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Summary
Remakes and remasters remain one of the more controversial topics in gaming.
This begs the question: should developers even bother remaking old games?
Thanks to modern technological advancements, the latest games have impressive audio and photorealistic graphics.
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
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.
Then again, most old games look outdated by modern standards.
Tim Brookes / How-To Geek
I’d rather playForza Horizon 5modify my cars to look like those old-schoolNFSmodels.
Many gamers have been begging EA to remake theseNeed for Speedclassics for years, but to no avail.
All that being said, there are a few redeeming qualities besides nostalgia that make old games worth playing.
Marcus Mears III / How-To Geek
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,Mafiaisn’t the only good remaster.
Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek
Some Old Games Age Like Fine Wine
But not every old game needs a remake.
Some games see light remasters that slightly improve the game all-around, by adding upscaled textures and widescreen support.
Everything else is left untouched.
As long as a game is still playable, it doesn’t necessarily need to be remade.
They execute 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 is what happened with the disastrousWarcraft 3: Reforgedand theGTA Trilogy.
It’s an obvious cash-grab scheme that only benefits the publishers in the short term.
Additionally, remasters andremakes 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 upcomingSilent Hill 2remake.
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.
When Adobe Flash was discontinued, it took thousands of my favorite childhood Flash games down with it.
Fortunately, there’s aworkaround called Flashpointto continue playing them.
Sometimes, games get discontinued just because the publishers can’t justify paying for servers anymore.
I’m still angry aboutThe Crewshutting down.
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.
Most games have a few hardcore fans willing to continue working and supporting the game independently.
