Remakes tend to be more exciting than remasters because the improvements often go beyond mere bumps in resolution or framerate. At best, studios reimagine classic experiences in exciting new ways, sand away rough edges, and somehow retain the intangible x-factors that made fans fall in love with these titles in the first place. At the very least, remakes offer a great way to play antiquated or less accessible experiences on modern hardware.
The remake boom has been in full swing in recent years to the point that it’s starting to get tough to keep track of all the projects in the works. Thankfully, we’ve gathered as many of the announced remakes (not remasters) that we could find and gathered them in one neat list, arranged chronologically by release window. This will be an evolving list that will be updated as new remakes are announced and released, so be sure to keep an eye on it over the coming months.
Persona 3 Reload
Persona 3 is the game that transformed the Shin Megami Tensei spin-off series into the popular animal it is today, and it's being remade from the ground up in the Unreal Engine. It's being stuffed with features such as a revamped presentation and gameplay that hews closer to Persona 5, a new English voiceover, and additional side stories fleshing out the cast. Reload is billed as a remake of the original version of Persona 3, so while it still retains the narrative changes from Persona 3 FES, it will not include the female protagonist option from the PSP version.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Final Fantasy VII Remake’s second installment moves beyond Midgar and into uncharted territory. Sure, we’re likely to visit established locations like the Gold Saucer and encounter new versions of old friends, but Rebirth’s story can go a multitude of new directions based on Remake’s events. We’re excited to see what shake-ups Square Enix has in store as long as the snowboarding mini-game remains intact.
Silent Hill 2
Bloober Team is reviving Silent Hill 2 with a modern coat of paint. The minds behind Layers of Fear and The Medium may not have the greatest critical track record, but hopefully, working with an established (and better) template will yield more positive results. It would be nice to have a good modernized version of Silent Hill 2 after the less-than-stellar HD port from 2012. Silent Hill 2’s release window remains shrouded in fog, but it will come to PC and PlayStation 5 as a timed console exclusive.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The reveal that arguably the best Star Wars game ever was getting a much-needed remake had fans raising their lightsabers in celebration. Unfortunately, the game’s development may have already succumbed to the dark side. It’s been reported that progress had stalled, and work on the game has switched hands from Aspyr Media to Saber Interactive. Allegedly, Lucasfilm was unhappy with an internal demo, which brought development to a screeching halt for a period (and led to the firing of two directors) and the project is all but on ice at this point. Although things look grim, we hope KOTOR can get back on track and eventually see the light of day.