Summary
Although Bluepoint Games has become a household name due to its comprehensive development of ground-up remakes of classic Sony titles, the Texas-based studio has an extensive history of bringing its remastering prowess to a whole host of classic franchises. Despite evidence of creative endeavors in external IP usage,the Sony-acquired developerhas arguably become a cornerstone of Sony’s contemporary plans for the PlayStation brand.
From original remakes of legacy properties and experiences utilizing console launches to more by-the-numbers remastered collections on Sony’s seventh-generation console, Bluepoint Games Inc. has incrementally become more and more trusted by both players and Sony alike in handling industry-defining properties.
Considering Bluepoint Games' rise to become arguably one of the PlayStation brand’s most iconic contributing developers, the somewhat humble beginnings of the Texas-based studio with its 2006indie-esque twin-stick shooterBlast Factorare surprising.
Being hailed as one of Sony’s first PlayStation Network exclusive titles,Blast Factor’s neon aesthetic and polished single and multiplayer experiences seemingly make it an impressive, if not revolutionary, effort from the remake and remaster-renowned studio. While it garnered middling reviews, and remains Bluepoint Games' only wholly unique title they have released thus far in its near 20-year history, its legacy and microscopic scale highlight it as a notable digital-only release on Sony’s PlayStation 3.
Bolstering hack-and-slash fans' PlayStation 3 game libraries before the 2010 release ofGod of War 3, Bluepoint Games’God of War Collectionremastered bothGod of WarandGod of War 2in high-definition before the debut of Sony Santa Monica’s conclusion to its"rage-fueled trilogy."
In releasing as the first of Sony’sClassics HDline of PlayStation 3 remasters — which would go on to port legacy installments from series such asRatchet and Clank,Jak and Daxter, andSly Cooper— theGod of War Collection’s 2009 release acted as Bluepoint Games' first dip into the process of bringing classic titles onto current hardware. Utilizing the expanded graphical capabilities of Sony’s seventh console-generation hardware to provide players with both inaugural entries in theGod of Warfranchise, theGod of War Collectionpresented the PlayStation 2 classics in 720p at 60 frames-per-second for the first time.
Having made a name for itself with its impressive remastering efforts of theGod of War Collectionand theIco & Shadow of the Colossus Collectioncompilations on the PlayStation 3,Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collectionsaw the first time that Bluepoint Games was tasked to grapple with the improved horsepower of the PlayStation 4.
While the package was well-received at launch, with much acclaim levied towards its remodeled textures, improved lighting, andre-tuned trophy system,Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection— while providing players with the complete campaign gameplay ofUncharted: Drake’s Fortune,Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, andUncharted 3: Drake’s Deception— did receive some criticism for leaving all multiplayer content on the cutting room floor. Remastered in partnership with original developers Naughty Dog,Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collectionnot only brings Sony’sTomb Raider-esque protagonist onto its eighth console-generation hardware for the first time by bolstering its PlayStation 3 roots with graphical effects and improvements not possible on its original hardware.
Although the strength of Bluepoint Games' remastering efforts is not to be ignored, the fact that the developer handled the two industry-defining titles"with the reverence and care that they’ve earned"is shown through effectively none of their core systems being altered.
With assistance from both games' original developer, Japan Studio, the 2011 remaster of the PlayStation 2 classics for experience on Sony’s contemporary seventh-generation hardware brought with it high-definition textures, 3D capabilities, and support for 7.1 surround sound that bolsters the original games rather than altering them. As such, with the then still far off release ofThe Last Guardianin 2016, PlayStation players had the opportunity to play through Japan Studio’s acclaimed titles to tide them over until that point.
AlthoughGravity Rush Remastered’s improved performance, presentation, and gameplay package utilizes many of the remastering efforts for which Bluepoint Games has become renowned, its legacy remains stoic within the franchise.
Thanks to Bluepoint Games' 2015 remastered re-release of the once PlayStation Vita-exclusive on Sony’s eighth-generation console, the"fun and mysteries-filled story about self-discovery"ofGravity Rushwas brought to many more players and laid the groundwork for the game’s sequel. With improved lighting and draw distances compared to the original handheld release, while also utilizing the same graphics engine as its 2017 sequel,Gravity Rush Remasteredhas seemingly taken up the mantle as the definitive way to experience one of Sony’s most unique titles in recent memory.
Although Bluepoint Games has found repeated success with its continual remasters and reimaginings of Sony first-party properties, the utilization of the Texas-based developer’s re-release skills in collaborating on the 2012 launch of theMetal Gear Solid HD Collectionstands out as the studio’s only non-PlayStation-centric compilation to date. While the seven action-stealth titles available in theMetal Gear Solid HD Collectionranged from the series' 1987 home computer roots to its 2010 portable entry, Bluepoint’s involvement was concentrated on the remastering of the franchise’s notable entries on the PlayStation 2.
In remasteringMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty,Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, and the content from their respective expanded versions, the 2012 re-release of some of these"masterpieces in the medium"saw great critical reception. Utilizing the power of the seventh generation of consoles to present the Hideo Kojima-penned classics in 720p at 60 frames-per-second, with modern trophy and achievement systems and further improvements, theMetal Gear Solid HD Collectionremains a standout remastering endeavor and the basis for the series' further HD ports.
Despite Bluepoint Games' adeptness at bringing legacy content to contemporary platforms, the Sony-owned developer has found recent success in pivoting its efforts toward the merging of its independent creativity and faithful reproduction of previously-released titles.
With 2018’s PlayStation 4 remake of the 2005 classicShadow of the Colossus, Bluepoint Games not only returned to an IP it had previously worked on with its critically laudedThe Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection, but they rebuilt the gamefrom the ground upwith a focus on the improved hardware and industry expectations of the eighth console generation. Implementing 4K assets best utilized by Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro, alongside evolving the control and camera mechanics of the original, 2018’sShadow of the Colossusis a love letter not only to Bluepoint Games' past work but to the industry-defining original title.
Although recent industry movement has arguably minimized the role of exclusive software in pushing console hardware units, it seemingly remains that Sony concentrates on providing such experiences on its PlayStation 5 system. The release of Sony’s ninth console-generation hardware in 2020 coincided with a selection ofgreat launch titles to help it stand outagainst the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series consoles — seemingly the most notable being Bluepoint Games' ground-up remake of the FromSoftware genre-defining classic,Demon’s Souls.
With Japan Studio assisting in development behind the scenes,Demon’s Soulsremains a faithful yet greatly bolstered interpretation of 2009’s inaugural soulsborne title. Utilizing the greatly improved technology of the PlayStation 5 console to implement 4K textures at variable frame rates between 30 and 60 frames-per-second, alongside a re-recorded set of musical performances and voice lines, 2020’sDemon’s Soulsarguably remains the quintessential way for modern players to play the PlayStation breakout classic.
