Aaaaah what a beautiful year for gaming 2023 is turning out to be, even more so for nostalgic gamers such as myself. As I mentioned in an article where I talk about old games being better (sometimes) – if you didn’t read that one, it’s pretty neat maybe you’ll like it… just saying – I love re-playing games or even playing some games I might’ve missed back in the day, and I’m able to play them thanks to the magical (and sort of illegal in some cases) world of emulation. But every once in a while, we are gifted with a remake of an awesome game that came out in the early 2000s and now we can enjoy it in all of its next gen console glory.

A few years back I was itching to play Shadow of the Colossus on the original PS2 that a friend of mine found buried in a closet at his house. Because you know, that’s where all retro consoles end up eventually. I had always heard the huge praise and appreciation some people have for this game and was really excited to get into it, but had some holdbacks when I first grabbed the controller and struggled a bit with the outdated controls. And look, nothing against the original game, for it’s time it actually controls beautifully and the camera and movement control problems it does have, are just a result of the era the game was created.

So as I started this journey, I was very happily surprised when my older sister and this friend gifted me the PS4 remake of Shadow of the Colossus, which in my opinion, is a beautifully done remaster of a game, that while not extremely necessary to exist, it gave the game a rebirth and made it possible for a whole lot more people to experience this beautiful game.

The team behind the remaster did an amazing job adapting the game to the current generation of consoles – more specifically the PS4 because well, it’s still a PlayStation exclusive title. And thanks to this remaster, I was able to enjoy more than 200 hours of fun just replaying and speedrunning the hell out of the game, without having any of the hardware complications or janky controls that the PS2 offered.

And then here we are, the year is 2023 and remastering and remaking games is basically given with any new title that comes out. Last year God of War Ragnarok released and you can bet your sweet bippy it will have a “Game of the Year” re-release either this year or the next. And it will cost you even more money than the first time around, because now Kratos can wear a chicken costume or something.

Re-releasing games and charging the full cost of the game just because it has a few “extras” is basically done by every big studio in the industry, but there are a few that overdo it maaaaaybe just a bit more than they should.

Yes. I am looking at you bethesda. Releasing Skyrim like 10+ times (I wished that was a joke) since its original release in November of 2011. Since then, Skyrim has been ported and adapted for any and all consoles to have ever existed. I’m sure if you look hard enough you WILL find a version of Skyrim for the Nintendo 64 made by someone. Hell, even Bethesda acknowledged how dumb it was by fake announcing the Skyrim Very Special Edition for Amazon Alexa and Smart Fridges.

After doing the quick math – which honestly, no one should do for this kind of dumb thing – Skyrim has seen 5 versions altogether of its game. I’m not going to put the complete names because that would just be mean to you as a reader and let’s be honest, I’m not Wikipedia. But Skyrim has had the following versions released: the original Skyrim (of course), the Special Edition, Skyrim VR, Skyrim Anniversary Edition and Skyrim Legendary Edition. You know, also without counting the Nintendo Switch Special Edition or any of the Elder Scrolls V Online versions or expansions.

All this to say: maybe we’ve had enough Skyrim. 

But do we have enough remakes of other games?

CAN WE GET MORE ORIGINALS? …PLEASE?

So far in 2023 we’ve already seen the release of a couple of remakes: Metroid Prime, Dead Space and more recently Resident Evil 4. And honestly these are awesome remakes to have. The outdated controls of the GameCube for both Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4 make them perfect for a remake. And also you know, it doesn’t hurt that they are great games. But Dead Space was an Xbox 360 release. Did we really need a remake so soon?

And those are only 3 games, this year will have around 12 big game titles re-released for next gen consoles. A part of me wants to be excited because more retro titles are going to be brought back to life with new graphics and improved controls, or polished gameplay loops. Still I can’t help but think, are all of those remakes worth the $60+ bucks they’re charging or are these big corporations just selling nostalgia juice? God knows that the port of Halo Combat Evolved in the Anniversary Edition was not worth the full price.

Leaving aside the discussion of “are remakes good or bad” I want to get to another topic. Yeah remakes are cool and all, and some of these remakes are allowing the creators of the game to explore new aspects of their old games, maybe doing things they couldn’t do before thanks to hardware limitations. We can see some of this happening with the Final Fantasy VII Remake being modernized into the current more “real-time” combat that new Final Fantasy games have. And also getting the good ol’ Part 1 and Part 2 treatment.

But is this actually a good thing? Maybe Square Enix could have just done a new Final Fantasy game in the same setting and use this new battle system. I’m starting to get a tiny bit scared of the gaming industry and the kind of games being created. It feels like every other game that comes out is just blending in with the background of similarity with other games.

And look don’t get me wrong, the indie scene has seen the release of some amazing and original games, but let’s be honest, it’s the big studio titles that are overflowing the market nowadays. Or at least the more mainstream market. Remakes of games, “Game of the Year” re-releases, PC ports, “Complete” or “Definitive” editions; like, come on guys, that’s way too much.

Not only are games being re-released and resold like old Chuck E Cheese’s pizza, they’re starting to get kinda stale… Just like old Chuck E Cheese pizza. Every first person shooter title that has been announced in the past year or so falls under 4 possible categories: Overwatch, Battle Royale, Destiny and Doom. You know? It’s either a team based shooter with every hero having special abilities, or it’s a battle royale with some quirky thing added, or it’s just a shoot-em-up mayhem with fast paced gameplay. Or you could also get the bingo and get a combination of some of those aspects with an open world fast paced team based shooter. But it’s starting to all feel the same, and let me tell you, the remakes aren’t helping much either.

Should we be asking for more? Are we supposed to be more demanding as consumers or should we just accept the same reskinned games and be happy? We know that it’s still possible to create amazing new games, there’s a bunch of them like Elden Ring, God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn to name a few of the most recent titles. And even though those are built upon known formulas and games, they still feel fresh and new. 

So should we be rioting in response to game studios just creating reskins of Fornite to cash in that sweet battle pass money? Yes. I AM looking at you Kill the Justice League.

For me the gaming industry has become a bit “hostile” in a weird way. You are either asked to enjoy a free game and pay a battle pass to have full access to the “fun” part of the game, or you’re charged $60+ for an unfinished game, where at some point or other you might be offered a microtransaction for more levels or extra missions. 

And my quarry with that is not the rising prices of video games, I yearn for the time when buying a game meant actually getting ALL of the game. Not just portions that then you can complete with small DLCs.

Still, sometimes it’s scary deciding what to play next. Should I spend $50 bucks on this new game that is on sale and I’ll have to give 80+ hours of my life to feel like it was with it? Or should I just spend that money on the remake of a game I already know and like? 

I might not be able to give you the answer, but at least you can always pick up a copy of Skyrim for like $20 bucks, or hell, you can even go play Fortnite on your phone. Apparently that game can also run on anything, so as long as you don’t mind playing with screaming 12 year olds, you can always play that for free. 

Just stay safe out there people, there are a lot of microtransactions hiding not so fun games at every corner.