The Joy of Gaming: Exploring Remastering and Remaking Classics
By Here’s a glimpse at some of the highlights that captivated us this week.
February 8th
Hello and welcome back to our beloved feature where we share a bit about some of the games we’ve been enjoying this week. This week, we revisit the button-mashing allure of Ninja Gaiden 2; we also revisit the tension of a legendary survival horror classic; and we explore a game featuring one of Dragon Age’s significant characters created by one of our team members.
What have you been playing?
Catch up on previous editions of this column in our What We Have Been Playing archive.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, Xbox Series X
Ninjas are exciting. Stylish. Powerful. Awesome. But not here—at least, not while I’m playing.
I attribute this partly to my unique gameplay style. The Ninja Gaiden series features a somewhat clumsy dodge mechanic, where you block first and then flick the control stick; this has never quite resonated with me. I’m also engaging in button smashing with many of the game’s punishing weapons, although the vicious flail and whip-like chain sickle have become favorites. It may not lead to spectacular or stylish combos, but I find it both cathartic and mindless. After rage-quitting the previous game, I’m zipping through this sequel and discovering it, dare I say, rather simple.
However, I also attribute that awkwardness to the game itself. Ryu is fast but seems to struggle with basic actions like swimming, climbing ladders, and jumping to the platforms I aim for. This is compounded by an erratic camera that never seems to frame the action correctly, whether in cramped corridors or open temple gardens. Instead, I just button-mash away and hope for the best. Then there are the unimpressive bosses I have defeated, usually on the first try using a repetitive dodge-hit-dodge-hit pattern. I expected more intricacy here.
Still, I’m thoroughly enjoying playing Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. It’s a game where you can simply switch off, whether through combat or story: smash some buttons and watch some bizarre action. Why am I fighting an electric demon atop the Statue of Liberty? Why am I now battling swarms of werewolves in a Roman coliseum? And why am I required to play as various empty-headed large-breasted women wielding such enormous weapons? I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care. Because when all this aligns into some kind of 80s arcade 3D nostalgia and limbs are flying off enemies with blood and gore splattering against the walls, I can’t help but grin.
-Ed
Dead Space Remake, PS5 Pro
After dusting off Resident Evil Village, I thought I would finally start the Silent Hill 2 remake. A minor misfortune: I thought I had purchased Silent Hill 2 but had not. A quick glance at the price on the digital store made me back out and seek something else. Thank goodness for the Dead Space Remake, which I found on PlayStation Plus some time ago.
This remake is outstanding. It is clearly a faithful adaptation of the original, bringing it into the modern era in terms of presentation, but I believe that’s all it really needed. It exudes an atmosphere that seeps out of every vent, making even the most ordinary rooms genuinely feel tense and claustrophobic. The audio design plays a vital role in this, with the entrance of a monster being accompanied by a shift in background music perfectly tuned to elevate my heart rate and stress levels.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve jumped a few times because of a door I just walked through shutting behind me. Dead Space is unnerving in its intensity, which makes the fact that a remake of the second game isn’t on the horizon even more disappointing.
-Tom O
Eternal Strands, Xbox Series X
This week, amid discussions wherein EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson and his chief financial officer hinted that Dragon Age should have been a live-service title, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down to play a new single-player game from a former Dragon Age developer that checks many of the same boxes.
Eternal Strands is the creation of ex-Dragon Age director Mike Laidlaw (who also contributed this week with his own commentary on Wilson’s remarks). After years of work—including a stint at Ubisoft—it’s great to finally engage with a project created by the mind behind such a tight chunk of gaming experience.