Remakes and remasters are booming – here's why classic horror video games will never die

Resident Evil 2, initially released in 1998, enjoyed a resurgence when a remastered version arrived in 2019. Photo: Capcom

What makes the original Resident Evil games scary? My 10-year-old self would have said it's the slow oncoming zombies that bring a certain demise or the powerful mutated beings that seem impervious to heavy weaponry.

To a young gamer, imagination fills in a lot of the blanks and supercharges the frights, creating nightmares and a fear of desolate buildings and eerily quiet places. Playing those games today, I’d probably feel embarrassed being scared.

But those old games worked well when they were released and just because they might not be as scary today, doesn’t mean they should be ignored or discarded. In fact, they remain very popular for their engaging characters and compelling storylines, which have helped set the bar for games today.

Dead Space, a game from 2008, was remastered last year. Photo: Electronic Arts

An increasingly common sight in gaming these days is the remaster. These take the original game and either give it a visual facelift or remake it from the ground up with new mechanics and modes of play. Some of the most beloved horror game titles such as Resident Evil 2, Dead Space and Alan Wake have all received remasters or remakes in the past few years.

While remasters aren’t strictly for horror games, they seem to be the ones received most positively by games, but why is that?

The scares evolve

Horror is subject to constant evolution. But unlike other genres, it is usually the first and fastest to do so. Films, literature and, more recently, horror video games are usually made with minimal budgets, focusing more on form and method to achieve scares.

There have been examples on every console, even going back to the days of text-based games. In the mid-1990s, horror games took off due to the PlayStation's popularity and more Japanese games making the crossover to global markets.

Games like Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, Clock Tower and Dino Crisis all utilised different methods to make their games frightening for players. In Silent Hill, for example, the original PlayStation's limitation to show long distances made the developers use a fog-like effect to create a claustrophobic experience, becoming a staple of subsequent games.

Resident Evil 3 was released in April 2020. Photo: Capcom

But scary then is not scary today, so a remaster tends to be necessary to invigorate those thrills. In 2019, Capcom remade its extremely popular Resident Evil 2, with the story of the original remaining in place while everything else has been renewed to suit modern standards. The remake received an incredible reception, prompting Capcom to pursue remakes of Resident Evil 3 and 4.

What made the remake so successful is that it built on a solid foundation in the original game and yet transformed the scares and eerie environments to make them even more frightening. Playing both games, it is easy to see that the remake takes all its cues from the original but translates them well for a fresh horrifying adventure.

Rising popularity

Gaming today is a very accessible experience. Anyone can play a game from any time in the past 30 years and have a trove of guides and clues to aid in their pursuit. This has allowed for all kinds of cult classic horror games to suddenly experience a resurgence.

Some games might have been moderately popular on initial release, but their legend has grown as more people discover and play them, sharing their experiences online. This continued interest has made certain titles increasingly sought out, making them prime candidates for a remaster or remake.

Last year had the release of many remasters and remakes including Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, System Shock and Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse. In the coming months, gamers are anticipating the remastered versions of Silent Hill 2 and Dead Rising, further proving that the genre will keep taking its origins and making them a contemporary experience.