Soapbox: Remakes Like 'Resident Evil 4' Deserve To Be In The GOTY Conversation

Can't speak on resi 4 but the sotc remake has def been robbed of a goty nomination, maybe even a W though I don't think they ever would've in 2018. 😮‍💨

I think it would be best to exclude them from the main lists but add a special “Remake of the year” category. That way publishers are pushed to innovate but real remake gems still get their place in the spotlights.

A remake, as far as I am concerned, has something no new game can really compete with - Nostalgia. Even if they 'tweak' things a bit - like Dead Space too, its still hitting all the key moments you remember which hits you right in the Nostalgic feels that new games can't offer.

If anything, I think these games perhaps deserve some award, some recognition - best 'remake/remaster' for example, but NOT a Game of the Year. Game of the Year should relate to ALL the games that are completely 'new', not 10yrs old or more games who had the chance to win GotY the year they 'originally' released.

I do think they deserve recognition - just for the industry to take note of what a 'good' remake/remaster should be - not just changing the output resolution to 4k but still keeping the same 'low' polygon count and dated textures and/or increasing the 'frame-rate'. But should not really be 'Game of the Year' and if an 'old' game is GotY, what does that say about the video game industry? That new games are 'worse' than a 10yr+ game?

Most remakes are of games that are already considered some of the best games of their time. Even a half baked remake of RE4 would be a really good game. I consider them for game of the year but hold them to much higher standards than new games. I love RE4 remake but I think their were more worthy games this year.

I have played a couple of remakes that folks have raved about but ones I never played when they originally came out. So I am looking at them with fresh eyes & without a nostalgia filter to fill in their short comings.

In the few I have tried the game play doesn't age well feeling tired & often clunky. Sure they look better in most cases but old game play is still old. They get left behind for good reason in most cases.

Just my opinion don't expect anyone to agree. If you do enjoy remakes & have fun then good for you. Gaming is meant to be fun regardless so have at it.

I disagree completely with putting them in for GOTY.

GOTY is not recycling an old story and re-making it better both technically and story-wise. GOTY is for new stories and new technologies.

At the very least every re-make is a cop-out in creating a new creative story. Although I really like some re-makes like RE4 I don't see how it can get anything more than an 8 out of 10 with reviewers. Because creativity of the story should count for at least 2 points in any review. It is hard to believe a re-made story can be considered very creative.

For a main GOTY contender? Absolutely not.

Current gaming is devoid of creativity enough as it. Better to not to encourage that. A separate category for "Best Remake" would be fine.

I also wouldn't call Capcom a master of remakes yet. RE2 and 4 were fine. But 3 was a dumpster fire. I'd still call them hit or miss.

Just started chapter 16. I mean for a person like myself who never played the original this is a NEW game to me. GOTY for me and my limited library. Its a win/win for me.

If it’s done from the ground up then I don’t see a priblem

Agree completely. So many people fail to understand the difference between a Remake and a Remaster. A Remake is a brand new game on a new engine with new assets, etc and absolutely deserves GOTY contention. Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 are my top picks for GOTY this year.

Of course, it's a new game. And in a lot of ways, it's a different game from the original. RE4, along with the eight hour expansion Separate Ways, is my GOTY by a landslide. No other game kept me playing as much as this one.

Nah, keep GOTY for new original games. Even if a remake goes so far to deviant aspects from the original like FF7R or Twin Snakes to make it its own. They had an established story already crafted so they get an advantage. Plus, it would set a precedent of remakes overfilling the game industry for the coveted title.

A remake Category (maybe name it Retelling to include remasters & remakes?) would be fitting and keeping a balance.

Absolutely not. Should they have their own category and recognition? Sure, but even RE4 wasn't original enough to even hope to be GOTY. You're copying a story that's been told for a very long time, slightly altering it, and throwing it into an updated game.

The game plays, looks, and feels better. But the story, a major part of RE games, does noy feel new or exciting compared to how the OG was at the time. I think people forget what "making a new game from the ground up" entails. That also means the story is brand new, so RE4 remake isn't fully an original experience. Playing the RE4 remake, I just felt like I was playing the OG on a better system, it never felt like it's own unique thing, regardless of new graphics, levels, or controls, ot even story bits.

I think REIMAGININGS should be in the running as, by and large, they should be a completely new experience with some ties to the original. Those aren't all that common, however.

I agree they should be in the conversation, but for me personally they will always be at a disadvantage. No way would I ever give it to a game like RE4 remake when you had games like BG3, Alan Wake 2, TotK, etc. it would have to be a weak year with weak GOTY selections for me to ever choose a remake over a brand new game. Just the way I personally view it.

no remakes deserve it. its unfair

Personally, I am quite happy to see a remake be considered for the Game of the Year. I speak as someone that never played Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 or Resident Evil 4 before they were remade. So for me, they were brand new games. And that is the point! I may never have played these games had they not been remade (when it came to Resident Evil I started at the fifth game). So whilst the games had their time in the spotlight when they were first released, they are then re-introduced to an entirely new audience when remade, and so absolutely will be considered by some as a new game and potentially a Game of the Year too.

When it came to Dead Space, I had played the original when it first came out, and then a few more times over the following years. Despite that, I pre-ordered the remake, and thoroughly enjoyed it. To my mind, it was rightfully in the Game of the Year conversation because of its quality, but also because there will have been many that were playing it for the first time.

Upshot is, if the game is of a quality to be considered for a Game of the Year nomination (and it isn't simply living of its past glories) then it absolutely should be in the mix...

I agree! Except that aside from graphics, and some really scary moments in the remake, OG RE 4 is better.

Better voice acting, better characterization, better personalities, better charm, better level design, better pacing, better aiming, etc etc.

But tbh, I haven't played it but I've heard that Separate Ways is way better than the original version.

My favorite games this yr have been mostly remakes and a remaster.