KFew media ages faster than video games. What was a graphic firework a few years ago is only mildly smiled at today.
What remains is the memory of exciting hours of play in the children’s room. Publishers use this nostalgic feeling of the fans for elaborate new editions of popular video game hits.
Demon’s Souls – Heavy as hell demon fun
All beginnings are difficult: When the small Japanese development studio From Software released the action role-playing game “Demon’s Souls” exclusively for the PS3 in 2009, no one suspected the effects on the video game industry.
It was a harsh, unforgiving spectacle that plunged players into a dark fantasy middle ages and punished them for every little mistake. A new genre was born, which recently reached a preliminary peak with “Elden Ring”. The fans sneaked or ran boldly through a world of a thousand dangers, confronted slimy monsters that could also have come from the pen of HP Lovecraft.
Actually, this concept shouldn’t have worked out in a video game world that was more about not overtaxing players. However, “Demon’s Souls” became the cult hit of an entire generation of consoles.
Publisher Sony therefore engaged the remake professionals from Bluepoint Games, who had previously brought the PS2 hit “Shadow of the Colossus” to life in an impressive way. Their remake of “Demon’s Souls” was released just in time for the release of the PS5 and impressively showed what the new console is capable of.
“Demon’s Soul” punishes players for even the smallest mistake
Source: dpa-tmn/Sony
Butter-smooth animations, the timeless artwork and the uncompromisingly hard level of difficulty make the remake a must-buy for PS5 owners, which will even make “Elden Ring” pros break out in a sweat.
Worth playing because: Anyone who can’t get enough of heavy-duty action role-playing games after “Elden Ring” has come to the right place with “Demon’s Souls”. Bluepoint Software polishes the cult hit to a high gloss.
“Demon’s Souls”, Bluepoint Games, Sony for PS5, USK from 16
Mafia: Definitive Edition – Spectacular and profound
The 2001 action-adventure Mafia was a game changer. At that time, action games had a reputation for being only superficial spectacles of violence. But the former Czech development studio Illusion Softworks gave the critics the lie.
Instead of pointless shooting, their third-person adventure dealt with themes of guilt and punishment, the seduction of power and the loneliness at the head of a brutal crime clan. Hero Tommy was a symbol for many of his fellow sufferers who often strayed from the right path at the beginning of the 20th century between poverty and hope for a better life.
Mafia Definitive Edition raises the bar for contemporary video game remakes
Source: dpa-tmn/2K Games
The mix of “The Godfather”, wild action and fast-paced car races in the big city was groundbreaking and stood out from the competition with its staging and complex characters. Tommy works his way up the mafia with simple errands and assassinations. In the end he is confronted with his conscience. The individual missions are not original, but they are exciting and particularly spectacular in the remake.
The cult hit was reworked by the development studio Hangar 13 down to the smallest visual detail and partially re-voiced. In 2010 a sequel was released, which took place a few years later and told the story of a war returnee with similar success. In contrast, the unimaginative third part from 2016 got lost in brutal excesses of violence in front of an atmospheric 60s and 70s backdrop in the seething south of the USA.
Worth playing because: Spectacular and profound. Mafia: Definitive Edition raises the bar for contemporary video game remakes.
“Mafia: Definitive Edition”, Hangar 13, 2K Games for Windows, PS4, Xbox One, USK 18+
“Final Fantasy VII Remake” – Classics in a new guise
Anyone who likes Japanese role-playing games will click their tongues at the name “Final Fantasy”. No other series is more popular or successful. The weird mix of fantasy and science fiction has been delighting fans since 1987. Among the 15 official parts, the seventh part has a special role. It was the first part in the late 90s with 3D computer animations and elaborate cutscenes to advance the story.
With around 10 million copies, “Final Fantasy VII” was the most successful game in the series at the time and ensured the breakthrough of Japanese role-playing games, or “JRPG” for short, in the West.
Anyone who likes Japanese role-playing games will click their tongues at the name “Final Fantasy”.
Source: dpa-tmn/Square Enix
Committed to so much success. Publisher Square Enix, which the success of the series saved from ruin at the time, and the development studio Division 1 have turned the original inside out. New graphics, new dialogues and a new combat system with even more action surprised fans and critics alike.
Even the story has been changed in a few places. This did not cause enthusiasm among the loyal fans everywhere. Despite all the technical sophistication and courage to start over, the remake has its weaknesses: “Final Fantasy VII Remake” only contains the first third of the original game. Two further sequels are to tell the story to the end in the next few years.
As a consolation for the uncertain waiting time, SquareEnix released the “Remake” for the “Remake” last year: The “Intergrade” version offers new content and also pretty ups the game for the PS5 and Windows computers.
Worth playing because: Anyone who doesn’t mind the publication policy will experience one of the most influential role-playing classics in a new, magnificent guise.
Final Fantasy VII Remake, Division 1, Square Enix for PS4/5, Windows, USK 16+
“The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening” – Timelessly good
Simply indestructible: For more than three decades, the “Zelda” series has been one of the most successful titles from the Japanese console manufacturer Nintendo. One of the most popular spin-offs is The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which first appeared on the Game Boy in 1993.
As always, hero Link must save his world Hyrule from evil. He delivers exciting fights from the pixelated bird’s eye view and solves tricky puzzles.
The remake by the Grezzo development studio gives the classic a colorful comic look. Where at that time the monochrome game world was still made up of individual images, the landscape now scrolls with players. The widescreen format provides a better overview and the music has been newly recorded. Held Link has also become a lot more agile and can now dish out in any direction.
Go away, you old bird! The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a charming homage to classic Zelda titles
Source: dpa-tmn/Nintendo
With the much more accessible fast travel function, you can comfortably go from one place to another. In terms of play, however, nothing has changed. why? It’s a lot of fun exploring dark caves and temples with Link, searching every bush for precious gems.
If you want, you can now even use the editor to build your own vault to let off steam in it. All this makes “Link’s Awakening” an all-round carefree package for the whole family.
Worth playing because: Timelessly good. The remake of “Link’s Awakening” manages the balancing act between nostalgic old-school look and cuddly high-gloss adventure.
„The Legend of Zelda: Link‘s Awakening“, Grezzo, Nintendo für Nintendo Switch, USK ab 6.
Age of Empires 3: Definitive Edition – Contemporary Content
In the early 2000s, real-time strategy games for the PC were hugely successful. Apart from the e-sports hit “Starcraft”, the “Age of Empires” series has developed into one of the most successful representatives of a game genre with almost 30 million copies sold.
“AoE” required a nimble hand and clever planning like hardly any other game. The fans dragged their armies across the world map with a mouse click and devised strategies in battle in seconds, while the economy and research had to flourish at home.
After the huge success of “Age of Empires 2”, the then development studio Ensemble had to step up their game. Little has changed in the recipe for success. As in the two predecessors, the fans embark on a centuries-long campaign of conquest.
Age of Empire 3 Definitive Edition brings the fun of building to the modern screen in a contemporary way
Source: dpa-tmn/Microsoft
Instead of focusing on Europe and Asia, this time the plot focuses on the colonization of America. From the Aztecs to Native American tribes to enemy troops in the American Liberation War, players can try different strategies in the extensive single player mode or against other human opponents.
As with the new editions of the two predecessors, the Forgotten Empires development studio has given the classics a higher resolution, nicer details and simplified user guidance. In addition, the “Definitive Editions” also offer all extensions.
“Age of Empires 3” goes one step further: while the indigenous population was sometimes presented with racist clichés as a sadistic gang of murderers, a few changes in content now ensure a diverse and cosmopolitan representation of this culture. Exemplary.
Worth playing because: Thanks to higher resolution and contemporary content updates, it’s a classic that has lost little of its complexity and appeal today.
“Age of Empires 3”, Forgotten Empires, Xbox Game Studios for Windows, USK from 12
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