2023 has already been a pretty solid year for gaming. However, if you stop and look at Metacritic to see what some of the top-rated games released this year actually were, you’ll notice a trend: many of them are remakes or remasters of older games. It’s a trend that probably has a few different causes, but could also indicate that some players are fed up with all the bullshit that often accompanies modern games.
We are now in the third month of 2023. In most years, especially before the pandemic, you would expect at least three or even four big, popular, and well-received games to have been released by now. And 2023 will be no different. But if we look at Metacritic’s top rated games of 2023, you will find that so far all the top rated games (not counting duplicates) are remakes, remasters or updated ports. You have to scroll all the way down to number nine to find the only game that is all new and fresh: the Xbox Action Rhythm Game. Hi-Fi Rush. So what’s going on?
The simplest answer which sales data seem to secureis that people are fed up with modern games having loot boxes, microtransactions, Always online requirements, terrible crafting mechanics and more. This feeling has increased in recent years and publishers seem to have noticed hence the influx of remasters and remakes Companies are pouring resources into refreshing things in their back catalogs that people aren’t shutting up about online on Twitter and Reddit. And it makes economic sense. These are the games that players seem to want. And games are very expensive to produce, and getting bigger and more expensive. So if you want to keep making big games, you want safer bets. Like Hollywood and its penchant for remakes and reboots, the video game industry is increasingly reliant on past hits and well-known intellectual property to shore up declining sales and expensive development costs.
But I don’t think that fully explains why so many remakes are beating Metacritic to death. Another aspect could be the people reviewing games professionally. Many of them are older critics (older is anyone over 25 in this context) and maybe, like me, they’re a bit nostalgic for great standalone single player games of the past. I mean look at this right now Metacritical list but sorted by user ratings and you will see completely different games, many new and many with online multiplayer.
While it’s easy to say that old games are good and new ones are bad, and that’s why remakes are doing so well right now, I think who’s playing those games, who’s writing about them, and the costs that go into making great games are too crucial parts of this trend.
The real question, which I assume is already being discussed in the comments, is this a bad trend? And I know a few here my city suggested it is definitely not that good, I’m more of a mixed bag. I definitely agree that remasters are less exciting than some brand new games. But I also think that a good game can benefit from modern technology and improved engines more than a movie.
Also, gaming today is bigger than ever and there are a lot of people who have never played a game released before 2015 and might find a lot of fun in it A Empty room make new. And given the terrible state of game preservation in 2023, remakes and remasters may be one of the only legal ways to enjoy some games. I don’t have much hope that the whole situation will improve anytime soon.
Who knows, maybe this trend isn’t that pronounced how it looks right now. It’s possible these dates are just the result of a series of big, high-profile remakes releasing around the same time earlier in the year. On the other hand, it could stay that way for a while. More remakes and remasters are regular announced, and if you search online you will see people begging publishers for remakes or remasters of classic PS2 era games like The Simpsons: Hit and Run And bully. We can see newly polished games the past continues dominate for the foreseeable future.
