Black Mesa is incredible - it feels like a bit of a reimagining because they updated level designs and also overhauled Xen entirely.
The Xen rework was very good, at least the first and third parts of it (second part was very repetitive for long stretches of time, but the rest was super well done).
I like to change the movement back to the classic 'always sprinting' as well to feel more like the original.
I know it's pure preference but I didn't care for the Xen rework. I know Xen is the weakest part of the original and often cited as a rush job by the developers. But by straying so far from the original I feel like it showed that the black Mesa team really is much better at updating existing levels rather than making their own.
Same, I understand them going for a whole Xen overhaul and rework given that the original Xen is mostly not very compelling but it feels like they overemphasized it to me. Like, it was absolutely gorgeous and I appreciated the hell out of that, but it could have been half the playtime or less and I think I would have gotten the same amount of appreciation out of it. It really felt like it dragged on, certainly the only chapters in BM that I felt genuinely bored with at times.
The remake of everything up to Xen is chef's kiss though even if it feels a little different from the OG.
And honestly, as a big HL fan, I'd say there's no reason to play HL over black Mesa, it's that good. I guess if you like the low poly charm, but if you want something that meshes well with hl2, then black Mesa and xen is it.
Witcher 2 honestly wouldn't need much changes to be playable to a modern gamer. The combat system in Witcher 2 is literally Witcher 3 combat system, but less polished. I think the main and most annoying difference is really that Witcher 2 lacks a short dodge.
Witcher 2 is a good target to be remade if they would make it more open world. There is alot of lore packed into the background that is alluded too, but the game sort of chains geralt to the linear plot line. Plus the graphics are a little on the dated side with the 2010 bloom shader look. Not really sure how to describe it.
Witcher 1 combat is ass, and I couldn't get into it.
Agreed, I never played Witcher 1 but I played 2 back in the day. And let’s just say there’s a reason nobody knew about it until 3 came out lol. IMHO, Witcher 2 was a totally average game. Cool concept. But very very linear, and the combat was meh. Mostly played to see Tess lol
I loved The Witcher 1 for the story , but the gameplay absolutely took some getting used to and would not hold up today.
The Witcher 2, on the other hand, has better gameplay but a story that is very forgettable. I only remember the first major death that sets the story in motion, the big story branch in the beginning, and then the ending. I forgot everything else to the point where, after trying to jump back in and finish the series by playing Witcher 3, I realized I remembered almost nothing when they asked me some of the major choices I’d made in my Witcher 2 playthrough.
Sadly impossible to remaster according to Mark Darrah and others from the OG Dragon Age team. No-one at BioWare remember how the Eclipse engine works and they may not even have all the source files anymore. Origins would require a full remake from the ground up.
All three BioShock games were remastered last console generation and never had anything but modern controls. They wouldn't look any better being remastered for this generation of consoles.
Dragon Age Origins producer recently said Bioware can't remaster the game because they don't have anyone in the studio who worked with the engine in 2010. They just don't know how.
It's actually crazy how badly Inquisition runs on modern hardware, tried replaying it when I put hundreds of hours on the Xbox one, and couldn't even play more then a few hours. Reminded how bad the loot and combat is in that game, story and environments carried it hard.
Pretty sure bioshock 1 and 2 did get re masters? I think it was just a while ago for the ps4. I just got a three pack with 1,2, and infinite for like $9.00 on the Playstation store.
Dragon Age trilogy deserves a remake. Modernise the combat a bit, but make it feel like the combat from Origins. Get more variation (both enemies and locations) in DA2 and make Inquisition feel less like an mmo and more like a single player experience and we've struck gold
Dragon Age: Origins is a great shout actually, then us that as a platform restart the franchise with completely new and original sequels that are faithful to origins!!
I think all those games are pretty amazing and run pretty well and look pretty good on modern hardware... There may be updated HD texture packs from the mod scene for a few of those, but I don't know.
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u/alpha_60 Jul 29 '26
Witcher 1 and 2
Dragon Age Origins, 2 and Inquisition
Bioshock 1 and 2
Half-Life 1 and 2