Freshened Up or Butchered? The Most Notable Remakes and Remasters of Games

The era of remakes has turned into Russian roulette for fans. On one hand, we have Diablo 2: Resurrected, where Blizzard did a fantastic job, and on the other—half-baked "updates" where missing features are called a return to the roots. But they're still beautiful. In this collection, we’ll look at the most memorable ones.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered

Image: bethesda.net

Well, friends, Bethesda has finally freshened up Oblivion—moving the game to a new engine, updating textures, NPC models, animations, and improving the combat system... while leaving plenty of bugs and design flaws from twenty years ago.

The leveling system is a bit less torturous, but enemies still evolve faster than you. But now, enjoying the beauty of Cyrodiil and lazily hanging out with Khajiits in the skooma den is more fun, because it’s prettier and more atmospheric.

Of course, NPCs still stare at you with faces frozen in eternal horror from their own animation cycles, and item physics still turn any dungeon into a chaotic game of "who will fly where." But at least the grass moves now!

If you're a fan of the original, Oblivion Remastered is a warm and slightly ridiculous reunion with an old friend who’s either drunk or just looks like that now. If you're a newcomer, be ready for some strange conventions because this is still twenty-year-old game design. But it’s still very beautiful and extremely soulful.

Diablo 2: Resurrected

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The developers took the good old classic and dressed it in modern graphics. The heroes here are not flat sprites, but real 3D models that glow beautifully, cast shadows, and generally look like they weren’t drawn in Paint.

What didn't they touch? The gameplay is still the same. Because it's a classic—you can’t mess with that! That's what the developers said while keeping all the bugs, clunky controls, and the feeling of "I’m playing 2002, but now in 4K." And demon corpses now explode beautifully against the backdrop of re-drawn textures.

Lighting—our respect. Finally, you can appreciate how beautifully your Paladin burns when standing in lava. And there's also a "Nostalgia" button that instantly returns the game to the year 2000. It’s useful when you want to check just how bad things were 25 years ago. Or how good? Doesn’t matter, because the spirit of Diablo 2 hasn’t gone anywhere.

Demon's Souls

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Demon's Souls on PS5 looks so cool that nostalgic memories of the PS3 version now seem like a blurry spot from 2009. To capture all the beauty, a photo mode was added. In a Souls game? Yes, now you can pause, take an epic shot, and then proudly tell your friends, "That’s not a trailer screenshot, I died that beautifully."

Bluepoint Studios did an amazing job. Textures, lighting, effects—everything is top-notch. The locations with natural light look especially gorgeous, while the gloomy dungeons retain the original atmosphere (meaning they’re still terrifying and make you want to turn off the console).

Why fix what already drove players mad? After such a brain explosion, the studio left all the most awkward levels from the original. It's inconvenient here, it's the old 2009 level design. But we’re used to it, FromSoftware, aren’t we? In any case, Demon's Souls on PS5 is not just a remake, but a true graphical masterpiece. But be ready, the nostalgia for the old version might fade, but the urge to throw the controller at the wall will remain.

Shadow of the Colossus

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Another exemplary remaster. The gameplay remains the same. You ride through a desolate world, find enormous beasts, and climb them like an unemployed window washer. But now it looks so stunning that even falling from a colossus in slow motion feels like an aesthetic performance.

The camera, of course, still loves to bury itself in the giant’s fur at the most crucial moment—but hey, that’s part of the charm, right? Just like in life—things don’t always go as planned, especially when you're hanging by a thread over an abyss.

The main strength of this remake is that it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel—it simply takes that wheel, polishes it with a diamond pickaxe, and rolls it over you with renewed force. Yes, it’s still the same barren world, the same mysterious ruins, but now with physically accurate light scattering and immersive surround sound. For a definitive remaster, that’s all it really needs.

NieR Replicant

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Yoko Taro and his team didn’t just re-release the game—they performed a full-blown surgical operation, replacing every organ while making sure the fans wouldn’t notice. It’s not a remake or a remaster—it’s something in between.

If you thought NieR: Automata made you suffer, Replicant will remind you of that. You’ll go through the same story again and again, but each time it’ll hit a different emotional nerve. Only now, the visuals won’t make your eyes bleed.

The characters are more appealing. The soundtrack still cuts deep into the soul. The gameplay is smoother, the graphics are sharper, and the camera no longer tries to flee at the most critical moment in battle. Most importantly, they preserved that trademark "Wait, what did I just witness?" feeling that makes Taro’s games so unique.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

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Halo with a light facelift. This is exactly the case where fans got precisely what they asked for: fire, smoke, and nostalgia—now in 4K. The old bugs and awkward moments tied to classic level design are still there too. But now, you can clearly see Cortana’s look of disappointment for all the years you didn’t replay the campaign.

Rain no longer just drizzles—it sets a mood of depression on par with Halo: Reach’s finale, and the fog is so thick you can hide not only enemies in it, but also your own shooting mistakes.

On one hand, it’s sweet and nostalgic; on the other, every time you think, "God, this is so clunky without modern mechanics." But true Spartans are meant to suffer. The Master Chief Collection is the best way to fall in love with Halo all over again. Now we just have to wait for the servers to stop living a life of their own—if that ever happens.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Image: zelda.nintendo.com

Nintendo rightly decided that pixels are a thing of the past and replaced the old graphics from the 1993 version with a top-down 3D style. Now it feels less like you're playing a game and more like you're commanding a toy Link on your bedroom carpet. And you know what? That’s really cool.

The level of detail is so good you’ll want to examine every little bush. The characters and environment now look like figures from an expensive collectible set. Maybe it’s a subtle hint that the entire game is just someone’s childhood fantasy?

But don’t be fooled. Beneath the toy-like exterior lies the same unforgiving mechanics of the original. The levels are practically unchanged—meaning all those tricky traps and non-obvious paths are still there. They just look cute and harmless now. Oh, how they tricked us...

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

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Yet another exemplary remaster that didn’t mess with what wasn’t broken, only polishing what needed updating. The clunky polygonal characters from the original are gone, replaced with models so detailed that Tony Hawk finally looks like Tony Hawk—not like a LEGO figure after being hit with a hammer. Animation? Smooth as a grind on the school rail.

But you know what’s even cooler? The level design is virtually untouched. You can still skate through the warehouse with your eyes closed, find all the secret areas (thanks to those 2001 guides), and smash your face on the same curbs.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 doesn’t try to be convenient. It’s still that tough, wildly fun arcade game that first pushes you to the brink—then makes you shout something like "I did it!" and switch to free skate. Because you’re sick of hunting down those damn letters.

GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition

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The 2000s were a time when graphical glitches weren’t bugs—they were "gameplay features". And when controls felt complex not because they were realistic, but because the developers apparently tested the game on their pets.

Back then, random crashes just added to the thrill—would the game save before the meltdown? But why are we paying $30 just to suffer again? Here’s what you get:

If the models used to look rough, now they’re weird and rubbery—like they were sculpted out of Play-Doh and never finished. Body proportions? Like dream characters after a heavy dinner, and it's unclear what part of the body they used to eat and where the food went.

Want to relive the bugs of the 2000s? Then this is the perfect remaster. But if you were expecting truly improved versions… where are they? Still, it remains the only official collection of those classic GTAs—and we’ve learned to pay for nostalgia.

Warcraft 3: Reforged

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Warcraft 3 isn’t just a game—it’s a cultural phenomenon that gave rise to entire genres. Without it, there would be no MOBAs, no DotA, and not even World of Warcraft (yes, the very one where orcs still argue with humans about politics).

But if you were hoping for that cinematic polish shown at BlizzCon 2018, prepare to be disappointed. 99% of the cutscenes are still the same old scripted sequences—only now Arthas blinks a bit more expressively.

Now there are no ladders, no clans, no tournaments, and no custom campaigns. Because Blizzard decided you don’t need them. Everything you create in the editor now automatically belongs to Blizzard. If you’ve never played Warcraft 3 before, Reforged is a decent way to get into the game’s lore. The visuals are still cozy, the world still charming—but it feels like a few limbs have been amputated. Not fatal, but definitely unpleasant.

Remasters are like meeting an ex. Everything seems the same—but something’s off. Some of them are masterpieces, others barely hold up under criticism, but all of them still appeal to audiences because they haven’t lost their atmosphere. And that’s why we forgive them. Right?

Main image: ensigame.com