RIP Bluepoint Games: Their 5 Greatest Remasters

Back in 2009, the modern 'video game remaster' was invented with the release of the God of War HD Collection, developed by Bluepoint Games. The collection was a massive success and ushered in a new era of HD remasters that persists to this day. While there are many studios that handle these types of games, none do it better than Bluepoint Games... Or, I should say, did it better.

Alas, the studio has been shuttered by Sony, meaning we won't be getting a proper Bluepoint remaster ever again. To celebrate the legacy they leave behind, let's take a look at some of Bluepoint's best work and reflect on five titles in particular that codified the studio's reputation as the go-to team for making old games new again.

The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection

After cutting their teeth on the God of War HD Collection, Bluepoint's next assignment was tackling another pair of legendary PS2 games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The results were even better than with God of War, particularly on Ico. Maybe this is a minority opinion, but I vastly prefer Ico over Shadow of the Colossus, and this PS3 remaster is just about perfect. It perfectly preserves the sun-drenched, washed-out, dusty look of the original while bringing the visuals up to proper HD resolutions. Oftentimes, HD remasters look too clean and sacrifice some of the low-fi visual style of their SD originals, but that doesn't happen here... At least not with Ico.

Shadow of the Colossus doesn't fare quite as well, with its big empty world feeling emptier than ever. Likewise, boosting the framerate to a locked 30 FPS results in some wacky bugs, like the various Colossus monsters trying to shake you off their backs a lot more frequently than in the PS2 version. For that reason, the PS2 version of Shadow of arguably the superior version, but even if that's the case, Ico alone is well worth the price of admission.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

The legend goes that when the Pope saw The Passion of the Christ, he said, "It is as it was." I don't know about that, but as a Metal Gear Solid fanatic, I was equally impressed with Bluepoint's remastering of my holy text, Metal Gear Solid 2 (and MGS3 and Peace Walker). All three games run at 60 FPS. For comparison, MGS2 ran at 60 on PS2, MGS3 at 30 on PS2, and Peace Walker at 20 on PSP.

Beyond that, MGS2 and MGS3 have an option for an 'ultrawide' letterboxed mode during cutscenes, though it's more of a superfluous bonus option. Content-wise, MGS2 and MGS3 are based on their Substance/Subsistence versions, respectively. For the most part, that's a good thing, though MGS2: Substance had a couple of censorship changes that are retained in the remaster, mostly in the form of less blood during cutscenes and on dead Marines discovered during the Tanker chapter. It's not a deal-breaker for me by any means.

As a testament to how good these versions are, they were used as the basis for the versions seen in the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection for PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Also, a final shout-out to the PS Vita version of the Collection, which was developed by Armature Studio. It's not quite as fully-featured as the PS3 version, with 60 FPS in interior locations only and a complete lack of Peace Walker, but it allowed players to enjoy MGS2 on a plane or train a full decade before the Switch version.

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection

Bluepoint's first effort on the PS4 generation was a real testing ground for them. Up to this point, they had brought PS2-era games to PS3. Bringing PS3 games to PS4 is a whole other beast. Nevertheless, they were more than up to the challenge, and their debut PS4 game, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, is the absolute best way to enjoy the original Uncharted trilogy.

The trilogy now runs at 60 FPS at 1080p, a big boost over the 30 FPS, 720p-ish PS3 versions. For the most part, the gameplay is completely unchanged, though Uncharted 1 gets some welcome adjustments to balancing. Drake's starting pistol is given something of a damage buff and the wacky, motion-based grenade aiming is removed entirely. I'm one of those weirdos who prefers Uncharted 1 over the rest of the series, so seeing its few rough edges smoothed out is particularly welcome to me. The only downside is that the game never got a PS4 Pro patch, so even on PS5, it's locked to 60 FPS and 1080p resolution.

Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus is something of a sacred cow to many players, so the announcement of a remake was met with controversy. The game also broke new ground for Bluepoint, since it was less of a remaster and more of a full-on remake. It still used original code from the PS2 title, but with a complete visual overhaul, with all assets rebuilt from the ground up and lots of little rebalancing and quality-of-life touches here and there.

In addition to a total visual rejiggering, this new version of Shadow also featured a new side quest of sorts, in the form of 79 collectables scattered throughout the map. Collect them all to open up a secret cave and unlock a super-secret weapon. To some, this was a nice bonus that rewarded players who chose to explore the map beyond what's seen in the main game. To others, it's basically sacrilege that dares to ruin the entire experience. To those players, I sympathize, but also, relax. Take a chill pill.

Demon's Souls

Bluepoint's final game was Demon's Souls, a remake of the 2009 PS3 title which effectively invented the "Souls-Like" genre. Like Shadow of the Colossus before it, this was more than just a remaster. Likewise, as a launch title for the PlayStation 5 and one of the few true exclusives for the console, Bluepoint was able to leverage the system's power to make one of the most visually stunning games of all time.

Of course, fans of the original decried some of the changes to the art design of the original, as is their prerogative. I can't blame them for thinking that way. All I can say is, the remake isn't a replacement for the original. It's a new game built from the same foundation. I know that doesn't suddenly restore the online functionality of the defunct PS3 version, but I choose to celebrate the differences, rather than poo-poo them.

Related: Is Aspyr Getting Better At Remasters?

This story was originally published by GameDaily on Feb 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add GameDaily as a Preferred Source by clicking here.