The Max Payne series defined an entirely new subgenre with its third-person shoot-fests riddled with bullet-time mechanics, and remained distinctive through its brooding, dark noir atmosphere. The last fans saw of Max Payne was in 2012 with Max Payne 3, but with the continued prevalence of time-altering shooting mechanics in AAA video games paired with the current success of both Rockstar and Remedy Entertainment, the time is more ripe than ever for these companies to bring the Payne once more.
Max Payne originally debuted on the PC back in 2001. At the time, it broke new ground with a captivating, gritty New York noir story and fast-paced, slow-mo shooting segments. The game was well received by both fans and critics, and its popularity made the name Max Payne one of the most recognizable in gaming. The game’s original developer, Remedy Entertainment, followed up with a sequel several years later. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne never blew up in quite the same way as its predecessor, but it maintained Remedy’s high standards of quality and expanded greatly on both the story and game mechanics. To this day, Max Payne 2 ranks as the favorite for many fans of the series. Unfortunately, Remedy would be forced to say goodbye to Max after the rights were sold to Rockstar, who brought the character from the streets of New York to the slums of Brazil in Max Payne 3. The change in setting and tone didn’t sit well with all of the series’ fans, but the game’s polish and writing quality were still up to par for the general gaming community.
However, that was eight years ago. An entire generation of consoles has almost come and gone since Max Payne 3’s launch, and it seems almost as if Max has hung up his trench coat and grimace for good. Remedy Entertainment, despite seeing great success with their most recent title, Control, no longer has any say as to what happens with the Max Payne franchise. Likewise, Rockstar has seemingly had their hands full working on Red Dead Redemption 2 and the many ports of Grand Theft Auto V. Despite that, it’s never too late for Max Payne to make a comeback.
Why Max Payne 4 Should Happen
There’s a brand new generation of consoles just on the horizon, and the time has never been more ripe for such a classic franchise to return. If other Remedy games like Control can get a PlayStation 5 port, and a classic PlayStation 3 game like Demon’s Souls can get a PS5 remake, it’s not inconceivable for something similar to happen to the Max Payne franchise. It has been almost two decades since the original Max Payne hit shelves, and while Remedy writer/director Sam Lake isn’t a bad-looking guy, the digitized version of his face (which they used for Max’s model back in the first game) could certainly use some polish. A remake or a remaster is just what the Max Payne series needs to makes its way back into the public consciousness.
Ignoring the arguably overused practice of remastering/remaking already successful games, Max Payne 4 could still legitimately happen. With new consoles about to hit stores, companies are going to be looking for fresh ideas to draw in consumers. If Rockstar chose to make a new Max Payne, they could potentially attract plenty of older gamers who have skipped a generation or two of consoles but still fondly remember murdering hordes of slow-moving mafiosos in Max Payne 1 and 2. Not only that, but other slow-motion games such as Superhot have seen a great amount of success since Max Payne’s latest release, proving interest in the series’ gimmick is far from dead.
The fact that it would be a Rockstar game doesn’t exclude the chance that Remedy could gets a say in Max Payne 4’s development. Back when Rockstar was still making Max Payne 3, they showed the series’ original creators a great deal of respect by asking Remedy to play the game and provide some criticism. Chances are, if Rockstar did decide to dig Max Payne out of his shallow grave, then fans would still get a product endorsed by the series’ original creator. Aside from the Mark Wahlberg film that fans sometimes try to forget, Max Payne has never truly disappointed its entire fanbase, and there’s no reason to think it would start now.