The last year of the decade is almost done, and while there are plenty of new games worth playing that released over the course of 2019, there was a small resurgence of older games in the forms of remakes that dominated much of this year’s discussion. From smaller classic titles to major triple-a re-releases, it seems like there was a major new remake releasing every time someone turned around. Not only that, but the remakes released this year proved how high quality they can be. They can stand on their own, while at the same time honoring the original release.
The year kicked off withResident Evil 2 Remake,which not only stood as a great game on its own but was able to honor the original game in every regard.Reviews ofRE2 Remakereflected its overall quality, as its atmosphere, level design, and sound design created a supremely-terrifying horror experience. Not only wasRE2 Remakenominated by many outlets for Game of The Year, a major accomplishment for a remake of a game, it was a real contender for the title. Now, fans haveResident Evil 3Remaketo look forward to, and if the initial teases and fan reception are anything to go by, a remake may be part of next year’s Game of The Year discussion yet again.
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RE2wasn’t alone. Throughout the year, other major remakes of classic games were released. While they didn’t all reach the same level of quality thatResident Evilmanaged to achieve, for the most part, the remakes were all true to the originals while at the same time having more modern appeal.That modern appeal is most evident inMedievil,the remake of the PlayStation classic featuring Sir Daniel Fortesque as he attempts to thwart the evil Zarok. Sony has nailed remakes in the past, andMedievalwas no different.
While there was some debate as towhether or notLink’s Awakeningwas worth $60, it too managed to be a stellar remake for the Switch. It brought an all-new art style to the table while still maintaining the elements that made it feel like a fresh take classicZeldagame, an incredible feat in a world whereBreath of The Wildseems to be the general direction of games as a whole.Link’s Awakeninghas real modern appeal to it, something that can be difficult to generate from a foundation that is packed full of classic gaming elements.
Thelist of great remakes in 2019could go on forever. There are other standouts likeCrash Team Racing,and whileModern Warfareis a reboot, not a remake, it, in some ways, falls in the same camp as the other games on the list. Not all of them were stellar, but it is indicative of a shifting landscape. For the better part of a generation, the answer satiating gamers' hunger for nostalgia was releasing sub-par sequels. Now, however, it seems that the market is shifting towards complete remakes of the games players loved in the first place, modernizing them at the same time to make them more playable and attractive to new audiences.
Ultimately, that shift is a good thing. It’s highlighted the talent of developers like Bluepoint, which crafts stellar remakes and takes great pride in its work. Handing remakes off to third parties ensures that developers will still have time to craft proper sequels and new IPs for a market that constantly demands more content. It’s a delicate balance of honoring the old while creating the new, one that has taken ages for the games industry to figure out.
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With the next generation of consoles looming and players finally getting a peek at whatnew games likeGodfallwill manage to accomplish, it’s easy to focus solely on the future. But, if 2019 should’ve taught developers anything, it’s that it’s still okay to keep some classic mechanics in place. Yes, it’s weird that players need to find three keys to unlock a secret passageway in a modern police station, but those aspects giveResident Evil 2charm, and charm is something that can be hard to find in an industry slowly becoming dominated by live service games.
That’s not to say that the future of video games is doomed. The recent success of games likeJedi: Fallen OrderandSekirohas demonstrated to major publishers that single-player games can still sell well and be well-reviewed.Live service games aren’t going away anytime soon, but it’s seeming increasingly likely that they’ll just go on to replace classic multiplayer games, leaving single player experiences more or less intact. With any luck, those single player games will slowly incorporate more of what made games great in the past, now that remakes have proven it’s possible to do so.
It’s still a mystery what the future holds for games. Right now, Microsoft is the only company has shown the most of its hand,finally unveiling the Xbox Series Xwithout releasing details on pricing or giving a solid release date. With next-gen consoles promising backward compatibility, it’s unclear which classic games will be deemed fit for the remake treatment. Even now, though, one of the most highly anticipated releases of next year is theFinal Fantasy 7remake, so it doesn’t seem that the steady churn of remade titles has any intention of slowing down.
It’ll be interesting to see if big-budget remakes become a mainstay in the games industry or if they come and go, like so many other fads before them. One thing is for sure, if the quality and quantity of remakes remain the same for the next few years, fans may be spending as much time reliving old worlds as they do new ones.
