The history of gaming isn’t that old compared to other artistic and entertainment mediums. Many people have lived through the entirety of video game history, and more people have seen most of it. As such, you’d think that the history of video games would be pretty well documented.

Yet, there are some games that just don’t get the historical credit they deserve. It’s strange to think that some of the most important innovators in video game history can be largely forgotten, but it happens more than you may think.

With that said, here are five games that we bet you didn’t know changed gaming forever.

ChuChu Rocket

How it Changed Gaming: One of the first console games with functional, official online multiplayer.

Gamers of a certain age may remember ChuChu Rocket and the buzz it generated in 1999, but the game’s innovations have tragically been overlooked as the years go on.

ChuChu Rocket is a puzzle game that was essentially designed as a test of the Dreamcast’s online multiplayer capabilities. At a time when online console gaming was little more than a pipe dream, ChuChu Rocket offered easy-to-access competitive multiplayer that ran fairly well. It even let players upload and download custom maps!

The game itself was fairly simple (yet still a lot of fun), but it should be remembered as the game that helped a generation of developers figure out how online console multiplayer was practically going to work.

So while you may have been able to technically play other console games online before ChuChu Rocket, this is the game that made the dream a reality.

Kill Switch

How it Changed Gaming: The introduction of an active cover system.

This one is a little hard to explain. See, there were games before Kill Switch that featured a cover system. Metal Gear Solid 2, for instance, let you take cover to avoid detection or incoming damage.

Yet, Kill Switch is the game that introduced the cover system as we typically see it used today. By that, I mean that Kill Switch allowed you to rapidly move from cover to cover and pop out from your cover to engage in firefights. Whereas previous cover systems were largely defensive, Kill Switch‘s use of cover was all about staying on the offense.

Granted, Kill Switch borrowed a rough draft of that concept from games like Time Crisis, but at the time of its release in 2003, nobody had seen a third-person action game that let you move like that. Kill Switch‘s cover system was even featured in the game’s marketing and on the cover of the game’s case.

Gears of War tends to get the credit for this one, but we owe a lot to Kill Switch.

Mark of Kri

How it Changed Gaming: Use of 3D, multi-target combat.

It’s funny how a game can come along, garner critical acclaim, and over the years, kind of fall by the wayside. That’s about what happened with Mark of Kri.

Mark of Kri is a pretty great game in general, but its best feature was a dual-analog targeting system that let you assign an attack button to enemies around you. By doing so, you could easily jump between multiple enemies during combat sequences.

Does that sound familiar? It should, as it’s basically the combat system that Batman: Arkham would eventually help popularize. The difference is that Arkham came out in 2009 and Mark of Kri came out in 2002. While Kri‘s system was certainly rougher, it still feels like a generational leap ahead of everything else that was around.

At a time when 3D combat was rough, Mark of Kri figured out how to make it feel satisfying.

Jet Rocket

How it Changed Gaming: The first open-world game, first flight simulator, and first first-person game.

To be honest with you, I tend to hate talking about absolute firsts in gaming as the earliest technical examples of a concept tend to be rough.

However, Jet Rocket‘s historical accomplishments are too notable to ignore despite the very, very rough nature of the game itself.

Released in 1970, Jet Rocket allowed players to navigate an open 3D landscape while piloting a fighter jet. Its open-world design is particularly interesting, as the environment featured a few simple digital landmarks that actually offered a sense of perspective. Remarkably, the arcade cabinet was even shaped like a cockpit which enhanced the feeling of actually piloting a plane.

So why isn’t Jet Rocket typically remembered as an innovator? Sadly, a couple of companies got their hands on an early prototype of the game and ripped it off ahead of its global release. At least we now know we have Jet Rocket to thank for so many early innovations.

Marathon

How it Changed Gaming: Introduction of free-aim mouse and keyboard controls.

Go back and play the original version of Doom. If you’ve been raised on modern first-person shooters, we’re willing to bet that the first thing you’ll notice is the fact Doom does not use the mouse for aiming and looking.

Actually, the first game to really introduce that concept was Bungie’s Marathon.

Generally remembered as the series that Bungie made before Halo, the Macintosh version of Marathon featured a mouse-and-keyboard look and movement system that feels remarkably modern. It actually took a little while for this innovation to catch on, but once it did, it led to the development of FPS games that emphasized precision aim and fast movements.

It’s truly incredible to think that such a seemingly simple control concept would change gaming forever.

Note: Updated from the original article dated Nov 1, 2020.

The best thing you can say about 2020 is that this year might make for a pretty good story at some point. At the very least, the year gave us some of the best video game stories in recent memory.

Popular perception suggests that the industry is dominated by multiplayer games, but 2020 showed that there are enough storytellers left in the industry to ensure the state of narrative-driven games is bright despite whatever concerns remain about its future.

If you’re looking for some of entertainment’s greatest adventures, you’ll find them in our look at the best video game stories of the year.

5. The Last of Us Part 2

The Last of Us Part 2‘s biggest issue from a storytelling standpoint is the game’s length. This sequel’s messages and themes are stretched thin across the length of a 20+hour game, and large sections of the campaign drag on without contributing anything substantial to what makes the story work.

That doesn’t mean the story doesn’t work, though. While The Last of Us Part 2‘s bloat hurts its grander ideas, the personal adventures of the story’s best characters and the little moments along the way work as intended. Ellie’s tragic growth reflects the scars of her twisted upbringing and Abby’s journey proves to worthy of the time it is afforded despite the vitriol the character endures from fans who feel she “doesn’t belong” in the game.

The Last of Us 2′s triumphs as a vehicle for smaller stories makes it easier to overlook the times it fails to stick the landing when making its most ambitious leaps.

4. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Yakuza games generally feature excellent stories, but their impact is negated somewhat by the fact that the game’s long-running mythology can often make it difficult for new players to really feel invested in the universe, certain characters, and what can sometimes feel like an overwhelming number of callbacks.

That’s why Like a Dragon is so special. It not only converts the Yakuza series into something closer to a JRPG, but it uses that gameplay conversion as an excuse to establish a fresh Yakuza story that invokes this series’ ability to balance absurdity with heartfelt drama.

It’s easy to judge the quality of a video game story by its weight, but there is something to be said for how Yakuza: Like a Dragon tells what is a fundamentally enjoyable narrative in a way that still leaves you feeling invested in its wide cast of characters and unable to stop playing until you’ve seen what happens next.

3.Half-Life: Alyx

The brilliance of the Half-Life franchise’s stories isn’t necessarily found on the pages of its scripts but rather through Valve’s in-game storytelling methods. Half-Life helped pioneer the art of immersive video game storytelling that doesn’t rely on an onslaught of cutscenes or text.

Half-Life: Alyx retains the series’ storytelling methods and translates them into the still-wild frontier of VR. The result is a compelling narrative that retains Half-Life‘s trademark methods but uses the enhanced immersion of VR to further all of the things that this series already excelled at.

It’s been a long time since we’ve played what you could consider to be a “true” Vale game, and while Half-Life: Alyx is a VR title, it’s also a glorious return to form for a legendary studio. The game’s ending also offers a terrific cliffhanger that we hope Valve doesn’t wait another decade to follow up on.

2. Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Final Fantasy 7 Remake‘s hype was teetering on the edge of a dangerous tipping point ahead of its release. What could have once been little more than Final Fantasy 7 remade with modern graphics took longer than most fans ever anticipated. With each passing year, the expectations for what the remake should be started to dangerously grow.

In its own way, Final Fantasy 7‘s story is all about expectations. Without diving too much into spoilers, it acknowledges that the original Final Fantasy 7‘s story not only exists but was this monumental event that forms the backbone of the remake’s adventure. The remake then attempts to somehow recapture the glory of its predecessor and simultaneously forge a new path.

Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t always make the most of its ambitious set-up, but it still stands tall as one of the best examples of meta storytelling and one of the boldest remakes in any medium.

1. Hades

The idea of a roguelike with a substantial story is already hard to believe. The idea of a roguelike that boasts the best story in a year that certainly wasn’t lacking in compelling tales feels like an impossibility.

Hades manages to take the sting out of roguelikes by almost making you root for the next death in order to see what little piece of this compelling universe is going to reveal itself next. While the game takes you on a grand adventure of mythological proportions, it’s really a collection of little adventures and examples of personal growth that so happen to form a grand tale you simply can’t see from the outset until you’ve taken the time to assemble the pieces.

Hades’ mechanics would make it one of the greatest roguelikes ever, but it’s the game’s story that makes it one of the most essential gaming experiences of the last decade.

We’ve taken a look at the most overrated games of 2020, but why just be negative when we have an equal chance to shine some light on some of the year’s more overlooked titles.

Before we dive into the list, though, let me share a quick note. You won’t find many ultra indie titles on this list, but that’s largely because those games are overlooked by their very nature. Instead, I wanted to focus on some of the year’s slightly more notable releases which, for one reason or another, not enough people played.

With that in mind, these are some of the most underrated games of 2020.

Gears Tactics

Look, Gears Tactics really is little more than an ambitious XCOM mod. Is that really a bad thing, though?

Gears Tactics could have been a cheap cash-in on a fairly popular concept, but it instead proved to be a well-made strategy game in its own right that smartly utilizes elements of the XCOM universe that even the main games in the series haven’t always taken advantage of.

Honestly, you could argue that Gears Tactics is a better overall game than Gears 4. Definitely give this one a shot on Game Pass if you haven’t already.

Minecraft Dungeons

Despite its association with one of the most popular game franchises ever (or perhaps because of it) Minecraft Dungeons failed to make much of an impact.

While the game is too simple to win over the Diablo and Path of Exile crowd, it really stands out as a gateway with a co-op experience that’s at least as fun as any of the much more popular Lego games.

This is another title you should absolutely try out on Game Pass, especially if you’ve got someone on the couch next to you to share it with.

The Falconeer

As one of the few original Xbox Series X launch titles, it’s bizarre that The Falconeer didn’t generate a little more buzz simply by default. I work in this industry full-time, and I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to anyone that’s played this game.

That’s a shame because The Facloneer is nothing if not interesting. As an open-world air combat game, The Falconeer automatically fills a genre void that has been overlooked for too long. While I suspect the game’s simple combat has contributed to its undoing, it breaks my heart that this project’s beauty and unique concepts haven’t inspired more people to give it a shot.

Maybe you should wait for a sale before you commit to this game, but it’s absolutely worth a look.

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics

Granted, this game did generate some social media buzz, but I’m not sure people are paying Clubhouse Games the respect it deserves.

Clubhouse Games brilliantly utilizes the Switch’s interface to revitalize some truly timeless games. In a better world, this title would have been pre-installed on every single Nintendo Switch, but its nearly infinite replay value makes it one of the year’s best purchases.

In a year that wasn’t exactly bursting at the seams with new Nintendo Switch games, Clubhouse deserves a little more recognition.

Nioh 2

This is another one of those games that I’m not sure I’ve ever actually talked to anyone about at any point this year.

I feel like Nioh 2‘s biggest problem is that it probably should have been DLC. It doesn’t feature a lot of new ideas and the new content that is there isn’t robust in terms of innovations or even improvements.

However, as the well-made follow-up to one of the best Soulslike titles ever, Nioh 2 deserves to be played by everybody who enjoyed the first game.

Streets of Rage 4

Generally speaking, the biggest problem with old-school beat-em-up titles is that our memories of them tend to be far greater than the actual experience of replying these fundamentally simple and typically short games.

That’s what makes Streets of Rage 4 so interesting. It captures the fundamental appeal of the Streets of Rage series while introducing just enough modern innovations to revitalize the fun that is sometimes lost in translation when you try to play a legitimate old-school beat-em-up.

Much like 2016’s Doom, Streets of Rage 4 combines the best of the old and the modern.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

There was a time when PlayStation fans were begging for truly great 3D platformers to call their own. It’s a testament to the decline of that genre’s popularity in the mainstream that Sackboy hasn’t garnered more attention.

A Big Adventure is hardly the new Super Mario Odyssey, but I’d go so far as to call it a better version of the recent Yoshi platformers. It’s got a great style that perfectly complements its solid platformer gameplay.

I’d love to see this game’s team take another shot at a similar concept as I feel they’re on the verge of something truly great.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Released in Japan in 2019, 13 Sentinels made its global debut in 2020 to very little fanfare outside of those who already knew about it.

13 Sentinels will absolutely be too weird for some people, but if you happen to enjoy its blend of visual novel storytelling and hybrid side-scrolling/RTS gameplay, you’ll find that this is one of the year’s most original and well-executed games.

If you’re not entirely alienated by the concept, then you should consider giving 13 Sentinels a shot.

Despite all of the hardships it presented, 2020 ended up being a pretty special year for gamers. Against all odds, developers everywhere turned in an incredible lineup of titles that will surely make this year’s game of the year awards a challenge to figure out.

Yet, there are a few titles I see that keep popping up as candidates for those awards that just make me wince. They’re not necessarily bad games but they are, for one reason or another, games that are just getting a little too much love.

These are the most overrated games of 2020.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Origins was a fascinating, but flawed, attempt to softly reboot the complacent Assassin’s Creed franchise. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey did a brilliant job of fixing many of those flaws, solidifying the franchise’s new direction, and setting us up for something potentially special.

Valhalla is occasionally that something special, but it’s mostly another incremental improvement that received a little too much praise for being another largely familiar entry in an increasingly familiar franchise. Not every AC game needs to reinvent the wheel, but we should also temper our praise for amounts to a better version of an already good game.

Call of Duty: Warzone

It didn’t take long for Call of Duty: Warzone to become the darling of the battle royale scene. The popularity of the Call of Duty franchise made Warzone immediately notable while the title’s free-to-play status got it into the hands of more people than may have otherwise given it a chance. On top of that, it’s a fun game in its own right.

Yet, at a time of constant updates, Warzone‘s general complacency has been frustrating to watch. The one advantage of live service games is that they typically stay fresh enough to become the only game you need for months at a time. Aside from a couple of fun events, Warzone‘s updates have largely focused on balancing the existing game.

Ghost of Tsushima

This one is tough. I actually think Ghost of Tsushima is a really good game. It’s got a great open-world, fun combat, a ton of style, and a fairly good story. There’s not a lot wrong with it from a purely critical standpoint.

Yet, at a time when Ghost of Tsushima is clearly becoming an award season darling, I feel that it’s necessary to be realistic about this game’s accomplishments. It’s a very well done version of a kind of game that we’ve seen before. Much like Valhalla, Ghost of Tsushima executes a formula to near perfection, but it perhaps plays it a bit too safe to be considered truly great.

Marvel’s Avengers

Granted, there aren’t a lot of people hyping up Marvel’s Avengers these days, but this feels like a fairly well-deserved case of “We told you so.”

After listening to everyone who wanted to defend this game for months despite an ever-growing pile of red flags surrounding it there’s an admittedly dark pleasure that comes from seeing this title turn out to be exactly what many others suspected it would be. Aside from its fairly good campaign, this is a soulless cash grab that tries and fails to cash in on a license with an unlimited amount of potential.

Star Wars: Squadrons

Squadrons is another game I actually like quite a bit. At a time of increasingly lowered expectations for Star Wars games, Squadrons offers a fun take on this universe that is often fairly clever.

However, Squadrons was hyped as a return to the glory days of Star Wars spaceship games, which it simply isn’t. It lacks the pure arcade action of the Rogue series, and it fails to replicate the simulator brilliance of the PC Star Wars space fighter titles of the ’90s. It’s stuck reminding me of better games it simply is not.

Genshin Impact

Genshin Impact caused quite a stir earlier this year with some fans going so far as to call it an improved version of Breath of the Wild that you can even play on mobile devices.

However, a little more time with Genshin Impact reveals its gameplay reliance on a microtransaction system that is too aggressive to be condoned at a time when microtransaction ethics are such a big talking point. To be honest, Genshin Impact feels like the most successful and ambitious mobile knock-off ever.

Resident Evil 3

I loved the original Resident Evil 3 and often wondered what would happen if the game got a chance to shine outside of the shadow of Resident Evil 2. Unfortunately, Capcom decided to release Resident Evil 3‘s remake in the shadow of Resident Evil 2‘s remake.

Similarities to the previous Resident Evil remake aside, one of the most disappointing elements of 2020’s Resident Evil 3 is how little new content it adds to the original game. It tends to cut some of the original game’s more frustrating moments rather than rework them which seems unambitious for a big-budget remake.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars

At the end of the day, Super Mario 3D All-Stars features three classic Mario games. It’s hard to argue with the idea of getting all of these games in one package or the merits of the original games.

Yet, nearly everything else about this collection feels like a mistake. Its ports are little more than glorified emulations that fall short of paying these games the tribute they deserved. Even if you’re willing to overlook this game’s bizarre limited digital release schedule, you’re still left to wonder where Super Mario Galaxy 2 is or why these games aren’t just straight-up available to download on Nintendo Switch.

The ongoing PS5 shortages have left many without a next-gen console in time for the holidays and many more people with the question “What happened?”

It’s a valid question that has led to a significant amount of finger-pointing. There are a lot of frustrated people out there right now who are just looking for someone to blame all of this on.

While the answer may not be quite so simple as that, a look at the PS5 shortage situation so far reveals a few suspects who deserve some of the blame in this instance.

Sony is to Blame For PS5 Shortages

When you’re looking for someone to blame, it’s always tempting to go right to the top. In this case, that means Sony.

The case for blaming Sony is, in many ways, the simplest one to make. After all, if Sony had just made more PS5 consoles or found a way to ship them faster, then there would be more PS5’s to buy, right?

While there is a conspiracy theory that suggests Sony intentionally made fewer PS5’s to increase demand, that’s a theory which (like so many conspiracies) does not hold up to any level of scrutiny. Sony inevitably made some missteps along the way in terms of how they decided to manufacture and ship the PS5. You could even suggest that they may have underestimated demand and other logistics.

Yet, Sony has nothing to gain from shipping anything less than as many PS5s as possible as soon as possible. As we dive into the many other factors that contributed to the PS5 shortage, you may find actually find that Sony arguably deserves the least amount of direct blame.

Retailers Are to Blame For PS5 Shortages

Many of those who tried to purchase a PS5 online likely encountered some kind of bottleneck issues that made the process incredibly difficult or downright impossible. Some even had a PS5 in their cart but were not able to actually complete the checkout process.

The fact of the matter is that retailers have been dealing with this problem for quite some time now. Even Amazon, one of the largest companies in the world, couldn’t seem to handle the massive influx of people trying to buy a PS5 at once. There wasn’t a single major online retailer that seemed to be working properly on launch day or when PS5 pre-orders were opened.

Some of the blame here is absolutely on online retailers who have yet to solve this problem despite seemingly knowing it is going to happen every time before it actually does. There has to be a better way of handling these product launches.

However, there’s one more factor to consider here before you think about placing all the blame on retailers…

Scalpers Are to Blame for PS5 Shortages

You’ve probably seen the photos of people stockpiling PS5s despite apparent “one per customer” restrictions that were in place. Whenever you see one of these scalpers, it’s easy to say “That’s the reason I don’t own a PS5.”

We don’t know how many scalpers there really are or how many PS5s they actually bought, but there is something to this theory. After all, a single scalper can easily clean out a retail store’s PS5 stock if that store doesn’t care about the rules or doesn’t have them in the first place.

More importantly, multiple online scalpers using an army of bots can easily crash even major websites by creating a kind of DDOS effect. It’s highly likely that these bots are the reason that so many websites crashed rather than normal, individual shoppers logging on at once.

Of course, there’s at least one major reason that scalpers may have been more effective than usual this time around…

COVID-19 Is to Blame for PS5 Shortages

It feels silly to talk about COVID-19 in relation to the launch of next-gen video game consoles considering the many other ways the pandemic has affected the world this year, but it is absolutely a contributing factor to the PS5 shortages we’re seeing.

COVID-19 has impacted everything from game development, to console manufacturing, to retail stores being able to open at the capacity that allows them to serve as an effective outlet during the launch of a next-gen console.

The PS5’s launch was not destined to be smooth in a world where COVID-19 never existed, but there’s little doubt that the whole process would have gone smoother if this nearly unprecedented pandemic was not a factor.

Nobody is to Blame for PS5 Shortages

This argument has the unique honor of being the most and least likely possibility.

As you’ve gathered from the information we’ve presented so far, there are numerous factors that contributed to the ongoing PS5 shortages. That being the case, you could argue that there’s really nobody to necessarily “blame” in this instance. Most consoles endure some kind of struggles at launch, and the PS5 is really no different in that respect.

That said, the impact of COVID-19 and the ways the pandemic enhanced problems that were bound to exist anyway has to be considered the biggest single reason why it’s so hard to get a PS5 right now. Our only hope is that things get better from here.

The PS5’s SSD is so much more than a quality of life feature. Its ability to process information faster than ever before could eventually change the way that developers approach the art of game design.

In the short term, though, the biggest benefit of an SSD that most gamers will notice is the reduced load times it offers. That absolutely means that next-gen games will load faster than ever before, but it also means that backward compatible PS4 games will no longer need to suffer from the sometimes awful load times that plagued the HDD era.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 6 PlayStation 4 games that’s long load times will (hopefully) be fixed by the PS5 SSD.

Fallout 4

Honestly, Fallout 4‘s load times were significantly better than the ones that plagued Fallout 3, New Vegas, and even Skyrim. In fact, you almost never encountered loading while you were just walking around the game’s massive world.

The problem was that Fallout 4‘s load times were reserved for when you entered certain areas and fast traveled. As the game wore on and both those actions became much more common, you started to have to sit through more and more loading screens just to accomplish simple tasks.

The PS5’s SSD should (hopefully) reduce those load times enough to ensure that Fallout 4‘s world feels a little more cohesive and that its end game activities aren’t quite as cumbersome.

Just Cause 3

In many modern games, load times are typically little more than an inconvenience that we have to sit through patiently. However, Just Cause 3‘s load times are a cruel reminder of a time that’s (mostly) gone by.

Just Cause 3‘s frantic gameplay and its beautiful world were compromised by long load times that ruined your ability to experience any of the best things the game had to offer. Even after developer Avalanche Studios Group released several patches designed to address load times (and other issues), players reported having to sit through abnormally long and unusually frequent load times.

Hopefully, the PS5 SSD will trim those load times enough to ensure we get a chance to revisit one of the more enjoyable open-world games of this generation.

The Outer Worlds

Again, The Outer Worlds‘ load times aren’t nearly as bad as they were in previous Obsidian games, but they were bad enough to eventually get on your nerves after an extended playthrough.

Actually, the biggest benefit the PS5 will offer in this instance isn’t just quicker load screens but a reduction in how often you sit through load screens at all. Early Xbox Series X tests show that that console’s SSD can virtually eliminate shorter load screens altogether which should help players navigating between this game’s various environments.

Most open-world games will benefit from an SSD, but The Outer Worlds‘ unique “staging” structure makes it a notable beneficiary of the hardware upgrade.

Monster Hunter: World

One of the interesting things about the transition to standardized SSDs in next-gen consoles is that the performance gap between console titles and PC ports will be smaller than ever.

For instance, PS4 load times in Monster Hunter: World can last over one minute. Those same load times in the PC version of the game only last about seven seconds (assuming you’ve installed the game on an SSD).

That’s a huge benefit for both series fans and those who are hoping to dive into the game but could be put off by the title’s unusually slow load times.

Death Stranding

Much like Fallout 4, Death Stranding‘s loading “problem” has less to do with long or frequent load screens and more to do with how those loading screens are implemented.

So much of Death Stranding is designed to allow you to seamlessly navigate its world. When you do encounter a loading screen, it both takes you out of the moment and somewhat detracts from the narrative spirit of the game.

While the PS5 SSD won’t completely eliminate Death Stranding‘s load times (that would only possible in a version of the game developed especially for the next-gen console) but those strange times when the game takes an unusually long time to load should occur significantly less on the PS5.

Bloodborne

Maybe it’s because I love the game so much, but I sometimes forget how bad Bloodborne‘s load times can be.

Even after From Software released a patch designed to address load times, HDD PS4 players can expect to endure anywhere from 11 to 40 second load times. You tend to encounter them a little less than you do in larger open-world games but they’re annoying enough to spoil one of the best games of the generation.

Based on existing tests, the PS5 SSD should reduce Bloodborne‘s load times to 10 seconds or less. However, that’s going to depend on how well the game is optimized for next-gen consoles.

We haven’t yet had the pleasure of sitting down with the full version of Bluepoint Games’ Demon’s Souls remake, but barring something entirely unforeseen, it should be another hit for the studio that already successfully remade Shadow of the Colossus.

Bluepoint’s unique status as one of gaming’s best remakers has millions of fans dreaming of the games they could choose to revisit next. While we highly doubt that all of these games would be on the table, these are some of the best possible remakes that Bluepoint could tackle next.

Vagrant Story

As long as we’re dreaming big, let’s start with the biggest dream remake of them all.

The brilliance of Vagrant Story isn’t found in its incredible story, amazing world, memorable characters, or unique strategic combat system. No, the brilliance of Vagrant Story is found in the way that all of those elements are tied together by the creative concepts of developer Square Enix (then Squaresoft) at their very best.

Vagrant Story remains a truly unique title that’s never exactly been replicated. This beloved dungeon crawler’s already impressive visuals would undoubtedly look stunning in a modern engine while a hypothetical remake could address some of this game’s notable gameplay oddities.

We doubt this would ever happen, but this really is the perfect candidate for a remake.

Legend of Dragoon

Legend of Dragoon was always burdened with the unfortunate position of being released close to (or alongside) incredible PS1 JRPGS like Final Fantasy 7, Xenogears, and Chrono Cross. Yet, those who played the game seem to almost universally love it.

Legend of Dragoon is perhaps rightfully best remembered for its stunning visuals, but this game’s surprisingly strong story and fun combat made it a notably great jumping-off point for those who didn’t otherwise consider themselves to be JRPG fans.

While this game never really lived up to the legacy of its console companions, it’s easy to imagine how a remake could address some of its tragically old-school (sometimes derivative) elements which arguably held it back.

Legend of Dragoon is a fantastic example of a very good game that a remake could make great.

Ico

Well, Bluepoint already absolutely nailed their remake of Shadow of the Colossus, so why not let them remake Ico?

Quietly released in 2001 for the still young PS2, this spiritual predecessor to Shadow of the Colossus was widely praised for its stunning art direction, emotional direction, and compelling puzzle gameplay. It’s a simply beautiful game.

Of course, as Shadow of the Colossus proved, even some of the most beautiful games ever can benefit from a remake. Ico wouldn’t need much more than just a fresh coat of paint, but we’d take any excuse to replay this gem.

Honestly, we’d be shocked if this remake didn’t happen at some point.

God of War: Chains of Olympus/Ghost of Sparta

The PSP and Vita are seemingly destined to be two of those systems that are fondly remembered for their great games and criticized for their poor design decisions that resulted in underwhelming sales.

Among the many games on those devices that could be resurrected via remakes, Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta stand out. These two exceptional God of War games combined the series’ old-school action with fascinating stories that expanded the series lore in notable ways.

We’re not asking for the world with these. Even if a remake proved to be nothing more than the core games with modern visuals, we’d rest easy knowing that more gamers have the chance to play these titles on modern devices.

The successful reinvention of this franchise casts doubt on such a revival, but we feel like there’s enough room for two excellent types of God of War games.

Ape Escape

It’s funny, but it feels like we’ve been hearing about an Ape Escape remake for about as long as we’ve been playing the game itself.

Of course, it’s easy to understand why that’s the case. As brilliant as Ape Escape‘s bizarre humor, challenge design, and then-innovative controls were, the game always felt like more of a prototype for a more complete experience rather a fully-realized vision.

If a remake could find a way to fix some of Ape Escape‘s pacing and structure issues, it could revive the series at a time when its 3D platforming style is hard to find outside of indie projects.

Ape Escape may not be entirely worthy of the overwhelming amount of love it has received over the years, but we’d argue that a remake could justify the series’ status as a beloved favorite.

We’ve talked about it before, but video game remakes are awesome.

In a medium where technology and art go hand-in-hand, remakes help us fully-enjoy older titles even after their technological shortcomings have made it impossible to enjoy them as they were meant to be enjoyed. Sometimes, these remakes even contribute new content to classic games that feel almost essential to the core experience.

Which video game remakes are the best of them all, though? The answer to that question will obviously vary from person to person, but we’d imagine that anyone’s list of the best remakes would need to include at least one of these incredible games.

Shadow of the Colossus

You could easily make the argument that Shadow of the Colossus is the best video game remake ever.

Bluepoint Games’ Shadow of the Colossus not only expertly updates the original game’s graphics in such a way that retains the 2005 title’s artistic design but helps ensure that it stands as one of the best looking games of its generation. More importantly, this remake addresses some of the gameplay flaws of the original which prevented many from being able to properly enjoy it.

Resident Evil (GameCube)

It must have been tempting for Capcom to just upgrade the original Resident Evil‘s graphics and call it a remake. Instead, they did something very different.

Not only is Resident Evil for GameCube a technologically mind-blowing game that still looks good to this day, but it’s a remake that retains the spirit of the original experience while fixing nearly every flaw and adding new content that truly completes an already classic game. It’s a masterpiece.

Resident Evil 2

Two Resident Evil games on a shortlist of the best remakes ever? It sounds gratuitous, but Capcom really has set the standard for remakes with releases such as these.

Resident Evil 2 almost entirely reimagines a game that many consider to be the best in series history and does it so effectively that it’s hard to ever go back to the original. What more could you ask for from a remake?

Final Fantasy 7

We know that there are many fans out there who feel that the Final Fantasy 7 remake did too much to distinguish itself from the original. They just wanted the original game with modern visuals and a few improvements.

Yet, it’s impossible to not at least respect what the Final Fantasy 7 remake tries to accomplish. By cleverly utilizing meta elements, Final Fantasy 7 shatters our expectations and honestly comes out all the better for its considerable efforts.

Black Mesa

After over a decade of work, this fan remake of Half-Life has finally been completed. Over the years, many suspected that there was no way this remake would ever live up to the hype.

Well, it didn’t. It actually exceeded the hype. Black Mesa is a bold and beautiful reimagining of one of the most important PC games ever made. We’d go so far as to call it the definitive way to play Half-Life in 2020.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes

Nobody really talks about The Twin Snakes these days. We strongly suspect that’s because the game is basically impossible to play (legally) if you don’t own a GameCube.

That’s truly a shame. The Twin Snakes not only incorporates some of Metal Gear Solid 2‘s best gameplay ideas but it features a variety of narrative changes and new story sequences that are absolutely bonkers. This is one of the strangest remakes ever, but it’s also one of the best.

Metroid: Samus Returns

We don’t know if we agree with Nintendo’s decision to shut down that infamous fan remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus that likely partially inspired this remake, but it’s hard to argue with the results.

Metroid: Samus Returns brilliantly combines old and new concepts to form what could very well be the most complete Metroid game ever made. Metroid 2 was always underrated, and we’re thrilled that it got a chance to shine in this remake.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

Here again, we have another incredible retro Nintendo title that’s handheld limitations made it the perfect remake candidate.

Even though most people expected this game to be good, few predicted that Link’s Awakening would be such a glorious realization of everything that made classic Zelda games…well…classics. This is one of those games that nearly every Switch owner needs to experience.

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy

Expectations were modest for the Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy. After all, most early previews suggested it would basically just be the Crash games with better graphics.

While those better graphics were certainly welcome, this remake’s brilliance is found in the little things. The subtle ways it refines and alters the original games reminded everyone just why they waited so long to play these PlayStation classics again.

Ratchet and Clank

Granted Ratchet and Clank is somewhere between a remake and a re-imagining, but we feel it’s close enough to the former to qualify for this list.

Generally speaking, this 2016 game just didn’t get the love it deserved. It’s possibly the best Ratchet & Clank game ever and one of the most enjoyable exclusives on a console that’s infamous for them.

It’s impossible to overstate how successful the PlayStation brand had been. The original PlayStation debuted at a time when Sega and Nintendo seemingly controlled the video game industry. Over the years, though, the PlayStation became so popular among such a wide audience that many still use “PlayStation” as the shorthand for gaming itself.

Yet, you could argue that the PlayStation 4 was Sony’s most successful console yet. It didn’t sell as many units as the PlayStation 2, but PlayStation 4 so clearly dominated its immediate competition (Wii U and Xbox One, at the time of its release) that it’s hard to imagine not owning a PS4 sometime over the last seven years.

You have to attribute much of the PS4’s success to its exclusives. The fact of the matter is that if you want to play some of the best games released in the last 10 years, you’ll need a PS4 to do it. For quite some time, we’ve had a hard time thinking of a better selling point.

Now, though, there are reasons to suspect that the PlayStation 5’s exclusives won’t be enough.

For the last few years, Microsoft has offered things that Sony simply has not. While Sony has caught up with a few of those things (cross-play, for instance), Microsoft remains ahead of them in some increasingly key areas (most notably, backward compatibility and subscription gaming services). Through it all, though, Sony has had the exclusives.

However, Microsoft recently revealed that the next-gen Xbox Series S will launch with a very generous $299 price tag. Even the most conservative estimates suggest that the all-digital edition of the PlayStation 5 will cost $400. Granted, it’s probably also more powerful than the Xbox Series S, but as we’ve talked about before, price tag shock is very much a factor when people are buying next-gen consoles.

Still, you could make the argument that the strength of the PlayStation brand (which very much includes PlayStation exclusives), will ultimately win the day. That is until you account for a few additional factors.

First off, there’s a very good chance PlayStation exclusives won’t be quite as exclusive as they once were. Horizon Zero Dawn is already on PC, and Sony intends to port more games to PC in the coming years. It’s good for consumers, but that move naturally gives you a non-PlayStation console way to play PlayStation Studios games.

Second, it makes sense that the development of PlayStation exclusives will be slowed somewhat by the COVID-19 pandemic. While games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart will likely be released no later than early 2021, it stands to reason that the influx of PlayStation exclusives won’t be quite as quick and aggressive as it has been in the past.

The real potential problem for Sony here, though, is their approach to the future. The PlayStation 4 thrived because of its simple design, clear message, and old-school exclusives, while Microsoft bet early on that the times are changing. The years have proven that Microsoft was right in most respects. Digital gaming has only grown, backward compatibility is starting to feel very important, and people really do crave a Netflix for gaming.

Sony has the resources and experience to catch-up in all of these areas, but for the first time in a long time, we’re starting to see the ways that Sony has fallen behind. If the cheapest PlayStation 5 is indeed notably more expensive than the Xbox Series S, there’s a very good chance more people will start seeing the flaws in Sony’s plan very soon.

To be honest, the odds are good that you’ll still need a PlayStation 5 if you want to play some of the best games released in the next five years. While that may be enough to help the PlayStation 5 win the sales war, Sony’s shortcomings could ultimately ensure the PS5 never replicates the PS4’s sales success.

What was surprising is when Remedy revealed that this crossover isn’t a one-off event. Actually, the studio confirmed that they’re working on a new project which will help further what the studio is referring to as the “Remedy Connected Universe.”

Needless to say, the idea of a multiverse is hardly new. You’re probably already thinking of a particularly popular example of the concept. Yet, the more you hear Remedy talk about this idea (and the more you think about it) you start to realize that this is about more than just Remedy’s own projects. In fact, Remedy may just have found a way to help save smaller single-player games.

For years, Remedy has excelled at creating narrative-driven single-player experiences featuring memorable characters, levels, and gameplay mechanics. The trouble is that they typically don’t feature many of the qualities which define the most fiscally successful modern games. They’re not loaded with microtransactions, they don’t feature multiplayer modes, and they’re typically fairly short and linear. They’re pretty much exactly the kinds of games that EA and other major companies have attempted to pivot away from.

The thing is that it’s hard to blame them for moving away from such titles. In an age where open-world titles offer hundreds of hours of single-player gameplay and people spend a great deal of time (and money) on multiplayer games that become their “main” title for months, it’s a bit hard to ask someone to spend $60 on a 12-hour game no matter how good it is. It’s also becoming more expensive to produce those games.

You may recall that blockbuster films faced a somewhat similar problem not long ago. Studios like Disney were spending more and more money on the latest blockbuster and seeing diminishing returns. A big part of the problem was the quality of the movies themselves, but there was also a growing issue of demand. Streaming services and TV shows were becoming increasingly popular entertainment alternatives. Fewer people felt the need to go to theaters simply because there was a new movie out.

The MCU helped change some of that. Not only were the movies good, but they featured a twist that hadn’t been seen on the big screen for quite some time. Each of them was part of a much bigger story. Even some who weren’t necessarily interested in an individual part of the story often felt compelled to go see the next movie to see the next chapter in the larger narrative.

It’s easy to see how a similar idea could help sell the next entry into the Remedy Connected Universe, but the brilliance of this approach is really about more than just a hook. No, the great thing about a video game multiverse is that it allows Remedy to pursue the kinds of games they love to make while also enjoying the benefits of a franchise.

While games like Control, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break feature similar elements, they’re largely unique experiences. That’s great from a creative standpoint, but it’s much harder to convince the average buyer to take a chance on a name they’re not familiar with.

What a connected universe does is make it much easier for a company like Remedy to make those kinds of games while also tying them to a familiar brand. Did you like Alan Wake? See more of him in Control. Did you like Control? Find out how that adventure continues in Remedy’s next game while enjoying an entirely new adventure.

That isn’t to say that this is a perfect solution or the path that developers of all story-based single-player games will soon need to walk. What it is, though, is a relatively fresh way of thinking. It’s an example of a studio trying to find a way to sell the kinds of games people say love but just never seem to sell enough.

The future of single-player games isn’t just shared universes; it’s the acknowledgment that the 12-hour game just isn’t enough anymore no matter how good it is. Once more developers acknowledge that and start coming up with solutions such as this, maybe the industry will finally be able to support an art form it has pushed aside for too long.

The PlayStation 4 will be remembered for many things, but its most lasting legacy may be its incredible collection of exclusive titles. At a time when it felt like true exclusives were harder to come by, the PlayStation 4 delivered hit after hit.

In fact, there were so many great PlayStation 4 exclusives that we’re willing to bet you missed out on many of the best. So before we retire our PlayStation 4s and look to the next generation, be sure to give these underrated PlayStation 4 exclusives the chance they deserve.

Blood and Truth

The future of VR is debatable. The VR format is still trying to find that line between accessibility and innovation. Whatever happens to VR, though, we believe that the PSVR will eventually be looked at fondly for as the practical VR option ever manufactured.

It doesn’t hurt that the PSVR boasted quality exclusives such as Blood and Truth. This VR crime saga doesn’t offer much in the plot department, but its blend of cinematic storytelling and arcade-like shooting sections makes it one of the best overall VR experiences on any headset.

We can’t recommend buying a PSVR just to experience Blood and Truth. If you own one, though, you should absolutely give this game a shot.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission

Here we have another PSVR game that’s biggest flaw is that it’s a VR game that you likely don’t own the necessary hardware for.

Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a charming VR platformer that creatively re-imagines the tropes of one of gaming’s oldest and most successful genres. In the same way that Super Mario 64 brought platforming to the 3D era, Astro Bot Rescue Mission‘s brilliant level design shows how VR may be the next great frontier for a genre that sometimes feels stagnant.

For the right gamer, Astro Bot Rescue Mission is a true VR system seller.

Until Dawn

It feels strange to call Until Dawn “underrated.” After all, the game sold fairly well and was a cult hit amongst many who played it.

Yet, it’s easy to argue that Until Dawn deserved more. This digital choose-your-own-adventure sacrifices some traditional gameplay in order to deliver gaming’s finest slasher horror experience. Until Dawn is a glowing tribute to everything horror that is as genuinely scary as it is purely enjoyable.

Make sure not to retire your PlayStation 4 until you’ve played this one a few times through to explore its various narrative possibilities.

Killzone Shadow Fall

Killzone is one of those series that just never quite “got there.” Despite featuring several solid entries, Killzone typically found itself trailing behind other popular franchises.

Yet, at a time when good, single-player, first-person-shooter games are harder to come by, it’s easier than ever to appreciate Killzone Shadow Fall. This shooter boasts fun action mechanics, solid level design, and a surprisingly interesting story.

You could argue that Shadow Fall doesn’t truly excel in any one area, but it’s a testament to how hard it is for an exclusive to stand out on the PlayStation 4.

Resogun

Resogun is typically remembered as one of the PS4’s most serviceable launch games. As the PS4’s library grew, though, it felt like fewer and fewer people were talking about this game at all.

That’s a shame. Resogun may just be an old-school 2D shooter with updated graphics, but it turns out that old-school 2D shooters are still a lot of fun. This kind of well-made, arcade-like experience was the exact kind of thing that we started to miss as the PS4’s library of games began to grow bigger and more ambitious.

If you want an old-school title that is pleasantly new, Resogun is for you.

WipEout Omega Collection

For a while there, it felt like Sony fans went into every E3 showcase just hoping for word of a new Wipeout game. By the time we actually got this Wipeout remake collection in 2017, though, it seemed like nobody was talking about it.

Yet, nearly everyone who has played this game is quick to describe it as one of the best fast-paced racing titles ever made. It’s a brilliant throwback to a style of game that faded away too quickly.

Omega Collection never takes its foot off the gas and delivers one of the best racing experiences of this generation because of it.

Infamous: Second Son

Despite being one of the PS4’s biggest early exclusives, it just never felt like Infamous: Second Son never caught on. That probably has something to do with the up and down quality of its predecessors.

While Second Son also has flaws, it so happens to be one of the best superhero games of its generation. This open-world title not only offers an expansive playground for your superhero to roam in but a surprisingly gripping story and mythology as well.

If you’re not burned out on open-world games, be sure to give Second Son a shot.

The upcoming release of Ghost of Tsushima has us thinking about samurai games. To be more specific, it has us thinking about how there actually aren’t a ton of great samurai games out there. In fact, Ghost of Tsushima has a great shot at being the best samurai-themed video game ever made.

Still, that doesn’t mean that samurai fans are completely out of options. From fighting games to trippy RPGs, the best samurai games out there not only offer something special in their own right but will surely get you hyped for what could prove to be the PS4’s last great exclusive experience.

Samurai Showdown (Franchise)

The truth of the matter is that the Samurai Shodown series has endured some ups and downs over the years. However, most entries in this franchise still rank amongst the best samurai games ever.

The Samurai Showdown series is infamous for its wide variety of samurai characters and classic fighting game mechanics. Many also feel that the retro Samurai Showdown games happen to feature the best 2D backgrounds in the history of the genre.

In case you’re curious, many fans consider Samurai Showdown 2 to be the best entry in the series, so we’d recommend starting there if you’ve never played one.

Total War: Shogun 2

The infamous Total War strategy franchise started in the samurai era, but it’s this 2011 sequel that is truly one of the best samurai games ever.

Not only does Shogun 2 refine and nearly perfect most Total War elements, but it captures a unique era of warfare in stunning detail.

It may not be the kind of pure samurai game you’re looking for, but few games utilize samurai quite as well as this one.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun

Here we have another samurai strategy game, but Blades of the Shogun is an entirely different experience from Shogun 2.

This incredible tactical strategy series requires you to maneuver various samurai across a series of dangerous missions. It’s comparable to the Commandos and Desperados series, but even those franchises rarely featured the gameplay and visual design excellence seen here.

If you’re a strategy fan and you haven’t played this game, you owe it to yourself to do so.

Nioh

While many hoped for the best when they heard that Team Ninja was making a Soulslike game, there was still some fear that the studio behind Ninja Gaiden was just chasing trends.

Instead, Nioh proved to be one of the best Soulslike experiences on the market. Excellent gameplay aside, we love Nioh for its over-the-top enemy designs and mythology, which make us feel like we’re playing a particularly good anime samurai game.

Bushido Blade

True, Bushido Blade doesn’t solely feature samurai, but how can we not talk about one of the most unique fighting games ever?

Bushido Blade lives in infamy for its “realistic” fighting mechanics. Because every character wielded a deadly weapon, it was actually possible to defeat your opponent with a single, well-timed blow.

Fans have begged for this franchise to return over the years, and we’d certainly like to join the call for a revival.

The Onimusha Trilogy

Here again, we have another series that we have to talk about as a whole rather than just focusing on one entry.

Capcom’s Onimusha trilogy started as a kind of samurai spin-off of the Resident Evil series, but as it evolved, it began to more closely resemble the Devil May Cry franchise.

In all of its forms, the Onimusha series featured unique environments, fun storytelling, and a willingness to experiment with different concepts. It’s been away for too long, and there is sadly little hope it will return.

Way of the Samurai 4

The fascinating Way of the Samurai series has long tried to capture the feeling of being a wandering samurai. They’re utterly bizarre and often fail to achieve some lofty goals, but you’ve got to give them points for originality.

Way of the Samurai 4 is arguably the best game in this strange series. It explores the idea of how much power a wandering warrior has in a violent world, and it’s often just a lot of fun to play even when its gameplay is kind of annoying.

Check this one out if you’re looking for something truly different and a more complete samurai role-playing experience.

Samurai Gunn

If you’re a fan of local multiplayer games and you haven’t tried to play Samurai Gunn, you’re missing out on something kind of special.

This fast-paced competitive title forces you to use your sword, a dash, and a gun with just three bullets to defeat your opponents. It will certainly appeal to fans of the Towerfall series, but anyone who is just looking for a competitive game that does things a bit differently will surely find a lot to love with this one.

The reveal of the PlayStation 5 design has inspired a…passionate reaction. While not ever response to the console’s looks is negative, there are some who are being very vocal about their displeasure. Some are even calling it one of the ugliest consoles ever.

However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. While the PlayStation 5 may not be the best looking console ever, it’s pretty far from the worst looking.

To help prove that point, we’ve rounded up some of the ugliest consoles ever in order to show just how bad things could have been.

Intellivision

Even if you get past the ’70s colors and wood-grain panel, the Intellivision would make this list by virtue of its corded controllers.

Other retro consoles of this era have a retro charm, but this thing was kind of ugly even for its time. It certainly hasn’t gotten better looking over the years.

Telstar Arcade

The Telestar Arcade tried to bring the arcade experience to your living room. Instead, it ended up looking like something a doctor would have to remove from an arcade cabinet in order to save its life.

At least this console comes with a gun you can shoot it with. That’s certainly convenient.

Atari Jaguar CD

The Atari Jaguar was never a looker, but the console’s CD expansion secured its place in the ugly video game console hall of fame.

Nothing says “low-tech” more than a CD-player add-on that looks like it was made in your friend’s dad’s garage. The Jaguar’s ugly controller didn’t help its case.

Master System 2

If you told us the Master System 2’s design was the result of an executive accidentally picking up a half-way done sketch from the design team, we’d believe you.

Not only does this console’s design lack personality, but its font makes Comic Sans look like a reasonable style choice.

The Mega-CD 32X Mega Drive

Here we see another example of why console hardware add-ons died sometime during the 1990s.

While the Sega CD add-on was ugly enough, that 32X attachment is just unforgivable. It’s like burning a steak and trying to put a slice of cheese on top to save it.

Nintendo 2DS

You caught us: the 2DS wasn’t a console. What it was, though, was one of the ugliest pieces of gaming hardware ever shipped to store shelves.

Everything about the Nintendo 2DS screams “cheap.” This is a monolith to budget consumer compromises that would have made Apple blush. Even if this was just a toy, it would still be an ugly toy.

Pikachu Nintendo 64

We’re a little torn on this one. On the one hand, the blue and yellow color scheme is nice. Even that Pokeball is kind of neat.

On the other hand…wow, that Pikachu. Not only does the design of the Pikachu mean that it stands out in the worst way, but the Pikachu also quite literally stands out due to its raised design. There’s no dignified way to display this in a living room.

Philips CDi

Granted, the Phillips CDi could have been the best-looking console ever, and we’d still advise you to never be in the same room with one just to be safe.

However, the fact that the Philips CDi is just a particularly ugly VCR really seals its fate. Do you know how some animals have bright colored exteriors to indicate that they’re poisonous? This is the dull consumer product version of that.

Magnavox Odyssey

This is one of those designs that’s so outdated it’s actually kind of neat, but the Odyssey is still one ugly console.

With its “tubing” cords and temple-like top, the Odyssey looks like a piece of medical equipment from a hospital nobody survived in. This console could actually drive down the property value of your home.

Xbox

We’ve got to give the original Xbox points for truth in advertising. The console was a giant box with an equally giant X on it.

Of course, that’s kind of the problem here. The Xbox not only lacked style, but it was competing with two consoles (the PS2 and GameCube) that were either incredibly good looking or, at least, unique. By comparison, Microsoft was selling…well…an X box.

With rumors stirring that we may soon get our first look at the PlayStation 5’s launch games, all eyes are once again on Sony’s upcoming console. Specifically, we’re all wondering which games we’ll be able to get our hands on when we finally boot up the PlayStation 5 for the first time.

As exciting as that is, we do have to issue a word of caution. Historically, some really great systems have launched with pretty bad titles. In fact, the PlayStation brand has surprisingly suffered through some awful launch lineups despite the overall quality of the consoles themselves.

So join us on a slightly sad trip down memory road as we look at the history of PlayStation launch titles.

PlayStation

Notable Launch Games: Street Fighter: The Movie, Battle Arena Toshinden, Rayman, Ridge Racer

Most of the PlayStation’s launch games suffer from a similar problem of not quite being ready for prime time.

The fact is that developers were still trying to figure out 3D design by the time the PlayStation was released. On top of that, they were discovering the ins and outs of the PlayStation’s unique architecture.

As a result, we have some games like Air Combat which were technically impressive, but an absolute nightmare to play. You’ve also got games like Battle Arena Toshinden which Sony hyped up as a revolutionary experience, but the game itself proved to be little more than a technical showcase. As for games like Street Fighter: The Movie…well, the less said the better.

Two standouts from the launch lineup (Rayman and Ridge Racer) represent two different design philosophies. Rayman was a relatively simple 2D platformer that didn’t push the limits of PlayStation technology. Ridge Racer was really the only launch game that both took advantage of PS1 technology and was (relatively speaking) mechanically sound.

It wouldn’t take long for the PS1’s lineup to gain momentum, but these initial offerings were rough.

PlayStation 2

Notable Launch Games: Tekken Tag Tournament, Timesplitters, Smuggler’s Run, Madden NFL 2001, Midnight Club, Ridge Racer V, SSX

Despite the premise of this article, we have to admit that the PlayStation 2 had a pretty solid launch lineup.

It starts with SSX. We named SSX one of the best launch games of all-time, and we stand by that claim. It’s also hard to deny the power of having Tekken Tag Tournament at launch at a time when fighting games were still incredibly popular. You’ve also got a trio of racing/driving titles (Smuggler’s Run, Midnight Club, Ridge Racer V) which varied somewhat in quality, but they were all at least impressive in their own right.

You’ve also got to give a shoutout to Timesplitters. While it wasn’t quite as sensational as GoldenEye or Halo, it was a fun and creative console FPS game released at a time when such experiences were not a given.

If we have to knock this lineup for anything, it would be for its lack of a true system seller. We love SSX as a launch game, but even at that time, it would have been hard to recommend buying a PS2 solely because of it. The PS2’s killer app at launch was always its built-in DVD player.

Still, this is a historically good launch lineup that really shines compared to what came before and after.

PlayStation 3

Notable Launch Games: Resistance: Fall of Man, Genji: Days of the Blade, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Untold Legends Dark Kingdom

It’s fitting that what may very well be Sony’s worst launch ever is reserved for what may be their worst console ever.

In terms of exclusives, the PlayStation 3 only has one launch title worth talking about (Resistance: Fall of Man). Even then, Resistance was an incredibly solid shooter that suffered from the weight of its own hype as a potential Halo killer. As good as it was, it wasn’t really a reason to buy the very expensive PS3 at launch.

The PS3 did benefit from solid ports (such as The Elder Scrolls IV), but its early exclusives were rough. Ridge Racer 7 was an undercooked disappointment, Genji: Days of the Blade is best remembered for its giant enemy crab meme, and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom somehow managed to ruin the seemingly impossible to ruin Diablo formula.

The PlayStation 3’s launch lineup was a nearly total disaster rescued only by some decent ports of games that were not really enhanced by the console itself.

PlayStation 4

Notable Launch Games: Flower, Killzone Shadow Fall, Knack, Resogun, Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag

We’d never call this the worst PlayStation lineup ever, but it may have the distinction of being the least notable.

To be honest, the most complete PlayStation 4 launch game may be the incredibly simple retro shooter that you’ve likely forgotten about by now, Resogun. Killzone was not much more than “ok,” and Flower was an admittedly creative technical showcase.

It’s fascinating to think that the PS4 (a console defined by its stellar exclusives) suffered through a launch that was loaded with largely mediocre games. Granted, things were certainly not much better for the Xbox One, and the PS4’s lower price and better overall debut made it the more attractive prospect in the eyes of many.

With the ongoing COVID-19 situation, we suspect that the PlayStation 5’s launch may resemble the PS4’s. That is to say that it will likely just be solid, but as we’ve seen in the past, solid is still better than awful.

The recent reveal of Unreal Engine 5 running on PS5 has understandably cause quite a stir. Essentially our first look at next-gen graphics, that demo has understandably raised the bar in terms of visual expectations.

However, it wasn’t the only recently released graphics demo that has caused quite a stir. In case you didn’t hear, the creators of the GTA 5 NaturalVision graphics mod have released a new trailer that showcases the latest version of their project. It is, to say the least, a stunning example of what is possible with existing technology.

While you can fairly safely guess which of these demos look better given the nature of the tech that powers them, we thought we’d compare the two showcases in order to get a better look at the capabilities of current graphics tech vs. a very early glimpse at where we are headed. For reference, here are the two trailers in question:

GTA 5 Graphics Mod vs. Unreal Engine 5 – Environment Details

This is certainly one area where the Unreal Engine clearly pulls ahead.

The stunning level of detail the Unreal Engine 5 is capable of generating is clearly one of its best early features. You can practically trace the path you would use to climb a rock, and the statues that we see later in the trailer are not only popping with detail, but each features a slightly unique look.

By comparison, the GTA 5 graphics mod is battling the inherent blurriness of the textures it’s working with. Everything looks great at a glance, but the longer that you stare at a frame, the more you see that “Vaseline” smear that keeps the textures from achieving their full potential.

GTA 5 Graphics Mod vs. Unreal Engine 5 – Lighting Effects

Again, this is an area where the Unreal Engine 5 demo clearly pulls ahead, but the differences between these two tech showcases are quite interesting.

Unreal Engine 5 is using a form of ray tracing to produce lighting effects that engines which don’t utilize that technology simply can’t match. Beyond the quality of the lighting effects themselves is the impressive way those effects interact with everything else in the environment. That’s the ray tracing advantage.

The GTA 5 engine doesn’t seem to utilize a form of ray tracing, but it’s worth noting that it does feature some of the more intelligent and subtle uses of lighting that we’ve seen in recent years. From puddle reflections to realistic “light pollution,” everything is designed to create an effective sense of photorealism.

Speaking of which…

GTA 5 Graphics Mod vs. Unreal Engine 5 – Photorealism

To be honest, we think that this is one area where the GTA 5 mod actually pulls ahead.

There are times when you can pause the Unreal Engine 5 demo and probably convince people that it’s a photograph. However, the tuning of the colors, the intensified lighting effects, and the clearly indicated environmental interaction elements shatter that illusion relatively quickly.

By comparison, the GTA 5 graphics mod is aiming for photorealism and arguably achieves it in many respects. That’s especially true of the night shots and far away views where you can really appreciate how many of the mod’s subtle improvements better replicate real-life conditions.

Unreal Engine 5 could almost certainly achieve more “realistic” visuals, but it’s interesting to see how that effect isn’t always a matter of raw visual technology.

GTA 5 Graphics Mod vs. Unreal Engine 5 –Characters

Unreal Engine 5 clearly pulls ahead again here, but the difference doesn’t come down to what you may expect.

If you’re just comparing static visual models, Unreal Engine 5 certainly looks better, but perhaps not so much better that you’d assume you’re looking at two different generations of primary technology. Still, it’s clearly an improvement.

Where Unreal Engine 5 pulls ahead and doesn’t look back, though, is in the animation. From smaller details to the slight sway of a character’s arms as they walk to the way that weight shifts so accurately as they climb rocks, this is certainly one area where we clearly see next-gen technology vastly improving over even the best looking current options.

GTA 5 Graphics Mod vs. Unreal Engine 5 –Scope

This one is a bit of a cheat, but it does bring us to a point that should be made regarding these two pieces of technology.

As of right now, the only thing we know about Unreal Engine 5’s technology is how it looks in the context of this specific, linear demo. It may be a real-time demo, but it’s still just a demo created specifically to showcase this technology. In other words, cinematic experience games like Uncharted are almost always going to look more impressive than larger titles like Grand Theft Auto.

That’s what makes the Grand Theft Auto mod so impressive and the clear winner of this category. No, it’s not as visually impressive as the Unreal Engine 5 from a pure visual standpoint. However, the things that are impressive about it are stretched over a full-size game. It’s not unrealistic to say that this engine offers a reasonable approximation of what GTA 6 could look like.

GTA 5 Graphics Mod vs. Unreal Engine 5 –Overall Winner

You probably went into this breakdown knowing that Unreal Engine 5 is clearly the more advanced technology, and we’re not going to try to swerve you here by suggesting otherwise. It’s the clear “winner.”

As we mentioned, though, it’s going to be interesting to see just how much better Unreal Engine 5 ends up looking once it’s applied to a full-size open-world game developed specifically with the engine in mind.

So far as that goes, our gut feeling is that earlier games of that size may not look significantly better than what we see in the GTA 5 graphics mod. However, you can expect them to run smoother, load faster, be much better optimized, and feature improved animations.

That’s what you should take away from this comparison. The Unreal Engine 5 demo is best treated as a glimpse at the potential of next-gen technology rather than an immediate and unbelievable leap forward.

In case you haven’t heard, it seems that significant cutscenes from The Last of Us Part 2 have been leaked online ahead of the game’s June release date. While the source of this leak remains unconfirmed (it’s believed to originate from a disgruntled ex-Naughty Dog employee), there’s no denying that the extent of these spoilers is substantial. They essentially outline nearly the entire plot of the game.

Needless to say, this is an unfortunate situation for developer Naughty Dog who not only worked so hard on this game but has had to delay The Last of Us Part 2 due to complications caused by the spread of the coronavirus.

Truth be told, the extent of this situation raises serious concerns regarding whether or not The Last of Us Part 2‘s sales will be seriously harmed by these significant story leaks.

We understand if you think that sounds a little dramatic. After all, The Last of Us Part 2 is not only one of the most anticipated games in recent years, but there’s not much in the way of historical precedence when it comes to such leaks significantly hurting a game’s sales. There have been several notable games that have been significantly leaked ahead of their scheduled release (the most infamous example being Half-Life 2) and those titles went on to perform relatively well.

Yet, you get the feeling this situation may be a little bit different. First off, it’s already clear that this is a large (or at least vocal) section of The Last of Us fans who have read the game’s spoilers and are very, very disappointed. We won’t dive into those specifics here, but it stands to reason that anyone who was going to buy the game and is disappointed by the spoilers may choose not to do so.

That’s kind of the heart of what makes this particular leak so notable. The Last of Us Part 2 is very much a story-driven game. A big part of its appeal is the ability to see what will happen next. Even if the number of people who won’t buy the game because of what they’ve seen in the spoilers is relatively low, you still have thousands of people out there who could accidentally be exposed to the spoilers. On top of that, we’ve still got about three months until The Last of Us Part 2 is even released. That’s a long time to avoid widespread spoilers even if you’re not seeking them out.

There’s also the issue of gratification. Yes, playing The Last of Us Part 2 will always offer an experience that these spoilers alone can not, but when you’re talking about 3 months of story exposure, there is certainly a fear that the game may feel like old news to some by the time it is released.

To be clear, we don’t imagine that there is a large number of people out there who will see The Last of Us Part 2 spoilers and get so frustrated that they know what is going to happen that they’ll just not buy the game. Some will consciously make that decision, but it seems unlikely that spoilers alone will significantly impact the game’s sales.

If anything, the decision to delay The Last of Us Part 2 by a couple of months may have a bigger impact on the game’s sales. The PlayStation team noted that their decision to delay the game was largely based on the fear that the current coronavirus situation would not allow them to release the game in the manner they would have liked to. At the time, that seemed perfectly understandable, but now that the game has only been delayed by less than two months, will be released in a shaky global economy, and has to battle significant spoilers…well, you start to see how this could end up being the most impactful video game leak of all-time.

GameStop has been making headlines recently due to their controversial coronavirus policies. Among other things, GameStops seem to be dangerously unprepared to meet basic safety precautions tied to the coronavirus outbreak. They’re also reportedly prepared to defy state closure orders as executives seem to be attempting to argue that GameStop offers essential services during these times.

Why is GameStop so desperate to stay open? Well, there are obviously no stores that are excited about having to close, but the situation for GameStop is reportedly especially dire. Analysts were already arguing that GameStop was fighting for its retail life even before the coronavirus spread. If GameStop is forced to close for a few months, there’s a good chance they may never re-open or never be able to fully recover.

To be honest, it’s hard to feel sorry for them even if we feel sorry for those who would lose their jobs as part of a closure, no matter how long it may be. Not only is GameStop ready to force its employees to work in dangerous situations without the promise of adequate compensation, but this is just the latest in a series of controversial GameStop corporate decisions that have been going on for years now. It’s probably time for GameStop to go.

There is one question that remains in such an event, though. If GameStop goes, what happens to the used games market?

Granted, GameStop’s used games policies aren’t always the best (the company infamously offers little money for trade-ins of even newer titles), but they’re still one of the more reliable ways to relatively easily trade in old games and buy used copies of games. These services not only cater to gamers on a budget, but it helps ensure that gamers are never stuck with titles that they really don’t intend to play again.

Used game options do exist outside of GameStop (you can obviously always sell them online) but despite all of our advancements, it’s still usually just easier to buy and sell used games via a store like GameStop. If they close, then the used game market suddenly looks a lot thinner.

The truth is that it’s not easy to imagine that digital stores will adopt straight-up used game policies. Considering that you don’t even own some fo the games that you digitally purchase (although that varies from site to site) it’s kind of tricky to sell them to someone else. Besides, a digital copy of a game is never really “used” in the sense of how we use that word to define the second-hand market.

Alternatives are possible, though. The most reasonable option would be some kind of user-to-user trade system which allows someone to essentially trade a digital key to another user for a digital key to another game. Rules would have to be set-up to regulate this, but it’s not outside of the realm of reason. There’s also a small possibility that services like GOG and Steam could allow someone to receive a small refund for a purchase after a period of time, but that feels like an unlikely policy that doesn’t really create more opportunities to buy titles on the used market.

Honestly, it sounds like one of the best “replacements” for GameStop’s used game system will be streaming services. While services like Game Pass limit you to a roster of available titles, they still let you access a greater variety of games for a reduced price. They’ll likely soon become the preferred way for people to save money and still be able to play various games.

Unless we see a new store (online or otherwise) emerge with the intentions of specifically catering to used games, the increasingly likely possibility is that the death of GameStop could mean the death of the used games market as we’ve known it. While that’s unfortunate, it doesn’t necessarily justify keeping GameStops around nor does it justify impeding the industry’s drive to find solutions to some of the problems that we’ve outlined.

Reports indicate that Sony is struggling to finalize the PS5’s price. The data is unconfirmed at this time, but it sounds like the current costs of manufacturing a PS5 is about $450 a unit. The problem is that Sony seemingly wants to retail each console for around that price (or less, if it were possible).

If this information is accurate, then it means that Sony will either need to sell the PS5 at cost and essentially take a loss, sell it for less than cost and take a huge loss, or sell it for around $500 and maybe entertain the idea of making some kind of profit or at least coming close to breaking even.

Let’s talk about that last possibility and whether or not Sony can find a way to sell people on a $500 next-gen console.

First off, there’s the historical precedent to consider. At the time of their launch, only four consoles (the Neo-Geo, the 3DO, the PlayStation 3, and the Xbox One) retailed for over $450. The first two consoles are historic failures, while the latter two faired slightly better despite disappointing starts and lowered projections which many analysts attribute (in part) to their high initial prices.

However, to really appreciate what this number means, you have to account for inflation. With inflation, 10 consoles have retailed at, near, or over the $450 mark. The most notable of those consoles (for our purposes, at least) has to be the original PlayStation, which retailed for about $475 when you adjust for inflation.

While the original PlayStation was still cheaper than the Sega Saturn (which, it must be said, was a big reason for its early success), it was still more expensive than previous Nintendo consoles and more expensive than the N64. On top of that, Sony was a new player in the video game industry at that time.

So why was the PlayStation a huge success? Well, it certainly benefited from some incredible games, but at least initially, the PS1 attracted millions of buyers because it utilized then-revolutionary CD-ROM technology to sell people on the idea that it was offering something truly new. It’s by far the most successful of the consoles that retailed for more than $450 (again, with inflation), and that’s a big part of the reason why.

Looking at the PS5 solely through that lens, you start to worry about the console’s sales potential. We’ve previously mentioned that next-gen consoles could suffer from a relative lack of recent technological advancements, but even if you believe the situation isn’t really that dire, there is no modern technological advancement that comes close to matching the initial impact of CD-ROM. Simply put, the PS5 likely won’t have a headline technological feature it can just wave in everyone’s faces (beyond, perhaps, an SSD).

Yet, I don’t believe that the PS5 would be an outright failure if it were to retail for $500. Why? Well, it’s because of the PS3.

The PS3 is the worst-selling PS console ever, but it still sold nearly 88 million units. Mind you, it accomplished that despite an outrageous initial price point, some awful launch games, competition from the incredible Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, and an arguably weaker overall library of exclusives in comparison to all other PlayStation consoles.

Its situation was similar to the one the Xbox One initially found itself in, but the big difference between the two is the PlayStation name. Despite changes in gaming culture and the industry, there are still millions of people who love having a video game console in their living rooms. Previous generations have indicated that the PlayStation has become the global favorite amongst those who just want to own a new video game console. The PS4 has arguably only strengthened the brand’s appeal in that regard.

Does that mean the PS5 is invincible and can safely launch at $500 no matter what? No, but it does mean that Sony has proven they can recover from initially high price points. There’s little to suggest they can’t do it again.

It’s sometimes annoying to start every conversation about Dreams with an explanation about what Dreams is. Then again, Dreams is so ambitious and unique that you really have to make sure that everyone is on the same page whenever you bring it up.

Dreams is not really a video game in the sense of how you usually think about video games. It’s basically a creative toolkit that can be used to make everything from video games to short animated films. Designed by the studio behind Little Big Planet, Media Molecule, Dreams first caught the attention of gamers, but it has since spread to nearly every creative corner of the internet.

There are good reasons why that is the case, but the biggest draw of Dreams at this stage has to be its accessibility. With enough patience and perhaps a little general design know-how, the possibilities of Dreams are nearly endless. We’ve already seen it produce everything from open-world games to a version of Cyberpunk 2077 remade in the style of a PS1 title.

There are a lot of questions that come with titles such as this, but in the age we live in, any game based on user creativity that starts to gain momentum will always be compared to the king of that sub-genre, Minecraft. Specifically, people begin to wonder whether or not the new kid on the block will ever reach the heights that Minecraft enjoys as the best-selling game of all-time.

So far as that goes, you really can see a lot of similarities between Minecraft and Dreams. Then again, there are arguably more important ways in which the titles differ.

The most important comparison between Dreams and Minecraft may be the way that they initially spread. It’s easy to forget considering how it big it is now, but part of the reason that Minecraft became such a big deal in its early days is because of the efforts of the content creators out there who initially showcased the possibilities of the title. People didn’t necessarily fully understand what Minecraft was or how to “play” it, but they knew they wanted to be a part of it.

We’re seeing something similar happen with Dreams in its early stages, but the case of Dreams is arguably even more impressive. At a time when there are more notable content sharing platforms than ever before, Dreams has managed to make waves on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, Reddit, and elsewhere. Whether you’re a content creator or a content consumer, more and more people are becoming infatuated with exploring what is possible with Dreams. Even simple gifs from the game benefit from a “Made in Dreams” watermark that triggers that vital “what is this?” reaction.

As we mentioned, Dreams is also noticeably more accessible than games like RPG Maker that require you to navigate an endless series of boring menus in order to do anything. Unlike creative games like Super Mario Maker and even Minecraft, though, that accessibility doesn’t necessarily interfere with the final product. What we mean is that you’re ultimately still really only able to make a Mario level in Super Mario Maker no matter how creative it is. Dreams doesn’t suffer from any such limitations.

However, there’s one important thing that Minecraft has which Dreams doesn’t: a core experience.

In its simplest form, Minecraft allows you to wander around a landscape, gather some materials, fight monsters, and build a little house. All of the deeper features that it offers are built upon those basic elements.

Dreams is different. It doesn’t offer a core gameplay experience. Even if a particular interactive creation manages to spread quickly, it’s not a guarantee that people will continue to explore other games made via Dreams. Of course, that goes back to the whole thing with Dreams not really being a game at all. It’s a software tool.

Yet, maybe the idea of looking for the next Minecraft by looking for a game that closely resembles Minecraft is inherently flawed. After all, there is already a Minecraft. Perhaps at a time when content creation is becoming a form of social currency, Dreams can become a language unto itself. Maybe it can be a Minecraft for a generation of users who are looking to create, share, and are starting to reject the idea of such a seemingly basic concept like a fundamental experience.

There are many who feel that sequels are a blight on the entertainment industry. For every Terminator 2 and Godfather 2, you have a seemingly endless supply of uninspired follow-ups that just look to cash-in on the original installment’s legacy. Video games have traditionally fared much better in that regard, but even many of the best video game sequels tend to rely on more of the same.

Part of the problem with the whole sequel industry is that most sequels tend to be based on works that were typically successful and generally pretty good. As such, sequel makers are faced with the daunting task of trying to come up with something that is as good as the original while standing tall on its own.

That’s part of the reason why the recent rumors of a sequel to The Order: 1886 are so fascinating.

See, The Order wasn’t a good game. Actually, it was a pretty bad one. While the title initially turned heads due to its incredible graphics and wonderful presentation style, actually playing the game revealed a largely shallow cover-based shooter that relied on overly-scripted combat sequences occasionally broken up by simple story segments.

Oh, and what a story it was. The Order tells an alternate history story in which a group of highly-trained specialized soldiers must combat mythical forces such as vampires and werewolves as well as other dangerous entities that seek to end the world. It’s a fairly bonkers story that tries to surprise by having you do things like team up with inventor Nikola Tesla and try to figure out if Jack the Ripper was actually a vampire. For the most part, though, it comes across as a collection of many of the things that you thought were cool in high school but may not necessarily love to look back at now.

The Order: 1886 stands as one of the PS4’s most notable failed exclusives. Its sales were modest, but it was critically trashed by just about every outlet and many of those who purchased it. It’s seen as an embarrassment by many, but most people who experienced it in some form do still have some kind of memories of it.

All of that is our way of saying that The Order: 1886 is arguably the most intriguing sequel prospect that we’ve seen in years.

The Order may have been a bust, but it was a fascinating bust that was based on incredible technology, benefited from a fun setting and characters, and occasionally even featured some fascinating gameplay twists such as some over-the-top weapons that added new dimensions to the otherwise standard gameplay.

Granted, we’re a little inclined to shame this whole idea since The Order also featured a cliffhanger ending meant to tease a continuation that many doubted would ever be made, but when you really step back and look at the title, you start to see the ways that the core experience could have been easily improved upon. Actually, with a little more gameplay variety, a few refined story segments, and some more attempts early on to establish an identity of its own, The Order might at least have been seen as a noble experiment.

Well, maybe that can still be the franchise’s legacy. We don’t often get sequels to bad movies and games, but with The Order, Sony and developer Ready at Dawn have the chance to show the industry that something doesn’t have to be a runaway success to be worthy of revisiting.

Actually, if everyone involved plays their cards right, a sequel to The Order could show that sometimes the best use of a sequel is to give a talented group of people a second chance to get something right.