Should Old Games Be Remade or Left Alone?

Remakes and remasters remain one of the more controversial topics in gaming. Reimagined classics can be a fantastic way to revitalize old games in theory, but a good chunk of them have been poorly received by fans new and old. This begs the question: should developers even bother remaking old games?

Game Remakes Bring Old Games to New Generations

One of the strongest arguments in favor of remaking old games is that they introduce old classics to younger generations of gamers. Thanks to modern technological advancements, the latest games have impressive audio and photorealistic graphics. Gameplay experiences have been refined to give players more fun and remove frustration (especially with controls). Old games can have pixelated textures, low poly models, and poor performance owing to underpowered systems.

As somebody who grew up in the early 2000s and experienced hundreds of classics, I’m shocked to see that my younger siblings and cousins have never played masterpieces like Super Mario Bros. or personal favorites like Need for Speed: Underground 2.

Then again, most old games look outdated by modern standards. I find it hard to play even older Need for Speed games because of the poor physics and bad graphics, despite the strong nostalgia I feel for them. I’d rather play Forza Horizon 5 modify my cars to look like those old-school NFS models. Many gamers have been begging EA to remake these Need for Speed classics for years, but to no avail.

All that being said, there are a few redeeming qualities besides nostalgia that make old games worth playing. The general gameplay concept, stories, environments, characters, and other elements that make up the core of a game are the reason video game remakes exist.

Take one look at the original Mafia game and compare it to its remake, Mafia: Definitive Edition, and you’ll see what I mean. I played both the original and the remaster, and I’m happy to say that the remaster is everything I hoped it would be. Same great story, world, and characters, but in a new visually stunning package. It enhances the whole experience while preserving the essence that made the original so great.

Of course, Mafia isn’t the only good remaster. Other examples include the recent Resident Evil remakes (Resident Evil 4 even added VR support), the Final Fantasy VII remake project, Black Mesa (a third-party remake of Half-Life), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, and The Last of Us Part I and II. Video game reboots, like the 2016 Doom, deserve a shout-out, but reboots have few things in common with the originals.

Some Old Games Age Like Fine Wine

But not every old game needs a remake. As long as you can launch the game on a modern console or PC, and the controls are reasonably intuitive and work with a modern controller (or keyboard and mouse), it’s good enough.

A few examples of such games include bonafide classics like Starcraft II, Portal and Portal II, Deus Ex, and the original Doom. Video game purists love these types of originals, as they believe the jankiness and idiosyncracies add to a game’s charm.

Some games see light remasters that slightly improve the game all-around, by adding upscaled textures and widescreen support. Everything else is left untouched. A few good examples are the Devil May Cry: HD Collection, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.

Todd Howard, the CEO of Bethesda, said in an interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays that Bethesda doesn’t plan to remake the first three Fallout games. This is interesting because the Fallout franchise shifted to the first-person, starting with Fallout 3, while the older games feature a top-down perspective and turn-based combat.

As long as a game is still playable, it doesn’t necessarily need to be remade. I’d personally love to see some Fallout remasters, but this has more to do with my appetite for Fallout games than issues I have with the originals.

When Remakes Go Wrong

Bad remakes are the main reasons why so many gamers are so skeptical of them. They run the risk of spoiling childhood favorites and permanently tarnishing a game publisher’s reputation. Moreover, these bad remakes still take money and resources to develop. This means gamers have to wait longer for a new game in a franchise while the developers waste even more time fixing the remaster nobody requested.

Some examples of bad remakes and reboots include Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, Alone in the Dark (2008), and Halo: The Master Chief Collection (at launch).

One of the worst trends in gaming is when publishers create a horrible remake or remaster while simultaneously making the old games inaccessible. This is what happened with the disastrous Warcraft 3: Reforged and the GTA Trilogy. It’s an obvious cash-grab scheme that only benefits the publishers in the short term. Additionally, remasters and remakes break mod compatibility.

A less egregious reason a remake can go wrong is when it changes the original game too much. It can destroy what made the original so charming. Instead of being a faithful recreation of a classic game, publishers release something unrecognizable.

This seems to be happening with the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. The Final Fantasy VII Remake changed major parts of the story, but the changes were well-received and managed to give those who played the original an unexpected surprise.

Making Old Games Accessible is Key

So many old games are stuck in limbo. They can’t be played on modern hardware, but finding an original copy and hardware is also difficult. Nintendo games are especially bad in this regard; the list of retro games that the Switch supports is very short, so you’re better off emulating them on a PC, Android phone, or iPhone.

When Adobe Flash was discontinued, it took thousands of my favorite childhood Flash games down with it. Fortunately, there’s a workaround called Flashpoint to continue playing them.

Sometimes, games get discontinued just because the publishers can’t justify paying for servers anymore. I’m still angry about The Crew shutting down. There’s also a niche game called Dead Island: Epidemic that I used to play in high school, and I want it back.

Video game preservation is incredibly important. I wish that developers and publishers kept all of their games playable. They could continue selling the game and making money from it. If a publisher decides to remaster a game, it should be done right, like the amazing Age of Empires remasters.

If something is stopping a publisher from supporting a game, open-sourcing the game (or at least the engine) is one path forward. Most games have a few hardcore fans willing to continue working and supporting the game independently.

I’ll leave you with a Todd Howard quote from the interview I referenced earlier: “A main priority for us is to make sure they’re available, and you can still play them on the PC, and making sure that they run OK. As far as beyond that, we’ve talked about it, but our priorities in terms of ‘Hey, let’s go do dev work and make certain things work,’ they haven’t been in those areas, so again, priority is ‘can people load it up and play it?'”

While I love and play remakes of my favorite games and games I have never played before, I also value video game preservation. A remake should never mean the death of the original game; instead, it should simply provide an upgraded version of the original experience for those who seek it.