rewrite this title The 7 Best Video Game Remakes and Remasters of 2024 – Decrypt

There’s a reason so many of us get the same thing every time we go to a restaurant or have a movie we can watch dozens of times. 

Sometimes, the comfort of a known quantity enhances its enjoyment. Sometimes, we have too many remakes and remasters, but that just means there’s comfort food for everyone. Right?

This year’s release calendar was no different, with a pile of remakes and remasters available, ranging from a simple texture refresh to a complete, ground-up philosophical rethinking of the original. Here are our favorite from 2024.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PlayStation 5, coming to PC)

Of everything on this list, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth goes the deepest. 

This game is a remake in the truest sense of the word. The team at Square Enix took the story, the ideas, and the imagery and massively expanded it instead of just giving us the same game with updated graphics. 

You’ll want to start with Final Fantasy VII Remake, which was released in 2020, but whether you’re an old-school fan or new to Japanese RPGs, this is one of the biggest and flashiest ones out there.

Riven (macOS, Meta Quest, PC)

There’s nothing out there like the Myst series. 

These games helped popularize the CD-ROM back in the 1990s, and they still have some of the most complex, mind-bending puzzles out there. 

This remake modernizes the graphics and alters the puzzles to make it feel as stunning and fresh as ever. The game also has a detailed notebook function that you can use to keep track of what you know in-game, so you don’t need to keep a pad and pen next to your computer.

Dead Rising: Deluxe Remaster (PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)

Dead Rising can be stressful; you have three in-game days to accomplish everything you can and finish the story, and there’s no way to do everything in that time unless you’re a full-time speedrunner. 

This remake takes the legendary zombie game and upgrades it nearly every way. The visuals are a huge step up. 

You can move and aim at the same time. Survivors are smarter. The game auto-saves at key moments. Phone calls don’t require your hands. In other words, this remaster preserves the essence of Dead Rising while making it less stressful and more approachable.

Dragon Quest III: HD-2D Remake (Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)

The name is silly enough that it makes the game hard to take seriously, but it does mean something. This game uses Square-Enix’s “HD-2D” art style, which combines classic pixel art with modern visual effects to create a new look. It’s the first game in the Dragon Quest timeline, so you don’t need to know anything. 

When the game was released in Japan in 1988, it was so popular that it caused a bunch of truancy cases in Japanese schools, and the publisher began releasing the game on weekends to prevent another public fiasco. 

Back then, the game felt way ahead of its time, and even now, it still feels modern thanks to the unique class system. It’s a classic Japanese RPG but with a stunning new coat of paint and a great localization.

Silent Hill 2 (PC, PlayStation 5)

Silent Hill 2 was a landmark moment for horror games and a statement piece for the PlayStation 2. It wasn’t a simple shooter but rather a terrifying psychological horror story dealing with all kinds of personal trauma. 

23 years later, James Sunderland is looking for his wife, Mary, in Silent Hill. This remake gives us best-in-class graphics, stunning sound design, and plenty of scares while updating the environments and combat to make a more modern-feeling but still authentic game.

Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered (Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)

Soul Reaver might be strictly for the old nerds in the room. 

It’s a spin-off of the Legacy of Kain series of PlayStation games set in the world of Nosgoth. Raziel is one of Kain’s generals. After he shows off his newly-grown wings, Kain breaks them and tosses him into a bottomless pit as punishment for showing him up. 

A Lovecraftian Elder God picks up Raziel and revives him so he can collect souls for him—and get his revenge. 

The series has been dead for nearly 25 years—which hurts to acknowledge—but stands out as one of the most atmospheric platforms from that time, with a fun story and killer vocal performances from the entire cast. 

This remake brings Soul Reaver back to life like the Elder God did Raziel. It’s not a remake, but it gives the game a fresh coat of paint and makes it playable on modern systems and at a fair price.

Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door (Nintendo Switch)

The Switch feels outdated alongside modern hardware, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door hails from an entirely different era.

But neither of those facts matters because this remake feels as fresh as ever. 

Some parts here and there show their age, but the game is still visually stunning, with endlessly replayable turn-based combat. 

Some of the writing hasn’t aged well, but a lot of it has aged quite well, and this remake is a good case for why Thousand Year Door is considered one of the best Nintendo RPGs ever.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair