What if the industry started remaking bad games instead of good ones?

I dislike the idea of remakes, but perhaps my problem lies less with the craft and more with how the industry employs it. Have you ever wondered what it’d be like if companies remade games not to milk hits, but to unleash the potential of once-promising-but-failed titles?

Big-budget AAA remakes take a lot of time and prevent big teams from coming up with new, possibly revolutionary ideas. Anyone who grew up in the 90s was used to SquareSoft releasing a massive Final Fantasy title every two years. Nowadays, it takes nearly a decade for us to get one mainline Final Fantasy entry, and one of the big reasons for that is that Square Enix is stuck remaking Final Fantasy VII forever, a quest of ever-diminishing returns and ever-growing costs.

Instead, if the industry really needs to remake something, I posit it should give games that were almost great another shot. I’m not talking about games that nobody liked or projects that never had a chance to appeal to a wide enough audience. I’m talking about games that sold well but fell short of what they could have been with better design choices.

Unlike movie sequels, video game sequels can always improve upon the original. The same applies to a hypothetical remake of a 6 or 7/10 game that could’ve been great. If you need an example of what I’m talking about, think Dark Souls 2.

What bad games should we remake?

Dark Souls 2 had so many great ideas, and was, by the words of Hidetaka Miyazaki himself, instrumental for the creation of Elden Ring. So, it has many merits, but by itself, it just isn’t a great game. Many years of delving into it have, however, given us the perspective required to know what went wrong and what could be done to fix it. Please tell me you wouldn’t play Dark Souls 2: Prepare to Enjoy edition.

And this bizarre kind of remake already exists, even if the industry at large might be unaware of its beautiful existence.

The newly released Legacy of Kain Defiance Remastered is actually very close to our premise. Anyone unfamiliar with the title will probably imagine it’s merely the re-release of a popular entry, but that’d be a grave mistake. Very few people, fans of the series, even, really enjoyed Defiance. Because at every step of the way, it felt like there was a marvelous game to be found, but it was forever just out of reach.

It’s also more than a remaster, as getting the camera to work meant remaking large swathes of the game. So, accidentally or not, players ended up getting the remake of a bad game, and the result is astounding. It feels like a completely new game, one still rooted in what people loved about the previous games from its franchise.

Though there might not be an example as obvious as Defiance out there, yet, I’m sure you’ve felt disappointed by many games in the past that you’re sure could’ve been great if not for one surprisingly pernicious aspect that made the entire thing go astray.

Some bad games should be left in the dust

I remember when the backlash to the ending of Mass Effect 3 was so harsh that the devs decided to remake its ending, and I’m sure that felt like a nice touch to people who thought the only underwhelming part about that game was its ending, and not its entire lacklustre plot and oftentimes bizarre writing.

Now, you might be thinking I’m trying to ease you into the idea of remaking Mass Effect Andromeda, but rest assured that it definitely is not the case. The only thing that game ever had going for it was the Mass Effect title, and I believe brand recognition alone shouldn’t be enough to carry a franchise. No amount of tweaks could make it an unforgettable title, so the Mass Effect fans out there are better off just hoping the upcoming Mass Effect title is good.

In the end, finding the perfect bad game to revive is far from an easy task, but a worthy one in my opinion. What “bad” games would you like to see remade?

The post What if the industry started remaking bad games instead of good ones? appeared first on Destructoid.

Crimson Desert is a single-player game, but you don’t have to enjoy your adventures alone. While you can complete all the quests and content on your own, you can do so with your beloved pet. Obtaining your animal companion takes a bit of time when you begin your adventures, and there are two choices to consider.

But first, let’s find out how pets work in Crimson Desert.

Update: Added a table for all types of pets and their favorite food items (offers biggest boost to trust).

How pets work in Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert has a trust system that works between your character and animals. The trust mechanic begins at zero and goes up to 100. This system is universal for all pettable animals, which are two in the current version of the game.

• Cats
• Dogs

The process of getting a pet varies slightly based on your choice.

• If you want to pet a dog, walk up to the animal, and press the applicable button for the interaction prompt.
• If you want to pet a cat, pick it up by getting close to it. Then, select the carry prompt to pet the creature.

When you pet a creature, you gain +5 trust. You can gain up to 25 trust with an animal companion in a single day from this method.

Pets are immensely helpful when they’re active, as they help bring back the loot you get from defeated enemies. However, they will loot everything they can as there’s no filter available in the current build of Crimson Desert. However, it’s still beneficial to have them active; otherwise, you’ll be spending a lot more time getting different loot.

All pet locations in Crimson Desert

Pets, typically, are located randomly across Pywel. However, I have listed down specific ones that I have found in particular locations. The exact locations in your adventures could be different. The locations of cats, in particular, appear to be quite universal.

• Boarhounds: Hernand City (one is always near the Constabulary).
• Shepherds: Look for outposts in Hernand.
• Huskies: Can be found in colder regions of Pailune.
• Jindo: Hernand City.
• Floppy-Eared Bulldog: Near Hernand City bounty board.
• Loafy cat: Pororin Village.
• Short-Haired cat: You can find it in a corner in Pororin Village where there are several pots.
• Long-Haired, Slim cats, and kittens: Tariv, sorcerer village in Demeniss.

All pets and their favorite foods in Crimson Desert

The table below has a list of all the pettable animals I have found, along with their favorite food items.

Name	Type	Favorite Meat
Cat	Cat	Squid
Short-Haired Kitten	Cat	Small Gudgeon
Fat Cat	Cat	Sockeye Salmon
Long-Haired Cat	Cat	Mackerel
Kitten	Cat	Fish Fillet
Desert Cat	Cat	Egg
Slim Cat	Cat	Pond Loach
Short-Haired Cat	Cat	Egg
Saluki	Dog	Fine Meat
Pointy-Eared Bulldog	Dog	Egg
Shepherd	Dog	Bird Meat
Floppy-Eared Bulldog	Dog	Cheese
Boarhound Puppy	Dog	Lean Bird Meat
Husky	Dog	Bird Meat
Jindo	Dog	Sweet Potato
Greyhound	Dog	Fine Meat
Boarhound	Dog	Lean Bird Meat
Beagle	Dog	Sweet Potato

How to add more pets in Crimson Desert

The key to gaining a pet is to take your trust to 100. Once that’s achieved, hold the selection button and press the Claim option. This will register the dog/cat as your pet. You can have up to 30 pets for your adventure, but only one can be active at any given moment.

How to use food to gain trust in Crimson Desert

While playing with cats/dogs helps to gain trust, there’s a daily cap on that. A better way is to use food items. Feeding also helps to improve your trust with them, but there’s a daily cap as well.

• Tough Meat (Feed to a Dog for 10 trust)
• Fine Meat (Feed to a Dog for 35 trust)
• Bird Meat (Feed to a Cat for 10 trust)
• Fish (Feed to a Cat for 10 trust)
• Milk (Feed to a Cat for 10 trust)

Food items have a cap of three per day. In simple words, you can feed a creature at most three times in a given day. If you max out the daily caps, you’ll be able to gain a new pet every two days. The only exception to this is Fine Meat, which allows you to gain a new pet in a single day. However, you’ll have to spend coins at a vendor to get the item.

The post All pets in Crimson Desert and how to get them appeared first on Destructoid.