Over the course of gaming history, action-adventure video games have been some of the most prominent entries. In recent years, they have delivered the most expansive video game experiences alongside immersive combat. As such, this genre of games possibly brings home the highest player count.
And yet, sometimes certain series grow stable, with games not being innovative enough and later dying out. But things need not end for such video game series, as there is always the reboot route, which can possibly breathe some new life into them.
Reboots can give a dying game franchise a new lease on life, and many such action-adventure game series can benefit from such a treatment. Here are five such video games that desperately require a reboot by now.
Note: This article reflects the writer’s opinions.
5 action-adventure video games that will benefit from a reboot
5) Star Fox
The Star Fox series was first launched in 1993 for the SNES console by developers Nintendo and Argonaut Software. Despite looking like a collection of geometric shapes put together to create a game world, this rail shooter action-adventure video game gained a lot of popularity during its run, spawning eight more games.
Over the course of the series, Star Fox slowly lost momentum, as it was unable to compete with the larger games of the times. The last new game, released for the Wii U, did not do the series any favors. However, with it being enough time since a Star Fox game was announced, Nintendo could very well put out a reboot, bringing some life into this once fan-favorite series.
With better graphics and more intuitive controls, the reboot can deliver on large-scale aerial and space battles for which the series was well known for in its time. With space battles being a great experience on video games, as evidenced by the Battlefront games and upcoming Star Wars: Squadrons, a similar Star Fox game for the Switch would do wonders for the series.
4) Darksiders
The Darksiders series of video games were a hack and slash action-adventure game, which was originally created by Vigil Games and later developed by Gunfire Games. The games told the story of the four Horsemen of the apocalypse, War, Death, Fury & Strife.
The first three games were shown via a third-person perspective, with parallel stories of three different horsemen. The fourth game was a top down RPG, serving as a prequel spin-off with Strife and War.
These video games are a lot of fun to play, with good combat and some spectacular battles.However, since 2019, the series has gone quiet. At this point, publisher THQ Nordic’s best option for this series would be either a soft or complete reboot.
Playing as one of the four Horsemen of the apocalypse is an impressive concept, which if delivered right, can be a great video game experience.
THQ can take a few ques from God of War’s soft reboot, which itself was a hack-and-slash game about a decade back. With some intriguing combat mechanics, a decent enough storyline, and possibly multiple protagonists featuring all the four horsemen in the game, a Darksiders reboot is possibly a gold mine waiting to be found for THQ Nordic.
3) Prince of Persia
The Prince of Persia series is quite an old video game series, appearing first in 1989 for the Apple II, developed by Broderbund. Since then, the series has seen much change, with the most iconic depiction being the Sands of Time trilogy, first released in 2003.
After the Sands of Time trilogy from Ubisoft was complete, the developer took a shot at a reboot. However, due to stark differences from the fan-favorite trilogy, the game was not well received. This led to a return to form with a continuation of the trilogy’s story with Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, which received lukewarm reviews.
While recent news reports that a Sands of Time remake is in development (amidst certain setbacks), Ubisoft could also do a complete reboot of the series, keeping any elements of the Sands of Time trilogy while showcasing new mechanics and improved combat. With a complete graphical overhaul, yet retaining familiar qualities, fans would love to get their hands on a rebooted Prince of Persia video game.
2) Deus Ex
While the Deus Ex video games started off as simple RPGs with the first two games, it gained the most popularity in the latter half of the series’ run. Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided were full action-adventure titles that followed protagonist Adam Jensen carefully navigating a world ruled by politics and supercorporations.
The final game, Mankind Divided, launched in 2016, and fans have not had any new games in the series since. However, like how Human Revolution acted as a soft reboot for the series after Invisible War, so too can a new video game in the series start a new story with a new protagonist.
Human Revolution and Mankind Divided delved into the world of cybernetic implants and bio-augmentation before Cyberpunk 2077 came along. After the disappointment surrounding the game, a new Deus Ex outing could give fans just the cybernetic implant that would scratch that particular itch.
1) Metal Gear
It is safe to say that after the departure of Hideo Kojima, the Metal Gear series has lost any and all value, with the critical failure of Metal Gear Survive on all levels. Any future continuation of the storyline without the original creative head behind it would only lead to more backlash and failure.
Yet, Metal Gear is a beloved series that does not deserve to go to waste. Konami should definitely try their hand at a reboot, but with a new creative head this time, instead of making a game with no direction. With a rebooted continuity, it would be able to somewhat move past Kojima’s shadow. If it is able to create a compelling narrative with interesting characters, the studio might see some amount of success.
Metal Gear: The Phantom Pain showed where the series could go in terms of gameplay and level design. If a reboot can recapture that same feeling, with a bolstered new cast and proper direction, the series could even see a revival. After all, if Halo could do it, why not Metal Gear?
Q. Would you like to see a reboot of the above games?
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