10 Games That Need Remakes In 2023
In a strange turn of events, it seems like the constant deluge of re-releases, remasters, and remakes in video games has come full circle. Nowadays, they're a good thing and people like them.
That probably has more to do with the quality of remakes we get these days, yet still, there are some glaring holes in the list of games we should be seeing again. So here are 10 games that deserve a remaster, a remake, or at least a gussied-up re-release in 2023.
Games That Need Remakes: Bloodborne
Click to enlargeA part of me feels like it is way too soon to speak about Bloodborne in terms of any kind of remaster, as it was released in 2015. Then I remember that 2015 is about to be eight years ago, and I crumble into dust. Bloodborne is a bit of an anomaly, as it is one of very few PlayStation 4 exclusives that have not seen a port to PC.
This has long been a point of contention among fans, Bloodborne is a fast-paced action RPG that (in its currently available form) can only be played in 1080p and 30 frames per second. Despite some early technical issues, Bloodborne quickly became known as a gorgeously atmospheric game. It is one of the most highly regarded Fromsoftware games, and considering how highly regarded all of their games from the last 10-plus years have been, that is high praise.
The fact that your options to play Bloodborne are to play it on PS4 or play the PS4 version on a PS5, is not great. Fans have been clamouring for a PC port, which seems like the least they can do. Bloodborne hardly needs the remake treatment that Demon's Souls got, but undoubtedly, a remaster with better performance would be well received.
Games That Need Remakes: Dino Crisis
Click to enlargeA series that has benefitted greatly from the remake treatment is Resident Evil. There is no better evidence of the effectiveness of a ground-up remake than the Resident Evil 2 remake from 2019. So much so, the same treatment was given to Resident Evil 3, while Resident Evil 4 is next.
If Capcom plans to continue this trend of remaking its classics, it might be time to tackle another series. There are plenty of great candidates, but few deserve it more than Dino Crisis. For those who never played it or weren't around at the time, the elevator pitch for Dino Crisis is what if Resident Evil had dinosaurs? Honestly, what more could you want?
The Dino Crisis series more or less died out with Dino Crisis 3 in 2003, which was set in space because these games are awesome. Almost as if they are trying to tease the fans, Capcom recently announced Exoprimal, a third-person sci-fi shooter in which players fight off hordes of dinosaurs.
Perhaps developing a dinosaur game might trigger something within Capcom, someone might remember they already have a dinosaur franchise, and like the dinosaurs themselves, Dino Crisis can return from the past.
Games That Need Remakes: Metal Gear Solid
Click to enlargeThis one seems so obvious that it feels like it shouldn't need to be said, yet somehow it hasn't happened yet. Aside from Twin Snakes, the Gamecube upgrade to the MGS2 engine, the original Metal Gear Solid has not seen a remake, remaster, or significant re-release.
For one of the most influential video games ever made, the lack of availability outside of the less-than-ideal PC port is pretty disheartening. Obviously, a lot of this has to do with the real-world situation surrounding these games. Konami has spent the better part of a decade dismantling any notion that it was ever a video game company, in favour of video game-flavoured pachinko machines.
That said, the recent Silent Hill news (a remake of Silent Hill 2 and several new Silent Hill projects in development) might be cause for hope. Konami doesn't have the best track record, so it might be naive to get our hopes up, but should there be some merit to the re-emergence of Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid could follow suit.
What better way to make a comeback and probably a lot of money than to remake one of the most influential and successful games ever made? Just a thought.
Games That Need Remakes: Skyrim
Click to enlargeYou know, it might shock you to hear this, but it has been over ten years since the last Elder Scrolls game. We have waited so long for Elder Scrolls 6, so there can be no doubt that fans would clamour for the chance to play Skyrim again.
It's true that we've had various anniversary editions and extended ports that have added the likes of fishing, but every time these cheap cash-ins are thrown out, there are grumbles that Bethesda hasn't really added anything.
Surely, now is as good a time as any for another remake? A remaster? Even a re-release, seriously who doesn't want another go around with Skyrim? It's about time.
Games That Need Remakes: Deus Ex
Click to enlargeAnother 20-year-old game that inexplicably stayed in the past, the original Deus Ex is still available in its original form on PC but has not seen any kind of update or re-release. There have been sequels and prequels, but the original game has not come back around like many of its contemporaries.
This may have something to do with ownership of the series changing hands over the years, hence the prequel/reboot games Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. For a series with such prestige, it is hard to believe more hasn't been done with it. Reports suggest a new Deus Ex is in early development, but while we wait, surely something could be done with the original?
This one is less about availability, as the game is still widely purchasable. Moreso, it feels like an opportunity to make a classic game more palatable to modern players with improvements to graphics, controls and UI, while preserving the core gameplay and design that made Deus Ex great.
Games That Need Remakes: The Bouncer
Click to enlargeWhat is it they say, make ten for them, and one for you? This is the entry on the list that's just for me. Many of us have those games, the ones we grew up playing but almost no one else has even heard of it. For me, that game is The Bouncer, one of the last games made by Squaresoft before the merger that formed the Square Enix we know today.
The Bouncer is the definition of a B-game, something that was never really going to catch on, more of a test bed for new ideas. For those of you who haven't played it, The Bouncer takes a lot of influence from the more sci-fi Final Fantasy games, like Final Fantasy VII, but with a bit more grit to it. The game is a 3D beat-em-up, a potential successor to games like Streets of Rage or Final Fight.
Like the classics, you have three main characters you can choose from, one of which will look strikingly familiar to fans of another Square property. It is a commonly held belief that, like many B-tier games at big companies, The Bouncer was used to test some ideas. One of the main characters, Sion, bears a notable resemblance to a certain big-shoed magical boy who uses a key for a sword.
Look, at the time, The Bouncer did not sell well, and it was reviewed pretty middlingly. I wouldn't expect a remake or remaster of this game, even if every game ever made got one first. Still, I feel the point of talking about these things is to reminisce, to bring back and live in some happy memories for a while. That's what The Bouncer is to me, a happy memory of gaming as a kid, one that feels special to me because it was a great time with a game that almost no one else played.
Games That Need Remakes: Fable
Click to enlargeThis one feels like an easy home run for Xbox. The Fable series has been dormant since Fable 3, apart from a Kinect game, and a cancelled asymmetrical multiplayer game.
Thankfully, we do know there is a new Fable game in the works, but it has been a full 12 years since the last proper Fable game and fans need something to tide them over. With absolutely no clue as to when this new Fable game might be coming, fans would delight to hear that one, or preferably all, of the original trilogy would be coming back in the form of a remake or a remaster.
The original Fable got a HD remaster in Fable Anniversary, and that was very successful, so why not give the trilogy the same treatment as the likes of the Mass Effect Legendary Edition? 2023 would be the perfect time for a fresh coat of paint on these classic games.
Games That Need Remakes: Thief
Click to enlargeMuch like Deus Ex, this is another case of an important game that got snapped up in the machinations of big video game companies and disappeared in the fray. The only difference is, Thief got even worse treatment, as instead of two decent modern additions, Thief got a fairly underwhelming soft reboot in 2014.
In a sense, the Thief games were replaced by their spiritual successor, Dishonored. The only issue with that is the Dishonored games are completely different in some fundamental ways. Thief was a game about being a stealthy, silent thief. You weren't a deadly assassin, you could barely hold your own in a straight fight.
In the interim 25 years since the first Thief, there really haven't been many games like it. Modern games prefer to make the player powerful and important, even most other immersive sim games let you be a murder machine. With few to no games attempting to really fill the same role, now seems like an ideal time to remake Thief for a modern audience.
Games That Need Remakes: God Hand
Click to enlargeBack to Capcom for one of its lesser-known classics, God Hand. Following the success of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry, some folks in Capcom had some huge wins under their belts, and were given some freedom to make new and interesting things. This led to games like Viewtiful Joe and Okami, and a lesser-known gem called Godhand.
God Hand was the pet project of Shinji Mikami, director of the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4. God Hand sought to try some new things, particularly bringing more complexity and depth to the beat-em-up genre. While a very different kind of game, God Hand feels like an experiment to further some of the ideas of Devil May Cry, where combat is not just about defeating enemies, but doing so with long, unbroken combos.
The difficulty of the game dynamically changes based on how well the player performs, and continuing your combos and defeating enemies at higher difficulties grants more points which can be used to unlock new moves.
God Hand is one of those underappreciated classics that simply wasn't of its time. Earlier this year, we had a different but similarly interesting take on the beat-em-up genre in Sifu, which was widely popular. Perhaps the modern audience would be more accepting of the nuances of God Hand?
Games That Need Remakes: Mortal Kombat 1-3
Click to enlargeThis one has a bit of a story behind it. As you might know, the original Mortal Kombat Trilogy are games that have seen plenty of ports and rereleases, and have been included in multiple arcade collections. It goes without saying they are classics, and certainly not ones that have been left behind in the march of time. That said, the prospect of remastering or even remaking these games is something that has come up numerous times, and I don't just mean among fans.
A group of game developers began work on a HD remaster of the original trilogy as a fan project, which they brought to Ed Boon, creator of the series and the head of Netherrealm Studios. Boon gave his blessing to this group to make their remake, but the big wigs at Warner Bros. weren't having it, and the project was shelved.
The developers were not deterred, however, and they went on the create a new studio, Eyeballistic Games. The now formal game studio continued its quest to bring back the original trilogy, with 4K visuals and online support. Progress was made, but ultimately red tape would be the death of the project for a second time. Now, Eyeballistic is working on an original fighting game to implement much of the work they have been doing.
The sad part of this project not happening is how much fun a remaster of the Mortal Kombat Trilogy could be. We don't get games like those anymore, fighting games that use photo scans of real people for sprites. Today, you could make that game on a smartphone. So just imagine what a talented studio could come up with? The original Mortal Kombat games were inherently silly, and a studio that understands that could remake those games into something special.
Games That Need Remakes: Tony Hawk's Underground
Click to enlarge2023 is the year that Tony Hawk's Underground becomes twenty years old. That one stings, doesn't it? The Pro Skater series was incredibly important, those games were hugely popular and almost everyone has stories of playing those games growing up. The real ones, though, know that Tony Hawk's Underground is the real peak of the franchise.
After Pro Skater 4, the Tony Hawk games had two ways they could go. They could either attempt to be more realistic, they could go back to the arcade-style roots of the series or embrace the chaos. They chose chaos, and in many ways, ended up depicting the most realistic interpretation of the life of a pro skateboarder the series ever had. Underground had your created character go from lowly skate punk to famous pro, and back again with all the ups and downs of another A Star Is Born remake.
In recent years, the Tony Hawk games have had their ups and downs, but their most recent attempt was an undeniable up in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake. Interest in skateboarding games is on the upswing, with a new Skate game on the way purely thanks to fan interest. Underground is a favourite of many, a classic of the early 00's that would undoubtedly make for a wonderful remaster, if only so we can punch Eric in 4K.
