Summary
Gaming is an ever-evolving and shifting medium that has had tons of excellent titles come and go throughout its history, allowing newcomers togo back and revisit some of the highest reviewed games of the pastand likely still walk away with a solid and remarkable experience, such asSuper Metroid, which is still a banger of a Metroidvania.
However, some titles aren’t so fortunate and may have been a standout hit back in their heyday, but have since fallen to time, aging poorly as new games come out and do it better. While these titles still hold merit and will forever be crucial to the industry’s history and growth, we’re not so sure how well they’d survive if they were released today for the first time!
Developer
Rare
Banjo-Kazooieis one of our favorite 3D Platformers of all time,and we’d argue that it still holds up remarkably well,especially if you pick it up via the Rare Replay collection. Its sequel, Banjo-Tooie, however, is an entirely different story, and would likely be evicerated if it were released today for the first time.
Tedious doesn’t even begin to describe this game. From its obtuse and annoying level designs to its even more annoying number of collectables, you need to have unbreakable patience to play this game today. There is SO much backtracking, with much of it feeling pointless or seemingly there ‘just because.’ This game wouldn’t survive today’s world!
87
Bethesda Game Studios
To be clear, we also ADOREThe Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, but let’s not pretend it holds up all that well, especially if you have never played it before. If this were to drop today for the first time, players and critics alike would have a meltdown. And for somewhat justifiable reasons.
Stamina is crucial in this game, and you will almost never have it at the start, making getting anywhere feel like a chore. Items don’t have names in your inventory, making it very difficult to navigate to see what you have. While there is still a tremendous game in there once you adapt to it, most players wouldn’t get there before putting down for good!
88
AM2 of CRI
Speaking of tedium,Shenmuewould absolutely crash and burn today if it were released for the first time. And that’s primarily thanks to theYakuza/Like a Dragonseries. Can you imagine the discourse around a title like this if Yakuza were the first to the market? Players today will never understand what it’s like just to take a knee andtake in the excellent atmosphere of Shenmue.
Shenmue is a fantastic and remarkably inspirational title that has influenced many games we know and love today. Still, it would get ravaged by its players and critics for its slow gameplay, lack of direction, and sluggish combat. We still love you, though, Ryo!
96
The FPS genre has come a long way sinceGoldenEye 007, and we believe that the stark contrast between then and now would have a profoundly negative impact on this game if it were to be released today.It has a laughably short campaign,stiff and janky aiming, and it doesn’t offer many modes.
Overall, we think it would be fine, but players would likely devour it for a few days and then move on to something else, or hop back onFortniteorValorantand call it a day. This game was legendary and pioneered the genre as we know it today, but would it have the same impact today? We sadly don’t think so!
95
Bungie
In the same vein, we haveHalo 2, one of our favorite titles ever, which we know would be ridiculed today if it were released for the first time.Halo 2 is remarkable in every sense of the word,from its ambitious campaign and exhilarating multiplayer to pioneering the competitive online scene.
Unfortunately, its lack of sprint, bizarre button combos, super jumps, and massive cliffhanger ending would spiral the current Halo community into a frenzy. We can already hear people complaining that the game is ‘too slow’ or that you ‘barely play as Master Chief’ in its campaign. This game wouldn’t make it, and it saddens us!
Capcom
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is one of the most beloved and electric fighting games out there, which would not last in today’s market for more than a month. And that pains us deeply. It has almost no single-player offerings, there are loads of frame-perfect inputs, and much of the roster were newcomers at the time.
With how massively popular and successfulStreet Fighter 6is, we feel a Third Strike release today would crash and burn. Even if you have rollback, the lack of a Modern control scheme,fan-favorite characters,and a deep and rewarding single-player mode are all recipes for failure in this day and age!
94
Infinity Ward
If you’ve ever frequented the Call of Duty community on your own will, for whatever reason, you will constantly see many people clamoring for the ‘good ol’ days,' reminiscing about their time with the originalCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2all the way back in 2009. But, here’s the kicker, we don’t think this game would be well-received at all today.
Aside from its excellent campaign and map design, the overall balance of MW2 was horrendously bad. Was it fun back in the day? Absolutely. But players are MUCH better today than they were then, and they will absolutely be farming you with the ACR, AK, and Intervention.
Not to mention all the people who would camp relentlessly to get a Nuke, as it is substantially easier to do so in that game than in the more recent titles.We played countless hours of this masterpiece back in the day,but it has lost the battle to time!
Naughty Dog
Lastly, we have Jak 2, one of the few games on this list that we’d argue was never reallythatgood, as we’re somewhat puzzled by its high rating and positive reception. This game tried too hard to be everything, and feels so unoriginal and uninspired, which is a very stark contrast to the first Jak and Daxter.
Jak 2 is also horrendously edgy and is a slog to get through. This game would be criticised from every angle imaginable today by critics and fans, and it’s not even up for debate. Some games get lambasted for far worse these days, and this one would be a bloodbath. We ADORE the original Jak and Daxter, but this one would definitely not get the same reception today!
