before the game lets players have complete and unrestrained freedom to make Hyrule their oyster, however, we begin with an opening sequence that’s easily among the most masterful tutorials in gaming history. From the visuals to the atmosphere to the “show, don’t tell” minimalism, everything about Breath of the Wild‘s opening is flawless.
1
‘Uncharted 2: Among Thieves’ (2009)
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Image via Naughty Dog</figure>
The Uncharted franchise has long been Naughty Dog’s biggest game series, but it was Uncharted 2: Among Thieves‘ incredible leap forward compared to what the first game achieved that really cemented this as one of the biggest AAA game franchises in history. It’s one of the most fun PlayStation games of all time, a masterful action-adventure game that’s easily among the greatest sequels in gaming history.
There’s really not much of a debate as to what the greatest opening sequence in the history of video games is. Uncharted 2‘s in media res opening, where an injured Nate wakes up as a train begins to fall off a precipice, has long been hailed as the quintessential masterclass in how to design and write a video game opening. It’s intense, it sets the stakes sky-high right off the bat, and it establishes the game’s climbing mechanics before the player even has time to breathe.
Four of the largest communities on the planet, and four completely
different reasons to belong to one. Here is yours, what it would give you, and the argument you
would be having within a week.
You belong to the fandom that is really about comfort. Hogwarts
works on people because it is a place rather than a plot, and the pull is not the wizard war
so much as the corridors, the food, the weather and the sense that somebody is expecting
you.
- You are drawn to belonging, which is why this fandom sorted itself into houses within
about five minutes and has never stopped. - This is the most social of the four, and the one most likely to know which type every
single person in your life would be. - The books are built to be reread rather than analysed, and rereading is exactly what you
do with things you love. - The new HBO series is bringing the whole thing back one book at a time, which means the
arguments are about to start all over again.
You belong to the deepest fandom on this list, the one where
somebody has always read further than you and is quietly delighted to say so. Middle-earth
rewards patience more than any other world in popular culture.
- You like the sense that the story you are reading is only the visible part of something
enormous, which is precisely how Tolkien built it. - This fandom takes adaptation seriously to a degree that other fandoms find slightly
alarming, and it has good reasons for that. - Your favourite thing about the books is probably the bit that is not action at all,
which is the walking, the songs and the long goodbyes. - Nobody here thinks heroism belongs to the powerful, and the whole story exists to make
that argument.
You belong to the loudest and largest tent of the four, the one
where three generations are all watching the same thing and none of them agree about any of
it. That disagreement is not a flaw in this fandom, it is the main activity.
- You want something you can share with absolutely everybody, from a six year old to a
grandparent, and this is the only one on the list that really does that. - Nobody argues like Star Wars fans argue, and the argument has been running since roughly
1980 with no sign of resolution. - The pull here is sensory before it is narrative, since it is the sound design, the score
and the look of a used and dented galaxy. - You would be first in the queue, in costume, with strong opinions and a genuinely good
time.
You belong to the thinking fandom, the one that turns up for the
argument rather than the explosion. Trek has always been a series of ethical problems in
space, and the people who love it love being asked what they would have done.
- You are an optimist in a way that is currently unfashionable, and this is the only major
franchise still willing to say the future might be better. - The best episodes are the ones where nobody fires anything, which is a sentence that
makes perfect sense to this fandom and to nobody else. - Starfleet Academy brought the franchise back to a classroom in 2026, which is
appropriate, because Trek has always been a bit of a seminar. - You would want the conversation afterwards more than the episode itself, and here you
will always find somebody willing to have it.
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