How To Save A Dying Video Game Franchise

7. Make It The Same... But Different

As much as people love nostalgia, they also aren't stupid, and publishers would certainly get review-bombed if they promised players a new game only to release a thinly-veiled remake.

The goal, then, should be to deliver an experience which returns to the series roots - while, yes, recapturing that precious nostalgia feeling - but also bringing just enough newness to the table to feel like it's more than a quasi-rehash.

Perhaps no game in recent years has pulled off this delicate balance better than Sonic Mania, a game which in many respects is pretty much just a remix of the earlier, better games in the series, but which tweaks and varies the gameplay just enough to be marketable as an homage-heavy new game.

For publishers who want to re-engage the fanbase but without simply dishing up a straight remake, this is the safest and most risk-averse way to do it.

And ideally, the feedback to this spiritual successor can then be used to make a more direct and original new game afterwards.

Speaking of which - Sonic Mania 2, when?

But this isn't the only way to save a flagging franchise. Bold, ambitious developers can go in basically the entirely opposite direction...