cannot say i am particularly enamored with the idea that we should frame this discussion in any way that pretends it is not ultimately a willful net loss for games preservation. the idea that in order to aggressively push hardware a development team was enlisted to resurrect a long forsaken ip, in the process fundamentally misunderstanding the majority of its artistic sensibilities (sometimes aggressively so) to showcase a console’s power rubs me the wrong way for several reasons. and there’s potent irony here because we must also remember that in essence sony is banking on from softwares death cult to launch a console cycle for the second time in a row now. recall the invective words of shuhei yoshida, 2009: 'This is crap. This is an unbelievably bad game.' surely what is now a valuable ace in the sleeve for sonys financial strategy in the 9th generation of consoles onwards deserves more respect than this?
as an immediate contrast in the field of remakes, i’ll put forward that at the very least, ff7 is one of the most ubiquitous games of all time - to such a degree that altering its content and expanding on its themes in a rebuild-esque scenario is not only sensible, but appreciated. the same case is difficult to make for demon’s in my opinion.
perhaps bluepoints alterations, seldom rooted in any reverence for aesthetics but instead prioritizing largely perfunctory gameplay, are to your tastes. but they are not to mine. the original demon’s souls is an intensely difficult work to assess, litigate, and reconcile with, to be sure, but whatever your stance on it, it’s difficult to deny how exquisitely it worked with its limitations to fashion something that was entirely inspired and bold, yet quintessentially from software. none of that same evocative ethos is reflected here, and for these reasons i find bluepoint’s iteration extremely difficult to respect - doubly so because im in a position now of having twice been told to give bluepoint a chance on a remake, both times to personally and deeply unsatisfactory results. i only wish more folks had a convenient way of experiencing the original so they were free to pass their own judgments
as an immediate contrast in the field of remakes, i’ll put forward that at the very least, ff7 is one of the most ubiquitous games of all time - to such a degree that altering its content and expanding on its themes in a rebuild-esque scenario is not only sensible, but appreciated. the same case is difficult to make for demon’s in my opinion.
perhaps bluepoints alterations, seldom rooted in any reverence for aesthetics but instead prioritizing largely perfunctory gameplay, are to your tastes. but they are not to mine. the original demon’s souls is an intensely difficult work to assess, litigate, and reconcile with, to be sure, but whatever your stance on it, it’s difficult to deny how exquisitely it worked with its limitations to fashion something that was entirely inspired and bold, yet quintessentially from software. none of that same evocative ethos is reflected here, and for these reasons i find bluepoint’s iteration extremely difficult to respect - doubly so because im in a position now of having twice been told to give bluepoint a chance on a remake, both times to personally and deeply unsatisfactory results. i only wish more folks had a convenient way of experiencing the original so they were free to pass their own judgments
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haha yes some of those selections are truly execrable by many definitions --Metroid Prime is prob a much better example than Other M too -- but I still find them interesting in how their (sometimes awful) contrasts make the original work's identifying qualities more clearly cemented in my brain. I think what I'm talking about in terms of the gaming "covers" idea really comes into play primarily through fanmod culture and itch.io open source code-sharing, usually of smaller scale or older games. Right now the titles in the AAA space are so resource and labor intensive that I don't see thoughtful stylized riffs on those works in full as something that can easily happen (Pathologic 2 is like a perrrfect example of a smaller scale take though!). The Silent Hill series is another one that kind of went that route, although I think it was mostly unsuccessful and moreso just callously tossed around by Konami to unprepared teams vs being meaningfully reinterpreted by any deeply invested parties. Total individual preference but I still prefer something like Downpour or Shattered Memories to any hypothetical Bluepoint-helmed SH2 remake!
"I think videogames could use less remakes and more covers!"
Singlehandedly the best way to put it. It'd be interesting to see more of the "directorial take on" like you see in movies (for example: Suspiria, Casino Royale), although probably way less likely considering amount of time games have been around, and more stringent/limited industry. Although of course, it doesn't need to be a direct cover, like Metroid Prime. I want to see more of the Dead Space 2 to Resident Evil 4.
Singlehandedly the best way to put it. It'd be interesting to see more of the "directorial take on" like you see in movies (for example: Suspiria, Casino Royale), although probably way less likely considering amount of time games have been around, and more stringent/limited industry. Although of course, it doesn't need to be a direct cover, like Metroid Prime. I want to see more of the Dead Space 2 to Resident Evil 4.
very well said mate
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KB0
3 years ago
i think every remake is just going to be a case by case basis (and before posting this review i had to deeply interrogate whether or not I would ever be 100 percent satisfied with any iteration of demons that wasn't a straight remaster and... probably not), but i heavily vibe with the video game cover idea although I'm not sure what that'd look like. Closest i can think of personally is maybe some of the sega ages stuff or tetris effect, or hell, pathologic 2 even. unfortunately have to say that i consider 2/4 of those listed examples repugnant but i totally get what you're going for