Remakes and remasters have become a defining trend of the current console generation. In 2025 alone, publishers re-released decades-old classics with everything from fresh 4K textures to full gameplay overhauls. Some arrived to rave reviews. Others felt like cash grabs that sanded off the rough edges that made the originals memorable.

The editorial desk at SysCall News asked a simple question: if you could pick any games that still haven't received a proper remake, which ones top the list? The answer is a shortlist of ten titles that, for one reason or another, have been left out of the remake gold rush. These are not the games that already got a lazy upscale or a mobile port. These are the games that deserve a full, ground-up retelling for a 2026 or 2027 audience.

What makes a game deserving?

Not every classic needs a remake. Some age gracefully. The visual style of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, for example, still looks stunning on modern hardware thanks to its cel-shaded art direction. Others hold up mechanically: Resident Evil 4 (the original) is still playable because its over-the-shoulder aiming was ahead of its time. A remake is only justified when the original is either mechanically broken by modern standards, visually dated in a way that hurts its storytelling, or trapped on dead hardware with no legal way to play it.

A game that still needs a remake in 2026 or 2027 typically checks at least two of those boxes. It might be a beloved cult classic that never got a sequel. It might be a PC game from the early 2000s that relies on Glide or DirectX 9 and refuses to launch on Windows 11. It might be a console exclusive from a defunct platform that has never been ported.

The criteria for the list

The ten games identified are not ranked. They are simply games that have no existing remake worth mentioning. Many have been the subject of fan petitions. Some have been rumored for years. A few have even received spiritual successors that missed what made the originals special. The list excludes games that already have a remake in active development (confirmed or strongly rumored). It also excludes games that received a remaster that merely bumped the resolution and frame rate. A remaster is not a remake.

A remake, as defined by this list, means a new game built from scratch using modern technology that preserves the core structure, story, and feel of the original while updating controls, camera systems, UI, and audio. The gold standard is Capcom's Resident Evil 2 remake — a faithful reinterpretation that changed camera angles and controls but kept every beat of the original intact.

What's not on the list?

Some predictable candidates didn't make the cut. Final Fantasy VII is already getting its multi-part remake. Silent Hill 2 has a full remake on the way. Metal Gear Solid 3 has one in development. The list sidesteps titles that already have a confirmed remake in the works or have already been remade in the last ten years. It focuses on games that have been ignored or forgotten by publishers, not games that are already scheduled for a release.

The list itself

The ten games that still need a remake run across genres and eras. Some are from the fifth generation of consoles, when early 3D games aged the worst — think low-poly models, tank controls, and awkward camera angles. Others are from the early 2000s, when PC gaming was still figuring out mouse-and-keyboard integration on the scale of today's shooters and RPGs. A few are handheld games that were technically impressive for their time but feel cramped on modern screens.

All ten share one thing: they are considered masterworks by the people who played them, and they deserve to be introduced to a new generation. A good remake can do that better than a remaster. A remaster assumes the game is still fundamentally playable. A remake admits that the game's design, while brilliant, is trapped in its era.

Why now?

The window for these remakes is closing. Many of the original developers are retiring or moving on. Original source code is lost or stored on decaying tapes. Licenses for music, cars, or voice actors are expiring. If a remake of these ten games doesn't happen in the next two years, it may never happen. Publishers are finally realizing that there is an audience willing to pay full price for a lovingly crafted remake of a game they missed the first time. The economics work: a remake costs less than a brand-new IP and carries built-in brand recognition.

The risk

Remakes are not a guaranteed hit. Bad remakes miss the point. They modernize combat but ruin pacing. They add voice acting where silence was better. They remove the idiosyncratic charm that made the original special. The games on this list require careful handling. They need developers who respect the source material but are willing to make hard cuts. Not every original mechanic deserves to survive intact.

A good remake is not a museum piece. It is a translation from the language of one hardware generation to another. The goal is not preservation but reintroduction. The best game on the list is not the most famous one. It is the one that, when finished, makes you think: "why did no one do this sooner?"

What comes next?

The full list of ten games will be published in a separate article later this week by SysCall News. Each entry will include a rationale for why it deserves a remake, what specific changes are needed, and which developer should handle the project. The list covers a mix of Western and Japanese titles, major franchises and one-offs, games from the 1990s and games from the late 2000s. A few are sure to provoke debate.

For now, the takeaway is simple: remakes are not going away. The industry has found a model that works, and publishers will keep mining their back catalogs. The question is whether they pick the right games. The ten on this list are the ones that slipped through the cracks. If even half of them get a proper remake in the next two years, the conversation will shift from "what needs a remake" to "what was remade best." That is the future we should push for.

SysCall News will continue to track remake and remaster announcements as they break. The line between a respectful rebuild and a cynical re-release is thin. These ten games deserve the rebuild.