WATCH: The first gameplay footage of 2018’s most unexpected video-game sequel has landed

Well... this is a pleasant surprise!

Back in 2011, Rage was released on the PS3 and Xbox 360, and it was ... fine. Gamers had anticipated their generation's answer to first-person shooters like Doom and Quake, and what they got instead was a perfectly competent but totally forgettable shoot 'em up. No big deal, can't win them all. Cut to seven years later, and in the lead-up to E3, and we reported that Walmart had accidentally revealed some potential upcoming video game titles that had yet to be be announced, but one of the titles they revealed had everyone questioning whether the leak could be trusted or not. And that title was Rage 2. Cut to another seven days later, and it turns out that it was totally true, as we have our first look at the Rage 2 gameplay, and to be honest, it looks pretty great. In the years since the first Rage game, developers Bethesda have put some great titles under their belts (The Evil Within, the Wolfenstein series, Dishonored, Prey), but looking at the gameplay trailer for Rage 2, it is clear the their recent - and brilliant - reboot of the Doom series is what they're going for again here, as the frantic gunplay and OTT violence is once again mixed together perfectly, but gone is that game's nightmarish vision and replaced by a fun and eye-popping visual style. While the announcement of Rage 2 is definitely one of 2018's biggest video game surprises, we won't actually get to play the game ourselves until the vague release window of "Q2 2019". If it means playing something as good as their Doom reboot, then we reckon it'll be worth the wait... Clip via Bethesda Softworks