Five things a Prototype remaster needs to compete with modern titles

✓ VideoGamer Summary

• Prototype delivered one of the most fun urban landscapes in video gaming, but the streets must be livelier next time around to keep up with modern titles.
• Graphical updates are necessary to pick up interest, but with this much gore, it’s hard to find balance.
• Prototype’s destructive power fantasy could get boosted with modern hardware.
• Gunplay has come far; Prototype will need to catch up.
• With some added flair, the ability to absorb people’s memories could be a highlight.

This article contains officially confirmed information combined with expert industry speculation, rumors, and analysis. 

In 2009, Radical Entertainment released Prototype. A free-running sandbox of destruction and body-horror powered antics, Prototype was a deeply edgy game. You played as Alex Mercer, a host of the Blacklight bio-virus. You fought the military and other infected monstrosities to try and save a rapidly decaying New York City, all while uncovering your own forgotten past. It was gory, janky, emo, and, frankly, rad as hell.

Rumors are now circulating that a Prototype remaster might be in the works – an extremely exciting prospect. Prototype felt like a Spider-Man game by way of Shadow the Hedgehog, and with the advances in modern superhero games, a Prototype remaster could easily find an audience today. However, without some refreshes, it would risk coming off hopelessly outdated with some clunky design details and a muddy color palette. We’re excited for another crack at this title, and we’ve listed some ways that a remaster could improve on the original. 

New York should be a more elaborate playground

Prototype lets you quickly cover ground and sky. Image credit: Radical Entertainment

The first step for any kind of Prototype game remaster is to give some TLC to Manhattan. When you weren’t charging forward against enemies in a story mission, you had the whole city as your hub. Getting from A to B was just about the most fun you could have. Alex was a master of parkour and traversal. Wall running, gliding, and powerful leaps made getting around a breeze.

It’s been over a decade, however, and that city will need some touch-ups if we’re to return. While it was impressive how many civilians Prototype managed to include back in the day, more powerful hardware could turn that up even more. Adding more detail to the city, especially when it starts crumbling into ruins, will make that sandbox even more immersive. As things get more dire for NYC, a more modern lighting system could help draw attention to the carnage your superpowered battles leave in their wake. 

We need better graphics, but not too good

A Prototype HD remaster is going to come with some spit and polish visually, but it needs to know when to rein it in a bit. While Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 recently gave us a look at what a New York City infected by some horrible gooey virus could look like in glorious high fidelity, Prototype’s emphasis on gore and destruction means that a remaster would need to know when to use restraint, too. 

The Blacklight virus is a source of disquieting body horror, and Mercer performs acts of violent evisceration so over the top that they make him a prime candidate for a Mortal Kombat cameo. Unlike Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which can fall back on bloodless, comic-book violence, Prototype was far grittier. Any remaster would need to walk a fine line between immersive bloodshed and excessive gore. 

Bring me that destruction

The main appeal of the return of a Prototype game is just how much of a force of nature you can be against an entire city. The original Prototype let you throw cars at helicopters, commandeer tanks to destroy corrupted buildings, and jump-kick enemies to ride them like an ill-fated surfboard. One of the earliest upgrades you get is some visceral claws that allow you to shred through the infected, and we can see from the Marvel’s Wolverine trailer just how much fun we could have with that.

Nowadays, we have the technology to facilitate extensive map destruction, as showcased by the upcoming Battlefield 6. Would it be too much to ask to get some Red Faction: Guerrilla-style destruction from buildings? Just giving some weight to the vehicles you’re throwing would add to the feeling of becoming a monster. In the original, they simply bounced like rubber balls. We can do better this time. 

Powers are fun, but we’d like better rocket launchers

Alex Mercer’s powers require very few changes, and a new Prototype game doesn’t need to do much to make those appeal. From the devastating claws to full-on sword arm, Alex’s powers already do what they need to. The various firearms that you can pick up, on the other hand, could use some fine-tuning. 

Alex gains access to a limited suite of weapons, but they still add variety to your arsenal. Picking up machine guns from fallen Blackwatch troopers gives you some ranged options for the nastier classes of enemies, and the missile launcher clears groups of enemies easily. The issue is that you’ve a limited capacity to aim the things, even after absorbing upgrades from relevant targets. Quality-of-life improvements to weapon handling would go a long way. There’s no way that they could overshadow your actual powers, so why not give Alex a little time at the gun range?

The story could do with a budget

In the original Prototype, our lead delivers his lines like he’s Batman doing a mumblecore rap, and that’s fine; it fits the ‘I never asked for this’ brooding style. However, there’s so much potential to give some love to some of these storytelling moments and to elevate the game beyond late-noughties narrative mediocrity.

One of the more interesting aspects of Prototype’s presentation is that you pick up new story beats by absorbing certain targets’ memories. These give you quick flashes from another perspective and add the right atmosphere, but it’s a let-down when so many of them are peppered with stock images. Adding some unique art and something more like Until Dawn’s totem teasers for some sharp imagery would help this unique feature stand out.

Of course, this would require a great deal of work on the part of any potential developer for a Prototype remaster. However, I’m confident that, with even just a little bit of polish, a reincarnated Prototype could punch far above its weight. 

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