5 PS3 Games That Badly Need a Remake

Although graphics greatly improved on PlayStation 3 compared to the previous generation, the PS3 quickly showcased its limitations with its level design and gameplay. Most PS3 games feel flat and far smaller now than when I first played them. What remains impressive are the choices by the developers at the time to do something different. Be it implementing a morality system, realistic gunfights and scenery, or focus on delivering a great story with good pacing and replayability. I played a good mix of games on PS3 willing to try anything in my teenage years to fill in the time before school came back around.

There are many PS3 games that are still impressive to play years after their release. From BioShock to Uncharted, Red Dead Redemption and Far Cry, to Borderlands and Assassin’s Creed, Wolfenstein to Dark Souls—and we all know The Last of Us certainly doesn’t need yet another remake. Many were ahead of their time, but there are a handful of games I grew up playing and adored that now sadly miss the mark because of their outdated graphics, level design, and gameplay. These are the PS3 games I’d love to see remade.

1) Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Now, I’m only mentioning CoD: BO2 for one reason only: League Play. This remains the most fun I’ve ever had in Call of Duty history because of its multiplayer. While I spent months perfecting no-scopes and quickscopes on MW2 and practicing trickshots on MW3, it was League Play that provided the most entertainment when playing with friends.

This is perhaps a wasted entry as I don’t need the entire game remade, but would love to see the return of League Play for its challenging and fun setting that used simple yet beloved CoD modes and ranked you based on whether you won or lost. As someone who still plays a ton of Apex Legends, League Play remains the most fun I’ve ever had ranking up in a video game.

2) Dark Souls

I know Dark Souls already has a remaster, but if it were to be remade, it needs to keep its immersive atmosphere from the original. FromSoftware sure knows how to wow with its worldbuilding and environments, creating a believable land that you want to run around and fully explore. We’ve seen it time and time again with Armored Core and Elden Ring, both having the best level design video games can offer. While fans may say Dark Souls‘ jankiness is part of what makes this game memorable, we’ve seen with the third game and Elden Ring that smoother gameplay works.

Related: 5 PS1 Games That Deserve a Remake

Dark Souls bosses still look incredible, and the level design is top-notch, but I’d love to see more depth added to the environment and upgraded combat systems. The first game in the franchise is rather outdated, not for its appearance, but for the enemy AI and boss movesets. Things feel much slower upon revisiting it, yet most arenas are quite big. Bosses execute sluggish attacks, then stop, rotate, and do the same again. There doesn’t seem to be the same strategy in place to learn their moves and combos to counter effectively. To be honest, Dark Souls doesn’t need to be remade, but it’s one I’m very curious about for its untapped potential on how it could look and play.

3) Infamous 2

Infamous 2 was my favorite game for many years. I had so many good memories playing this, being one of the main action-adventure games I’d sink hours into for its story, combat, open-world, and freedom. I used to revisit the sequel yearly until the PS5’s release, because by that point, Infamous had inevitably grown outdated. But my favorite thing about this game was two-fold: satisfying gameplay with choices that actually determined what you’d end up doing. You could be good or evil, altering your mission based on what the two side characters wanted to do.

I feel Infamous 2 needs a remake because it’s aged quite badly when it comes to its combat and level design. Enemy variety is decent, but it quickly gets repetitive. Cole glued onto enemies when you hit them, removing all challenge until you can deal damage from afar. But the climbing and traversal gameplay was flawless and remains so fun. From parkouring around the map, climbing onto whatever you want, to gliding across the environment on the power lines, everything in this vein was thrilling. Infamous 2 deserves a remake mostly for its level design, which was an incredibly restrictive open-world, trapping you on an island. It’s easy to get tied up in performing good or evil choices, but when you truly analyze the world, it’s a tad underwhelming.

4) Killzone 2

Killzone 2 looked absolutely incredible when it first came out, with gorgeous visuals, great sound design, and realistic environments. Similar to Gears of War and Crysis, Killzone demonstrated the power of graphics, being miles ahead of its competition at the time of its release. But this is where Killzone 2‘s praise ends, as this shooter is very outdated now, mostly because of its gameplay. This entry could use a massive overhaul, specifically in its gunfight and movement departments. Playing through it now is somewhat painful, and it doesn’t help that there has been a massive shift in recent years with fast, fluid movement for shooters (e.g., CoD’s omni movement and Apex Legends‘ tap strafe).

Related: 5 PS2 Games That Need a Remake

Playing through Killzone 2 nowadays is painfully slow, but it’s still an impressive-looking sequel. The environments were huge and immersive, with the destruction of war being prevalent throughout. For something that looks so incredible, Killzone 2 sure had limited gameplay as it stuck to perfecting the basics. The weapon variety was awesome, but the campaign quickly became repetitive. Similar to Resistance, these series deserve to make a comeback with improved gameplay, as either could easily compete against CoD and take top spot in today’s climate.

5) Prototype

Prototype is such an effortlessly cool game. Like living on GTA’s 5-star wanted list, Prototype saw rocket launchers and helicopters continuously come your way, where you could control and destroy whatever you pleased. I remember just going into this game to let off some steam after a long school day, but quickly noted the base level design and massively limited open-world of Prototype, which is the main reason for it being on this list.

The combat is still decent and I love how you can quickly and easily climb whatever you want to evade incoming fire, but Prototype‘s design felt as limited as a PlayStation 2 game. The destruction of the environment was amazing at the time, but an update on its gameplay and graphics could go a long way in creating the ultimate anti-hero game where you’re classified as the main villain by wreaking havoc across the city. But the setting was lifeless, and it’s only upon bringing chaos that the landscape lit up.