Rumors are circulating that Sony has plans to remake or remaster Horizon Zero Dawn for PlayStation 5, and the consensus is that this is a bad idea. The original game came out five years ago, and it still holds up very well today. Going from the PS4 to the PS5 is not enough of a hardware leap to justify fully remaking Horizon Zero Dawn for the new hardware, and a lot of players feel like it is a simple cash grab. It also comes fresh off the heels of The Last of Us Part 1 which remade a ten-year-old title, and it makes many people question the direction that Sony is taking in this new generation.
Remakes and remasters are nothing new to the gaming industry, but they do seem to be all the rage right now as many studios have been releasing new versions of some of their beloved games. Some remakes like Resident Evil or Final Fantasy 7 make sense as these are much older titles that people want to revisit through today's hardware, but The Last of Us Part 1 and Horizon Zero Dawn remakes do not make as much sense as those games are not very old and still hold up today. Horizon Zero Dawn is not ready for a full-on remake, but it could still use a remaster like The Last of Us Remastered.
The Difference Between The Last of Us Remaster and Remake
The Last of Us Part 1 was not the first time that the critically acclaimed The Last of Us received a facelift, and it may not be the last. The original version of The Last of Us launched at the tail end of the PS3 era, and it quickly became a fan favorite. Sony released the PS4 at the end of that same year, but it drew some criticism for not offering backward compatibility with the PS3. This seemingly left The Last of Us in the dust until Naughty Dog released The Last of Us Remastered a year later bringing the title to this new console generation.
The Last of Us Remastered was a simple HD facelift to an already impressive looking game. This new version took advantage of the PS4 hardware by updating its graphics, improving the frame rate, and introducing a brand-new photo mode. The title also bundled together the DLC, and this version quickly became the definitive version. What made it even better was that the game was actually cheaper than its PS3 counterpart as players only had to spend $50 this time around.
HD ports of games are nothing new as new consoles often see a slew of new versions of titles that released on the previous generation. Ubisoft remastered the Assassin's Creed Ezio trilogy for this new hardware, the Batman: Arkham series got an HD facelift, BioShock received a new coat of paint, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection brought the looter shooter to the PS4, and even God of War 3 and Injustice: Gods Among Us got a new look for the PS4. This is commonplace in the industry as games that released on the previous generation want to take advantage of the new one, and that was all that The Last of Us Remastered was.
Remakes are a whole different breed of game, and Sony aimed to remake The Last of Us with The Last of Us Part 1. Remakes take older games and recreate them from the ground up for newer hardware, but this is usually reserved for games that came out more than one generation ago. Instead, The Last of Us Part 1 remade a title that had released a remaster eight years prior, and that caused a bit of controversy. The game definitely looked better, and it felt like the best way to play it, but many felt like it was unjustified.
The Last of Us Part 1 was far more than a simple remaster, but it did not need to happen. The remaster played and looked completely fine, and not many players were clamoring for a whole new version of the same game eight years later. It also cut out the fan-favorite multiplayer mode, and it cost $70 upon release while the remastered version only retailed for $20. Many felt like it was a simple cash grab by Sony, and some even felt like it purely exists as a way to hype up the upcoming HBO show. Now, Sony seems to be repeating itself again with Horizon Zero Dawn, and players are once again worried.
Horizon Zero Dawn Should Be a Remaster
Horizon Zero Dawn came out in 2017 for the PS4, and it is now 2022. That means that the game has been on store shelves for only five years, but Sony is apparently already working on remaking it. There has not really been enough time since the game's initial release to consider remaking it, but that does not mean that it could not be remastered. New hardware offers more power for the developers to play with, and a simple HD facelift can take advantage of said power to deliver a better version of the original game.
A remastered version of Horizon Zero Dawn can bring the game more in line with Horizon Forbidden West, and it can feature a trove of improvements across the board. Both games look very similar, but the sequel looks a little better thanks to the PS5's power. An HD facelift could bring the original game to that level, and also give new players a chance to experience a more definitive version complete with all the DLC. It would also be a good way to hype up the upcoming Netflix show, which Sony most likely wants to do.
Horizon Zero Dawn is in no position to receive a full-on remake five years after release, but that should not stop it from receiving a remaster. Just like The Last of Us Remastered before it, this remaster could bring a better looking version of the game to newer hardware, and maybe even make it cheaper. It would not be the first game to receive a facelift between generations, and it would probably be received a bit better by the fan base than a $70 remake would.
Horizon Zero Dawn is available now on PC and PS4.