At a time where many once well-regarded game developers now continuously release half-baked, uninspired, buggy games that seem to lack any of the originality or passion that their predecessors had before (I’m looking at you, Saints Row). This begs the question, where do remakes of previous titles fit into this mould?
With the recent remake of The Last of Us Part I, and stunning-new gameplay trailer for the upcoming Dead Space remake, I wondered whether or not developers Naughty Dog and Frostbite really put their efforts into improving the experiences of their past-games for players, or if they simply want to cash in on their loyal fans’ adoration for their beloved-franchises.
You could argue that most developers choose to remake these titles so players can experience their classic games with improved mechanics, or cutting-edge graphics that push their next-gen systems to the limit. Although , Dead Space (2008) is already available to play on the Series X , and free to anyone with an Xbox Game Pass. The Last of Us Remastered (2014) was still playable on the PlayStation 5, and for a fraction of the new remake’s price.
So was there really any need for them to release these games just to make some visual improvements? After all, they aren’t bringing anything new to the table content-wise… right?
This is something that developers Activision and Capcom seem to steer away from when it comes to remakes. With Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater 1 + 2, and the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes feeling like refreshed and substantial upgrades of the previous ‘90s classics. This allows for players like myself to experience these games again, but with fresh content and graphical upgrades that don’t sacrifice on the incredible feel that the older instalments initially had.
These seem like genuine attempts to create an exciting experience for their fans, giving new players the opportunity to try their games for the first time, without having to deal with the inconvenience of outdated controls and visuals.
Then comes in The Last of Us Part I which, whilst a superb upgrade, still felt like Naughty Dog blatantly trying to rip-off their fans and gather attention surrounding the franchise. Seeing as the release of the remake was only a little over three weeks apart from the trailer for the upcoming HBO series, it left a bitter-taste in my mouth. Seeing these two things being conveniently tied together probably wasn’t pure coincidence, and more likely just cleverly-disguised marketing.
Still, Naughty Dog aren’t the only culprits of this strategy. Activision have released remastered versions of previous Call of Duty titles countless times alongside their new games, just to make money from eager fans prepared to pre-order expensive bundles just to get an earlier copy.
There are also companies that simply re-release games with little-to-no improvements or changes. I tend to lose track of how many times Rockstar has re-released GTA V, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they release it again by the time I reach my twenties.
You may think that developers can only improve on their games when they remake them, but trust me, after spending an extensive 30 seconds contemplating why I’d spent almost double the price of the original two Life is Strange games for essentially a worse experience than before with the Life is Strange Remastered Collection, it dawned on me how developers truly have the capabilities to take a beloved game – have all the files and code for the original, along with all the money and resources they could possibly throw at it – and somehow manage to conjure up a worse experience than they had before.
At this point though, I’d reached the point of no return (unless I wanted to talk to one of Xbox’s customer service bots for hours on end), the purchase had already been made.
The argument that developers should focus on rebooting their titles, is one I’m more often than not, pretty against. An example of this being the recent Saints Row, with character models and visuals that resemble the kind of fake game you’d see someone play in a sitcom.
It’s difficult to fathom how nobody at Deep Silver saw the inevitable backlash from fans coming their way. In reality, if the Saints Row title wasn’t slapped across the main menu and cover-art I would’ve likely assumed it was just another spin-off title like Agents of Mayhem. It had barely anything in common with any of the previous entries, but Deep Silver knew better than to release a new game, when instead they could plaster the Saints Row title all over their marketing campaign in the hopes that it would sell – which it didn’t.
Rebooting games is a gamble when the chances of leaving your fans frustrated is so high. There are some games that should be left alone, not remade or re-imagined. Developers should instead focus more attention on creating brand new titles for players to experience and enjoy, before we end up stuck playing the same games endlessly. After all, originality is what keeps any form of entertainment refreshing and fun.