Remaster VS Remakes: What actually is the difference?
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With the Internet often interchanging words it can be difficult to actually understand what 2 similar words actually mean, especially when their definitions are so close to begin with. To help differentiate between a Remaster and a Remake we will look at a few examples and explore why they’re labelled differently.
To start this conversation we need to understand the differences between a Remake and Remaster.
A Remaster is where the studio focuses on enhancing the game’s visuals and removing bugs, but otherwise keeping the mechanics, story and features the same throughout, Remasters focus heavily on giving the player a sense of Nostalgia. The idea is to ensure the game is visually understandable and mechanically playable, whilst still keeping it as close to the original version as possible.
Whereas a Remake is answering the question of what would you do differently if you were to create the game again. Remakes often come with visual, mechanical and a narrative upgrade, which sometimes changes the characters and plot points throughout the game.
Most developers and publishers will choose one or the other, however some do choose to create both a Remaster and Remake of the game. Although the original developer of SystemShock, Looking Glass Studio, no longer existed at this point the IP still held value and eventually made its way into the hands of Night Dive Studios. In order to keep the game playable they initially released an update to enable the game to be played on newer consoles; called SystemShock: Enhanced Edition, on the 22nd of September, 2015. This release also increased many of the original technical aspects and mechanics; such as increasing the resolution from the original 320 × 200, to an improved 1024 × 768. The Enhanced Edition also comes with the original renamed to SystemShock: Classic so players can replay the original if they desire to. This Remaster got quite a positive reception with many saying it was a great way to experience the series if players hadn’t tried a SystemShock game yet.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhRp4HT40PE
Classic Playthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4i5CqIddlg&list=PLaxNnb3i_nS4cTdf_1H09g7gtzAaOpsM4
Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/410710/System_Shock_Enhanced_Edition/
SystemShock Enhanced Edition
In 2015 Night Dive Studios started on a different version; after quite a few set-backs and restarts an official Remake of SystemShock was released in 2023 – 5 years after its original release date. This Remake received mixed, but mostly positive reviews; with most critics viewing it the same way the devs did: a faithful Remake of the original. Some critics have said that the mechanics seem a little too faithful; claiming that they could’ve modernised them to help the Remake appeal to newcomers as opposed to the existing fans.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAppJ8HuIM
Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/482400/System_Shock/
As we have demonstrated above the differences between a Remake and Remaster are drastic, with SystemShock: Enhanced Edition keeping the same pixel art style feel to the game. A player familiar with the series would automatically be able to look at gameplay and trailers and understand what franchise it belongs to. Whereas with the drastic change to 3D, in depth lighting and a more grungy vibe it would take some people by surprise that it is another addition to the series. Though this isn’t the first time such a dramatic change happened, with the new DOOM games doing the same 3D grungy feel. Thankfully when playing the games it can still feel like the original, especially if you still have big guns to mow down your enemies!
Just remember if Nostalgia is the main focus, it’s a Remaster; if it isn’t then it’s a Remake!
If you want to have a more indepth look into some other Remakes or Remasters here is a great list of the more memorable games:
The reasons why a developer may choose either one is entirely dependent on their vision for the game and its franchise as well as the target audience they’re aiming for. To reiterate the differences between the 2;
A Remake is
- Redesigning the game from the ground up
- New visuals
- New game mechanics
- Often have a changed narrative
A Remaster is
- Refurbishing the original game
- Updating the visuals to work with current technology
- Removing bugs and small quality of life changes
- Allows people to experience nostalgia and to replay the game from their childhood without the “downsides” of an older game
When looking at creating a Remake or a Remaster of a game there is no right decision, it is up to those developing the game and what they believe they and their audience want from this experience.
Whilst this is just one example of developers wanting to honour a videogame in more than one way, it is certainly still a bit of an outlier. Many developers and publishers will generally just choose to either a Remake or Remaster instead of both. Furthermore it is more likely to be fans of the game or series that will create a mix of Remakes and Remasters that fit their expectations and beliefs.
With Metroid: Samus Returns and Another Metroid 2 Remake being the main comparison and centre of this conversation, it is only fair that we take into consideration what people actually want when an older game/series gets brought back. Using MSR and AM2R is great because overall they’re both considered great games in their own right, despite being quite different from the other.
To start off with a brief introduction to the original Metroid 2 game:
A sequel to the original Metroid game released in 1986; Metroid II: Return of Samus released in 1991 as an action-adventure game, continuing to follow the bounty hunter Samus Aran. Players control her as she hunts and attempts to eradicate the Metroids from their home planet of SR388, before the Space Pirates can obtain them. The Space Pirates are the primary enemy from the original Metroid game, with them creating the Metroids and then weaponising them due to their new abilities to evolve into different and far deadlier forms of themselves. This was also the first of the Metroid games to be developed for and released on the Game Boy.
The game introduced new mechanics and was praised for its story, setting and gameplay; but was criticised for its graphics and audio quality.
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF1C0xZxBOw
Metroid: Samus Returns is a 2017 action-adventure game and is a Remake of the original 1991 GameBoy game Metroid II: Return of Samus. The remake follows the same story and structure of the original, however it features updated graphics, controls and user interface, with some new gameplay mechanics that had not yet been seen in any previous 2D Metroid titles.
Metroid: Samus Returns received positive reviews upon its release, many complimenting it on its visuals and mechanical improvements over the original, as well as being considered a solid return to form for the Metroid series. It received multiple awards and accolades including “Best Handheld Game” at the Game Awards 2017 and “Handheld Game of the Year” at the 21st D.I.C.E Awards. With the success of the Remake developers MercurySteam went on to make the next well-loved Metroid game- Metroid Dread for the Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fw1pDgbQ8I
Another Metroid 2 Remake or AM2R is also an action-adventure game developed by an Argentinian programmer named Milton Guasti (DoctorM64) and released in 2016 for Metroid’s 30th birthday. AM2R is a fan-made/unofficial Remake of the original 1991 game Metroid II: Return of Samus using the visual style of Metroid: Zero Mission (2004).
Like the original, players play as Samus Aran hunting down and eradicating the parasitic Metroids. Unlike the original though, AM2R adds in several features such as new graphics, music, areas, bosses, a map system and alters some of the controls. AM2R takes a lot of inspiration and mechanics from newer 2D Metroid games to enhance and update the original.
Another Metroid 2 Remake saw a positive reception upon its release and many journalists called it a standout among the many other fan-made Metroid games. Due to AM2R releasing well before the official Remake, Jonathan Holmes from Destructoid said that AM2R does a good job at filling the “void” left by Nintendo’s lack of new 2D Metroid games.
Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCMeKM1w1UM
As you can see the official and unofficial Remakes of Metroid II: Return of Samus are 2 very different takes on a Remake of the same game with many fans enjoying both as well. If you want to look into more of a comparison between the unofficial and official Remakes take a look at this great read/video by Game Maker’s Toolkit.
https://youtu.be/8WkEoYvlUF0?si=ni1bldqTSG5-N-fv
Though; I will like to mention that due to AM2R’s success Nintendo felt threatened enough by it that it sent a DMCA to the developer, Milton Guasti, which was quite a controversial move and made many fans feel unwelcome to create fan works of the Metroid series or other Nintendo IP. They were also very quick to send notices to websites hosting the game and to the developer as well, only giving the game 1 day of full release. Although many fans continue to allow the game through “pirating” software such as Torrent, it is still easily accessible through the right means. Although a disappointment, it isn’t surprising with Nintendo being one of the strictest (alongside Disney) for any fan-made works/art or even YouTubers and Streamers playing their games live, especially if that’s their full-time job.
On a slightly different note, Modding is quite similar in this vein; where a player often feels something could be improved – with this often being small changes. Or they add additional content to increase options for the player or add whole new cities or overhaul story elements. Whilst not being a full Remake or Remaster of the game, they have definitely helped to keep some old games feel lively with ensuring that the game is able to keep up with modern technology. However, because players can mix and match as many or as little Mods as they want it doesn’t really count as either a Remake or a Remaster. Though I think this is a great topic to look into a bit later this year!
Keep an eye out for that in the near future!
To recap what was discussed, a Remaster is where the studio focuses on enhancing the game’s visuals and removing bugs, but otherwise keeps the mechanics, story and features the same throughout. And a Remake is where they still update the visuals but change the mechanical and narrative from the original. This often changes the game and does take away from the Nostalgia that a Remaster focuses on keeping.
Whilst I do believe that this topic is much deeper than what I have gone over here, the definition is also muddied a bit when people try and aim for a mix of the 2. I’ll have a bunch of links below to all the websites and information I found on all the above topics if you want to really explore the rabbit hole!
References:
What’s the Difference Between a Remake and a Remaster?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock#Sequels_and_remakes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Shock_(2023_video_game)
https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/Another_Metroid_2_Remake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AM2R
https://metroid2remake.blogspot.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metroid:_Samus_Returns
https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/Another_Metroid_2_Remake#:~:text=downloading%20the%20game.-,Shutdown,any%20download%20links%20be%20removed
