2023 has been a pretty solid year for games. However, if you stop and look at Metacritic to see what some of the highest-rated games released this year actually are, you’ll notice a trend: Many of them are remakes or remakes. remake from older games. It’s a trend that can be attributed to a few different causes, but it could also signal that some gamers have grown tired of all the bullshit that is common in modern games.
We are now in the third month of 2023. For most of the year, especially before the pandemic, you would expect at least three or even four big, popular and well-received games. to the present time. And 2023 is no different. But look at Metacritic’s top-rated games of 2023, you’ll notice that by far all the top rated games (not counting duplicate games) are either remakes, remakes, or upgraded ports. You have to scroll all the way down to nine to find the only game, brand new and fresh: the Xbox action rhythm game, Hi-Fi Rush. So what’s happening?
The easiest answer, What sales data seems to back upthat people are tired of modern games filled with loot boxes, microtransactions, inquiry is always onlineterrible crafting, etc. This sentiment has grown in recent years and publishers seem to have noticed, so the stream of people redoing and redoing as companies pour resources into creating things in their latter categories that people online won’t be silent about Twitter and Reddit. And it makes sense from an economic point of view. These are the games that players seem to want. And the game is very expensive to produce, and only getting bigger and more expensive. So if you’re going to keep playing the big games, you want to bet more firmly. Like Hollywood and its hobby of remakes and reboots, the video game industry is becoming more reliant on past hits and popular intellectual property to help support lagging revenue and Expensive development costs.
But I don’t think that fully explains why so many remakes are killing it on Metacritic. Another aspect of this could be professional game reviewers. Many of them are older reviewers (older in this context is anyone over 25) and they are, like me, perhaps a bit nostalgic for indie single-player games, great in the past. I mean, look at that Metacritic list, but sorted by user score and you will see completely different games, many new games and many games with online multiplayer feature.
So while it’s easy to assume that the old game is good and the new game is bad and that’s why remakes are doing so well right now, I think whoever plays these games, Who writes about them and the cost of making great games are also key factors in parts of this trend.
The real question, which I assume has been debated in the comments, is: Is this a bad trend? And while I know some here at Kotaku suggested that it definitely not good, I am more mixed about it. I totally agree that remakes are less exciting than some brand new games. But I also think that a good game, more than a movie, can benefit from modern technology and improved engines.
Plus gaming is now bigger than ever and there are a lot of people who have never played a game released before 2015 that might enjoy this game. One Dead space redo. And given the poor state of game preservation in 2023, sadly, remakes and remakes may be one of the few legitimate ways to enjoy some games. Nor do I have much hope that the whole situation will get better any time soon.
Who knows, maybe the trend isn’t so obvious as it appears right now. It’s possible that this data is just the result of some big, well-known remake that released around the same time earlier in the year. On the other hand, things can stay that way for a while. Many remakes and regular remakes to be announced, and search online, you’ll find people begging publishers to remake or remake classic PS2-era games like The Simpsons: Hit and Run And Bullying. we can see freshly polished Game of the past continues dominate for near future.
