The Thing Remastered’s Success Shows it’s Time for One Release

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 31, 2025 5 Views 7 Min Read
The Thing Remastered’s Success Shows it’s Time for One Release



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Over two decades after its initial release did justice to the film in a well-received adaptation, The Thing: Remastered has managed to achieve a positive reception once again. Despite its more dated elements, the survival horror action gameplay of this sequel to the John Carpenter movie remains a compelling complement to the influential original work. As a successful example of a less-represented franchise demonstrating that it can still find an audience years after its most recent outing, The Thing: Remastered has created momentum that shouldn’t go to waste.

When it comes to adapting horror movies into the video game medium, they tend to have a better track record than other genres of source material. With The Thing: Remastered‘s impressive sales only being the latest instance of this sort of pairing paying off, following the precedent of other more recent titles that have similarly performed well with a brand-new game is likely to be worthwhile as well. Releases in the vein of Alien: Isolation offer a blueprint that The Thing is capable of iterating on with a sense of terror and paranoia that could be largely attributed to the film’s impact.

Xenomorph and predator

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The Thing: Remastered Proves the IP Has Held Up Surprisingly Well

A Blend of Action and Tension Which Was Ahead of Its Time

Still appealing to players after 20 years since release is a feat that The Thing has seemingly accomplished through the sheer originality of its premise. Set as more than just a retelling of the events of the classic horror movie from 1982, the game functions as a sequel that explores more than just the mystery at the core of the film. The titular monster is split into different enemies with various difficulties, with the player taking control of Special Forces operatives combating it in both Antarctic outpost camps of the canon. This heightens the level of visceral combat somewhat above the source material, but this doesn’t mean the more subtle horror isn’t present as well.

An aspect of The Thing: Remastered which can enhance its replayability and sense of anxiety is the interplay between the mechanics of ear, trust, and infection, which can affect NPCs. Whether other characters trust the player or not can vary and affect their willingness to cooperate and obey orders, while infection offers another variable in the form of contact with enemies, making the transformation into the Thing more likely.

Giving The Thing a New Game Could Make the Most of One Survival Horror Niche

Leaning into the Stealth of the Original Film

While it’s even more of a quiet and subdued experience than its source material, 2014’s Alien: Isolation has earned the status of one of the strongest adaptations of its entire franchise. By building a tangible sense of fear via what largely amounts to interactions with but a single Xenomorph, it’s become a showcase of how far a simple horror premise can go with the right execution. If The Thing were to receive a new outing in the gaming industry, current technology could enable a far more tense and modular experience by looking at this example. With the level of variance possible in dealing with the shape-shifting monster in an intimate setting like another isolated research station, there’s the chance for a game that keeps players on their toes even after many playthroughs.

The Potential to Make the Most of the Fear/Trust System

The strengths of the ability to affect relationships with NPCs in The Thing: Remastered should serve as an example for any future efforts, as this managed to capture the palpable sense of the unknown that defines the movie. If a dialogue system and nuanced character interactions are able to take advantage of advancements in hardware, the horror of a new take on The Thing would be able to extend far past upfront body horror scares.

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