The Xbox 360 still stands as one of the most beloved consoles for both players and developers. It was lauded for how easy it was to develop on and also helped to usher in a new age of independent games. Helping deliver quality indie experiences via Xbox Live Arcade to general gaming audiences helped smaller projects to be recognized as real games and not the novelty experiences many once assumed them to be.
In terms of game libraries, the Xbox 360 is rather impressive when looking at the extensive list of exclusives, third-party classics, indie darlings, and licensed gold. Among the memorable hits, there are many forgotten games lost to time that deserve a remake, remaster or even a reboot of the entire series.
8 F.E.A.R.
Rarely does a game series see six entries released in a nine-year span and then just vanish. However, that's exactly what happened to F.E.A.R., a clever acronym for First Encounter Assault Recon. It blended first-person shooting with a narrative focused on horror, specifically psychological horror.
The first entry in the series was released in 2005 by developer Monolith Productions and was generally well-received by critics. Outside of games like Control and Dead Space, the industry is lacking in high-quality shooters that incorporate horror elements in meaningful ways. A true reboot of the F.E.A.R. series could capture the terrifying magic players experienced on the Xbox 360.
7 L.A. Noire
The world of gaming rarely sees detective-driven action-adventure games at the AAA budget level. Though L.A. Noire wasn't developed by Rockstar Games, they did happen to publish it, meaning they had faith in the third-person thriller set in 1947 Los Angeles. Dividing the game's chapters into cases was also a neat novelty that helped clearly define sections of the game.
It's unlikely anyone is attached to the characters that appeared in the 2011 title, so a reboot of the game featuring new people and cases to solve feels like a possible move for the future of L.A. Noire. Then again, a remake could fix many of the issues critics had with both the original release and the 2017 re-release for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
6 Rayman Legends
The strange and sad truth of the Rayman series is that it hasn't seen the release of a new mainline game since 2013. That game was the rhythmically-infused 2D platformer Rayman Legends, which stands to this day as one of the prettiest games ever made. A definitive edition of the game was released in 2017, but fans are still left wondering when Rayman will return.
Fans are hoping his appearance as DLC in 2022's Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope is a sign of his eventual homecoming. If Ubisoft was smart, they'd simply return to the world of Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends and deliver fans a third game in the subseries, or even a full-on reboot of Rayman in its entirety.
5 Trials Evolution
For decades, 2D platforms were relegated to series featuring cartoon plumbers, vampire hunters, and robotic blue heroes. Ubisoft's Trials series managed to deliver a physics-based BMX platformer that offered a difficult but rewarding gameplay loop. Though Trials HD was the original game in the series, it served as more of a proof of concept.
Trials HD walked in 2009 so that Trials Evolution could run when it was released into the Xbox Live Arcade in 2012 for the Xbox 360. The last entry in the series was released in 2019, with the stakes escalating with each new mainline game. A remake of Trials Evolution would help to ground the series once again, while also delivering stages and experiences in the newest engine to elevate an already beloved game into the modern era in a respectable manner.
4 Dead Rising
Whether it deserved to be or not, Dead Rising as a series ended up being a casualty of the entertainment era of zombie oversaturation. At its core, the concept of controlling a single character in a zombie-infested area and having the gameplay revolve around killing hundreds of the undead in creative and humorous ways is video game gold.
In the modern era of gaming, most zombie-centric experiences are open-world fetch quest adventures. Remaking the original game that had Frank West surviving in an abandoned mall could deliver the condensed and focused zombie-killing fun players might prefer in the genre. It's just unclear if Capcom ever wants to fund a new game in the series.
3 Viva Pinata
For years, Xbox fans have wanted the platform to have an experience comparable to Pokemon, considering Nintendo and GameFreak will likely never bring the popular monster-catching series to other platforms. The truth is that Xbox has its series that functions as a Pokemon-like game. Viva Pinata is a series that lets players manage and take care of sentient animal pinatas in a farm or zoo-like setting.
It hasn't seen a new release in the series since 2008, and a 15-year gap feels like more than enough time for a meaningful reboot or simply a remake of the original game. Xbox is looking to supply Xbox Game Pass subscribers with games of various genres and lengths on the service, and a return to Viva Pinata feels like the easiest of wins and could fill a hole in their portfolio.
2 Super Meat Boy
Indie games are rather popular in the modern era of gaming, but Super Meat Boy was part of a special coming-out party for indie games on the Xbox 360 that helped sell the smaller experiences to a wider audience. Developer Team Meat released a sequel to the original game recently, but it plays completely differently and though it was reviewed well, it isn't held in the same regard.
A remaster of the game that takes advantage of both the current gaming platforms, as well as what the team has learned since the game's original release would likely be welcomed with open arms. Additional content would be an interesting concept for a game like Super Meat Boy since it plays in such a specific way and asks the player to adapt to how it wants you to play and develop skills through repetition.
1 Dishonored
These days, Arkane is a developer known for its immersive sims and sleek aesthetics, but Dishonored is what put the developer on the map. It's unclear what the future holds for the studio after the release of their vampire-hunting adventure Redfall in mid-2023. A remake of the original Dishonored game could go a long way in rewarding fans of the series with a higher-quality version of the game they love.
At the same time though, it could introduce a whole new audience to the game via a brand new release on Microsoft's subscription gaming service Xbox Game Pass. Dishonored may be on several people's never-ending backlog, but a new remake or remaster could provide just enough of a reason for people to give it an honest try and discover just how special it is.