Rez 20th anniversary: Sega’s classic still feels like the future of games

In 2001, Sega’s musical rail-shooter RezThe experience felt like a scientific experiment. The idea of gameplay creating music, and sound effects becoming a soundtrack gave it a feeling that was unique. we don’t really know what video games are yet, so let’s try this. The computer ushered you into an AI-driven story with wireframes and all the excitement and fears of technology. It felt almost like a game aiming for the future.

In 2021 … it still feels that way.

I’ve long thought of RezThe poster child of the future for video games. You’d think that over time that impression would fade, and something else would take its place. Since then, games have advanced tremendously. You can certainly define the future in many different ways. But as someone who grew up on ‘80s movies centered around wild visions of where technology could go, and for someone who loves the technical achievement of game mechanics far more than is healthy, 20 years later, RezIt’s still the same game.

In part, I credit external factors — things like the game’s re-releases in HD and then VR. In recent years, marketing the game with a full-body vibration suit and Sony’s PSVR headset has helped pull attention from the aging textures and pacing issues. You can also point to the game’s visual style, which holds up better than most early 3D visuals thanks to its use of simple shapes. And I constantly reference the bonus stage in 2016’s Rez Infinite, Area X, as the thing I’ve enjoyed most in VR.

But, there is more to it than that. Rez — even today — feels like an exploration of what a video game can be. It doesn’t just introduce a new genre or setting; it plays with how music and gameplay can work together to offer a sensory experience — an idea that still has only been explored in limited ways in other games.

This Monday Rez InfiniteEnhance published a YouTube Video to Celebrate Rez’s 20th anniversary (embedded above; disclosure: I used to work with a couple of these people) and announced some related merchandise. They’re calling it Rez20, which kind of looks like a coupon code, but what stands out the most is that 20 years later, we still haven’t seen a game that feels quite so much like it’s directly reaching for that sense of the future — and that Rez is still one of the best examples of something that games haven’t yet fully achieved.