It’s May 2023 and three of the top rated games of the year so far are remakes. Let that sink in for a moment – Resident Evil 4 remake, Dead Space remake, and Metroid Prime Remastered all garnered high review scores; three games that are recapturing, remolding, and re-envisioning experiences that are over a decade old. And that’s only the beginning, as more remakes are underway like Silent Hill 2, Alone in the Dark, Max Payne 1 and 2 — that’s a lot. At face value, it’s totally appropriate to raise an eyebrow: plenty of new games, new experiences have already come out this year, and yet the top three rated games of the year are remakes? That can be misconstrued as a negative thing, but that may not be the case. In fact, look a little closer, and it might be one of the only ways to really uphold a game’s legacy. In this episode of The Kurt Locker, Kurt Indovina examines the current trend of remakes and remasters and breaks down the multi-faceted, even confusing, topic, and gives his perspective on how remakes may actually be a good thing.
