Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. We hold the games we played in our younger years dear to our hearts, which the gaming industry can often exploit for a quick buck. Fortunately, we saw some truly incredible remakes in 2023 that actually do justice to their source material.
The distinction between a “remake” and “remaster” became especially blurred in 2023. In some cases, we saw some really comprehensive remakes. These titles reimagined the games they’re based on from the ground up, adding so much new stuff that even longtime fans had no idea what to expect. Conversely, we saw some remakes that felt more like very pretty remasters. These were games that worked overtime to feel as much like the original titles as possible, often focusing on visuals and music over sweeping gameplay changes.
And, of course, we saw many games that sat somewhere between those two extremes. Which approach should a remake take? Who knows! It’s all subjective, at the end of the day. But for better or for worse, we’re here to see which one takes the top slot in Destructoid’s own popularity contest, so let’s see the nominees.
Resident Evil 4
Kicking off our list is the big one of 2023: Resident Evil 4. Leon “SmallSoda” Kennedy’s tale of survival and horror has seen rerelease after rerelease after rerelease since its original launch in 2005. Even I found myself asking “is this remake even necessary?” with how well the original title holds up. But, once I played the game myself, I became a believer. While I’ll always adore the camp of the original title, Capcom’s new take on Resident Evil 4 put a lot on the table for both veterans and newcomers to dig into. It might not do much for you if you didn’t love the original, but Resident Evil 4’s mix of fresh and familiar seems to have resonated with gamers this year.
The Making of Karateka
In a complete change of pace, our following nominee is The Making of Karateka. Despite my snark about nostalgia above, this is one of the most exciting takes on a remake I’ve seen. Basically, take Jordan Mechner’s classic fighting game and GIF-inspiration Karateka, include a ton of behind-the-scenes footage and prototypes of the game, and slap a proper remade version of the game on top. The result is functionally an interactive documentary that our local retro enthusiast Zoey “Kick It With A Tasty Groove” Handley strongly recommends. Check it out if this one slipped under your radar.
Quake II
Next on our list is Quake II. And… look, I’m not going to pretend I grew up playing shooters like Quake II. I probably should have, but that’s neither here nor there. What I can tell you is that NightDive Studios has been knocking it out of the park with remasters this year. Even middling games like Turok III have gotten more love from the studio than many publishers give to their most memorable titles. And in the case of Quake II, NightDive went in and compiled expansions, restored cut content, and even improved the AI. You can read more about it in Zoey “Not A Boomer” Handley’s full review.
Metroid Prime Remastered
Metroid Prime Remastered. Oh, sorry, did you want some heads-up or introduction for this nominee? Nintendo stealth dropped this one back in February, so I felt it appropriate to just plop it on here too. Despite years-long rumors that we’d see a Switch port of the Metroid Prime Trilogy collection, Metroid Prime Remastered doesn’t disappoint. The visuals have received a surprisingly comprehensive overhaul, and you can choose to play the game with a control scheme that doesn’t feel decades old. The fact that this launched at $39.99 helped its case too. Also, Metroid Prime is a really good game! Not to sound like a broken record, but our own Zoey “Prime Rib” Handley reviewed this as well.
Dead Space
Okay, so forgive me in how I’m going to talk about our next contender: Dead Space. The PS3/Xbox 360 version of the game came out a few years before I got into horror, and this year’s remake totally passed me by. Destructoid Senior Editor Eric “Celery Man” Van Allen did review it though, and he found that the sci-fi horror classic still holds up today. It sounds like EA Motive did justice to Visceral Games’ original work.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R
Now, you know what I can talk about? Star Ocean: The Second Story R, our next nominee. I went my whole life with barely a person to talk about any Star Ocean game with, so it’s been nice to wax poetic about The Second Story with Destructoid’s Chris “Don’t Spell My Name With A K” Carter and Andrea “Have I Been Given A Funny Nickname Yet” Shearon. And for this crowd of Star Ocean nerds, The Second Story R sure did deliver. This is such an ambitious remake of the best game in the Star Ocean series. It retains what made the original game so special while adding a plethora of new minigames and mechanics to entertain longtime fans. In fact, Andrea “Now With Two Nicknames” Shearon gave this remake high marks in her review.
Super Mario RPG
And rounding out our list, we finally come to something I reviewed: Super Mario RPG. Folks, at this point I don’t know what to tell you. Super Mario RPG is a stone-cold classic title, and it’s been such a treat to revisit it with this remake. It does add its own twists to the SNES adventure, but for the most part, you’re playing this remake for the revamped visuals and the spectacular music. It’s a great remake of a fantastic game, and I personally rank it in the top 5 of games I played this year. I’m so happy to finally talk about something I reviewed here. It’s a good game!
