Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted: Remastering a Classic, New Modes, Co-Op, and Zero Microtransactions
Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted – The PopCap Team on Remastering a Classic, New Modes, and Why It Still Works
By GeeksVsGeeks
When Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted lurches onto modern platforms on October 23, 2025, it will do so with a mission that’s both simple and daunting: make the game you remember, not the one that actually existed in 2009.
This weekend at PAX West in Seattle, we had the opportunity to speak with Matt Townsend, Nicholas Reinhart, and Jake Neri from the PopCap team about faithfully updating a beloved classic for today’s consoles and PCs. The trio walked us through Replanted’s visual upgrades, new modes, co-op features, and the surprisingly tricky task of changing nothing important while changing almost everything else.
As we got comfortable to get hands on with the game, we were met with friendly banter from the team. These guys are passionate and it shows, but they are also careful to make sure they clearly communicate their vision for this game. From the very start of our conversation, they wanted to be clear about what Replanted is, and what it isn’t. This is a remaster of the original. It’s not a remake… we took that source code… brought it up to modern standards,” the team told us.
“It’s a Remaster, Not a Remake…
That decision shaped the project’s philosophy: polish and modernize without breaking the balance or charm that made the original an instant classic. "The thing we were not willing to compromise on was changing any of the core mechanics… it was about remastering what was there, not reinventing it".
That means sunflowers still fuel your economy, walnuts still hold the line, and buckethead zombies still ruin your day, just in much sharper detail. On top of that, one of the first things players will notice is how Replanted looks. The remaster runs in 4K resolution with ultrawide support, making full use of modern displays. You’ll notice… this has been lovingly up-rezzed into 4K… this also fits widescreen now… and ultrawide,” the trio explained
“we were not willing to compromise on was changing any of the core mechanics”
The task of updating every frame wasn’t trivial. The art team put effort in to hand-tune legacy assets in order to ensure nothing felt out of place. “Going through and hand-touching up these old art assets and animations has been a labor of love.” The result? A lawn that looks like the one you remember from 2009, but sharper, smoother, and better suited for modern systems. And that is the biggest achievement for any remaster. Making you believe this is the same game that you remember, while if you were to compare it you would notice a stark difference.
When asked why Plants vs. Zombies endures after all these years, the team kept circling back to charm, accessibility, and tight design. "The core loop is just so tight, you enter into flow very easily, it just feels very good." “It doesn’t matter your age or ability in games, this offers a really smooth experience.”
The teams goal Cleary wasn’t to modernize for modernity’s sake, but to preserve the magic of the original as faithful as possible but fit for modern systems and modern screens. And from what we played, they seem to have largely succeeded.
“We have to make it as good as people remember it. ”
While Replanted remains faithful to the original, it also introduces some new challenges, some from later iterations in the franchise. Modes like Cloudy Day and Rest In Peace mode. The latter is aimed squarely at veteran PvZ players. Rest in Peace mode is a permadeath mode where Dave is picking half of your plants for you at random. If you are unable to complete a level at some point, then you have to go all the way back to the beginning. This isn’t just a difficulty spike; Crazy Dave’s random plant picks add chaos and replayability. “He’s cheeky about it,”
“In Rest in Peace/permadeath mode, Dave is picking half of your plants.”
The remaster will a ton of exciting features that fans loved about PvZ:
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Mini-games (including Walnut Bowling, intact and just as hilarious)
And yes, the official EA page promises “100% more BUTTER”, a nod to the Colonel Corn mechanics that let you slow zombies by buttering them mid-attack. Even Walnut Bowling remains unchanged and just as fun.
In terms of mechanics , the team confirmed flexible input options across platforms, including touchscreen, mouse, and controller support including mouse function for the Switch 2.
“It’s going to be couch co-op… supports Nintendo game share as well… if you have two Switches you can share across.”
In terms of the co-op portion of the game there is some good and some bad news. PopCap has focused on local couch co-op and will feature Nintendo's game share support mean Switch players can battle zombies together across two systems in the same room. However there are no plans for online co-op or PvP which is a bit of a disappointing development and we hope that for steam versions of the game steam remote play offers a decent alternative, but that remains to be seen.
Perhaps the single most surprising (and mostly welcome) statement of the interview was the plan to offer a full experience from the moment you purchase the game and stay away from the nickel and dime strategies we see so often. With no microtransactions and no DLC planned, the game will be all that it can be out of the box.
Most people probably agree that no micro transactions if probably a good thing, but the lack of planned DLC has some people worried there is no room for additional content down the road. For the team it was a conscience choice however, Instead of trying to squeeze everything in half baked or plan to just fix it later, the team focused on creating what they called a “tight package” that respects both the original game and modern players.
“This is not Plants vs. Zombies live service.”
The game launches October 23, 2025 for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and PC (EA app, Steam, Epic Games Store) at $19.99 USD. It will be digital only , so if you are big on owning physical media there is no option for you with this release. The game IS open for pre-order now on your favourite online game store.
Jake did want to ensure the fact that despite resisting future DLC or season passes, there is still a little extra incentive to pre-order the game now. If you get your order in early you will be rewarded with a really cute retro peashooter cosmetic and everyone will get the retro "brown-coat" zombie skin with their copy of the game.
“The retro Peashooter is for folks that preorder, but the game will also include a retro brown code zombie that everybody will have access to.”
After playing the remaster ourselves, we were struck by how quickly it felt right . The controller support , ultrawide HD, and buttery (literally) mechanics all fell into place like that old brown coat you had hanging in the attic for so many years. and even the looks of the game are how we remember, even though in reality our nostalgic brains betray us and the original looks a lot worse in reality.
“We had to deliver the perfectly balanced experience people remember, and let a new generation feel the magic.”
With extra game modes, local co-op, retro cosmetics, and a clear “no microtransactions” promise, Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted looks set to delight veterans and newcomers alike when it arrives this October. The lack of online multiplayer is somewhat disappointing but the addition of Switch 2 game share is a bit of a consolation. Will it be worth it to rebuy the same game again at 20 dollars a copy? That can only be answered by the players themselves. However the team's love for the game, enthusiasm and care for its history are undeniable. And every bit of it shined in the demo we played.
If you want to see the whole video you can check it out on our YouTube channel.
About the writer: DadGeek (Rob) is the co-founder of GeeksVsGeeks. He is a product of the eighties and never let go of his geek interest and hobbies no matter how often someone told him to stop. His love for gaming and all things geeks has been part of his parenting style and permeates throughout the whole family. A family of Geeks vs Geeks
I need early access to bro🙏
ReplyDeleteThere will be mod compatibility, like steam workshop?
ReplyDeleteGive me demo
ReplyDeleteEven Online Coop & Pvp is not planned, i think it would be cool that Steam Remote Play will be compatible, at least that.
ReplyDeleteyou can truly see how much Popcap really care when they put a traced pvz2 render cabbage pult on the title screen and can't even spell wallnut and kernel pult's names right! :)))
ReplyDeleteWill there be a physical version of the game?
ReplyDeleteIt will be digital only.
DeleteJust glad there’s more pvz. Even if it’s just a reskin, this is EA testing the waters to see if pvz is still relevant and would make them money. If it does, then they’ll do more for it, hopefully not with a pvz3 with 20,000 micro transactions but we’ll have to wait and see.
ReplyDelete