Summary
Remakes and remasters have become a common part of modern gaming, with the intent of bringing titles up to modern standards. Whether they’re always successful in this regard is another matter. Recently, two of my favorite game series from the Xbox 360 era,Dead RisingandBioShock,have been the subject of this topic, but I’ll admit, the idea of a re-release of both titles has left me cold.
In June, Capcom announced thatDead Risingwould be receiving a new"Deluxe Remaster,“with its trailer promising a “brand-new look” for modern platforms. Since then, information about the game has provided some insight into new “quality of life” mechanics that I’m still not entirely sold on - I feel the introduction of Auto Saves cheapens the experience as the original game saw players having to be mindful of locations where they could save before they became dominated by zombie hordes, for example, and hope it’s something that can be toggled on or off in the settings. TheDead Rising Deluxe Remastertrailer even addressed the PS4 and Xbox One remasters, which to me was a faux pas as it came across as “Hey, want to buy our game for athirdtime?”
TheDead Rising Deluxe Remasteris available for pre-order now for $49.99, with a Digital Deluxe Edition with more costumes and background music for a further $10.
There have also been rumors of a potentialBioShockremake in the works at 2K, which I also can’t get that hyped for, despite the original game having a classic story that has certainly cemented it as a gaming classic. While I love both games, they both have remastered editions that are playable - and play well - on modern platforms, albeit via backwards compatibility on consoles, so I really don’t see much point in yet another release of them so soon.
12 Best Xbox 360 Games Of All Time
The Xbox 360 is perhaps the most beloved of Microsoft’s consoles, with an extensive library of acclaimed titles that still hold up to this day.
Many Titles Have Received “Next-Gen” Patches This Generation
Improving Visuals And Performance At Either No Or Minimal Extra Cost
With so many titles this generation just receiving a “next-gen” patch to bring them closer to modern standards with visual and performance enhancements, I can’t help but find myself looking at some of these new re-releases as cash grabs. Things were a bit different on consoles - primarily PlayStation - last generation because of the lack of backwards compatibility at launch, which is why we saw so many remasters. Admittedly, this was something that wasn’t as much of an issue on Xbox due to its backwards compatibility program bringing many titles from the Xbox 360 and Xbox generation to Xbox One - and subsequently to Xbox Series S/X.
There have been recent rumors that Sony could be planningbackwards compatibility for its PS3 era. The PS3 had infamous hardware that was known to be overly complicated and was criticized by some developers, and this was previously reported as a reason why players could only stream a title from that era on PS Plus on newer consoles rather than downloading it like PS and PS2 Classics.
Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X generations launched with backwards compatibility for the vast majority of titles from the PS4 and Xbox One era, including the remastered versions of theDead Risinggames and theBioShocktrilogy. Therefore, as we can easily access those games on modern hardware, more full-price remasters and remakes feel pointless unless they have something properly worthwhile to offer, especially when we have seen so many titles brought to more modern standards through free patches.
Some other titles, such asGhost of TsushimaorThe Last of Us Part 2,also offered $10 updates for the PS5 versions, but these were accompanied by new story expansions likeGhost of Tsushima’s Iki Island or new modes likeThe Last of Us Part 2’s roguelike, “No Return.”
10 Video Games That Give Free Next-Gen Upgrades
Which relases on older gen platforms actually offer audiences free upgrades so that they can enjoy the titles on the latest consoles?
I Don’t Mind Remasters Or Remakes With A Purpose
Game Preservation Is Key
I don’t mind remasters or remakes with a purpose. For example, I was initially extremely skeptical about the remake ofThe Last of Us Part 1prior to its launch and saw it as a cynical way to capitalize on the impending HBO series, especially whenThe Last of Us Remasteredalready existed on PS4. However, upon learning more about the game, I found myself respecting the decision to bring thesecond game’s award-winning accessibility featuresto the original game to make it a better experience for a new audience, even if I do feel many users wouldn’t have needed to use them, which hardly justifies the full price tag of the game for me as someone who played it on both PS3 and PS4.
I don’t mind if a game that isn’t as accessible or requires a lot of extra work to get running on modern platforms gets the remaster or remake treatment, as I am a firm believer in game preservation. For example, thefirstSplinter CellorMax Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payneare both getting remakes that I am looking forward to. TheMax PayneandSplinter Cellseries are some of my favorites, but the two aforementioned titles are available via backwards compatibility on Xbox but not PlayStation, or are playable on PC but require a lot of mods to work well, which to me justifies getting remasters or remakes for the sake of story preservation. I am also hopeful that theSplinter Cellremake is good as it could lead to Ubisoft revisiting the next game in the series,Pandora Tomorrow, which isn’t even available on PC storefronts anymore and can only be played on modern devices via Xbox backwards compatibility.
The firstMax Payne,which is also getting remade, is available on Xbox’s backwards compatibility scheme and was also made available on PS4 - and therefore PS5 via backwards compatibility - as part of the first batch of PS2 Classics, with new trophies and other enhancements.
Another upcoming example of a remake I feel is justified isLollipop Chainsaw RePOP. The original served as a throwback to pulpy horror classics such asBuffy the Vampire Slayer, and became a cult classic, seeing cheerleader Juliet Starling fighting hordes of the undead with a darkly comical script by DC Studios CEO James Gunn and Masahiro Yuki, directed byNo More Heroes' Goichi Suda (aka Suda51). While the originalLollipop Chainsawlaunched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 back in 2012, it never received an official PC release, nor did it come to Nintendo’s console of the time, the Nintendo Wii, meaning two additional sets of players will be able to experience Juliet Starling’s action-packed adventure this time around as the game will also be coming to both PC and Nintendo Switch alongside its Xbox and PlayStation versions.
It should also be noted that Lollipop Chainsaw was delisted from digital storefronts a few years ago now due to music licenses expiring, which forced the price of physical copies of the game to extortionate levels on the second hand market.
I understand the reasoning behind titles like this, but I can’t get hyped about other titles that had a remaster just one generation ago and are still perfectly playable. Hopefully, I’ve just been overly harsh and theDead RisingDeluxe Remasterand rumored remake ofBioShockwould make me eat my words with many new features that make them a worthy purchase over their previous versions. They’re both solid titles and it’s great that the studios are paying attention to them - especially afterDead Rising 5’s cancelation and reports of delays and other issues onBioShock 4- but I don’t feel unnecessary remasters and remakes are the way to go.
