Nostalgia Came Back With a Bruise
Something that developers always forget is that remakes are supposed to make old favorites feel fresh again. Sure enough, we PlayStation fans know that doesn’t always happen. These 20 games all tried to reimagine something players already cared about, and the backlash showed just how protective fans can be.
1. XIII
Talk about a remake that needed its own remake. The 2020 XIII reboot brought back the cult 2003 cel-shaded shooter, but it launched with bugs, audio problems, awkward visuals, and inexplicable changes just about everyone hated. The situation got so bad that Microids later brought in a different studio to overhaul the remake.
2. Saints Row
If you’re going to touch a gritty classic, you need to go all the way with it. But with the 2022 Saints Row reboot, a lot of longtime players missed the personality of the earlier games. Who could blame them? Santo Ileso felt empty, the jokes didn’t land, and the criminal empire wasn’t as exciting as it sounded.
Dennis Amith from USA on Wikimedia
3. Thief
Well, Garrett came back, but the spark sure didn’t. Thief returned in 2014 as a reboot of the legendary series, and it struggled to satisfy anyone sorry enough to test drive it. Everything from its story to its weaker take on Garrett upset people, including the controversial voice actor change.
4. DmC
Ninja Theory’s Devil May Cry reboot was a solid game in a lot of ways, but that didn’t save it—all thanks to its version of Dante. Fans loved the silver-haired demon hunter from Capcom’s series, so when they laid eyes on the darker, punk-styled redesign…things hit the fan pretty quickly. Even with strong combat and creative bosses, the reboot never really escaped the criticism that it replaced a beloved character.
Antonio Fucito from Terni, Italia on Wikimedia
5. Resident Evil 3
Hey, who here voted for a shorter trip through Raccoon City? Not us! Resident Evil 3 on PS4 looked slick, but it was too much of a trim job compared with the original. It left out everything: the Clock Tower section, Nemesis encounters, and enemies that terrified us back in ‘99. It honestly felt like Capcom rushed through Jill’s nightmare.
Capcom France (Capcom Co., Ltd.) on Wikimedia
6. Secret of Mana
The PS4 remake of Secret of Mana had the right name and the right story, so it seemed like a home run. That is, until everyone noticed it was too much plastic and not enough magic. Between the plain 3D visuals and uneven voice acting, this version felt strangely stiff when it needed to feel alive.
7. Flashback
Oh, score! We finally got a remake that brought back the 1992 platformer. Or so we thought. In reality, Flashback’s remake swapped way too much of the original for clunkier modern action. Its PlayStation 3 version received unfavorable reviews, and you can count us among the haters.
8. Shadow of the Beast
The PS4 remake of Shadow of the Beast set out to do the impossible: revive the Amiga cult classic with a new combat-heavy structure. Yeah, well, not everyone wanted that trade. Some players found the scoring grind and stiff encounters hard to love, and devout fans didn’t take kindly to the old atmosphere getting rearranged into something ordinary.
9. Bionic Commando
To be fair, a 2009 reboot was just about destined to come with problems—and sure enough, Capcom’s Bionic Commando redesign fell through the cracks. It gave Nathan Spencer a gritty makeover and a 3D world built around swinging through ruined environments. It sounded cool until we realized it was plagued with problems: frustrating restrictions, checkpoint problems, incessant loading, and a…shall we say, infamous story.
10. Golden Axe: Beast Rider
Golden Axe: Beast Rider tried to turn Sega’s arcade beat ’em up into a darker 3D action game, and they may have bitten off more than they could chew. In reality, it confused retro tribute with flat, boring design, and we fans missed the simple chaos that made Golden Axe memorable.
11. Syndicate
You know, fans didn’t ask for this! But that didn’t stop the 2012 Syndicate reboot from turning Bullfrog’s tactical classic into a first-person shooter. The PS3 version reviewed decently, but longtime players were peeved that the tactical warfare had been swapped for a more familiar approach. If you’re going to make a new game, just do that.
12. Medal of Honor
The 2010 Medal of Honor reboot did something pretty drastic, so naturally, fans weren’t exactly impressed. It moved the series away from WWII and into modern Afghanistan, which was already a big enough change before you found all the bugs and predictable missions. The game wanted to bring Medal of Honor back to the front line, but it never gave us a strong enough reason to leave its rivals.
dejaandyroo from Chicago, USA on Wikimedia
13. Need for Speed
2015’s Need for Speed looked cool on the surface—and that’s where it stopped. It didn’t take long for fans to run into always-online restrictions and a devastating no-pause option that made the stylish comeback harder to enjoy. It had the mood of Underground, but it just didn’t have the freedom or polish we expected from a true return.
14. Star Wars Battlefront
EA and DICE teamed up in 2015 for a fairly stellar Star Wars Battlefront reboot that looked and sounded incredible on PS4. At first glance, we had all kinds of awesome stuff, like blasters, AT-ATs, and TIE fighters. And then the ship came crashing down. The more you played, the more you saw that it lacked a proper single-player campaign, had limited maps, and just felt light compared with the older Battlefront games.
15. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst rebooted Faith’s story and expanded the game into an open-world version of Glass, which you think would’ve gone over well. The thing is, that bigger structure didn’t win everyone over. Funnily enough, its hub-style city and repeated traversal problems recreated the first game’s flaws instead of solving them.
16. Contra: Rogue Corps
Up, down, left, right—please stop. Contra: Rogue Corps moved away from the tight 2D action fans associated with the brand, instead filling it with technical issues and wonky design choices. Even Push Square said it didn’t live up to the property’s legacy.
17. Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back revived the ’90s mascot on PS4, but we were probably fine without it. The platforming was simple, the jokes were forced, and Bubsy’s constant yapping reminded us exactly why the character became infamous in the first place. It wasn’t the worst game, but we weren’t lining up to play it either.
Limited Run Games on Wikimedia
18. Carmageddon: Max Damage
Say what you want about Carmageddon, but it had some serious giddy-up for the time. So, imagine our surprise when the Max Damage remake lacked the old attitude. To make it worse, it was also stuffed with tiring gameplay, rough driving, and dated jokes an edge lord would make.
19. Micro Machines World Series
We all wanted a remake of Codemasters’ beloved tabletop racing series, but when it finally arrived, it was just a thin offering that frustrated players looking for a full comeback. We’re taking a lack of content and weak single-player options, which hurt badly for those of us who wanted way more. The tiny tracks still had nostalgic appeal, but the game didn’t give players enough reasons to stick around.
20. Oddworld: Soulstorm
Oddworld: Soulstorm reimagined Abe’s Exoddus rather than remaking it directly, and that choice split fans immediately. Some admired the ambition, but others hated the bugs and missing pieces of the original. This version wandered so far from Exoddus that devoted fans felt like their favorite sequel had been replaced.
