Some remasters breathe life into older games by improving the visuals and refining mechanics. Taking a fan-favorite and extending its lifespan by a few more years, making it worth revisiting.
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Unfortunately, others, well… they make you wonder why they even exist. From full-priced ports that don’t change anything from the original game to broken re-releases that somehow make the game worse.
This list will cover a few of the most pointless game remasters that left myself, and players, scratching their heads.
8Dark Souls Remastered (Console Versions)
No Change Remaster
Dark Souls Remastered
Let’s be honest: playingDark Soulson PC before the remaster was aschallenging as the gameplay. The remaster brought many quality-of-life changes, along with improved graphics.
However, console players got the short end of the stick, and I was left scratching my head. The remaster was barely an upgrade on what was already available.
Sure, now you could play at 60FPS (which is amazing, by the way), but in terms of visual improvements, they were subtle at best.
In other words, you’re paying full price for a remaster that looks almost identical to the previous-gen console versions.
It’s always nice to have the option without breaking out an older console, but the steep price tag was a tough pill to swallow.
7The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition
And For What Reason?
I’ve got to preface this by saying thatSkyrimis one of my favorite games – I’ve probably sunk more than 1,000 hours into that game.
But let’s be honest, what was the point of the Anniversary Edition? And more importantly, why did Bethesda charge full price for it?
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Sure, they added fishing to the game (but modders had already done that). And… that’s pretty much it. Other than bundling a few paid mods into the game.
And speaking of mods, suddenly overnight, thousands of mods needed updates. Players were actually forced to reinstall Skyrim Special Edition again.
Keep in mind, this game has been kept alive by mods - so I ask again, what was the point, Bethesda?
6The Last of Us Part 1 (PS5)
A Remaster Of A Remaster
The Last of Us
Again,The Last of Us Part 1is on my list of favorite games, but, how many times can Sony sell the same game? Or continue tomake weird claims?
I’ll lay down an olive branch – for accessibility reasons, it makes sense for the different generations of consoles. But even that excuse falls flat. The original remaster is playable on the PS5.
So, what changed? In all honesty, pretty much only the graphics.
The remaster Sony is calling a “remake” added one or two small quality-of-life changes, but essentially, what they did is make a beautiful game prettier.
If visuals are important to you, then the remastered remaster (2022 edition) is a good choice. But, the 2014 remaster still holds up really well to today’s standards, and you’re not missing out on much.
5Crysis Remastered
Worse Performance Than Original
Crysis Remastered
WhenCrysiswas first released in 2007, it was used as the benchmark for modern PC gaming. If your rigcouldn’t run Crysis, it wasn’t good enough.
However, with the remaster, Crytek somehow managed to make it perform even worse, without significant graphical improvements.
The ray-traced lighting effects made the game look weird, and it could be justifiable if the performance was consistent, but it wasn’t.
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More than that, much to my surprise, they removed some of the advanced physics that made the original stand out.
Even though the game looked prettier, there were no improvements to the gameplay – it still feels like an older FPS. So, it was a jarring experience for me.
Instead of remastering all of their games, Crytek should have focused on developing Crysis 4, considering Crysis 3 was released in 2013.
I would recommend playing the original with mods and ReShade. Or try any of their other remasters; at least those are better by comparison.
A Full-Priced Port
Red Dead Redemption
The year is 1911, and the railroad is bringing civilization to the American Old West. Retired outlaw John Marston gets forced back into a life of crime to hunt down his old gang, in an open-world epic spanning both sides of the US-Mexico border.
The best way to describe theRed Dead Redemptionremaster is – a 2010 game with a modern-day price tag.
Don’t get me wrong, the original game was amazing for its time. The remaster? There were hardly any visual improvements, and the gameplay is basically the same.
If anything, they just increased a few numbers in the ini file and slapped a price increase along with it. It had to take a patch to quietly introduce 60FPS on consoles, for crying out loud.
I really enjoyed the original game when it was first released, and if you haven’t played it, now you can. Just don’t expect the “remastered” port to PC to stand up to modern standards.
The worst part, though, is that Red Dead Redemption 2 just got a price increase as well, despite the game having launched in 2018.
There’s honestly no reason, IMO, that this game required a “remaster”. Emulators were running this game before its release for a long time.
3Silent Hill HD Collection
A Definitive Disaster
Silent Hill HD Collection
Do you know what made the originalSilent Hillgames amazing? The atmosphere it created with its incredible fog, great visuals, and solid voice acting.
Well, it’s too bad that you can’t experience the originals because the “HD” remaster replaced them.
Silent Hill 2 and 3 were two of the best atmospheric horror games ever made. But Konami decided to release remasters with unfinished beta code.
What did you get? Weird glitches, missing fog, the worst voice acting I’ve ever heard, and just overall worse visuals.
Now, it is worth saying that if you’ve never played the originals, and have yet toexperience the endings, you probably won’t have that much of a terrible time.
However, like myself and many fans, this remaster was a massive disappointment and wasn’t needed to begin with.
2Warcraft III: Reforged
A Brutal Betrayal
Warcraft 3: Reforged
Warcraft 3: Reforgedis one of the best examples of aremaster gone wrong. In almost all aspects.
The original game had a massive audience (not only because it was a great game, but because of its sentimental value). But inexplicably, the remaster replaced the original. So, you’re able to’t experience it again.
That would be fine if the remaster wasn’t a dumpster fire, but it is, and I don’t even know how to begin explaining why.
Well, firstly, the visuals, while in HD, were a big disappointment – the original art style that gave the game its charm was gone. Instead, it was replaced with something generic, and the animations were clunkier, too.
The multiplayer hardly worked. There was a huge issue with the new Battle.net integration, so many players, including myself, couldn’t join a match.
And then there’s the missing content. We were promised new features, improved cinematics, and the ability to switch between the new graphics and the originals.
That’s not what was delivered. Plus, cut content from the original game was also missing. So, not only did Blizzard overpromise and underdeliver, they released something worse than the original.
1Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition
The Worst Remaster
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition
Anyone who played the originalGrand Theft Autogames would know what a trip they were. The format was the catalyst for the open-world titles we know and love today.
I remember having sleepover parties at friend’s houses, where we stayed up all night playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
Those memories were well and truly pissed on courtesy of theGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition.
Aside from broken AI-generated character models (which made the characters look bizarre and distorted), the number of gameplay-breaking bugs was too many to count.
The controls felt even worse than before, resulting in a frustrating experience. Oh, and speaking of frustration – the rain effects covered the entire screen and literally made the games unplayable.
The kicker? Rockstar removed the original games from storefronts – so you were forced to play this mess.
The good news is that after many, many updates, the games seem to be in a more playable state. But, on principle, would you buy them?
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