"Shrek 2 Remastered." The words keep echoing in my head like a half-forgotten memory of a sick dream, but somehow they're real. The 2004 movie tie-in game is getting a full remaster courtesy of Aspyr later this year, and folks, now that the rumors have proven true, I think it's time for us all to admit that gaming nostalgia has finally gone too far.
Shrek 2 Remastered will launch for $30 on November 10 across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, and PC. This new version promises improved graphics, a photo mode, cheats, and 4-player co-op both online and locally, all of which sound like reasonable upgrades over the original.
But come on, man. It's Shrek 2. We all have our nostalgia for various middling licensed games – I still like the Super NES Jurassic Park game, personally – but Aspyr's use of the word "classic" in the remaster's Steam page makes me feel like I'm losing touch with reality in a way that I haven't since Destroy All Humans got remade a few years ago.
Look, I love digging into the lower tiers of the PS2 library, but this is the kind of thing bargain hunting at your local retro shop or deep dives into emulators were made for. Do we really need remaster studios putting their resources into run-of-the-mill licensed games with Metacritic scores in the low 70s?
I say all this, but moments ago our senior entertainment writer Lauren saw me use the words "Shrek PS2 game" and simply started repeating "OMG" over and over again, so maybe I'm just not the target audience here. Maybe I'll head over to eBay and grab the original game on Xbox in a bit…
At the very least, Aspyr has generally done good work in its previous remasters, which have included the likes of Tomb Raider and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – both genuine pillars of video game history. The studio was, at one point, set to lead the KOTOR remake, though those plans have long since changed. I guess the studio is at least getting work, even if that work's occasionally unglamorous.
These are the best PS2 games of all time.
