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’t bear in mind for the lifetime of me which degree(s) it contained. My solely surviving reminiscence of it’s having fairly a very good time blasting Stormtroopers and the chaps in black with the swoopy, knock-off Vader helmets, but additionally getting terribly misplaced and not likely 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 a long time 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 may possibly recurrently really feel like somewhat little bit of a tricky hold within the chilly exhausting mild 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 common endurance ranges) cannot fairly abdomen the ‘Traditional’ and nonetheless accessible 1995 unique, 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 ‘Traditional’ Version will in all probability be largely all the way down to a matter of comfort. The behind-the-scenes Vault options are fairly sparse and poorly offered, consisting of idea artwork, previous sketches, early 3D fashions, cutscene renders and different issues that may 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 kind of stuff that may seemingly solely enchantment to the toughest of hardcore Star Wars-er, however even that seems like a little bit of a stretch.
The one spotlight is the playable prototype of its previous CES demo, The Avenger, which is ready inside a Star Destroyer-like ship with tons and many Stormtroopers to shoot. It was finally lower from the ultimate recreation, however a few of its ideas do stay on in certainly one of 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 can be price the price of entry.
Certainly, with assist for 4K resolutions, body charges of as much as 120fps, correct recreation pad controls, and accessibility choices for gun flashes, crosshair varieties and head-bobbing, there’s arguably by no means been a neater or extra handy approach to take pleasure in Darkish Forces than this 2024 remaster. You can even choose to maintain the unique pixel graphics for each its cutscenes and common 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 possibly can 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 higher definition and your weapons a bit extra punch and distinction. They simply about keep away from falling into that all-too-common fashionable lure of smoothing all the things 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 all the things is completely clear and visual, no matter which fashion you go for. Nothing is misplaced by choosing one or the opposite. The music remains to be, blissfully, the good previous MIDI trumpet parps, too – Clint Bajakian’s unique 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 pace, and to advance you will accumulate completely different colored keys to open the particular locked doorways protecting you out of your aims. Its three problem settings largely simply chuck extra enemies at you without delay, 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 a couple of extra fashionable trimmings than the early Dooms, although that is all the way down to the technological developments of the 95 unique than this specific remaster. Darkish Forces was fairly a trailblazer for its time, constructing on Doom’s foundations with correct mouse look that allow you to intention 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 this time’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 grow to be simpler with age, however extra as a result of latest 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 swap pulling and platform leaping to execute efficiently, and so they 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 mentioned, the latter are all the time one thing of a aid. On prime of Darkish Forces hailing from the twisty-turny maze college of early 3D degree design, the structure of a few of these locations could be legitimately baffling generally. Some hall entrances are so tiny and obscured from view that you simply’d should occur upon it simply to even realise it was there, and key places are generally so distant from their corresponding doorways that I recurrently misplaced observe of tips on how to get from one aspect of a degree to a different simply to hold on. Generally it isn’t keys in any respect, however canny (and simply missed) swap placement – and trustworthy 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 alter an individual.
It felt like I spent a number 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 thing 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 selected 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 a couple of events – however for all of the back-tracking and aimless wandering I did between every try, I am unsure I might be capable to let you know the way you had been meant to work them out accurately. There have been additionally ranges the place I might come throughout a locked door, backtrack for a number of minutes looking for the fitting key, solely to come upon the precise exit in a totally completely different course, with no need mentioned key in any respect to finish the extent.
These moments often left me feeling fairly stumped and pissed off, and it is right here the place Darkish Forces’ age actually makes itself felt. This is one other instance: whereas vital data similar to your well being, defend, 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 might picked up, or what different essential survival gadgets I had in my pocket – such because the fuel masks I wanted to keep away from suffocating a number of occasions in a row whereas trying to navigate a toxic ice station. Heck, I’ve had settled for a immediate or one thing that simply informed me tips on how 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 similar time – one more reason why I ended up backtracking a lot, as a lot 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 keen to try to divine the interior 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 often wonky and obtuse in locations. Regardless of the aimless wandering, I did have a very good 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 evaluation is predicated on a retail construct of the sport, offered by builders Nightdive Studios.
