Remakes Are Going To Save Virtual Reality

As a VR enthusiast, it’s hard to understand why the Oculus Quest 2 still hasn’t hit critical mass. It’s not a matter of cost: the Quest 2 is half the price of the PS5 and Xbox Series X and less than a third of a 30-series GPU, and unlike all of those, is widely available. It’s not due to a lack of content either. There are hundreds of games on the Oculus store, and at least a dozen I would consider must-plays. There are even more if you have a decent computer to link to, like Half-Life: Alyx , Star Wars Squadrons, and my personal favorite, Insomniac’s Stormland. I don’t think it's an accessibility issue either - at least not for the vast majority of potential VR players. Resolution and high refresh rates have virtually eliminated the disorientation of early VR, and even if you’re especially squeamish, every game has plenty of settings built in that help eliminate any discomfort. If you ask me, the Quest 2 ought to be as ubiquitous as the equally-priced Nintendo Switch, but as of this past July, the Quest 2 has only sold four million units to the Switch’s

I can’t play the Spyro trilogy for the first time again, nor can I approach it with the same innocence and sense of wonder that I did when I was ten years old. I still love the series, but games have changed a lot since Spyro first came out. There have been 20 years of evolution and innovation since Spyro the Dragon was made, and I’ve seen how games have been refined and enhanced since then. I’ve changed a lot too. I’m a critic now, and I pick games apart and analyze them for a living. I can revisit Spyro from a new perspective, but now I experience it as an echo of the original - a snapshot of my childh


Putting all of the emotional analysis aside for a second, Link is also fabulous as hell, and pretty fly for a Hero of Time. Breath of the Wild provided a selection of outfits and accessories for our protagonist to slip into after his century-long nap. His classical green garb was nowhere to be seen, and players were expected to search for distinct pieces of clothing, armour, and items to use that were relevant to exploring certain environments, or provided essential protection against larger boss encount


Spectacle is all well and good, but it’s short-lived, and doesn’t stick in your mind like the haunting corridors of Raccoon City Police Station. I’m not going to remember the Lady Dimitrescu boss battle for years to come, but Leon’s first hesitant steps into Raccoon City are already cemented into my mind. Resident Evil 4 is filled with moments like this. Despite being a rollercoaster ride of gunfights and boss battles, it never fails in making you feel vulnerable. Leon could have a fully upgraded arsenal at his disposal, but not taking his surroundings into account would lead to an untimely de


Earlier this year, Capcom released its latest remake, which is a reimagining of the events of Resident Evil 3 . Of course, given the success of the RE2 remake one year prior, fans had high expectations on the Resident Evil 3 remake. Unfortunately, when the game finally released last April, fans were a bit disappointed by how far the RE3 remake strayed from the original . Sure, it still retained the basic premise of RE3 but the sequence of events has been reshuffled so much that it is barely recognizable from the origi

Hyrule is no longer a land of the unknown. We’ve explored it for literal days as we talked to citizens, tackled shrines, and eventually saved the world. People know who we are and what we’ve accomplished, so take advantage of that reputation and use it to shape the land in our image. Link shouldn’t be given a voice, but for a narrative set in the here and now to work his identity will need to be cemented in the surrounding landscape. I want to step back into reimagined versions of Zora’s Domain and Kakariko Village and be greeted with open arms by a populace who are happy to see me and perhaps want help with a few local issues as a larger conflict rages on in the background.


But, assuming that Resident Evil 4 remake is in the works, how should Capcom approach its re-imagining? Well, given that Resident Evil 4 will be the fourth major remake of a mainline Resident Evil game, it stands to be one of the best. The reason for this is that Capcom has already remade the first three Resident Evil games, with each game giving the studio feedback from fans and critics on which elements of the remake did or did not work. Now, based on the reception of each of the Resident Evil remakes, here are the lessons that Capcom should implement in the development of Resident Evil


This train of thought originates from the remake of Resident Evil 3, which was a painfully underwhelming successor to the phenomenal remake of Resident Evil 2. The latter was one of Capcom’s best games in years, ushering in a new era of survival horror brilliance that I was confident it would build upon. With the arrival of Resident Evil 3 and Village, Needle Knight Leda it seems it is opting for an action-oriented approach that won’t risk alienating those who aren’t willing to negotiate with horror. It’s the smart move, but creatively, it feels like a hollow one. Resident Evil is at its weakest when the action ramps up, giving way to adequate gunplay instead of allowing its atmosphere and monsters to do the heavy lift