Reboots are the best way for a video game franchise to revive themselves and ease their titles into more modern game standards. That doesn’t mean they’re all sunshine and rainbows; some video games take the rebellious and angst-ridden path as they reinvent themselves. At the same time, these edgy teenagers of the video game industry also made the right call.
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Despite having darker themes and tones, they turned out well and didn’t set themselves too far ahead of their original predecessors. As a result, they tend to become classics because not only did they innovate, but they also set their own unapologetic tone and trend. Those who are looking for some darker and moremature rebootswill do well to check out these titles.
8Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time/Warrior Within
The originalPrince of Persiawas a 2DMetroidvaniagame more similar to the Disney-fied version of Aladdin. Then, Ubisoft refurbished the whole franchise into something more epic withSands of Time. They didn’t stop there as they deemed the sequel as some kind ofprogressing rebootfor the franchise.
Thus,Warrior Withinwas gloomy and drowning in rock music. It’s as ifPrince of Persiadiscovered eyeliners and the latest album of Seether, aptly following the trend. Storywise,Warrior Withinis just as dire. The nameless prince is beset on all sides by the manifestation of fate itself, as the unstoppable monster chases him, promising the death he evaded too many times in the past.
7Resident Evil 7
Granted, the originalResident Evilgameswere already gory and violent. However,Resident Evil 7orBiohazardtook immersion to another level by assuming a first-person perspective. On top of that, they also included some horror tropes from certified macabre movies such asTexas Chainsaw Massacreand theEvil Dead.
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The result was a more intimate fright-fest that ended up feeling a lot more claustrophobic and maddening compared to the older games. After all, players can now see everything up close. More than that, the game also became more serious; the lack of slight nudity and fan service is notable enough. At times, the game can even feel more like a higher-budget version ofOutlast.
6Doom (2016)
In a similar case toResident Evil, theDoomgames have always maintained an oppressive and evil atmosphere filled with satanic iconography. This carried on to the first reboot in 2004, but that one wasn’t as memorable or as hardcore asDoom2016. The latestDoomreboot cranked brutality up to 11 and allowed more ways for players to brutalize the poor indigents of Hell.
Such a system was introduced in the form of the Glory Kills, where players could walk up to a weakened demon and rip their jawbone like astuck LEGO pieceor pull their spine out like a lawnmower rope. Music has also seen a modern twist and improvement thanks to composer Mick Gordon, and of course, the demon design has gotten more visceral and obscene.
5Tomb Raider (2013)
Before the 2013Tomb Raidercame along, Lara Croft was content on just raiding archeological hotspots in her calendar girl getup. The reboot plunged her back down to the gritty realism of treasure hunting. Because in the 2013Tomb Raider, Lara was subjected to all kinds of torture as early as the opening scene where she gets impaled through the belly, kidnapped, and battered by mother nature.
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It was a survivalist’s nightmare and not manyTomb Raidergames dared explore that kind of gamble for Lara Croft. It did pay off well, and Lara eventually became a more respectable video game protagonist due to all the hardships she endured inthe reboot.
4Grand Theft Auto 3
Before the dawn of 3D open-world gaming,Grand Theft Autogames were just top-down crime escapades that somewhat disconnected players from the transgressions they were performing.Grand Theft Auto 3shook things up with its visuals and new structure. This paved the way for a more personal look at an exaggerated underground criminal life.
Grand Theft Auto 3became bolder with the stories it wanted to tell and even sprinkled in some horrific scenarios such as accidental cannibalism and of course, the usual mafia dealings. Don’t be fooled by the “3” in the name;Grand Theft Auto 3is a revolution for the formula and is fundamentallya rebootfor the whole franchise.
3Need For Speed: Underground
BeforeNeed for Speed: Undergroundcame along, the olderNFSgames were content with showcasing their exotic European cars maxing out on highways and clean semi-rural roads. But thanks to the popularity of a family-oriented film franchise such asThe Fast and the Furious, street racing has become the hot new thing.
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NFS: Undergroundsoon followed suit and breathed new life into the complacent franchise. It injected the dark underbelly of the racing scene into its formula: illegal street racing. More than that, tuners and muscle cars were also added to the spice rack.
2Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Prior toCall of Duty4: Modern Warfare, the previousCall of Dutygames were feel-good stories about WW2 heroism. With the advent ofModern Warfare,Call of Dutywent out of its comfort zone and ventured into darker territory. It finally featured a story that’s not too far off from the grittiness of contemporary warfare.
It was presented through the eyes of spec-ops units— mostly the British SAS, as they track down a terror organization and prevent an impending World War 3 all from behind the scenes. To that end, it’s more similar to Tom Clancy’s stories compared to the olderCall of Dutygames.
1Spec Ops: The Line
Speaking of games about spec-ops units,Spec Ops: The Linewas quite the handful back in 2012. It’s a reboot of a less-than-popular video game franchise that mostly glorified warfare similar to Michael Bay war movies.Spec Ops: The Linehushed its franchise’s “bro” perspective on warfare.
It told a traumatizing story where the protagonist commits all kinds of war crimes both against enemy combatants and civilians.Spec Ops:The Lineportrays the horrors of war. For some, it even seemed like it was taking an anti-war stance, which was quite uncommon for a lot of shooter games. So whilethe rebootflopped in reviving the franchise, it did its genre a favor.
