25 Years Later, This PS2 Era Icon Looks More Ridiculous Than Ever, But Its Upcoming Remake Should Make Big Improvements

The PlayStation 2 remains one of gaming’s most enduring platforms. It was home to hundreds of games, ranging from blockbuster franchises to bizarre creations. It was an era where movie tie-ins could rub shoulders with cartoony platformers, where an intense M-rated horror game could be a success alongside a family-friendly mascot. It was also an era of grim and gritty storytelling, the kind that Max Payne leaned into thoroughly.

Launching in 2001 and quickly becoming a hit both critically and commercially, Max Payne was more fun than it was compelling. While the gameplay was solid, the actual storytelling was blunt in a way that felt of the times — and feels more so when compared to modern narrative impulses. With remakes of the two games coming sometime in the near future, it’s worth considering what made Max Payne effective, what held it back, and how the new iterations of the series can become better.

Max Payne Was The Try Hard Hero Of The 2000s

Launching July 25, 2001, Max Payne was a noir-inspired third-person action game from Remedy Entertainment. The game follows Max, an undercover DEA agent who finds himself on the run from the criminal underworld and the police alike. While the action gameplay wasn’t anything particularly special, the solid controls and inclusion of The Matrix-style “bullet time” effects gave the game a little extra oomph. This led to the game getting solid reviews from critics, who embraced the action gameplay but were less kind to the formulaic storyline and trope-y characters. It’s a game that feels very much of its time, with secret cabals between the authorities and corporations, experiments on Gulf War soldiers, and a grimy drug scene all feeling very much like the action movies of the turn of the century.

Those storytelling impulses carried over into the sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, and the success of the games inspired a film adaptation starring Mark Wahlberg. While the games themselves could be fun, the overwrought writing and noir stylings felt very much of their time. They lacked any sense of self-awareness, instead leaning fully into the stylish approach. This was the era of films like Sin City, which embraced similar grim and gritty aesthetics. 25 years later, the cut-scenes from Max Payne — which are done in the style of comic panels and voice-over — are so blunt and over-the-top that they almost become unintentionally hilarious. It’s a series very much of its time, indicative of a period where a gritty approach was all you needed to help a game pop with the audience. Max Payne might still be fun to play, but the storyline is firmly of its era.

What Max Payne Needs To Do To Work In Modern Times

What makes this an interesting point to consider is that Max Payne is due for a remake sometime soon. Remedy Entertainment announced in 2022 that they were moving forward with a collaboration with Rockstar Games to remake the first two games as a single title. Game design and storytelling have evolved a lot in the years since Max Payne debuted, meaning Max’s next adventure will likely incorporate new elements to feel more modern. The game could take cues from the general arc of the action genre, becoming a more focused third-person shooter that uses modern advances in tech to create more vivid shoot-outs. The bullet time effect will likely be in play as well, given how it remains one of the key aspects of the series as a whole.

Perhaps most intriguing is the question of what the developers will do with the storyline. The story will likely be similar in terms of the core beats, especially as an excuse to give Max plenty of enemies to shoot down as he tries to prove his innocence. However, what’s not so clear is how the game will approach the tone and story with Rockstar involved. Rockstar took on Max Payne 3 and delivered a much more compelling story that did a better job with the emotional weight of the characters, all while finding the occasional moment of grim levity or genuine emotion to break up the pacing. Unlike the first Max Payne, which is unrelenting in its grim approach, Max Payne 3 felt more in line with the strong writing that has always defined Rockstar as a developer.

The upcoming Max Payne remake needs to learn from the success of franchises like Grand Theft Auto or Mafia, finding ways to add humanity, humor, and heart to the standard noir thriller tropes. Leaning into the ridiculous elements of the world might be a good way to do that, giving the game a bit more of that GTA-style comedy. Alternatively, the game could put more emphasis on Max’s mental state and explore his trauma, giving the game a more meaningful emotional core. Max Payne has a legacy that isn’t always the best in retrospect — but there is still enough juice there for something special, if the developers can refine what works and evolve what doesn’t.