3 Great Video Game Remakes

Video game hardware and general advancement are always rapidly progressing, giving developers the chance to re-create some of their previous popular titles perhaps how they originally envisioned them, and fans the opportunity to enjoy a game that they might have missed, or their favourite title in a new way.

Want some good examples of titles that did it right? Here are three great video game remakes/remasters.

 

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

PlayStation fans (and fans of the 3D mascot platformer in general) had long been clamouring for the return of everyone’s favourite orange marsupial on modern consoles, and so it will come as no surprise that the release of the new Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was extremely popular when it launched on PS4 and Xbox One. It also came to Nintendo Switch eventually, too, which was the first time the original set of three games had ever been available on a Nintendo platform. These titles weren’t just a fresh coat of paint – as well as recreating everything that made the original Naughty Dog trilogy so fun from the ground up so that it would work on a modern console, the new game also included cut content from the original games for fans to enjoy, such as difficult levels that were originally removed due to them being too hard. 

The success of this game overall is shown by the strong sales numbers and positive reviews, and now fans are clamoring for a brand-new game from Vicarious Visions, using what they’ve learned when making the N. Sane Trilogy and going from there.

 

Purple Relative – Crash’s close mascot cousin on the original PlayStation also saw the remaster treatment recently, with the Spyro Reignited Trilogy developed by Toys for Bob and also published by Activision. The developers apparently spoke to Vicarious Visions (the team behind Crash’s remake) for advice on how to proceed with remaking a legend, making sure to make something that can universally loved by both existing fans and new fans playing a Spyro game for the first time.

 

Did you know?   With many of the titles in this list being re-released and transferred to a completely different and often newer platform for the first time, the process of game porting is an extremely important component to consider, and for game developers/publishers, it’s extremely important that they collaborate with a company that have a comprehensive understanding of different platforms when working on bringing a title to many different consoles. Abstraction Games are a prime example of one of these types of companies, with experience in development and co-development on over 16 different gaming platforms.

 

Black Mesa

A complete rework and re-imagining of the original Half-Life masterpiece from Valve, Black Mesa looks better, sounds better, and generally feels better, making it the perfect way for new fans of the series to experience the game. This reimagining aims to transfer the original entry in the series into the Source engine that Half-Life 2 and its following episodes are built within, all while still capturing the plot and intense gameplay in the same enthralling way that Half-Life did back in 1998.

Surprisingly, unlike all of the other games on this list, Black Mesa is a remake that wasn’t developed by Valve, but rather a fan-driven development studio named the Crowbar Collective. Valve themselves were so impressed by the project and its level of polish that they allowed a commercial release, and now you can check it out in its entirety on Steam. Looking forward, Half-Life: Alyx will be dropping very soon on SteamVR, and so if you need to catch up on the series then you might want to add this one to your wishlist.

 

Final Fantasy VII Remake

This one hasn’t yet been released, but it’s the most anticipated upcoming remake in recent history, and perhaps even the most anticipated game full-stop. A fully-fledged reimagining of what is one of the most revered and loved RPGs in history, the remake was announced almost five years ago at this point, during a PlayStation conference, and is set to release on the 11th April this year, so there isn’t much longer to wait. Final Fantasy VII Remake’s gameplay is a complete gameplay shift from what the game was originally like when it launched on the original PlayStation. 

Rather than the turn-based style of the original, the modern release will adopt the sort of hybrid, action-RPG style seen in the likes of Final Fantasy XV. Again, this will throw something new into the mix and surely have an effect on how long-time fans experience their favourite characters and locations, so it’s something to look forward to for everyone who thinks they might enjoy this sort of thing.