Game reboots are popular right now, but as gamers we are not quite sure whether we love or hate them. As a medium, games are more detailed and advanced. This creates opportunities to recreate some of the best gameplay experiences of the last few decades. A reboot of older game series makes a lot of sense.
The best game reboots focus on what made their predecessors great and bring those elements and gameplay experiences to a new audience. Sometimes, a series just needs a fresh start.
A reboot offers games series the chance to reinvent itself and try something original to introduce the franchises to the next generation of gamers. This does not mean that each reboot of a game becomes a huge success, sometimes they flop. These reboots are the best of the last decades.
Back to the past
Tomb Raider, one of the most beloved game series, tells the stories of a fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft who travels around the world searching for lost artefacts in dangerous tombs and ruins.
The reboot focusses on the origin of the character Lara Croft and how she becomes the hardened explorer known from the previous titles in the series. The game characterises Lara Croft as vulnerable and uncomfortable with self-defense and murder.
The reboot tells a more emotional story and leads to the events of two additional games. Both Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider continue and complete the story of Lara Croft who becomes the fearless Tomb Raider.
One of the greatest games of all time
Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time is the first game in the Prince of Persia trilogy, but is a reboot of the older titles in the Prince of Persia series. The game is set in Persia and tells the story of a prince who finds an artifact called the Dagger of Time and releases the Sands of Time, by accident.
This sand turns the guards and population of the city in monsters. The Prince works to correct his mistake and return the Sands to the hourglass. Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time is regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.
One hundred years of sleep
A more recent reboot of a well-known game series is The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild. This game can br considered as a soft reboot of the entire series. In The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild, Link awakens from a hundred year sleep and is tasked to defeat Calamity Ganon and save the kingdom of Hyrule.
The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild reinvented the series and is set in an open world for gamers to explore with little to no instructions. The world is designed to reward exploration and the story can be completed in a nonlinear manner.
As a launch title, The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild remains one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch to date.
Time to bring classics to the next generation
Doom and Wolfenstein are considered as the grandfathers of the first-person shooters. In recent years, both series were rebooted to bring the classic gameplay experience to the next generation of hardware.
Doom and Doom Eternal follow a space marine as he battles demonic forces from Hell unleashed by the Union Aerospace Corporation within their base on Mars. The gameplay emlhasises fast combat and momentum. It also reintroduced the classic health and armor pick-ups.
Wolfenstein - The New Order and its sequel Wolfenstein - The New Colossus are both set in an alternate history where the Nazis won the Second World War and took over the entire world. The story follows war veteran William B.J. Blazkowicz and his efforts to stop the Nazis. The gameplay is fast and you use firearms, melee attacks and explosives to fight enemies in intense firefight.
The stories of a master thief retold
Thief is a stealth and adventure game set in a dark fantasy world inspired by steampunk and gothic aesthetics. Garrett, a master thief, returns to its hometown to find it ruined by a disease and forced in lockdown by strong militia.
As a result of his exceptional skills, Garrelt finds himself hired by different clients to steal precious items. To remain undetected, you need to limit interaction with enemies and stick to the dark corners in the environment. A real challenge.
Reboots on the ground
One of the best reboots of recent years is Call of Duty - Modern Warfare. The game takes place in a realistic and modern setting and is a reboot of the Modern Warfare series with an intense focus on gritty realism.
For the campaign, the developers took influence from real-life conflicts in the Middle East such as the Syrian Civil War and different terrorist incidents in cities over Europe. In response to these realistic and mature subjects, the Call of Duty - Modern Warfare game was subject to some controversies.
There is a strong emphasis on preventing civilian casualties and collateral damage, but on the ground you may shoot civilians by accident as terrorists are embedded within civilian communities. This results in tense moments and makea you rethink your actions before you shoot.
Other great reboots
These are some of the best reboots of the last decades, but there are other games that did not make the list. There has been a great reboot of God of War that introduced Norse mythology, Ratchet & Clank went back to the start, Grand Theft Auto III transitioned from a top-down to third-person perspective and etcetera. Please mention your favourite game reboots in the comments to share your best gameplay experiences with others.
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Disclaimer. This post contains copyrighted images from Doom Eternal, a video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda. The fair use of copyrighted works for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting or research is not considered as an infringement of copyright.
