Horizon Zero Dawn Remasteredmay not have felt necessary to many when rumors about its existence first began circulating, but since it launched, it has proven its worth tenfold. Its plethora of meaningful changes and enhancements have given a new lease of life to an already exceptional game, ensuring that its legacy can continue untainted by the handful of issues that damped the original experience. It is absolutely the gold standard for PlayStation remasters, and a good indication of the direction future iterations could go in.
However, whileHZD Remasteredis worth it, there is a lot more that PlayStation can do to alleviate its biggest issue. This remaster, alongside the many other remasters that PlayStation has been producing during the PS5’s lifetime, is just a small step in the right direction.Sony needs to take inspiration from one of its biggest competitors in order to alleviate its release schedule difficultiesand see a return to the PS4’s era of experimentation.
PlayStation Needs Smaller Releases Like Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
It Helps Fill The Gaps Between Its Bigger Games
The PlayStation 5 is in dire need of video games as fans continue to feel like there’s simply nothing to play on itdespite being several years old by this point. While great games have launched on it, ballooning production costs and a greater focus on cinematic narrative-driven experiences have meant that Sony won’t be releasing many of its highly anticipated games for some time. Of course, it has committed to releasing one major title a year, which is shaping 2025 to be one of thePS5’s best years for releases. However, there are still gaps in its upcoming calendar.
Luckily, there’s an obvious solution, one that one of its biggest competitors, Nintendo, has been doing for quite some time.PlayStation needs smaller releases to launch between its bigger games, games that don’t require years of development time and hundreds of millions of dollars to produce. It needs indie games and double-A titles to launch under its publishing banner in order to satiate fans while they wait for games likeGhost of Yotei. So far, PlayStation has been attempting this to a degree, although it’s largely with remasters, such asHorizon Zero Dawn Remastered.
PlayStation Still Needs To Learn From Its Biggest 2024 Mistake
Sony will continue to require PC players to link their PSN account for PlayStation Studios games, citing safety concerns as the primary reason.
Frankly, especially considering all thechanges inHorizon Zero Dawn Remastered, it was a worthwhile launch. It offered newcomers an excellent way to play one of Sony’s best games, and existing fans a genuinely compelling updated version that trumps the original in almost every way. DespiteHZD Remasterfailing commercially, it is a step in the right direction, at least when it comes to how Sony should approach its remasters in the future. However,what PlayStation needs more than remasters are original indie titles or, perhaps more importantly, spin-offs.
LEGO Horizon Adventures Proves PlayStation Is Learning From Nintendo
Spin-Offs Can Be Effective At Drawing In New Audiences
LEGO Horizon Adventuresmay have beenanother PlayStation flop, but it’s absolutely the kind of game it should be publishing. It’s a unique spin-off of one of its most beloved franchises that appeals to a new audience while maintaining a lot of what made its original audience love it so much. While it certainly has its flaws,LEGO Horizon Adventuresfeels like the most unique thing PlayStation has done in quite a while, and that should absolutely be celebrated.
While it certainly has its flaws,LEGO Horizon Adventuresfeels like the most unique thing PlayStation has done in quite a while, and that should absolutely be celebrated.
In many ways,it shows that Sony is learning from Nintendo. Nintendo often produces wildly different games based on the same IP. RPG fans getMario RPGandPaper Mario, party game fans getMario Party, racing fans getMario Kart, platformer fans get the mainline titles, and fighting game fans getSuper Smash Bros. There’s evenLuigi’s Mansionfor Luigi superfans and theWariogames for those who want something truly weird and wonderful. All of these utilize familiar characters and IP but completely switch up the genre to ensure that absolutely everyone is on board theMariobandwagon.
No one else has ever really done this - there isn’t aHalo PartyorHalo Racing, for example - which has always seemed a little surprising. Nintendo has found great success in its many spin-offs, with several of thembecoming entire franchisesin and of themselves. While Sony has dabbled somewhat in spin-offs in the past, including the maligned fighting gamePlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, it hasn’t felt like a priority for the publisher for quite some time.
However, it looks like that could be changing, at least when it comes to theHorizonfranchise. In an attempt to continue its push for live service titles, PlayStation is publishing the somewhatdubiousHorizon Online, which will be released sometime in 2025 and will likely serve to tideHorizonfans over until the next mainline entry. It’s a small step, butin combination withLEGO Horizon Adventures, it is definitely a move in the right direction.
Smaller-Budget Games Allow For More Experimentation
It Lets Developers Take IP In New Directions
PlayStation is absolutely no stranger to smaller-budget games. In the mid-2010s, it was publishing a number of smaller games from its various first-party developers, including the likes ofKnack,Concrete Genie,Dreams,Gravity Rush,Little Big Planet,Tokyo Jungle,Journey, and evenHelldivers.It’s staggering just how different the PS4 and PS5’s first-party libraries are, even at the same point in the PS4’s lifespan that the PS5 is at now. Of course, by that point, PlayStation hadn’t quite transitioned into its incredibly expensive cinematic narrative single-player adventures and felt comfortable experimenting more.
In many ways,the expectation that next-gen consoles should offer next-gen experiences and little else is hurting this sense of experimentation that was prevalent during the PS4 era. The PS5 Pro and itslibrary of enhanced gamesare indicative of that, a console entirely dedicated to making the already gorgeous triple-A games look and run slightly better. However, while it is true that showing off the power of these impressive consoles is a worthwhile endeavor, it can come at the cost of producing more memorable experiences.
This PlayStation Classic Should Get A Bluepoint Remake Next (& It’s Not Bloodborne)
PlayStation has been struggling with its remasters and remakes, yet it can turn things around by giving BluePoint Games another classic title.
The PS5 needs more fun spin-offs likeLEGO Horizon Adventuresand experimental new IPs likeReturnal. Hopefully, despite the relative failure of PlayStation’s recent attempts at putting out new IP and spin-offs, Sony doesn’t back down and continues to produce more unique experiences that can help bridge the gap between the larger releases. Taking risks and putting effort into publishing indies and double-A games, or even transformative remasters likeHorizon Zero Dawn Remasteredis absolutely the direction that PlayStation needs to be moving in.
