There are so many classic games from the past that have become difficult for new players to experience. The farther away in time we get from these games’ releases, the more difficult it can get to not only get the game itself but also the extra hardware needed to play them. That alone is a major barrier that turns people away from playing games many consider to be some of the greatest of all time. And that’s not even taking into account dated graphics, controls, and mechanics.
Remakes offer a new generation a chance to experience some of the most influential games of the past, as well as give fans of the originals a brand new way to play them all over again. The best remakes take what made a game so great before and modernize it for the current audience without losing that magical spark. It isn’t an easy process, but here are the games that managed to pull it off.
As a small side note, we will only be including one game from each series rather than have, for example, three Resident Evil titles crowd the list.
Remake vs. remaster
Before getting to the good stuff, we thought it would be worth it to quickly clarify what the difference is between a remake and a remaster so you don’t get mad that your favorite game isn’t on this list. A remake is a game that is built either completely or nearly entirely so from the ground up based on the original game. At a minimum, the graphics and game engine need to be completely different from the original to qualify. The best remakes take it a step further and either change up how the game plays in some way, adds new content or features, or a combination of the two.
Remasters are more like ports. If the game is unchanged except for higher resolution — not to be confused with new graphics, better frame rates, or other technical boosts — but is in every other way identical, it is a remaster. Think of collections like the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection or The Nathan Drake Collection. These are the exact same games, only given a little bump by being put on new hardware. These are still great and do a lot for keeping older titles relevant and accessible, but they are not considered remakes.
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