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It looks like Sony is taking the wrong path by remaking its games.
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Sony seems very nervous about the consequences. The tension is over the alleged Microsoft acquisition, but Sony always tries to deal with the issue with the real thing. But any big company is likely to fall into some pitfalls, because we've only seen this in the past year and even now. How long will we see this and that?!
Rumors are running rampant right now with the news that Sony is working with Guerrilla Games on a remaster of Horizon Zero Dawn for PlayStation 5 in 2017. As of this writing, nothing concrete has been provided by anyone at Sony or Guerrilla.
Despite the mystery surrounding this "remake," rumors about a Horizon Zero Dawn remake are a logical reason for concern for PlayStation owners.
In fact, just a quick look at the first-party titles for PlayStation 5 will show you that there are plenty of new and improved releases, most notably Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, Death Stranding Director's Cut, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, and the list goes on.
Even games from third-party studios are on Sony's weird train, we have Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Persona 5 Royal and not to forget, the Horizon Zero Dawn rumors come just weeks after the release of a controversial remake of The Last of Us.
More and more remakes, Horizon will fulfill its destiny!
Let's talk specifically about Horizon Zero Dawn, the Sony title that gained prominence thanks to the PlayStation 4 and has received a PS5 update, with improved visual resolution and smooth gameplay at 60 frames per second. The PS5 remake will add a great lighting system and improved models, as well as more features and support for DualSense and surround sound capabilities.
But which path should Sony take: remaster or remake? In theory, these current-gen features could be combined at an affordable upgrade rate, or even for free.
But what we've seen of The Last of Us Part I remake supports my view of seeing the next remake at full price, and if that's indeed the case, there's no doubt a lot of stumbles.
Looking at the two Horizon games graphically, and playing them on the PS5, the two games are not very different, I know Forbidden West has some new features, but the gameplay experience for both games is practically the same.
With Sony taking advantage of the PlayStation 5's capabilities, it's great to make a game that people might not have been able to play before, but as I mentioned before, it would be nice for players who already own the game to get the benefits of the current generation in an affordable upgrade. The game doesn't need to be rebuilt from the ground up to include current generation features.
We really want to see old Sony games
There's also a question of resources. Should Sony explore these rhythms for these titles instead of settling for projects that are better for recycling? Both Horizon and The Last of Us are part of a broader network of games with multiplayer subgames and big-budget TV series in development.
Horizon also has a PSVR2-exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain. And a collaboration between Guerrilla and Firesprite is also on the way.
Some gamers don't like seeing The Last of Us or Horizon remastered and instead prefer to see forgotten titles brought back into the spotlight. These include games like Jak & Daxter and Killzone.
These titles fit perfectly in comparison to Horizon and The Last of Us. And if Sony is committed to improving its gaming strategy, there will surely be one less game from the past that deserves a chance to shine again, like Twisted Metal, which will only return as a TV series.
Maybe Sony is starved of new ideas? PlayStation owners were onslaught of great games in the previous generation, to the point where the PlayStation 5 era simply can't compete. Sony for your next games.
It looks like there's a 2018 God of War remake coming alongside the teased TV series, which is more likely than anything new for the brand at the moment.
Either way... we're temporarily stuck in a creative black hole, and The Last of Us Part I's performance with its weak star bucks Sony's trend of relatively expensive game remakes in the future.