Forget remasters. Gone are the days where developers could stretch new textures over old games and call it a day. These days it’s all about remakes, raiding the late ‘90s and early ‘00s for games that need more than just a new coat of paint.
Resident Evil 2 set the bar pretty damn high, allowing old fans to relive a beloved game the way they remembered it, while also creating a thoroughly modern horror game for newcomers. It’s not on PC (yet), but by all accounts Square’s Final Fantasy VII Remake does the same. Activision created slightly more faithful remakes with Spyro and Crash Bandicoot, and is doing the same with the upcoming Tony Hawk 1+2. The Black Mesa Project injected new life into Half-Life. 2K’s releasing a Mafia remake this summer.