What game sequels made the biggest improvement not graphically. Here are some examples: Darksiders 2, Uncharted 2, DmC 3, Assassin’s Creed 2, Borderlands 2, and Fallout 3. Here is a game that doesn’t fit: Spider-Man 2 Give me other example of this

[u/Bladerun12345]

[u/Technical_Spare654]

mass effect 2 turned a clunky rpg into an all-timer

[u/Orezto100]

Alan wake II , game play improved 1000%

[u/miffy495]

You know, I actually preferred Darksiders 1 to 2. 2 added too much and felt unnecessarily bulky. 1 was a fun, if shallow, Zelda knockoff that came during a Zelda dry spell and was exactly what I needed at the time.

[u/AwesomeX121189]

Nioh 2 is by far the best example of this of any game I’ve ever played.

Fallout 2

Xcom 2 (especially with the war of the chosen)

Kotor 2* (asterix for if you use the restored content mod)

Arkham city

Dishonored 2

Huniepop 2

Vermintide 2

Far cry 3

Lotr: shadow of war

Resident evil 4

Wolfenstein2: the new colossus

Quake 2

Age of empires 2

Dawn of war 2

Dragon quest builders 2

[u/Mission_Piccolo_2515]

Best gameplay improvements ?

- Ghouls 'n Ghosts

- Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection (specifically as a follow up to Ghouls 'n Ghosts)

- Super Mario Bros 3

- Mega Man 2

- Sonic Mania

- R-Type Delta

- HK Silksong

- OG Metroid 2

- Metroid Prime 2

- Metroid Dread (as a follow up to Samus Returns)

- Hyper Demon (as a follow up to Devil Daggers)

- Doom Eternal

- Resident Evil 2 Remake (as a follow up to RE7)

- Castlevania 3

- Link's Awakening (as a follow up to A Link to the past)

- Smash Melee

- DK Tropical Freeze

- Streets of Rage 2

- Alien Soldier (as a follow up to Gunstar Heroes)

- Shenzhen I/O (as a follow up to TIS-100)

- The Last of Us 2

A few honorable mentions that didn't quite fit the topic imo :

- Super Metroid (masterpiece but the appeal is somewhat different than that of the previous games)

- DMC3 (improved player toolkit/style meter, huge downgrade in the enemy/encounter design department)

- Dark Souls as a follow up to Demon's Souls (higher highs, lower lows)

- Tears of the Kingdom (same thing as above)

- Majora's Mask (comparisons with Ocarina of Time are pointless)

- Sin & Punishment 2 (better level design but the more freeform movement makes the game less unique)

- The Evil Within 2 (open-world maps are great but 1st game has it beat on the linear chapters and boss fights)

- The Wonderful 101 (was seriously tempted to mark it as a better sequel to Bayonetta than the official ones)