Have you ever longed to play your favorite childhood games and wished they had the visual quality and technical advancements of recent titles? What if you could experience those games in a new light with enhanced graphics, smoother performance, and more immersive audio assets? That’s precisely where game remasters come in!
The gaming industry keeps reinventing itself, with new technologies and platforms emerging like supernovas and going popular every now and then. Even so, millions of gamers worldwide opt to play older titles, which might struggle to keep up – outdated graphics, clunky controls, technical limitations of a bygone era, and compatibility issues are some of the common issues faced by these players.
Fortunately, these challenges have a solution: game remasters! In this article, we’ll delve deeper into their world, exploring what is a game remaster, why publishers opt to go for it, and showcase some of the best game remasters of all time.
What is a game remaster?
In game development, a “game remaster” refers to the process of enhancing a game’s assets – like the models, sound effects, and particles – to bring them up to current standards while keeping the core gameplay experience intact.
To better understand the concept of a game remaster, let’s imagine your favorite childhood movie that you still hold dearly. As the years go by, technology progresses, and directors have access to better equipment (like cameras, software, sound equipment, and so on).
Then, let’s say a film studio might choose to remaster it. Through the masterful application of modern techniques, the image and audio quality can go up dramatically, revitalizing it while still maintaining the charm that made it special in the first place. And who knows? They might even add some special content in the remastered version.
Similarly, a game remaster takes an old game and upgrades its assets – and even its gameplay mechanics if necessary – to make extensive use of modern hardware capability. It’s like giving it a fresh coat of paint to make it shine anew!
Why remaster a game?
There are four main reasons why a publisher would choose to remaster a game:
- Improved accessibility and compatibility: when new console generations are released, they don’t always support games launched for older consoles. In these cases, remastering a game will ensure its compatibility with newer platforms and hardware, making them more accessible. Furthermore, remasters are a neat way to implement optimizations to make the gameplay smoother;
- Reintroducing cult classics and reaching new audiences: by breathing new life into universally-acclaimed titles, developers can extend a game’s longevity and introduce it to more people – especially those who missed its original release and those who are drawn to modern graphics;
- Visual, audio, and technical enhancements: as mentioned earlier in this article, remastering a game provides an opportunity to make use of the latest technology in software and hardware to make the make look and feel much better;
- It might help businesses: remastering a game instead of creating a brand new one might be the best strategic move for some companies. By leveraging existing intellectual property (IP), game publishers can tap into the fans’ nostalgia, which is widespread in many gaming communities, to drive sales and increase the brand’s awareness.
In other words, to remaster a game is to create a bridge between the past and the present, combining recent technical advancements with nostalgia to recreate a cherished experience.
Remastering vs remaking a game: what’s the difference?
Even though both concepts share a key trait – revisiting and updating games that already exist – they are distinct mainly in scope.
In a remaster, developers focus on making technical and visual improvements, like optimizing the game’s code, adding compatibility with newer platforms, and making modernized game assets, while staying faithful to the original design.
On the other hand, remakes often go further – bundled with significant changes to gameplay mechanics, graphics, and even story elements, and aimed to deliver a fresh experience while maintaining the original game’s essence.
They might also differ in their development approach: performing a game remaster often requires less development time and resources than remaking one, as they might involve rebuilding the game from the ground up or changing its foundations significantly.
Examples of successful game remasters
Let’s take a look at some of the best game remasters of all time!
1. The Last of Us Remastered
Developed by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us was an overwhelming success for the PlayStation 3, receiving a variety of accolades for its narrative and immersive gameplay. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, this action-adventure game tells the captivating journey of Joel and Ellie as they explore the world in ruins and interact with desperate survivors.
In 2014, the game’s development studio released a remastered version of The Last of Us for the PlayStation 4, which contains mainly visual and optimization improvements, like the ability to run the game at 60 FPS for smooth gameplay and the Photo Mode.
2. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
A banger by Vicarious Visions, this iteration of the Crash Bandicoot franchise brings back the first three games in its series, originally developed by Naughty Dog and released exclusively for the PlayStation in the 1990s.
In this remaster, the graphics received a gorgeous upgrade, and the gameplay mechanics got improved, breathing new life into this universally-acclaimed platforming franchise, and reminding players of what made Crash Bandicoot a beloved series in the first place.
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition (Skyrim AE)
Released in late 2021, Skyrim AE is a remaster for the fifth installment of The Elder Scrolls series. This Skyrim release enhances the base game’s visual fidelity and performance even further, offering smoother and more immersive gameplay.
It contains everything Skyrim Special Edition (which itself was a remaster) offers while also expanding on the base game with 74 mods created by the community, adding over 500 new elements to the game – like new armor sets, quests, and locations.
4. BioShock: The Collection
Following Vicarius Visions’ footsteps, 2K Games brought the original BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite (and their DLCs) together in a single, remastered package. It comes with enhanced visuals, more realistic textures, higher resolution, and improved lighting effects, creating an immersive experience altogether.
In addition, BioShock: The Collection also makes the gameplay smoother through its improved gameplay mechanics, optimized performance, and refined controls, allowing older fans and new players alike to relive BioShock’s thought-provoking themes and captivating narratives.
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Developed by Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda stands as one of the most renowned series of all time. Fun fact: it had its fair share of remasters, but The Wind Waker is widely considered one of the best of all time. The game’s cartoonish art style and improved controls really take the game to the next level. Unfortunately, the game is only available on the Wii U, which is over 10 years old as of this post.
6. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
One of the most acclaimed series for the PlayStation, Uncharted is an adventure shooter game that stands as a force to be reckoned with. Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is a remaster that bundles the first three games into a single, streamlined experience with better graphics and performance, which allows for 60 FPS gameplay.
Unlocking the Power of Game Remasters: Navigating the Distinctions Between Remakes and Remasters in the World of Video Games
In the realm of video games, the term “game remaster” refers to the process of enhancing and updating an older game, often a classic, to meet modern standards in terms of visuals, performance, and sometimes additional content. Unlike a complete overhaul seen in a game remake, a remaster focuses on improving the original game’s visual effects, frame rate, and overall performance without altering its core story elements. The distinction between remakes and remasters is crucial, as exemplified by titles like “Final Fantasy VII Remake” and “Shadow of the Colossus”.
While a remake involves a substantial reimagining of the game, a remaster aims to preserve the essence of the original while elevating it to new heights. Games like “Halo 2 Anniversary” showcase how remasters bring familiar classics to newer consoles, allowing players to enjoy their favorite titles with updated visuals on the platform of their choice.
Whether it’s a definitive edition, deluxe edition, or an HD remaster, the goal is to make the game more accessible and enjoyable across multiple platforms, bringing real value to both seasoned players and those new to the source material. Understanding the key differences between remakes and remasters is essential for gamers seeking to experience the best versions of their favorite titles across different gaming eras.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a game remaster is the process through which the development team further enhances an older title to re-release it at a later date. It aims to breathe new life into beloved titles and provide an opportunity for players to either revisit or experience them for the first time.
As the gaming industry grows older and hardware technology continues to evolve, we can expect numerous exhilarating remasters to come. So, whether you’re a game developer looking to remaster an old title of yours or you have a mind-boggling idea for a game, Main Leaf is here to help you out!
If you ever need a helping hand with all things game development, our passionate roster comprising over 70 professionals will be at arm’s reach. We specialize in creating fully-featured games from the ground up with Unity and Unreal Engine, but you may outsource parts of your game development/design process to us!
Let us help bring your game vision to life by contacting us below!
