2020 certainly was… a year. One source of sanctuary and respite for many people was video games. And it turned out to be a great year for games last year. The Last of Us Part 2, Hades, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, to name a few, all came out. We also saw some remakes and remasters come out.
More and more of these updates seem to be hitting the shelves every year as companies cash in on nostalgia and the opportunity to improve on old mechanics.
Who decides what games should be remade and when? Which corporate overlord decides fans have waited long enough to replay their favorite old games with new tech? Fans don’t know, so perhaps this wishlist will be seen by the right people.
10 Horizon: Zero Dawn
This amazing game already looks incredible on both PC and last-gen consoles. But a remaster that takes full advantage of next-gen hardware would be fantastic.
A package similar to the Miles Morales and Spider-Man Remaster would be the perfect way for people who missed Horizon: Zero Dawn when it first came out. Imagine having a go at uncovering the mystery of Aloy’s past using the latest technology. It would also be a good opportunity to fix some of the smaller issues that the original has.
9 Cloudpunk
Absolutely dripping with style and atmosphere, Cloudpunk brings its cyberpunk city to life almost as well as the film Bladerunner does its LA. A remake would serve to add some more substance in addition to the undeniable aesthetic appeal of the game.
For instance, a remake could add more depth to some of the game’s simple systems. The game works really well as it is, but some more systems would turn it into a much deeper experience. With cyberpunk films, shows, and games on the rise, next-gen could be their time to truly shine.
8 Ghostrunner
Ghostrunner is a stylish and sleek game that utilizes its movement mechanics and one-hit-death gameplay excellently. The synthwave soundtrack also helps to really entrench players into Dharma city. In a way, t game feels like a spiritual successor to Mirror’s Edge. However, Ghostrunner suffers from some of the same shortfalls that the other series had.
While the gameplay is excellent, there isn’t much variation and the game feels a little too short. A remake could address these issues while also squeezing even more out of the visuals and sound.
7 The Hong Kong Massacre
The Hong Kong Massacre is like if Hotline Miami and Max Payne had an illegitimate top-down shooter love-child. The game features great visuals, frenetic gameplay, and a banging soundtrack. Overall, it’s a real sensorial delight, but there’s always room for improvement.
Haptic feedback controls could add an interesting edge to the twitchy gunplay. While the game does have a great style and solid particle effects, some more polish and better hardware would allow it to shine even brighter than it already does.
6 Kentucky Route Zero
Kentucky Route Zero is point-and-click gaming at its best. It has a narrative that hooks onto players and never lets go. A game with storytelling this good is rare and a remake, while entirely unnecessary, would serve as the perfect benchmark for next-gen narratives.
It would also (hopefully) entice some players who missed it initially or players who aren’t keen on episodic releases. This is one of those rare games that no one should ignore. A remake would ensure that no one does.
5 Journey To The Savage Planet
This charming game manages to wrap corporate dystopia and planetary exploration in a cute and wholesome package. The bright and colorful - some may say childish - style may have put some people off when Journey To The Savage Planet released at the beginning of 2020.
But, after the absolute state of that year, childlike wonder mixed with a tongue-in-cheek satire is exactly what we need in 2021. A remake could add some polish to the game while leaving the writing untouched and allowing the game to shine as it should have.
4 Dreams
Dreams is Media Molecule’s follow-up to the hit Little Big Planet games. As a game that relies on user-generated content, it needs a large player base – something it currently doesn’t have. Maybe PlayStation users were burnt out on Little Big Planet or maybe they just didn’t want to invest in a game they believed many would abandon once the PS5 came out.
Whatever the reason, Dreams feels like a game that would be suited to a new console with a growing player base. That way, every new PS5 owner could look forward to joining a new and growing (almost exclusive) community.
3 Half-Life: Alyx
Valve has always liked to push boundaries and show what game genres and technology are really capable of. Half-Life: Alyx lives up to that reputation with flying colors. Named best VR game, it makes VR gaming seem like it could become more mainstream in the near future. The only issue is the barrier to entry: the prices of the VR systems themselves.
It costs far too much for players to be able to enjoy Alyx properly. That may not be an issue in a few years when there are many VR titles to choose from. But, at the moment, gamers won’t want to shell out huge ducats just to play one game. A non-VR remake would at least allow fans of Half-Life the ability to continue the story.
2 Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered
While this game did exactly what it said on the tin, we all want a remaster of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s online mode. That was possibly the series at its peak. It was arcade-y enough to allow anyone to pick it up and play it.
Furthermore, it was bright and colorful in a way that many shooters of the time weren’t. And it had just the right amount of over-the-top killstreaks to keep it exciting but not ridiculous. A remake of the online version would be a real treat for fans of the pre-jetpack era of COD.
1 XCOM: Chimera Squad
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a tight and unique take on XCOM’s turn-based-strategy game mechanics. It tweaked enough to feel new but stayed similar enough to feel like XCOM. The game is a story-based experience that focuses on the Chimera Squad, a team of fully realized characters who have to be kept alive in order to progress.
This is the perfect game for those of us who save scummed to avoid losing our best team members. A remake that brings this game to consoles and maybe adds some more lore and worldbuilding into the dialogue would be great for all fans of XCOM.
