BioWare, the developer most recently behind Anthem, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age, has been making games for over twenty years now. While there’s been plenty of buzz recently about a potential remaster of its Mass Effect trilogy, for instance, there are plenty of other games on the BioWare catalogue that deserve more than a simple remaster.
The first Mass Effect game came out in 2007 – that’s over a decade in the past, now. But there are other games, even older than that (and one a little bit newer) that could stand to get a little TLC from BioWare and its fans. Let’s talk about the BioWare games out there that absolutely deserve the remake treatment.
Jade Empire is unique, even among BioWare games; it was the company’s first original intellectual property (before, BioWare had only made games within the Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons universes). More than that, it was a well-received RPG set in a world based on Chinese mythology, something that’s still pretty rare among games. Players take on the role of the last surviving Spirit Monk, and play through a linear narrative guided by morality-based dialogue and choices.
Despite Jade Empire‘s positive reception, it never really got the attention that other BioWare games did. Perhaps because of that, BioWare never followed up on this title, but that really ought to change. Jade Empire would be a great candidate for a remake: it’s interesting, unique, and has all the elements of a great BioWare RPG.
Now let’s talk about old-school BioWare games that did get all the attention; Baldur’s Gate was BioWare’s second-ever title and first foray into RPGs, and it did more than simply get good reviews. Baldur’s Gate and its sequel changed the RPG genre permanently, laying the foundation for many of today’s top RPGs. Check any “best RPGs of all time” list and either Baldur’s Gate game is probably near the top, with good reason.
The thing is, Baldur’s Gate and its sequel have been remastered as recently as 2013, with Beamdog releasing Enhanced Edition versions of both games. But this is a list of games that deserve the remake treatment, not remastering, and the thought of the Baldur’s Gate narrative framed within the graphics and technology of today is certainly a thrilling one.
Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn is the aforementioned sequel to Baldur’s Gate, and pretty much universally considered even better than its predecessor. Therefore, it should be obvious why BG2 is on this list; if the first one deserves a remake, then the second absolutely does, even more so. The idea of a Baldur’s Gate 2: SoA remake is made even more tantalizing when considering the recently-released Baldur’s Gate 3. Now there’s really no doubt whether or not a game as old-school as BG2 would translate well into the current and next generation of video games; BG3 has essentially proven that it would translate beautifully.
Thus the Bhaalspawn saga, a Dungeons & Dragons-based epic that spans two games and one expansion, really ought to get a remake one of these days.
BioWare’s next Dungeons & Dragons-based game after the highly successful Baldur’s Gate series was Neverwinter Nights. This game, too, was remastered in recent years, but a remake could be even more exciting. After all, the Neverwinter Nights toolset that released alongside the game allowed players to go and create whole playable modules of their own; some of the best included music, voice-over, and more. Imagine the gorgeous modules that today’s players could create if Neverwinter Nights and its corresponding toolset were given the remake treatment.
That’s not even mentioning the fun of the actual Neverwinter Nights game, and its expansions; Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark. All of those, translated with current-generation technology, would be a thing of beauty.
Finally, the BioWare game that is likely the highest in demand to get the remake treatment, Dragon Age: Origins. DA:O is a little more recent than the other games on this list, but there’s no doubt that it’s still officially outdated among today’s available games. Despite that, Origins was highly beloved, and with good reason. It was BioWare’s love letter to Baldur’s Gate, and the last hurrah of what many people consider to be old-school BioWare.
However, given the resurgence of games along the same lines as Dragon Age: Origins (including Baldur’s Gate 3, which is a pretty decent blueprint of what an Origins remake could look like, too), it could be time for Origins itself to get the remake treatment. Dragon Age 4 is taking long enough to make and release, and fans of the franchise are getting restless. Not only would a remake of Origins simply look amazing, but it’d go a long way to restore fans’ love of BioWare after the uncommonly long wait between Dragon Age games and its missteps with Mass Effect and Anthem.
Long story short, a Dragon Age: Origins remake could solve a lot of problems – and it’d also make for a jaw-dropping game, just like the original Origins.
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