What is the difference between Remake, Remaster, Rebuilt, Reboot and Demake?

According to the technology of games As time goes on, companies look for ways to revive old franchises for a new generation of gamers. Recreating existing games is a concept that is growing more and more. Whether through a simple remaster of the graphics for current systems, or the full remake ou reboot of beloved franchises of the past.

Nostalgia is an important factor in pushing the sale of these games to older audiences, while at the same time promoting an open space for new players of different ages. Re-releasing a game can be a “safer” way for a studio to earn extra income, as the development of new games is increasingly time-consuming and expensive, but it all depends on the way the studio chooses to carry out the procedure.

It is very easy to get confused these days as there are different terms for different types of re-releases, which is why in this text we will explain the meaning of each one. Check out!

What is Remake?

Um remake utilizes the world, characters, and stories already established in a previous game, but is entirely redone from scratch with new mechanics that resonate with a new generation of players. Basically, this term is used when a company decides to release a game again as if it was the first time.

Typically, a remake retains several key points from the original game, and its developers just “recreate” the game with additions of new stories, characters, and locations, as well as revamping the combat and its graphics for next-gen consoles. In the past generation, two great games from the PlayStation 1 era received new versions recreated from scratch: Final Fantasy VII e Resident Evil 2.

Both games have undergone several positive changes compared to their original versions. In case of Resident Evil 2, the PS1 version’s “stuck” camera was removed in favor of a free-form third-person camera, combat became more agile, and its characters and story received a new vision in favor of a new universe within the franchise. The success of this remake was so big that it made the Capcom release more projects of the same size, seen with the launch of Resident Evil 3 and the future Resident Evil 4 in 2023.

The classic RPG Final Fantasy VII also received a treatment with the project Final Fantasy VII Remake, but decided to go further by creating an entirely new story that interspersed with the events of the original game. In addition to creating an action combat system that totally removes the "turn RPG" element from the original game, the game focuses solely on the group's struggle against the Shinra industry within the megacity of Midgar.

Due to the scope and direction that the history of remake is being taken, the director Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix decided to split the story into three projects, with the sequel Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth planned to launch in late 2023.

What is remaster?

Remaster, or "remaster", is the term used when a game is "revamped" for current platforms and receives some slight improvements such as revamped textures, better performance and renewed controls, without necessarily changing anything from the original game's code.

The game that is remastered is virtually the same game as the original experience, only techniques are applied to deliver better images of the “old” game for more current platforms. These remasters can also add control improvements, new audio channels, resolution options, new textures and more, all built on top of the original game. Although rare, it can also happen that a remastered game receives improvements in its gameplay, but nothing drastic like a total change in the systems of gameplay as it happens in remakes.

Usually these games are classified as "remodeled" through the official title of the game. game. In case of Mass Effect, EA decided to add the subtitle Legendary Edition to reveal that these games are the same winning games several times in the past, being re-released as the “definitive” version.

What is Rebuilt?

Um rebuilt, that is, a game that has been “remade”, exists in the middle between remastering and recreating a game. That is, games that already exist in the past are remade using state-of-the-art technologies, but virtually still deliver the same experience as the original game.

This type of game has been gaining ground in the industry for a few years now, and it raises some questions about the value of such projects when passed on to their fans. Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Shadow of the Colossus e The Last of Us Part II are just a few examples that fit into this category.

These aforementioned games deliver the same experience as their original versions, but boast impressive technologies in terms of graphics, audio, texture, artificial intelligence and other devices that could only exist today. In other words, the lack of new mechanics and changes in the story are the main factor when it comes to differentiating a rebuilt a remake.

This category is always accompanied by controversies related to the price that developers ask for the game. In case of The Last of Us Part II, while it's clear that a lot of work went into delivering ultra-realistic graphical fidelity, many fans wondered if it was really worth paying the price of a new game on a game which has not yet completed 10 years since its original release, even generating speculation about the rebuilt have been made only to attract attention to the adaptation of the series produced by HBO and in the future version of the game for PCs.

What is Reboot?

When a studio decides to make a reboot of a franchise, they take the basic concept, a few characters, a foundation of the story and throw everything else out the window. In this case, a new game “based” on the original universe is created, allowing the creation of new mechanics, new characters, new story and a clean start, free from the shackles of the past.

This helps to revitalize some franchises that have lost their gas with the latest releases, but it runs the risk of suffering from the inevitable comparison of the original material by fans, as happened with the recently released Saints Row. O game was designed to restart a franchise that had gone too far, with its fourth (and final) game demonstrating a struggle between aliens and humans, totally fleeing the original proposal of gang warfare that the game had established.

Although the reboot de Saints Row having returned the franchise to its origins, fans didn't like several changes made with the new characters and story, in addition to the gameplay be filled with bugs, making the new game gain a reputation as “a reboot poorly made and soulless.”

Yes, Call of Duty Modern Warfare is an example of reboot that managed to revitalize a franchise that was going through its worst phase and threw it back to the top thanks to its revamped gameplay, state-of-the-art graphics and a campaign that revisits iconic characters in a new, modernized vision. The success was so great that the Activision remodeled all the studios that take care of the brand Call of Duty to follow the models established by the game, starting with the release of the sequel Modern Warfare II in 2022.

soft reboot

Um soft reboot exists when a franchise wants to create new airs, but without giving up everything that has already been created in the past. In this case, the soft reboot it only serves to take the franchise in a new direction, while still honoring its previous games.

God of War (2018) e Doom (2016) are two great examples of soft reboots. Both games exist to build on the previous games in their franchises, but at the same time reinvent enough to move away from outdated mechanics and innovate the story enough to continue down a new path. It's curious to think that both games were critically acclaimed, and had their sequels ordered by their studios with games like Doom Eternal e God of War Ragnarok, which launches in November 2022.

What is Demake?

Um unmark is a reimagining of a current game running on older platforms, and often they are just experimental projects without official support from the developers or studio of such game. Generally, these fan-created projects don't see the light of day outside of videos on YouTube and images published by the developer, but it is always interesting to note the job well done. For example, a fan decided to hold a unmark de Bloodborne with PS1 graphics and gameplay, and it's fully playable! In this version we can play even the boss fight Father Gascoigne, in addition to exploring the first areas of the city of yharnam.

Although nowadays it is more difficult to find big studios performing unmasked of its franchises, the situation was a little different in the 2000s. It was common to see games that previously only ran on more powerful machines like the GameCube and PlayStation 2 being ported to run on portable platforms like GameBoy e GameBoy Advance, often removing several original elements that often resulted in totally different experiences.

And now, you've learned to classify the different re-releases of your games favorites? Tell us in the comments!

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Sources: gameranx, FossBytes, Tech Radar.