Ah, video game remakes. We live in an age where they feel inevitable. For many players, nothing lasts forever, and as time goes on, what was once seen as revolutionary is lost when other games come along and introduce something new. refine. As such, perhaps the best way to combat this is to take an old game and remake it with modern sensibilities so that a new generation can appreciate it as much as older players do.
There are plenty of remakes to look forward to in the future: Resident Evil 4 will receive a new version that should fix the dated tank controls of the original, and Dead Space will be introduced to a group of players who have never played the game before. had not experienced. , Sony, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to understand what kind of games deserve to be remade.
In general, there are three good reasons to remake a game: to fix the underlying problems that come with age, to improve a game that may not have been great in the first place and to give it its potential. Helps to reach, or resume, forgotten titles/franchises to new audiences. In Sony’s case, however, none of this is happening with the sets of their remakes.
And this is not to talk about the quality of Sony’s games; PlayStation 5 has been home to some must-play exclusive titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. This is also not to speak of the quality of Sony’s remakes, as they have all been quite successful so far. But importantly, it seems that Sony’s remakes are starting to seem less urgent as more are being announced.
Image Source : Sony Interactive Entertainment
Sony’s journey into the world of remakes began somewhat spontaneously in 2018 when the publisher released a remake of Shadow of the Colossus. Controlled by Bluepoint Games (which has been a de facto remake/remaster company for years), it took Team Iko’s 2005 PlayStation 2 title and completely rebuilt it from the ground up for the PlayStation 4.
It was an encouraging success, but at the time, some small questions were raised about its necessity. Eventually, Bluepoint Games released a remaster on PlayStation 3 in 2011. Even though the PlayStation 4 was not backward-compatible with PlayStation 3 games, did Sony and Bluepoint Games waste resources on doing a full remake when they could. Have you worked on porting a PlayStation 3 remaster to PlayStation 4?
In this game’s case, though, a full remake didn’t sound as bad. Beyond the fact that Shadow of the Colossus wasn’t compatible with PlayStation 4 in the first place, the cult status of the original game meant it could be a good title to re-introduce to players. Also, the two-generation jump between consoles had the potential to change it to a new fixed version.
And it did: Shadow of the Colossus was received very positively upon release, even exceeding the original version. Thus, discussion of its need dwindled, and Sony seemed ready to roll in with even more excellent remakes of Forgotten Games.
Image Source : Sony Interactive Entertainment
In 2020, Sony launched the PlayStation 5 with a remake of Demon’s Souls. The 2009 original, developed by FromSoftware for PlayStation 3, got a little lost in the company’s pantheon of game releases after it came along with the Dark Souls franchise. Furthermore, with Dark Souls titles being re-released on eighth-generation platforms, Demon Souls never received the same treatment and has always been discontinued on PlayStation 3.
It was very easily the most essential remake that Sony had published over the years: the original game was an impressive marvel that introduced many of the conventions that would adapt to the Souls-like genre, but completely incompatible with the PlayStation 4. was. backward compatibility. Bringing it back would be a nice way for players to reintroduce it, fix any dated elements and also allow gamers to appreciate what it brought to the genre before FromSoftware’s modern titles.
It turned out to be a technological marvel on the PlayStation 5, and easily one of the system’s most essential games, launch or otherwise. It was a major revamp that served as a resounding critical and commercial success, and it played a big part in Sony’s acquisition of Bluepoint Games in 2021. But just when you thought Sony was in a groove where it could do no wrong, there was one thing to come and shoot that notion in the foot.
Image Source : Sony Interactive Entertainment
This year, Sony announced and released a remake of 2013’s The Last of Us, titled The Last of Us Part I. Developed in-house by Naughty Dog, it was Sony’s first remake to really drive a nail into the community. Thanks to the PlayStation 5 offering PlayStation 4 backwards compatibility, it seemed odd to offer a ground-up reconstruction of a game that was already playable on the new console based on the 2014 eighth-generation remaster. was. Also, even with the release of The Last of Us Part II, the first game didn’t really feel dated enough to need fixing.
Its announcement and release, especially as a $70 full-price game, drew little backlash from Sony, and many developers came out in defense of it. But no matter how much detail went into the reconstruction of this magnificent game… was it needed? Wasn’t the first game good enough in its remastered form? If the PlayStation 4 version can be played on PlayStation 5, do we need a full PS5 remake?
Naturally, the game was received positively upon release, which isn’t too surprising as it is a slightly improved version of an incredible game. If you take a masterpiece and make it the tiniest bit better, you’re making it into a masterpiece a little bit more. But even so, some reviews discussed the elephant in the room it needed, more so than Sony’s previous remakes. This raised some questions about whether Sony was looking in the wrong places to release the game again.
Image Source : Sony Interactive Entertainment
However, it appears that the company is looking to outdo itself in terms of strange re-releases. Rumors have risen recently that Horizon Zero Dawn, a 2017 PlayStation 4 title, will receive some sort of remake/remaster on PlayStation 5. Not only are we talking about a five-year-old game that holds up well and can already be played on the PlayStation 5, but we’re talking about a game that’s already been played in the past. Year next-gen, 60 FPS update was received.
Why? Why is this even a rumour? Even with the recent release of its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, Zero Dawn still holds up brilliantly. In fact, the PlayStation 5 patch helps it thanks to better frame rates. And don’t rush it: Horizon Zero Dawn is a great game, but it’s one of the least necessary games to get a remake/remaster, and it’s hard to justify.
This does not mean that the arguments are not given; Most notable is that this and The Last of Us Part I are being made to promote players for upcoming TV shows that are being planned. Cross-promotion is definitely one thing, though the fact that these re-creations don’t do much to connect with the show (or release close to them) makes that argument feel weak.
The other notable argument is that these remakes help developers work between larger projects. That’s perfectly valid, but given that the effort to go into these remakes feels on par with one of Sony’s AAA games, it makes you wonder whether the time, effort, and budget should be spent on a “distraction title” instead. Can be applied in large projects. ,
Furthermore, remakes of titles such as The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn have done Sony some favors in countering the argument that the company will only play emotional, story-driven, third-person, over-the-shoulder action-adventure games. manufactures. It makes you wonder whether Sony can reserve its remake efforts for more diverse franchises, rather than actively acquiring new games, which have been dormant.
If Sucker Punch is so busy with Ghost of Tsushima, why not let another developer crack down on Infamous? If Sony really wants to foray into the live-service world, maybe this could be a good opportunity to revive Killzone or Resistance? Sony really owns the studio that made the siphon filter, why not take another swing at it? Since Team Asobi technically now owns the rights, why not give them another shot at Ape Escape?
Speaking of which, Sony distanced itself from platformers back in the day; Why not give Sly Cooper and Jake & Daxter another chance with games like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart? If we’re moving away from upcoming TV show titles, why not relive another twisted metal game? Or hell, if Sony is really dying to make something modern from the PlayStation 4 era, why not throw Bloodborne fans a bone and give them something new?
Looks like Sony is looking for remakes in all the wrong places. As time goes on, these new re-releases are starting to seem more and more unnecessary. It makes you wonder if Sony is already planning to remake upcoming titles like God of War: Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2. Or hey, with a God of War TV show, maybe 2018’s God of War remake might be the next one in for treatment… the one that really doesn’t need it.
But how are you feeling about the trend of Sony remakes? Are you excited about them, or do you think these types of games should be slowed down? Sound off in the comments below.
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