At this time of year we're all thinking about our favourite games of 2023 - and it's been a heck of a year this time around! Personally, I haven't quite nailed down my number one spot yet (I'm still playing Alan Wake 2 OK, it's been a busy year cut me some slack), but I've started to see some chatter online about what games should and shouldn't have been considered for GOTY - and it's got me thinking back to Resident Evil 4.
With the amount of 'remakes' that pop up these days it's always a touchy subject when folks start claiming them as potential GOTYs, but they should absolutely be considered - especially when they're as transformative as what Capcom has been putting out recently. To be clear, I can't commit to RE4 being my personal Game of the Year yet, but it's definitely on my shortlist and there's nothing wrong with that at all.
Our resident Las Plagas ass-kicker PJ gave Capcom's latest remake a straight 10/10 back in March, and while my thoughts aren't completely aligned, I can't blame him. The Japanese developer delivered a masterful remake of one of gaming's most iconic survival horror games this year, and that surely qualifies it as a Game of the Year candidate. Expectations were sky-high heading into RE4 Remake too and looking at the reception from both fans and critics alike, Capcom understood the assignment and then some.
Another thing that's worth pointing out here is that this isn't some sort of 'up-res' or low-effort remaster - I could see a case being made for that sort of thing not being GOTY-worthy. RE4 remake is completely rebuilt from top to bottom, featuring new gameplay mechanics, encounter design, levels, visuals, cutscenes, controls - the whole nine yards. It's a remake in the truest sense of the word and that level of endeavour isn't something to be sniffed at.
In the end, RE4 Remake may end up being an unfortunate victim of just how good 2023 has been. There's nothing wrong with that — this year has delivered some incredible games after all — we just hope Capcom's latest RE release isn't pushed aside purely because it's a remake. At least that didn't happen here at Pure Xbox, where you voted it the ninth best game of the year! It's on my current shortlist as well because it's a bloody good video game, and I can't wait to see what else Capcom does with its long-running series in the future. Right, back to Alan Wake 2 I suppose!
Is RE4 Remake on your GOTY shortlist? Tell us if you think it deserves a spot down below.
Comments 16
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 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.
I DO think they should be considered BUT we need to recognise that a lot of the really hard work iterating ideas and coming up with a general design concept was done previously, hence it’s hard for me to praise remakes above new games. I might enjoy it as much, or even more, as a game, but it’s rightly harder to give it GOTY in my opinion. But it also depends on the level of the remake. I wouldn’t personally consider remasters.
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...
My favorite games this yr have been mostly remakes and a remaster.
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