Cinelinx Discusses | The Remake/Remaster Conundrum

We asked the team what they thought of the influx of remakes and remasters hitting the market. We also asked what remakes they are looking forward to seeing. Check it out, then let us know what you’re looking forward to seeing, or not seeing.

Two part opinion piece

First Part – What is your overall opinion on the direction of developers returning to remakes and remasters on classic titles? 

Second Part – What remake/remaster are you looking forward to and/or what game do you wish would have this treatment? 

Ryan Z

I think it’s largely just a lazy cash grab in all honesty. This particularly applies to remasters, in which basically all the groundwork has already been laid, but even remakes can often ring hollow to me. It’s not exactly ‘creatively bankrupt’, per se, but I just feel like the decision to retread common ground instead of coming up with new stuff is always coming down to the studio execs and not the devs and designers on the ground floor. Let them cook!

Games I’d Like To See 

What I’d love to see, but obviously will never happen for profit-generation purposes, is to see games that didn’t sell very well or were considered flops get new leases on life with re-imaginings. Like what if we got a brand new, open-world story-based take on Concord in ten years?! Failing that though, I’d just take a new and improved Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing.

Dustin 

The demand for remakes presents a complex dilemma, essentially an artificial issue rooted in console manufacturers’ decades-long strategy of compelling consumers to purchase new hardware. This focus on new hardware often leads to incompatibility with older games, which in turn fuels nostalgia as these titles become increasingly inaccessible. As original hardware fails or becomes prohibitively expensive, the necessity for remakes arises, driven by the desire to play these now-rare, beloved games.

However, remakes aren’t entirely negative. For studios, they represent an accessible method to secure funding for new endeavors and signal strong market demand, which can help greenlight a franchise’s continuation. Full-scale remakes, such as Dead Space or Final Fantasy 7, aren’t the only option; studios can also leverage existing assets for simple generational updates. These updates might include upscaled graphics, improved gameplay mechanics, or new skins, a strategy that has proven highly successful for franchises like Tomb Raider.

The practice of “HD Remakes,” which was prevalent during the PS3 era, set a precedent for generating revenue by re-releasing old games simply to fit modern screens, often without significant additions to content or gameplay. This approach offers a low-risk, safe path for studios, providing a reliable revenue stream without relying on season passes or DLC. By gauging audience attachment to an existing IP, a studio can determine the viability of a new project before fully greenlighting it. Furthermore, remakes allow studios to experiment with new technologies, such as Unreal Engine 5, without the major budget risks associated with a completely new IP.

However, the rise of streaming is making this strategy less viable, pushing studios to genuinely innovate when revisiting older titles. This shift is why I generally support modern remakes. When a studio delves into its IP trove, the result is often a completely reimagined experience, allowing me to explore an expanded world with beloved characters. Final Fantasy VII Remake exemplifies this perfectly, transforming the entire experience and bringing the original world to life in ways only previously imagined.

To me, remakes are not merely revisiting old ground; they are new adventures featuring beloved characters, and I see no issue with this approach.

This perspective appears to be shared by many gamers. A survey reported by Gameindustry.biz indicated that over 90 percent of all console and PC players last year played a remake or remastered title. While major franchises like Metal Gear and Elder Scrolls releasing remastered games might slightly skew this figure, a more interesting finding is that 85 percent of those polled were actually playing the game for the very first time.

This highlights another key reason why I believe remakes are a positive force. Although we loved these games for a reason, simply re-releasing them without updates might fail to connect with a new generation, much like your mom trying to share the “oldies” on her radio. (What’s a radio?) By revamping and reintroducing these titles, we not only greenlight new adventures but also introduce a broad variety of new gamers to the franchise. The gaming landscape has expanded significantly in the past ten years, and most of these remakes are based on titles that are twenty or more years old. If these surveys are anything to go by, putting time and effort to re-introduce these franchises is very welcomed by fans.

Conversely, the value of remakes and remasters is often severely diminished by publisher greed. They frequently view these projects as easy cash grabs, allocating minimal budgets or simply hiring studios to revamp assets without putting genuine effort into revitalizing the story. This practice not only damages the specific franchise but also makes consumers wary of future remakes. It’s unfair, for instance, to compare the quality and scope of Final Fantasy 7 Remake to something like The Battlefront Collection, which inexplicably tripled its file size yet still launched with randomly missing content, and key moments that fans loved. 

This issue of greed extends beyond mere production quality. Publishers prefer safe bets and primarily use remakes not to fund new IPs, but simply for guaranteed profit. Why invest money in a new IP—one that could potentially become a future classic—when the safer option is to re-release an older title for the third time? This strategy is prevalent in the movie industry, leading to public frustration over the lack of original content. Unfortunately, with an influx of Hollywood investors, the gaming industry is increasingly adopting this same conservative, profit-driven approach.

So overall what is my opinion on remakes? Well it comes down to the effort put into making them. I’m not a fan of cash grabs, if I want to play the same clunky mess that gives me a feeling of being in high school again, I’ve got ways to do that. If it’s reimagining a world I loved and bringing my favorite characters to life again in new ways, absolutely I’ll play it any day of the week. If we can find a balance of old adventures funding new adventures, it’s a happy world we live in. 

Remakes I’m looking forward to

Confirmed games

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly 

I absolutely adore the Fatal Frame series and have been enjoying their subtle remakes as of late. The games follow the tier 2 mindset of just revamping visuals and updating the gameplay mechanics enough to meet modern audiences. It comes out in just over a month and I can’t wait to play it. 

Halo: Combat Evolved 

I’m interested to see where they go with this game. It appears to be following tier 1 style games of being totally revamped for new audiences, considering the original game is basically a vintage title at this point. The thing that scares me is they left out the one thing everyone loved about the game, the PvP. However, finally seeing Halo on PlayStation is a pure example of introducing old games to new audiences. 

Games Not Announced 

Metal Gear Solid 4 

There are rumors that MGS4 will be included in a not (yet) announced volume 2 of the MGS collection. This would classify it as a remaster, not a remake, but I’d be happy still. The first volume includes the first 3 games and some spin off titles, and volume 2 either needs to dive into the handheld games or include MGS4 to be more complete. If MGS4 is included, I think the game would sell in record numbers as it’s been locked in the PS3 prison for some time now with no way to play it without a working PS3. Even PC emulation has struggled to get the game to run properly. 

Fallout: New Vegas 

Similar to MGS4 there has just been rumors galore about this game being remade by Obsidian, but now things have been strengthened thanks to the success of the TV show. It would be entirely stupid for Microsoft to not see the connection and capitalize on this. A simple remaster would bring in so many bottle caps! 

Notable mention, Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis. Anything Tomb Raider I’m immediately excited for, and I’ve replayed the releases multiple times already, so doing a full scale remake is right up my street. 

Also, Bloodborne anyone?