It’s only natural to guess a studio acquisition when we see the Bluepoint Games logo layered in front of PlayStation characters. In an odd chain of events, the picture was apparently a mistake posted by PlayStation Studio’s Japan. On the same day, Housemarque, not Bluepoint, was acquired by Sony. While Bluepoint contradicted an acquisition, it’s hard to read the event as a simple mistake.
Bluepoint has always been a major partner of Sony, remaking some of their most popular games like Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus. As a result, no one was surprised by the apparent error. Bluepoint is distancing itself from the mishap by updating its Twitter bio with the words “fully independent” and “fully funded,” indicating a miscalculated mess that will require some sorting. In the meantime, we’ll speculate about Bluepoint’s next remake; perhaps by the time we’re done, Sony will have acquired the studio.
The Legend of Dragoon
Last year, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake made quite a splash, garnering numerous game of the year awards and performing well enough to merit an expansion. As a result of this success, another cult classic reinterpretation will surely garner triumphant discourse and excellent reviews. In fact, fans have been clamoring for a Legend of Dragoon remake ever since Bluepoint posted deceptive Tweets in 2019 suggesting such a project.
Considering history, the Legend of Dragoon cult following uproar makes sense. North America sold more copies of the PlayStation 1 JRPG than Japan, creating a strong Western audience. Fans were surprised that the storyline and timed-based gameplay stood up to the Final Fantasy juggernaut. Suffice it to say, Legend of Dragoon created a substantial following that Sony could easily monetize.
Besides the expected graphical overhaul, a remake could revitalize the script, which some accuse of falling into classic JRPG tropes and update the laughable voice acting. Indeed, The Legend of Dragoon was severely outpaced by Final Fantasy, but a remake would appease a mountain of nostalgic fans while granting PlayStation a new JRPG, further diversifying its library.
Infamous
Sucker Punch’s entry into the superhero genre proved to be a huge success for the studio, leading to two additional games in the franchise. While Infamous Second Son gathered a strong fan base, it may be the last title in this landmark PlayStation franchise, at least for Sucker Punch. The studio traded superheroes for samurai with the edge of generation release: Ghost of Tsushima.
Even though Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent open-world game, we’re disappointed that Infamous was left on the sidelines. To solve this problem, the talented team at Bluepoint could revise this PlayStation classic. The original game is well remembered for its diverse selection of electrical powers and game-changing conundrums. As a result of these choices, Cole’s power set varied greatly, encouraging multiple playthroughs. Thanks to these details along with a twisting storyline, Infamous became a fan favorite PlayStation 3 game.
A remake would surely revitalize the Infamous enthusiasm and, maybe, spark a newly established entry. In addition to these positive impacts, Infamous would generally benefit from some upscaling. The climbing could be refined from both an animation and viability standpoint while the electrical powers would greatly benefit from particle effects and the newest console evolution: ray-tracing.
Metal Gear Solid
Considering The Metal Gear Solid rumor mill is like a Hideo Kojima plotline, we will do our best to clarify it. The story began when Konami was reportedly considering outsourcing properties like Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill. The smallest clues have since sparked a great deal of speculation and excitement. These range from a credible leaker – KatharsisT – suggesting a Bluepoint remake to Nicolas Doucet, Japan Studio creative director, mimicking his profile picture after Big Boss.
Metal Gear sports a tremendous amount of love and adoration among its fans, so, understandably, speculation can grow out of control. Suffice it to say countless people will run to the PlayStation Store if such a remake gets made. Being that the original Metal Gear was released in 1998, the most obvious change would be in terms of visuals. Bluepoint’s knack for updating visuals while maintaining the original’s identity makes them the ideal studio for this project.
In addition to visuals, Metal Gear Solid would benefit from some narrative tweaking to ensure minor plot holes are fixed. Furthermore, some would argue that whatever can be learned from The Phantom Pain can be incorporated into Bluepoint’s original gameplay. Naturally, this raises the possibility of switching to an over-the-shoulder perspective, something Bluepoint would ponder for a long time.
Resistance: Fall of Man
We travel back to the PS3 era and find Resistance: Fall of Man – a game that suffered a similar fate as Infamous: a trilogy launcher that fell into the obscurity of time. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a first-person shooter from Sony Studios, but that wasn’t the case in 2006. In fact, Resistance and Killzone were a crucial part of their exclusive library.
Fall of Man followed Nathan Hale as he led a resistance group against an alien invasion. Stereotypical as it may sound, it does strike a chord with many gamers who grew up with the PS3. In addition to nostalgia, Fall of Man stood out with its unique tone, courtesy of a 1900s setting combined with futuristic weaponry of the invading aliens.
These aliens, known as Chimera, were another significant addition thanks to their horrific designs, a design anyone could recognize today. Fall of Man obviously had the tone and design to be successful today. All it would need is a gameplay revamp and a smooth 60 FPS to successfully transfer into the modern era.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
This 1999 game was not a PlayStation exclusive, but a remake list wouldn’t be complete without its inclusion. While Legacy of Kain is a series of five games, Soul Reaver is the most popular entry and one of the best, along with Blood Omen. Director Amy Hennig, responsible for Uncharted, led Soul Reaver into a game that was way ahead of its time.
It employed level streaming and included warp portals, a concept made popular through Portal almost 8 years later. A game like Soul Reaver, which incorporated many futuristic ideas needs to be fully realized in this era. One mechanic that could heavily benefit from a potential remake is plane shifting, a concept that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart recently advertised as new and innovative.
Back in 1999, plane shifting meant slightly changed colors when transferring over to the spectral realm. Nowadays this could be fully realized by dramatically changing the environment in the blink of an eye. All of this to say Sony should remake the excellent Soul Reaver instead of The Last of Us…enough said.
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