The early days of the PS4 and Xbox One felt like a never-ending cycle of anything and everything being ported, remade, or Remastered from the PS3 and Xbox 360 to the new consoles. Remastering old games for a new generation isn’t a new concept; in fact, it’s been happening since as early as the 1970’s when Midway improved graphics and animation on the arcade game Western Gun or Space Invaders on the Atari 2600, which was originally an arcade game that was later converted to the console in 1980.
With the success of recent remakes such as Resident Evil 2 and Crash Team Racing or recent ports like the original DOOM trilogy coming to new platforms, shows there is still a demand for older games to be brought forward. With a new generation expected to launch in Fall 2020, here are 10 more games that desperately need to be Remastered, remade, or ported to the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch!
10 The ‘Dead Space’ Trilogy
Survival-horror games have had quite a resurgence over the past couple of years with Resident Evil 7, The Evil Within 2, the beloved Silent Hills demo P.T., and many more. Now would be the perfect time to bring back a series like Dead Space, particularly after the success of the Resident Evil 2 remake. The trilogy has already been made, all it would need is a Bioshock: Collection style update with better graphics, improved performance, and a couple of fun bonuses. If that sold well enough, that could even mean a potential sequel for EA with confidence it would succeed, granted they move away from the co-operative action focus of Dead Space 3.
9 Left 4 Dead
Turtle Rock Studios is currently hard at work on their next game, Back 4 Blood, a spiritual successor to the Left 4 Dead series featuring cooperative missions and versus modes. While that means it’s less likely that Left 4 Dead will make a comeback, a Remastered release of the original game could also be a smart way to promote the new one. Few games have been able to capture the magic of Left 4 Dead, with follows ups like Evolve having its dedicated servers shut down. In the age of Twitch streaming and the demand for couch co-op games, the market is perfect for the return of Left 4 Dead.
8 Portal 2
Portal 2 is widely considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time, currently sitting at a 95 on Metacritic, and as the highest-rated game on Steam. So, if a sequel isn't going to be made then it would be a great idea to bring this masterpiece forward to the current generation for those that missed out. A fun puzzle-game praised for its writing, humor, and gameplay? Yes, please.
7 Parasite Eve
Reviving classics from the PlayStation One generation has been very successful recently as Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Resident Evil 2 and the upcoming MediEvil have all been remade for current consoles. One game yet to be remade is Parasite Eve, a survival-horror action RPG that spawned two sequels, a film, and a manga. Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve II were both released digitally on PS3 and the original featured on the Japanese version of the PlayStation Classic. Clearly, the franchise is still on Square Enix's mind after a trademark was filed back in June.
6 Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 was the first game in the series to be developed and published by Rockstar Games and it was released to critical acclaim, praised for its narrative and atmosphere. While Rockstar doesn’t typically remaster their games, they often re-release older games on new platforms, having released the GTA Trilogy, The Warriors, Bully, and even the original Max Payne on Ps4 and Xbox One. Max Payne 3 is fantastic and deserves to be brought back - a port would be good enough!
5 Fallout: New Vegas
During E3, Bethesda delivered the goods with Fallout 76 showing audiences they’re dedicated to right their wrongs and make the game that fans want and expect from the franchise. But at the end of the day, Fallout 76 is still an always online action RPG that's lite on the RPG. Obsidian Entertainment’s spin-off, Fallout: New Vegas is considered as one of the best entries in the series and it's estimated to have sold roughly 12 million copies worldwide. The likelihood of Bethesda remastering New Vegas is small due to the game being developed by an external studio but it would go a long way for fans of the series.
4 Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Earlier in the month, Ubisoft teased the return of the Splinter Cell series, stating that the company is developing "new type of experiences, but more on different devices." That doesn't sound like the announcement fans have been waiting for since the release of the PS4 and Xbox One, particularly after Easter Eggs were seen in Assassins Creed Odyssey and The Division 2, and Sam Fisher made an appearance in Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Splinter Cell: Blacklist released in August 2013, right before the new consoles arrived and even though it reviewed well, it's 2 million sales were low for the series. Fans are begging for more Splinter Cell and Blacklist deserves better than what it got.
3 Super Mario Sunshine
Releasing any of the mainline 3D Mario games on the Nintendo Switch would be a huge deal for fans and immediate commercial success for Nintendo. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe released in January 2019 and already ranks in the top 10 best selling Nintendo Switch games having sold 4.1 million copies as of July 30. While Super Mario 3D World has long been rumored for the platform, Super Mario Sunshine has never made an appearance on anything other than GameCube. And if a recent tweet from Nintendo is anything to go by, it's time to go on a nice trip with nostalgia during the long wait for Super Mario Odyssey 2.
2 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is one of the most anticipated releases of 2019 and proves that Nintendo is willing to remake, remaster, and port games to the Switch from any era. Releasing at the tail end of the Wii's life, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was teased for a possible Switch release last year by Eiji Aonuma, the director of Ocarina of Time and a producer on Breath of the Wild. Skyward Sword is a fantastic entry that was plagued by forced motion controls and the fact that player needed to purchase the Wii MotionPlus at an additional cost. The Switch gives Nintendo an opportunity to go back and fix the control issues and give Skyward Sword another shot.
1 The ‘Mass Effect’ Trilogy
Mass Effect: Andromeda didn’t do the Mass Effect series any favors. EA also didn’t walk away too impressed from the whole ideal, meaning that for the foreseeable future, the Mass Effect series is on an indefinite hiatus. After the trilogy was released as a collection for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in 2012, fans have been begging for the trilogy to be Remastered for current generation consoles. And after Andromeda ended up being a major departure from what players loved in the first place, releasing the trilogy would be a great way to win back players hearts and prepare for the series eventual return.
Most of these are brilliant games that were adored at release and sold very well, however, they’re being lost to old hardware due to being released at the beginning of the digital age when the kinks were still being worked out. Microsoft has already confirmed that first-party Xbox games are going to be available across all generations moving forward, and Sony's Mark Cerny confirmed that the PS5 will be backward compatible with PS4 and PV games too.
As video games continue to move into an all-digital future and introduce new technologies like game streaming, ensuring that older games are brought forward to the current generation is a great way for players to future proof and have access to their entire content library in one place.