Obsidian Entertainment has truly rattled the social media world with a gigantic nostalgia bomb; they have just celebrated the 9th year of their well-loved RPG Tyranny. The studio’s announcement took the players to reminisce about their “Santa Claus” in the already conquered world of Terratus but what followed was even more significant – the huge wave of sequel asking that came in afterwards.
So, Obsidian tweets this totally innocent anniversary celebration, right? Like, hey, remember this game we made 9 years ago where you get to be the enforcer for an evil overlord? Great idea, terrific execution, and players went absolutely bonkers in the replies. Although not in the way that might be expected.
The section of comments was instantly flooded with what could only be called as a mass begging for Tyranny 2. We mean dozens of comments all stating some form of “please make a sequel.” One user bluntly stated “Forget pillars/avowed, I want a sequel to this.” Quite rash but one has to admire the fervor.
However, what’s really interesting is the fact that the community seems to be rather split on the reasons why a sequel hasn’t been released yet. Some users of the comment section were happily indicating that Tyranny was a huge commercial failure and that could be the reason why the follow-up has not been given the green light yet. But then you have all these players saying the game is among the best JRPGs ever made? Quite a disagreement, isn’t it?
Rooflemonger (an ever-tasteful man) likened how he was indeed a big fan of the game’s world, ambient, and “novel magic system.” The opposite was voiced by another player who described it as “criminally underrated,” which indeed seems fair considering that the number of people still discussing the game is almost a decade later.
This is the point things get complicated — there were a number of players who claimed that the game seemed incomplete. There was one particular comment that said Tyranny “very clearly misses 1-2 chapters at the end,” while another one said that they were left by the “sudden” ending. Oof. That’s tough for a game that’s all about choices and consequences when the biggest consequence is… the story just ends?
Technical difficulties have not improved with time. One of the Mac users mentioned that the Unity HiDPI scaling problems make it impossible to play on their travel rig today. There were also a number of players who inquired about the possibility of console ports, making requests for PS5, Xbox, and even Switch 2 versions. That can be said to indicate how much demand there still is for this game on modern platforms considering it was a PC-only title from 2016.
What has been so interesting here is that the number of players who mentioned the bronze age setting as being refreshing due to its contrast with all the medieval fantasy still out there was quite a lot. We have become so accustomed to knights and castles that playing in a world with bronze weaponry and very early civilization aesthetics was just different. One person stated it was the most “legitimate” CRPG they had ever played in relation to choice and consequence, which is a huge compliment coming from RPG enthusiasts.
Chris Avellone absence from any possible sequel has also been a topic of discussion, with one user saying “it’s pointless without Chris Avellone.” Given his engagement in the original and eventually leaving Obsidian, this puts a sequel’s capability of reprising the same magic under a doubt.
Over and above, some users thought that the anniversary tweet was a sequel announcement? Many commenters expressed their disappointment that it was “just” an anniversary post. One user said that they were going to “go kick Takki Aris off the tower again in rage,” which is both hilarious and deeply worrisome.
The demands could not have been more diverse, as in the case of a turn-based mode, Game Pass availability, even someone asking if Obsidian was “reviving your isometric RPGs.” It is very clear that the Tyranny fanbase is not just nostalgic but rather is starving for more contents in this universe and is actively engaged in it.
The most interesting part is that despite the problems with the commercial performance and the game being almost a decade old, the passion for this title still remains high. It is rather the opposite, as the game’s hype has increased over the years as more and more players discover through sales or word of mouth. The comments read like people are discussing a game that was released just the previous year, not nine years ago.
Obsidian is occupied with Avowed and more projects, of course, but the volume of sequel requests is something that can’t be ignored. When players are literally saying “I beg” for Tyranny 2 while calling it “fantastic” years later, that is not merely nostalgia speaking – it is a loyal fan base that never got the closure they wanted.
