PSXEThe gaming industry went all-in on remakes this generation. So, while some classic titles got the royal treatment they deserved, others probably should’ve stayed buried. Let’s check out what happened when developers rebuilt these retro games from scratch for PS5.
1. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 – December 2024 Release at $29.99
Aspyr dropped this collection on December 10, 2024, marking Soul Reaver’s 25th anniversary. Besides upscaling textures, they rebuilt character models completely. Raziel’s eyes actually glow now, and the game runs at 4K/60fps without breaking a sweat.
The big wins here are that they restored the day-night cycle that got cut from the 1999 original, added proper analog stick controls (finally), and threw in four lost levels as bonus content. The Undercity level alone, where you’d fight a vampire-worshipping priestess, makes this worth checking out. They kept the original voice acting from Michael Bell and Simon Templeton as well, which still holds up perfectly.
2. Until Dawn Rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 – October 2024’s Most Controversial Remake
Ballistic Moon rebuilt Until Dawn from scratch, and honestly, nobody asked for this. The 2015 original still looked great, making this October 2024 release feel pointless. Sure, you can now see every pore on Hayden Panettiere’s face, and the lighting looks incredible, but the game launched with tons of bugs.
Character movements looked stiff and unnatural, breaking immersion constantly. So, they added a new third-person camera, expanded some areas, and recorded a completely new soundtrack. But at full price, launching the same week as Silent Hill 2’s remake was a pretty bad call. The studio even laid off employees a month before launch, which explains a lot.
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3. Tomb Raider’s First Trilogy Returns – February 2024 for Lara’s Birthday
Aspyr launched the Tomb Raider I-III collection on February 14, 2024 – Lara Croft’s canonical birthday. After Square Enix canceled previous remaster attempts in 2018, fans thought these games were gone forever.
The collection lets you switch between original and remastered graphics instantly – everything runs at 4K/120fps on PS5, and they kept both tank controls and modern options. You get all three games plus their expansions, which adds up to roughly 100 hours of content – and the price is less than a single new game, though.
4. Tony Hawk 3 + 4 Finally Getting the Remake Treatment
After Tony Hawk 1 + 2 sold millions, everyone expected 3 + 4 immediately. The remake nails that exact feel from 2001 while looking absolutely pristine at 4K/60fps – every level returns, Create-a-Park is intact, and split-screen multiplayer still works.
Well, the soundtrack stays untouched (most important for Tony Hawk games), and the DualSense haptics add subtle feedback when grinding rails. Sales numbers show these consistently outsell most other remasters on PlayStation.
5. Lunar Collection Brings JRPGs Back – Spring 2025
GungHo Online Entertainment brings both Lunar games to PS5 in Spring 2025 – they recorded brand-new English voice acting but kept the option for original audio. The pixel art got improved without losing its 90s anime aesthetic, and those animated cutscenes now play in HD.
They added modern conveniences such as adjustable game speed and proper widescreen support. Considering Lunar 2 was released over 25 years ago on PlayStation, this feels long overdue.
6. Tomb Raider’s Dark Trilogy Gets Fixed – February 2025
The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and Angel of Darkness arrive February 14, 2025. Angel of Darkness especially needed this – the 2003 original shipped broken and unfinished.
Aspyr restored cut content, including missing voice lines and Kurtis Trent’s removed abilities. So, now they’re trying to fix what went wrong 20 years ago.
7. Suikoden I & II Finally Arrive – March 2025
After years of delays, Konami set March 6, 2025, for this collection. Original Suikoden II copies sell for $300+ on eBay, so getting both games at normal pricing feels like stealing. They added battle speed options, auto-saves, and auto-battle for grinding. All 108 recruitable characters got HD makeovers while keeping the original charm intact.