What exactly is the difference between the two words?

A dpiritual Successor is one set in the same universe as the first game but has no connection to it story-wise. Think Shadow of the Collosus and Ico, or Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Revolver. A sequel follows the last game's plot, like Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood, or Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

A sequel usually falls into the same franchise as the predecessor, and adheres to the canon of that series.

A spiritual successor is made in the, well, spirit of the game/movie/book it's emulating. It has some of the same mechanics/settings/themes, but does not follow the same lore, or rules.

No, a spirtitual successor is usually something inspired and possibly set in a similar setting as the predecessor, take Wasteland and Fallout for example; Fallout is the spiritual sucessor to Wasteland as it is inspired partly as Wasteland and is in a similar setting.

I've more often seen "spiritual successor" used to refer to games with no direct connection (aside from individual developers, perhaps) to the preceding game. Sequels do not necessarily have to continue the plot from the previous game; as I recall, the Fallout 2 did not pick up #1's story, instead it followed a new character in a new area with a new situation.

So elders scrolls are spiritual successors?

No, they are sequels.

I'd say a sequel is a game that shares the same basic plot, lore, and/or setting as a a previous game. For example: I'd consider Fallout 2 a sequel to Fallout because they both take place on the same Earth following the nuclear holocaust. The main numbered Final Fantasy games wouldn't be sequels despite being in the same series, because the similarities are scarce between each game.

A spiritual successor is a game very similar (but shares minimal direct connection) to a previous game, usually released years later when the previous game isn't as popular anymore. Examples:

Bioshock to System Shock
Dark Messiah to Arx Fatalis to Ultima Underworld
Xenosaga to Xenogears

Except for Battlespire and Redguard, which were spinoffs. And the mobile games are whatever they are.

I though xenosaga was the sequel to xenogears

Elder Scrolls are still sequels because even though time went on in-between games, they are still set in the same universe as each other and still follow the same series of events.

Spiritual successors are not set in the same universe at all and have nothing to do with each other story or lore-wise. A game is considered a spiritual successor if it's playstyle and story are inspired by another game. Wasteland and Fallout are good examples. Fallout came out after Wasteland and had a very similar world and gameplay style as Wasteland, but the games were not set in the same universe.

Square owns the rights to Xenogears and Xenosaga was developed by Monolith Software, there isn't that much connection in the two games besides the name.

Bioware says the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate is Dragon Age: Origins, but Baldur's Gate 2 is the sequel. A sequel is a direct continuation of the franchise while a spiritual successor uses very similar, yet enhanced, elements from a previous game. You could say that Grand Theft Auto 4 is the sequel of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but a spiritual successor of it is Red Dead Redemption. A sequel is much easier to spot whereas a spiritual successor is much more debatable and requires personal knowledge about both games.

This. Perfect Dark was the spiritual successor of Goldeneye.

Bioshock is the spiritual successor of System Shock 2. It's a first person shooter with RPG elements in a scary setting, where you upgrade your character and his equipment to survive. In that sense the games are quite similar.

Bioshock is much more shooter focused than RPG compared to System Shock 2, and the setting is completely different (underwater city in 1960s instead of futuristic space ship) which makes it a spiritual successor rather than a sequel.

So if I like bg I'll like dragon age origins

No. They are similar, but different; Just because it's a spiritual successor doesn't nessescarily mean you'll like both, one can end up liking Fallout 1/2 and end up disliking Wasteland.

Not necessarily but there is a high chance.

Well, there is a greater connection than that; Xenogears was "episode 5" in a timeline meant for 6 episodes. The Xenosaga games, while not sequels, were based on that same storyline but set earlier in the story.


Maybe. Spiritual sequels can cause some contention among fans with the "similar but different" motif. It's not uncommon for the spiritual sequel to be considered more "cheap knockoff" than "continuation". Bioshock, for example, was very popular but many people who played it consider System Shock 2 the superior between them. While I don't regard Dragon Age as a cheap knockoff, I also don't consider it a spiritual sequel either; I've played both games many times and they just don't feel similar to me. So to me, in this sense I see the "spiritual sequel" title more of an empty claim to try and grab up a demographic notoriously bitter about modern games.

That makes some sense.