The best remake of 2024 is a ninja roguelike from 30 years ago

Nobody actually knows, with absolute, airtight certainty, what makes a remake ‘good.’ You don’t. I certainly don’t. And the people making them don’t, either. To a point, this may be for the best, since the lack of a fixed rubric leaves room for surprises. We all remember where we were when we realized what Final Fantasy 7 Remake was actually doing, and its foundational stance - that canon, as we understand it, is not sacred or immutable - is still probably the most radical to ever emerge from a remake of that scale and pedigree.  Still, it’s hard to shake the feeling that modern remakes are predicated on the assumption that the history of game design has been one of linear improvement.