We review the trajectory of the team based in Austin, architects of the best remakes that have been seen in the history of PlayStation.
Bluepoint Games has become one of the most reputable studios within the area of companies in charge of making remakes and remasters. It is no longer a fashion, but rather a trend: there is a constant demand for nostalgia. Recover what comes from the past and improve it, modernize it. The video game sector is hungry for remakes, we have seen it during this console cycle that is already ending; and PlayStation has had a series of names that shine with their own light. With an extensive catalog behind them, the Japanese company once again trusts this North American studio for its next project, Demon’s Souls Remake, this time on PS5 (all games announced at the digital event here). Today, we are going to learn a little more about what is behind Bluepoint Games.
Demon’s Souls Remake
Fourteen years of growth; humble beginnings in Austin
Austin, the capital of the US state of Texas, is one of the most populous cities in the United States. A territory with high temperatures, bordering Mexico and with hardly any snowfall throughout the year. A different place where there is also a different mentality than what we can see on both coasts. After all, Texas is in the middle with its nearly a million residents in the central city alone.
It was there that Bluepoint Games, Inc. was born in 2006, an independent video game company founded by Marco Thrush and Andy O’Niel, both former workers at Retro Studios – also in Austin – to make Metroid Prime a reality at the beginning of the century on GameCube. They did not move very far, however, to open the offices of their new business, where they began to collaborate with Sony to receive orders and subsist as an experienced team but without the ability to work on their own large-scale projects.
Bluepoint Games
At the time, Sony was in a complicated process in its modern stage. After the unrepeatable success of PlayStation 2, its new generation console arrived in the West with the advantage of being its first HD system, but also at a price well above what could be expected at the time. In addition, the digital market — which Microsoft had begun to understand so well with Xbox LIVE Arcade, the cradle of the independent scene — was beginning to appear in the domestic console market, albeit in a timid way; nothing to do with the PC.
The newly launched PlayStation Network would therefore have a couple of titles available, one of them being the shoot ’em up Blast Factor, which featured in the launch of the PS Store (Spain included) with a demo of this title, as well as MotorStorm, Formula 1 CE, Ridge Racer 7 or Resistance: FOM. Those who wanted to get hold of this game, which took advantage of the PS4 command through SIXAXIS, had to pay 4.99 euros. It was still a kind of technical demo with which to measure “our ability to react”; even with multiplayer mode. The approach was simple and colorful: a ship situated surrounded by walls within a hexagon and a multitude of elements addressing us. The objective? Survive and get the best possible score. His reception was quite shy, it went unnoticed. However, something must have been done well to gain Sony’s trust, since that Blast Factor was only the beginning of a beautiful working relationship as a second party. Fourteen years later, they face their greatest challenge, albeit without O’Niel, who died last June 2019 at the age of 47.
Blast Factor
The Bluepoint philosophy: only the best is worth
The company’s official website is defined as a group passionate about excellence. “We are driven by a culture focused on offering the highest possible quality in an industry where mediocrity is all too common.” His philosophy is based on getting the most out of each of the current 90 team members to create “the best content and develop solutions” that are not normally seen in the industry.
Get away from the average, stand out and do things with the ambition of getting above average results. His projects seek to make an impact and, given his close relationship with commissions to remake existing works, his mission is always the same: to find a way to make the remake a better product than the original. They are currently in Austin, Texas, near the Pennybacker Bridge. A city where nothing is lacking, surrounded by all kinds of recreational activities, something they consider very important in view of the creative vision of its workers; including the famous barbecue of those lands.
The Bluepoint we all know: experts in remastering
With your philosophy understood, it is time to get to know your catalog. Three years passed since Blast Factor and his next project, the first with a great license: God of War. Sony Santa Monica, pending God of War 3 in early 2010, knew that there were players on the way who were going to have a PlayStation 3 at home but were not familiar with Kratos. It was there that Sony’s interest in betting on remastering appeared. On the one hand, trying your luck and paying off successful titles again behind your back; on the other, justify the absence of backward compatibility for these improved ports, mainly with the novelty of being in HD.
God of War Collection did not stop being the sum of God of War I and God of War II in the same Blu-ray. The result could not be better. Although in North America they could enjoy it in late 2009 in digital format from the PS Store, in Europe we had to wait until the end of April 2010, a few weeks after the release of God of War 3. The small Texan studio had to do something well to agreeing with the national and international press: it was an impeccable job. The original adventures of Kratos in high definition, in panoramic format and taking advantage of those 720p to add antialiasing. The image quality was significantly better than that of PS2, so those who had not played the original titles had an almost obligatory visit here to open their mouths before finishing the trilogy. At Metacritic they have a 91 out of 100 and it is considered one of the best collections in the history of PS3.
Classics HD: ICO & Shadow of the Colossus
So comfortable Sony Computer Entertainment began to feel with these products that they established the Classics HD line on PlayStation 3. After God of War, the next was the Sly Cooper Collection (by Sanzaru Games). We would have to wait until the end of 2011, shortly after the end of the summer, to recover the Ico collection and Shadow of the Colossus, the two great works of Team ICO. SCE Japan Studio actively participated in being able to recover the titles of Fumito Ueda, especially in the first one, which dates back to 2001. They knew that it was necessary to include improvements beyond the visual, so the pack was accompanied by stereoscopic 3D on televisions. comparable and a more stable frame rate per second.
In fact, the idea of recovering both games on PlayStation 3 comes from Ueda himself, who was “very excited” after what was seen with the previous two collections. Sony wanted to play it safe and trusted Bluepoint Games, which had the approval of the Japanese designer, whom he later praised for the result, having understood the essence of both. It was not a company, easy, but improving the already excellent result of the God of War collection: 92 out of 100 in Metacritic. Those of Austin began to settle in to do things well; in what they indicate even today on their website: passion for excellence.
Classics HD: ICO & Shadow of the Colossus
If in September they put the Ico and Shadow of the Colossus collection in stores, in November the other collection they had been working on almost simultaneously would be released: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. And we say almost because that project was not from Sony, but from Konami, with whom they also began to have relationships. This compilation, somewhat more modest in its desire to remaster, can be considered a more than notable HD port. It was released on PS3 and Xbox 360 (Armature Studio did the same on PS Vita a year later) including Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 from MSX2; Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty; Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and the hitherto exclusive PSP, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.
For the remastering, the three main titles were scaled to 720p with 60 fluid FPS, in addition to trophies and other additions that were slowly beginning to consolidate in this type of collection, as PS3 players were well demanding. Again, an impeccable result, with an 89 out of 100 in Metacritic and the full support of a community that described this pack as essential both for the price it had and for the opportunity to have the entire saga to date on the same console ; in the case of PS3, where Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots was released in 2008. You can read here our Top-10 best games in the Metal Gear saga.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, a regular experiment
Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl put it on record that the Nintendo universe fit a thousand wonders in an unconventional fighting game on their consoles. Sony already had a great universe back in 2012, but it didn’t have a fighting crossover like Masahiro Sakurai’s… And they tried it. Using the Bluepoint Engine as a base, Sony put Omar Kendall and Chan Park at the forefront of the project so that SuperBot Entertainment and Bluepoint Games could make what for many was a dream come true.
The project began to develop in 2009 under the name of Title Fight; that is to say, it did not begin to gestate precisely with little margin. They were three long years of development with much trial and error; added to what seemed more complicated: licenses. Because there were not only characters from sagas like Uncharted, God of War, Sly Cooper, Ratchet and Clank or LittleBigPlanet, but also BioShock, Metal Gear, Tekken, Dead Space or Heavenly Sword. The campus is still incredibly attractive today, but the result was not entirely satisfactory. It would be unfair to identify culprits now rather than possible solutions. Sony recognized later that development was initially planned for Naughty Dog, who at that time were already working on a certain The Last of Us. In any case, in FreeGameTips we liked it a lot in its day and we got to rate it with an 8 out of 10.
This is how the relationship of Bluepoint Games with the PlayStation 3 hardware ended: a total of four projects (one of them also on Xbox 360) and a first approach to PS Vita. The generation change also brought a huge technological change where Flower, by Jenova Chen, would be her first commission: a remastered port of the original PS3 game for PS4 and PS Vita. Sony was already commissioning them at the time what would be one of their biggest projects so far, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, but before they would close their first agreement (and, at least until now, the only one) with Electronic Arts: Titanfall.
The game of Steve Fukuda and Drew McCoy by Respawn Entertainment was presented at E3 2013 (with more than 60 awards) as one of the most promising projects of what was the imminent new generation in those days; It was conceived as the next big leap in the FPS genre exclusively for the Xbox family of consoles. If Respawn was going to focus on the version for Xbox One and PC, from Bluepoint Games they would be in charge of the port for the still valid Xbox 360. The adaptation fulfilled where it promised to fulfill: in the playable plane. Despite being significantly inferior to the version of its older sister, at FreeGameTips we considered this work as “a difficult challenge” but very satisfactory at the time. A farewell in style for a hardware that the Austin team had only visited with Konami a few years before.
Titanfall
And Nate arrived: the Uncharted trilogy
Before Uncharted 4, the best possible tribute to the Nathan Drake figure was about to hit PlayStation 4: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection. A product designed for die-hard fans or those who did not yet know the potential of this intellectual property; fondly regarded as Sony’s new “mascot” as its quintessential hero, as Crash and Jak once were. The adventurer took over with three great installments on PS3, all of them daughters of his time, but with the second and third as true visual references in the years when they were released. Naughty Dog was accompanied by Bluepoint Games, who were in charge of leading the development with the supervision of the Californian studio.
The result was translated into an excellent compilation in 1080p and 60 FPS with technical improvements such as stage lighting, character modeling, Motion Blur and even extra game modes. Little could be reproached for this trilogy, which also had editions designed for collectors with an elegant metal box. In our Reviews, we highlight that “sometimes they become even more complete than the original experiences, especially with the first part. The added game modes (more difficulty levels, modified trophies, extras, etc.) make it a recommended purchase for all those who have not yet played the trilogy or for those who want to recall the adventures of Nathan Drake ”. That yes we had to regret the absence of multiplayer modes and that the Abyss of Gold, the work of PS Vita was not included. For the rest, one more success for Bluepoint Games with a great saga from Sony.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection
If the Uncharted collection hit the stores in October to serve as a Christmas treat, a high-definition remastering of the acclaimed Gravity Rush for PS Vita would see a second youth on PS4. It was justified with the game, in a way, and served to pave the way for the second installment numbered canonically by SIE Japan Studio and Project Siren, which in January 2016 would arrive exclusively this time to the current platform Sony home. Gravity Rush Remastered landed to prove that Kat’s adventure brought out the best in PS Vita thanks to its gyroscope controls. A game that is enjoyed more on the laptop, but that was adapted in a more than remarkable way for a desktop console. It was perhaps the most challenging thing for Bluepoint: adapting the handheld control to a DualShock 4. Plus, it won in framerate, fluency, lighting and sharpness. Kat and Dusty are still a very idiosyncratic couple.
The colossus. Everlasting Excellence
The jewel in the crown is Shadow of the Colossus Remake, the masterpiece of Bluepoint; the title that has allowed them to have the current prestige and the reason why when we ask ourselves the question of what is a good remake, the work of Team ICO redone by Bluepoint Games immediately comes to mind. It’s only fair to consider this one of the most challenging jobs they’ve ever faced because they weren’t picking up any game.
Shadow of the Colossus Remake
Sony was perfectly aware of the potential of this work in the legacy of PlayStation 2 and, if the HD port for PS3 was not enough, it was time to pay tribute in style; considering the remake as an AAA and placing it at a key moment in the 2018 calendar. Like the big productions because, in a sense, it was. In FreeGameTips an almost perfect note was given since the translation is impeccable. Twelve years apart and not a single wrinkle, not a single iota of essence lost along the way. Fumito Ueda was already focused on other things after The Last Guardian, his third big project within his current curriculum, but his direct absence (he did serve as a supervisor) was not felt at all.
And now that?
From 2018 until now the rumors, the noise have been constant. Because it has only been noise, although not always generated by users. Bluepoint Games itself anticipated that they were up to something and that they were doing it for the next generation of consoles. It all started in April 2019, a year after the Shadow of the Colossus remake with what they said was going to be “a reimagination.” The words of Peter Dalton, its technical director, were clear: “Thinking about our next project, we call it a reimagination, given that it goes beyond what we thought was possible with that game.”
We had to wait until October when Marco Thrush, president of the company, told Wired that this game was being developed for PlayStation 5, but they still did not give a name. “We are working on a great game right now […] I’ll let you find out the rest. ” Before the end of the year they themselves took it upon themselves to raise expectations with a message at least encouraging: “The current project will become the achievement of which we feel most proud.”
The Halloween “Troll” of 2019
The atmosphere was warm enough now, with rumors of an impending announcement here and there, but no one was letting loose. And Halloween came. Saying goodbye to the month of October always carries with it the odd advertisement in the video game sector; sometimes offers, other times simply celebrations and thanks. Bluepoint wrote an enigmatic message on the social network Twitter where they set off all the alarms because a word appeared related to many games that are candidates for a remake.
That announcement came to nothing then; it was written clearly deliberately. I knew those names have great popular acclaim. From Castlevania: Symphony of the Night through Demon’s Souls, Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, Syphon Filter or The Legend of Dragoon who have already stated that they have shown interest in developing.
So calm this spooky night. A symphony of rumors – not one, but two – return from shadow. A resistance to dart home as black monsters escape twisted hills to wander lands and syphon souls. Filter your candy collections, soft from solid, and be eco-friendly. Have a metal Halloween. pic.twitter.com/mFFxI7BIDN
– Bluepoint Games (@bluepointgames) October 31, 2019
It was in August, a few months before, when the technical director of the studio, Peter Dalton, assured that he loved that title and that perhaps it should be his future project. After its launch twenty years ago on PlayStation and considered by many to be one of the best JRPGs on the console, there seems to be more than one developer in that studio interested in working at some point on his return. In any case, it was as a result of the Halloween message that the idea that Bluepoint was not only working on one video game … but two at the same time began to be weighed up.
Bluepoint Games, above all independent
Despite this close relationship with Sony, it has become clear that Bluepoint is an independent studio … and they themselves want it to be. “We are an independent study,” Thrush said in an interview. “Sony studios have been great partners, like JAPAN Studio, and we have a great relationship. We would be very happy to continue working with them if they want to, ”referring to the future and in line with the Insomniac movement, which have been acquired entirely by Sony to form part of the PlayStation Studios label.
The next appointment of the players with Bluepoint Games is none other than Demon’s Souls Remake, the return of the famous work of Hidetaka Miyazaki published on PS3 back in 2009. A decade later and with a generation in between, the title returns jointly developed with SCE Japan Studio to renew both its visual and playable sections. We talk about the title here.
