It’s no secret that people enjoy playing video games. Some experiences that we get from games are often so good that we want to experience them again and again, many times over. For some people, revisiting a game after an extended period of time is fun because they get to have a similar feeling to when they first played. But outside of nostalgia, there are certain things with game releases these days that can get us to return to our favorite video games for another run.
I often find myself replaying certain games across multiple platforms, even when I already know what to expect. Whether it’s a classic title that gets a complete facelift in visuals, or extra features that weren’t there before, somehow they manage to get me to boot them up once again. And no matter how many times I find myself replaying what I already know, the best ones still somehow manage to find ways to keep me coming back. Here are four things that get me to replay games that I love on every platform that I own.
Trophy and Achievement support
Getting rewarded multiple times
Let’s be honest, people love getting trophies and achievements for the games they play. As much as we all like to claim we enjoy playing the games for the experience, many of us like seeing and hearing that notification pop up now and then. Trophies and achievements aren’t tangible collectibles that we can hold or display on a shelf, but they are digital markers for what we’ve done or accomplished in the games we have played. And whenever a game you know is re-released on a new platform, there’s always the question of replaying it to get all the trophies or achievements for doing so.
This is something I’ve done many times for multiple games, such as the many Star Wars game remasters, that have gained trophy support. Knowing that I can just go through them again for some pretty easy trophies is appealing, especially when it’s for simple tasks like finishing a story mode or campaign. At the same time, other games like Indiana Jones and The Great Circle and the Heretic + Hexen remaster were released on more platforms, which come with their own separate list of trophies or achievements. The requirements for getting them aren’t always the same in some titles, which can have a bit of variation as to what exactly you do to obtain them. But the small reward and acknowledgment of playing the game a second or third time on a different platform is often worth diving into it once again.
HD Remastering
Making it all feel new again
A lot of classic games are often re-released under the umbrella of HD remasters. These are games that are cleaned up visually, given some polish to their presentation, or have other changes alongside that to make the games feel newer. Essentially, they are the exact same game as before, but with a bit of extra flair to make them look good. Although not always the strongest reason for someone to replay a longer game, HD Remasters are great for classic and iconic games that have been out of the spotlight for a long time. Games that do end up releasing as an HD Remaster often get extra features like trophy and achievement support that add an extra incentive to revisit them.
Some of the best HD Remasters I’ve played through include series like Kingdom Hearts, which make the presentation of games that already looked good on the PlayStation 2 hardware and makes them look better on modern day hardware. Other HD Remasters that have stood out to me are the remasters for Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Final Fantasy X and X-2, and the Onimusha series re-releases. Each of these games benefited from the visual upgrades, as well as other tweaks to make the core experiences better in different ways. Nothing about the content in each game is radically different, but I can play through them again and feel like I get more out of my next playthrough.
Compilation releases
Bundles of games to revisit
Source: Konami
A big trend from game companies is to re-release games that are part of a series into bundles. These compilation releases, or collections, bring together some of the best games within a given series into one package. Often, compilations like this are done for classic franchises that had multiple games over a long period of time, so they offer players a chance to have everything all at once in an easy and accessible way. The bigger the series, the more in-depth and meaty a compilation can be.
While most compilations can also have extra perks for the games that are included, like HD visuals and trophy and achievement support, the driving point is the complete package of games all together. I may have owned a game back on a 16-bit console years ago, but I can own it again and play it without having to set up my old retro console. It makes wanting to revisit some of my favorite experiences I had while growing up so much easier.
Source: Konami
Great compilations and collections also come with bonus unlockables that weren’t available beforehand. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection brings together all the classic arcade and console releases, but also includes tons of bonus concept art, promos, and other goodies. For a fan of that franchise, it’s a great bundle that gives a big reason to replay the games again with all the extra layers of content to explore. Other compilations for franchises like Street Fighter and the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Legacy Collection also add new features like online multiplayer to add an extra twist, giving even more reason to dive back into each game. Different platforms can have different varieties of players to connect with, especially in a competitive environment like the fighting game genre.
Cross-platform progression
Keeping things going between different spots
An interesting new way to get everyone replaying games on multiple consoles is cross-progression. Games like Gears of War: Reloaded are doing this and allowing players on both Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 to save their progress on their accounts between both systems. If you get far on one console, you can boot up the game on the other and pick up from where you left off. It’s a great way to encourage players to be open to playing the game in both places, without the fear of getting left behind by others further ahead. Something like this blurs the lines between platforms, and opens up more possibilities of different franchises jumping to other ecosystems for new players to experience them.
Other games that have done something similar are big releases like Star Wars Outlaws, which saves progress between the PC and Xbox Series X/S versions. I can put in a lot of time playing the game on my PC and not have to fret about retreading the same content just to get to where I left off. In some cases, cross-platform progression can also help with getting trophies and achievements without wasting time on the same tasks over and over again. With Gears of War: Reloaded, jumping between the platforms allows for the corresponding trophies and achievements to unlock when you complete them in one place. It’s like getting double the rewards for doing the same task on one save, which caters to players who own more than one console.
Playing through them once again
Some games just stand out enough that it makes people want to play through them multiple times. Whether it was because they were fun to play, interesting to follow, or had something more to say when experiencing them, players will happily play them again across multiple platforms. But the extra incentive to do so is always something that is appreciated, especially when it feels like they reward those who love to return to them. It’s because of things like this that I often find myself replaying my favorite games across all the consoles I own again and again.