by The PlayStation 3 is something of a curiosity, technically speaking. Its Cell processor architecture was nothing like anything seen in games consoles before or since, and that's caused problems for emulation efforts by both independent developers and Sony itself. While Xbox fans enjoy relatively broad back-compat support that sees many original discs from the first Xbox console play on the latest Series X, the same pipeline isn't in place from PS3 to PS5 - and very few PS3 games have seen proper remasters either, especially on the level of the recent Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced.
DF Supporter JL was thinking about just that state of affairs in a question for DF Direct Q+A #272. "Can you give me your quintessential PS3 experiences? What game would would you like to see get the Black Flag Resynced treatment?"
There are a tonne of great answers to this question, and panellists Rich, John and Oliver shared a comprehensive list of worthy games and series: Motorstorm, Uncharted, Killzone, Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid, Infamous, Ridge Racer, Resistance, E.X. Troopers, Puppeteer, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Folklore, Rain and - of course - additional Assassin's Creed titles.
The one title I'd add to the conversation is Ninja Theory's Heavenly Sword, a hack-and-slash game that came out in 2007 - coincidentally, my first year of university and the first time I encountered a PS Triple. The game looked absolutely incredible at the time and still holds up today, with proper facial and motion capture directed by (and featuring) Andy Serkis, huge numbers of on-screen enemies, fast combat, a great soundtrack and a storyline from Rhianna Pratchett that was actually worth engaging with. In fact, the work done on the game was so good that it was turned into a proper theatrical release down the line too, which is definitely not something that would have been possible with the vast majority of released PS3 titles.
The game wasn't perfect by any means, with some weirdly difficult sections - I hated the bits where you had to use the Sixaxis motion controls to guide arrows, for example - and extremely choppy frame-rates, but these are just the sort of things that can be cleared up with a modern remaster, given the excess power of the PS5 and how much better game developers understand control schemes these days.
The game is officially marooned on PS3, with no official remasters, remakes or other re-releases for PS4 or PS5, so your only option besides pulling out your PS3 is PC emulation. Thankfully, the game does run brilliantly on modern PC hardware, which just makes the fact that the game has been pretty much forgotten about all the sadder.
Of course, with the PS6 looking increasingly like a digital-only console, the tap of disc-based PS3 emulation might soon twist shut. But while discs might be off the table, the PS6 does have one advantage over the PS5 that might prove decisive: it is likely going to be powerful enough to properly brute-force PS3 emulation, something that isn't always possible on PS5 - at least based on our tests with RPCS3 running on PS5 Linux. Here, it's possible to run Heavenly Sword at 5K but only 30fps, and games that tax the Cell architecture more substantially run much worse.
If Sony does prioritise PS3 emulation on PS6 - eg by offering a subscription service with buffet access to a range of patched games - then it would be fascinating to see how much of the back catalogue would become playable on faster PlayStation hardware. And if developers are looking for PS3-era games to give lavish Black Flag style remasters, well, I'll refer you Heavenly Sword and the panellists' list above - there are plenty of great options still available.
What would your ultimate PS3 game remaster look like? Let me know in the comments below.