A reboot serves as a fresh start for the series, while a remake brings a particular part back to life, not the whole franchise. A simple example: Resident Evil 2 (2019) is a remake, while Resident Evil 7 (2017) is a reboot. Let’s look at the successful reboots of recent years.
Mortal Kombat (2011)
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Mortal Kombat is a series of fast, fun and bloody fighting games, which are even more exciting than slots at 22Bet. It’s equally designed for long-time fans of the martial arts genre and those who are called upon to duel for the first time – it’s easy to get used to.
MK’s fame peaked in the 1990s, it was a hit on 16-bit consoles. In the 2000s, the series slowly settled into 3D, racking up bruises. It re-entered fighting game Olympus with the release of Mortal Kombat (2011). The reboot retold the events of the first three parts and brought the fights back to one plane, abandoning the use of the arena “in depth” like the competitors.
After MK (2011), gamers got Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11. The last part is especially good, but only Injustice 2 can compete with it by its visuals.
Tomb Raider (2013)
Sometimes the games about Lara Croft stop being bought, and then the current owner of the brand arranges the reboot. In 2013, Square Enix successfully revived the series: the game sold 14.5 million copies.
Tomb Raider (2013) offered a look at how Miss Croft transformed from a fragile girl into a tomb raider. Admittedly, the game was tight with puzzles, the gameplay swung in the direction of shooters. We have also abandoned the well-tuned acrobatics. Tomb Raider became reminiscent of Uncharted, only with more freedom of action, despite the fact that Uncharted owes its appearance to Tomb Raider.
Doom (2016)
The classics of the series are Doom and Doom 2 from the first half of the 1990s. Doom 3 (2004) with the elements of survival horror has already been met with restraint, but the Doom of 2016 drowned in praise from critics.
The reboot captures the spirit of the “meaty” FPS from the 1990s. It’s just as fast-paced, freezing in place means instant death. The stunts add to the spectacle. The final ingredient to success is Mick Gordon’s aggressive soundtrack, designed as a burial ground for demons.
The PC version of Doom (2016) has 85 out of 100 points on Metacritic. The sequel, Doom Eternal, has a higher average score of 88/100, but the sequel has not generated the same excitement among gamers as the reboot.
Assassin’s Creed: Origins (2017)
At some point, Assassin’s Creed got bored with the press and players. The series was stagnant and irritating – nothing fresh, the same thing year after year.
After AC: Syndicate (2015), Ubisoft took a 2-year pause and released AC: Origins. It didn’t just move the lineup from gray industrial London to ancient Egypt, but also changed the genre from action-adventure to action/RPG.
Upgraded with different skill trees, interesting side-missions, revised fights, the system of levels that shows whether the hero can fight his enemies or not… not everything was perfect, but in next parts Ubisoft brought the role-playing formula to mind.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)
In parts four through six, Resident Evil skewed toward shooters. The horror elements have been relegated to the background.
In Resident Evil 7, Capcom has made a switch: exploration here prevails over shooting. The Japanese used the first-person perspective for the plunge and limited the game to one location – a swampy area where cannibals live.
The story of Ethan Winters, who was looking for his wife in RE 7, was developed in Resident Evil: Village. Keep in mind that both games are nothing like the Resident Evil 2 remake. Capcom loves experimentation.
Samurai Shodown (2019)
In the 1990s, Japanese company SNK stamped arcade bestsellers: Metal Slug, The King of Fighters, Samurai Shodown… At the turn of the century, it suffered a financial collapse and in the 21st century resembled its shadow. The situation changed dramatically with the arrival of investors from China and Saudi Arabia. First SNK released The King of Fighters XIV, and a little later it shook up Samurai Shodown.
The Samurai Shodown reboot differs from its legendary predecessors in its three-dimensional graphics. The main feature of the combat system is preserved: the decisive value of a single blow, not the combination (combos), as in other virtual fights. Samurai Shodown fights end quickly, which encourages you to pick up your katana over and over again.
Like Mortal Kombat, Samurai Shodown is friendly to newcomers. It’s imperative to play with a live opponent, as there is little content in the single-player portion of the fighting game.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2020)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a reboot of Yakuza, the Japanese gangster series, this time with turn-based showdowns and a new central character. Previously, Kazuma Kiryu was beating opponents with action/beat ’em up rules. Ichiban Kasuga exists in a reality RPG.
Yakuza, if it ever needed a reboot, it was only a story reboot. Many people got tired of Kazuma Kiryu’s story, stretched out over six “number” parts. Plus, it’s more convenient for a new audience when you don’t have to go through the previous issues.
In terms of setting, Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a unique RPG, because the action is set in modern Japan. It offers original classes of fighters like a homeless guy, a cook and a singer. There are also crazy side quests that are the envy of other Japanese RPGs.
