Plenty of video games are getting the remaster treatment these days, with some more deserving than others. Our team breaks down their top picks!
Remasters for games isn’t a new trend in the industry, but over the past few years we’ve seen a number of more modern titles go this route. Is it a great way to keep titles/franchises relevant for more audiences (e.g. the recently revealed Legacy of Kain remasters), or are they simply cash grabs? The impending release of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered got the team here at Cinelinx talking about exactly this. And the answer really depends on the game.
As such, we began thinking about the games that truly deserve some remaster love, since studios are going all in on them at the moment.
JordanÂ
Mark of Kri – I’ve been banging the drum about Mark of Kri getting a remaster (or even port) since the days of the PS3. The PS2 era action game combined a unique art style, with real-world cultural mythos into an incredible experience. I’ve long wanted to re-experience the game, but despite being very well received it seems to have been forgotten.
The Simpsons: Hit and Run – Sometimes, all I need out of a remaster is a chance to play a classic game once again. That’s really all we need with Simpsons: Hit and Run. It’s such a fun title and with just a few quality of life tweaks (similar to the recent Beyond Good and Evil remaster), would give newer generations a chance to experience the awesomeness.
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy – Similar to Mark of Kri, Psi-Ops is one of those games that seems stuck in the generation that spawned it. Released during the PS2/Xbox era, the action/espionage game was just a ridiculous amount of fun, with a physics gameplay mechanic I still wish modern Star Wars games would borrow from. It would, undoubtedly, need quite a bit of polish, but a remaster could really help this hidden gem find a new audience.
Any of The Matrix Games – Seriously, why is it damn near impossible to play any of The Matrix games (Enter the Matrix, The Matrix: Path of Neo) these days? Even PC ports are broken and largely unplayable. While they had their flaws, they added some interesting elements to the overall Matrix story and felt fun to play. With another Matrix film being developed, and on the heels of the first film’s 25th anniversary, a remaster of these seems far overdue.
Dune 2000 – Dune: Spice Wars is an incredible game and I’m thrilled the revitalization of the franchise has given us such a great game. That said, it’s almost criminal that there’s no way to really play the classic Dune games (which served as the progenitors of the RTS franchise we know and love today). Give us a Dune 2000 remaster in the same style as EA’s impressive Command & Conquer Remaster and I’ll die a happy gamer.
Becky
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – It is mind boggling to me that there has not been a proper remaster of either Star Wars: The Force Unleashed games for current gen consoles. Yes, there was a port for the Nintendo Switch, but that’s not really the same thing. Even though the events of the game are no longer canon, most would agree that the original Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is one of the greatest Star Wars games ever made and if any game deserves a PS5 remaster, it’s that one.
Tak and the Power of Juju – This one might be a bit out there but I feel the world would benefit from a modern remaster of Tak and the Power of Juju (or the entire trilogy if I’m honest). The game was originally released in 2003 for GameCube, PS2, and Game Boy Advance and has never been available in any other generation. This is a shame because this game and the entire Tak series is a cute story with a lot of fun levels that I think modern gamers would have fun rediscovering if it were remastered a la the Spyro games.
Devil May Cry 4 – The PS3/Xbox360 generation spawned a number of fantastic games, and Devil May Cry 4 is certainly one of them. As publishers look more into remastering games from this generation, they should certainly consider remastering Devil May Cry 4 for the current generation. Another reason is this is the game that spawned Devil May Cry 5 and it would be great to see what the precursor to that amazing game would look like with PS5 graphics.
S0LEB
Max Payne – Remedy and Rockstar have always made some of the most epic action-adventure Titles on the market. Max Payne not only introduced a fascinating dramatic and cinematic story, but also introduced the amazing bullet time gameplay mechanics. This gameplay mechanic, once used, would slow time down as you jumped your way into action taking out enemies in slow motion.
This would be such a great, visually stunning game. Remedy showcased their graphical capabilities with their latest title Alan Wake II, and I can only hope that the studio plans on resurrecting Max Payne somehow or way in the future.
God of War (OG) – After the massive success of the relaunched/continuation of the God Of War Saga, it’s time to revisit the world that Kratos destroyed. A God of War beginnings remake would be amazing. Just think if Sony Santa Monica worked with bluepoint games to release God of war 1, 2, and the PlayStation Vita games as one remastered bundle.
Releasing the game as like a beginning of the end remake bundle would be such an amazing package for fans of the series and an easier way to showcase the devastation and journey that kratos took part in. Honestly, just saying that, now gets me excited to see some of the fantastic battles, locations, and story scenes play out with the power of the PlayStation 5.
Medal Of Honor: Frontline – Over the last fifteen years, we’ve seen EA continue to try and compete with the Call of Duty series. Not only have we seen battlefield slowly become less popular, then call of duty, but we also saw EA’s flagship first person shooter medal of honor fade away into obscurity. One of the best games in the series was Medal of Honor: Frontline, mainly due to the heroic storyline of Lt. Jimmy Patterson.
I believe the game’s success can also be accredited to the involvement of Steven Spielberg in the project. To think of the majesty, graphical presentation, an amazing visual esthetics. That would be this game on current generation platforms. Boggles my mind and excites me for the possibilities of this game. Ea if you’re reading this, please make this remake happen.
Jeremy AKA Toaster
Star Wars: Dark Forces – This one is kind of cheating, since it did get a remaster earlier this year, but let’s be honest here, Kyle Katarn deserves more than just a reskin of 1995 era graphics. This game deserves a ground up remake, akin to the modern Doom games. The game’s rich environments, and absolute nail biter of a story line would fit in perfectly with today’s edge of your seat first person shooters.
Tenchu Stealth Assassins – Tehchu crawled so Assassin’s Creed could fly. Any fan of Assassin’s Creed, Ghost of Tsushima, or Sekiro should agree, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tenchu is on the list of every member of those development teams’ list of favorites. Tenchu’s focus on stealth, and forcing players to really look at the surroundings, made this a challenging tension filled play experience, and I loved every minute of it.
The Heretic Trilogy – Heretic was a dark fantasy Doom clone that was one of the first games in the first person shooter genre that gave players the ability to manipulate their inventory, and allowed them to look up and down. The Heretic games would fit right in with THQ Nordic’s Darksider Series and we all remember that Phil Spencer closed out 2023’s Xbox Games Showcase rocking a Hexen t-shirt..so maybe this one’s not far off.
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords – I admit I hated this game initially, especially after the events of KOTOR, I finished the first game in this series so light side that my character portrait looked like I was the jedi pope, only to have The Sith Lords come along and Empire Strikes Back my happy KOTOR ending, but after playing through a second, and third time, I began to realize, that this was a nuanced look at the failings of the Jedi, and really how insidious the dark side can truly be, and also a lot of the shortcomings that bothered me about the game were due to the rushed production schedule that didn’t allow the dev team to fully flesh out the story. My hope is that Saber Interactive’s KOTOR remake is a smashing success, and that success has them take a look at remaking the sequel. After all, Star Wars has always been about redemption, and Sith Lords is sorely in need of some.
KatyÂ
Legend of Dragoon – On the heels of the Lunar Collection announcement at Sony’s State of Play, I’d be remiss not to add another PlayStation classic JRPG to the list. It’s on my most-played list from the era and beyond, and I’ve been secretly hoping to see Dart and the gang get the remaster they deserve.
Vagrant Story – The way that JRPGs have had a hold on my heart since I was a kid is showing up again in this short list. PlayStation had some real gems that deserve a second life and Vagrant Story is among them. The game was mostly developed by the Square team behind Final Fantasy Tactics and was available to buy through PSN back on the PS3. I’d even settle for a new shop release, but a remake with some gameplay adjustments would be amazing.
Um Jammer Lammy – While we got a remaster of PaRappa The Rapper in 2017, Um Jammer Lammy was my, ahem, jam. I loved these rhythm games with a fierce passion and would love to see Lammy get the love she deserves in a remaster of her own.
