A very long time in the past on a desktop far, distant, my household as soon as owned a demo disc for the unique Star Wars: Darkish Forces. I can not bear in mind for the lifetime of me which degree(s) it contained. My solely surviving reminiscence of it’s having fairly time blasting Stormtroopers and the chaps in black with the swoopy, knock-off Vader helmets, but additionally getting terribly misplaced and probably not figuring out what the heck I used to be meant to be doing. Now, taking part in Nightdive Studio’s Star Wars: Darkish Forces Remaster as an grownup in all probability shut to a few many years later, each these emotions have come roaring again, as that is very a lot a Star Wars FPS within the vein of Doom and different early 90s shooters (thumbs up). However it’s one which leans so exhausting into its maze-like degree design that it might probably usually really feel like somewhat little bit of a troublesome dangle within the chilly exhausting gentle of 2024 (thumbs down).
Crucially, although, to not the purpose the place it is best left consigned to the historical past books. That is nonetheless an gratifying and worthwhile artefact in Star Wars’ PC gaming historical past, and in case your eyes (and normal endurance ranges) cannot fairly abdomen the ‘Basic’ and nonetheless out there 1995 authentic, then this remaster is a pin-sharp glow-up for contemporary {hardware}.
After all, whether or not that is price stumping up the additional £20-odd over the £5 1995 ‘Basic’ Version will in all probability be largely right down to a matter of comfort. The behind-the-scenes Vault options are fairly sparse and poorly introduced, consisting of idea artwork, outdated sketches, early 3D fashions, cutscene renders and different issues that can make you go, ‘Huh, effectively that is neat,’ for all of 5 seconds after which by no means opening that menu display ever once more. It is the form of stuff that can seemingly solely enchantment to the toughest of hardcore Star Wars-er, however even that appears like a little bit of a stretch.
The one spotlight is the playable prototype of its outdated CES demo, The Avenger, which is ready inside a Star Destroyer-like ship with tons and many Stormtroopers to shoot. It was in the end lower from the ultimate sport, however a few of its ideas do stay on in one among Darkish Forces’ later ranges. It is fairly a neat curio from a design perspective, but it surely’s in all probability going to be Darkish Forces Remaster’s different fashionable additions that will likely be price the price of entry.
Certainly, with assist for 4K resolutions, body charges of as much as 120fps, correct sport pad controls, and accessibility choices for gun flashes, crosshair sorts and head-bobbing, there’s arguably by no means been a better or extra handy technique to take pleasure in Darkish Forces than this 2024 remaster. You may as well decide to maintain the unique pixel graphics for each its cutscenes and normal sprite work, or toggle over to Nightdive’s a lot sharper and extra pristine excessive res updates. It’s, admittedly, not fairly as seamless a transition because the one-button-press within the Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered Trilogy, alas, however you’ll be able to nonetheless swap between them everytime you like by dipping into the menu choices, and all with out the necessity for a restart.
The newer graphics are a serviceable replace on its older pixel visuals, giving enemies larger definition and your weapons a bit extra punch and distinction. They only about keep away from falling into that all-too-common fashionable entice of smoothing every little thing out with a giant dollop of Vaseline, and personally, I performed half of the sport with the improved graphics, and the opposite half with out. Each look nice blown up at 4K, and every little thing is completely clear and visual, no matter which model you go for. Nothing is misplaced by choosing one or the opposite. The music remains to be, blissfully, the good outdated MIDI trumpet parps, too – Clint Bajakian’s authentic rating doing a really admirable John Williams impression right here – and along with the retro voice barks and pew pew lasers of your blaster gun, appropriated Stormtrooper rifle and different assorted weapons, it nonetheless seems to be and sounds distinctly Star Wars.
What it feels like, nevertheless, is Doom with extra puzzles. Every of its 14 missions are massive, boxy mazes with smatterings of easily-blasted Stormtroopers, Imperial officers and floating droids to mow down at excessive velocity, and to advance you will accumulate totally different colored keys to open the particular locked doorways conserving you out of your aims. Its three issue settings largely simply chuck extra enemies at you directly, and if you happen to lose all of your lives (which regenerate every mission), it is again to the beginning of the extent. It is good, pulpy enjoyable, and the enjoyment of obliterating Storm Troopers with Star Wars applicable sounds and weaponry is sort of the highly effective nostalgia journey.
It helps that Darkish Forces has fairly just a few extra fashionable trimmings than the early Dooms, although that is right down to the technological developments of the 95 authentic than this explicit remaster. Darkish Forces was fairly a trailblazer for its time, constructing on Doom’s foundations with correct mouse look that allow you to purpose up and down, in addition to a leap (usually implausibly excessive), and a crouch (additionally implausibly small). Nonetheless, whereas the key behind smuggler hero Kyle Katarn’s physicality stays as a lot a thriller now because it in all probability did again within the mid-90s, he does really feel, to all intents and functions, like some other 2024 FPS protagonist.
It makes for a really slick and cozy expertise in at the moment’s panorama of retro shooters, and you may see how the massive setpiece puzzles that distinguish it essentially the most from its mid-90s contemporaries would have felt spectacular on the time. Positive, these puzzles have change into simpler with age, however extra as a result of current video games have lent on its rotating bridges, jail keycards and sliding locked door panels advert infinitum within the years since. Within the second, these nonetheless require complicated dances of change pulling and platform leaping to execute efficiently, they usually present a welcome change of tempo to all of the runnin’ and gunnin’.
Structurally, there’s additionally a wholesome mixture of extraction missions, the place you will must infiltrate an space, retrieve an object, after which make your approach again to your ship’s touchdown pad, in addition to extra easy A to B missions that do not require a return journey. That stated, the latter are at all times one thing of a aid. On prime of Darkish Forces hailing from the twisty-turny maze faculty of early 3D degree design, the structure of a few of these locations will be legitimately baffling typically. Some hall entrances are so tiny and obscured from view that you simply’d need to occur upon it simply to even realise it was there, and key places are typically so distant from their corresponding doorways that I usually misplaced observe of easy methods to get from one aspect of a degree to a different simply to hold on. Typically it isn’t keys in any respect, however canny (and simply missed) change placement – and sincere to Grogu, I’ll by no means take a look at a sewer degree fairly the identical approach once more. These one-way sludge chutes, man. They modify an individual.
It felt like I spent a variety of time bashing my head towards a wall questioning the place to go subsequent, however regardless of all this, I nonetheless managed to wolf down the whole lot of Darkish Forces Remaster in a breezy seven hours. A really agreeable run-time in an age of considerably bloated Star Wars video games, however I ought to stress: there have been additionally a handful of situations the place I felt like I occurred upon an space or the answer to a specific puzzle with out actually figuring out why or how I managed it. Particular doorways with three code symbols opened for me by completely happy, key-mashing accident on just a few events – however for all of the back-tracking and aimless wandering I did between every try, I am undecided I would have the ability to inform you the way you had been meant to work them out accurately. There have been additionally ranges the place I would come throughout a locked door, backtrack for a number of minutes looking for the precise key, solely to bump into the precise exit in a totally totally different route, with no need stated key in any respect to finish the extent.
These moments ceaselessly left me feeling fairly stumped and pissed off, and it is right here the place Darkish Forces’ age actually makes itself felt. Here is one other instance: whereas vital information equivalent to your well being, protect, ammo and lives are all displayed on the sport’s HUD, the remainder of your stock past your apparent weapons was an entire thriller to me. Maybe I missed the actual menu setting, however I by no means discovered something to inform me what keys I would picked up, or what different essential survival gadgets I had in my pocket – such because the gasoline masks I wanted to keep away from suffocating a number of occasions in a row whereas making an attempt to navigate a toxic ice station. Heck, I’ve had settled for a immediate or one thing that simply advised me easy methods to equip the rattling factor, however alas, I needed to look this up within the controls menu having misplaced all my lives to it. I additionally by no means labored out if there was a approach to go searching the wireframe overlay map with out additionally shifting on the identical time – another excuse why I ended up backtracking a lot, as many of the map was hidden from view.
To much less wizened gamers, this would possibly, understandably, all show an excessive amount of to make this remaster both gratifying or worthwhile. However if you happen to’re prepared to try to divine the inside workings of Darkish Forces with a little bit of spit and elbow grease, then there is definitely an fascinating artefact to be discovered right here – even when it is ceaselessly wonky and obtuse in locations. Regardless of the aimless wandering, I did have time with Star Wars Darkish Forces Remaster, particularly after solely experiencing it by way of a demo disc all these years in the past. However I am additionally glad it is over now, and that I can return to taking part in correctly new video games once more. In that sense, Darkish Forces Remaster is an entire success. It is jogged my memory of a enjoyable reminiscence from a very long time in the past, and having now revisited it and admired it from each angle, I am completely happy to place it again within the carbon freezer, far, distant.
This evaluate relies on a retail construct of the sport, offered by builders Nightdive Studios.
