Video game remakes have become a common thing in today’s day and age. This has, in turn, led to a few problems; some franchises get remade way too soon, while the rest have had really awful remakes.
Today, we are going to skim through and pick out some of the video game remakes that we think are the greatest of all time.
The Best Video Game Remakes Ever
Black Mesa
Half-Life is one of the most important first-person shooters of all time. Developed by the minds at Valve. It changed storytelling in the shooter genre forever and has now become a global phenomenon. That is because people are still waiting for the third game.
But we are here to talk about the amazing remake of the first Half-Life, called Black Mesa. The funny thing is that this was a fan remake that went above and beyond what most official developers do when making a remake.
If you are looking to pick up Half-Life for the first time and wish it looked like was modern game, then Black Mesa by Crowbar Collective is the best way to experience the game right now.
Ghosts n’ Goblins Resurrection
Capcom is not a developer known for remaking games with ease, unless it’s from the Resident Evil franchise. But when they do pull off remakes of other franchises pulling from their past catalogue, it’s always a great time.
Such is the case with Ghost n’ Goblins Resurrection, which is a beautiful reimagining of the classic title from the console era of yesteryears. It was developed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the franchise, and is one of the best remakes of a side scroller ever made.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
We did try to pull a slander on the Resident Evil franchise for being Capcom’s favourite baby. But it should also be noted that it earned its place as the favourite child. So when the developers decided to remake the original Resident Evil 2, they absolutely knocked it out of the park.
This remake took a lot of liberties, moving away from the classic fixed camera style of the original game for a more third-person camera like the fourth game. Changing a lot of the game’s story sequences as well as encounters.
But at the end of the day, it came out as one fine product for the consumers. It brought in new fans to the series and was amazing enough to even reel in old fans, considering it as a fresh take on the second game.
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pokémon game remakes are something that isn’t too new for the franchise. Some of the older games in the series are still getting remakes even to this day. But for most of the fanbase, opinions of appreciation have mellowed down with the new 3D approach for the beautiful 2D era games.
This is why games such as Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver are still considered as some of the best remakes in the franchise, one can check out.
These games successfully elevated the art style from the original 1999 Pokémon Gold and Silver, maintaining a balance between 3D as well as 2D sprite work.
Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
For the longest time, the Legend of Zelda franchise had stayed away from the classic top-down games, especially after the advent of the 3D era Zelda games. It had gradually turned into a 3D person dungeon crawler.
So to see the franchise bring back the old style of top-down Zelda game in 2019 was surely a delight. Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening was originally a Game Boy game from the 90s.
While a lot of older fans of the franchise fondly remember the game, it was great to see it get modernised with appropriate 3D stylisation for the newer generation. This is definitely one of the best remakes of any game in the Legend of Zelda franchise has ever gotten.
Metroid: Zero Mission
Metroid is one of the major Nintendo franchises that has been crucial in shaping an important sub-genre of side-scrolling games. Which is the Metroidvania genre that was initially termed as the ‘search action’ genre?
So, naturally, undertaking the task of remaking the first game in the franchise was a massive one, but this is Nintendo we are talking about. Not only did they understand the assignment, but they also knocked it out of the park.
Metroid: Zero Mission is the perfect game to pick up if you want to get into this franchise from the beginning, but don’t want to play the original.
Shadow of the Colossus
Looking back at Shadow of the Colossus, it is still a miracle to imagine how such a game was able to run on the PlayStation 2 hardware. A system that did not have the considerable hardware edge for large-scale open-world titles that we see today.
Here we are in 2025, asking you to check the game out, but you may be someone who would prefer to play it on modern graphics. Fret not, because in 2018, PlayStation’s Bluepoint Games released a remake of the game, which won the hearts of many.
The newly released game also added some of the cut content from the original game, which had become a point of mystery and discussion among the fans for years.
System Shock Remake
The original System Shock was long hailed in the first-person shooter community for combining genres such as horror, immersive sim and dungeon crawling. But the title had lost its fame over time, and most of the modern generation of gamers would not remember it.
Things changed when Nightdive Studios, which is really well known for reviving old IPs, stepped in and released a visually enticing remake in 2023.
Development of this game was a long and arduous process that spanned over years since 2015. By the time it was finally released, the System Shock remake came to be considered as one of the best FPS remakes of all time.
Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes
This list is getting filled up with a lot of influential games, and it’s definitely not surprising to see them get remakes. Metal Gear Solid on the PlayStation changed storytelling and cutscenes in video games forever.
You bet Konami wanted to remake it right away; that’s exactly what happened with the release of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, which was released for Nintendo’s GameCube console exclusively.
Sadly, this version of the game has stayed locked in the hardware forever, with modern releases of Metal Gear Solid being just the 1998 PlayStation Original version.
The Twin Snakes is one of the best ways to relive the classic, as it added new cutscenes and mechanics introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
It is sad to see PlayStation pretty much move away from their 3D platformer classics, for more realistic and gritty games in the modern gen. Though a bit of that spark is still left in the modern era, carried by remakes.
One of these important remakes is Spyro Reignited Trilogy, which is a re-release of the platforming game surrounding everyone’s favourite purple dragon. Released in 2018 by Activision as an attempt to re-establish the IP.
The great thing about this remake is that not only does it elevate the visuals and gameplay up to date with modern standards, but it also brings the game to multiple platforms.
