Dark Forces Remaster Switch Review
Dark Forces is a special one for many Star Wars fans as it ushered in a huge change in direction for Lucasarts, finally taking us off the rails of the Rebel Assault Games, and planting our space boots directly on the ground to blast our way through the empire. Some may instantly dismiss it as a Doom Clone, and while it may take inspiration from the Doom series, Dark Forces managed to get itself a great sequel in Dark Forces 2, before spinning into two games you can already play on the Switch in the form of Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. What’s It Like? Get your blaster, check the safety on your thermal detonators, and prepare to join the rebellion as we review the Dark Forces Remaster for Nintendo Switch.
Dark Forces follows Kyle Katarn, an imperial officer who defected to the Rebellion’s covert operations unit presumable after Darth Vader named his new weapon the Death Star, and not the “Managed Democracy and Freedom Star.” During the story, you will uncover the plot to build and deploy Dark Troopers, which you may recognise from the Mandalorian TV Series, and it’s up to you to put a halt to them by stealing plans, sabotaging mines, and rescuing spies in the epic campaign. To do this, you will blast your way around with frantic first-person shooting while solving puzzles. The game does tend to stick to the 90’s tropes of puzzle solving, platforming, and backtracking, which some people may find frustrating, but I have to admit, I really enjoyed it despite running into a few dead ends during my playthrough. The gameplay in my opinion holds up well, and it’s run-and-gun style shooting manages to remain exciting and most importantly, fun.
This remaster also takes it one step further by adding an incredible collection of concept art, 3D renders, cutscene storyboards, and even the playable E3 demo that you can try out for yourself. To me, this is where Nightdive has gone above and beyond to preserve this archive of bonus features. It is hard to fault the content included in the Dark Forces Remaster and it’s clearly been handled with the love and respect it deserves. You can even input the original cheat codes which still work to mess around during your playthrough!
Graphically, the new enhancements look great with much higher detailed textures, sharp sprites, and reworked weaponry. While it still looks unapologetically old school, much like the recent Tomb Raider Trilogy it manages to perfectly capture the feel of the game as it was intended, with some modern touches. If you want to play it how it was in 1996, you can turn them all off and play it in its purest form. While it doesn’t happen at the click of a button, there are a few settings you can adjust, including the software and hardware rendering options. For my vision-impaired Mercenaries for hire, there are a few accessibility options in regard to head bobbing and photosensitivity, but as there are times when the game is quite dark, much like the forces in the game, more research may be required to see if it’s a good fit for you.
All of this is complemented by a brooding and very “Imperial” musical score that retains its midi sound. The sound effects are exactly as I remember them, right down to the compressed voice acting. Cutscenes have a fresh lick of paint, which you can also turn off should you wish to experience it exactly how it was when it was released. I did notice a couple of minor graphical glitches, but nothing that detracted from my experience, and honestly, I just felt like that awkward skinny kid who played Dark Forces all those years ago.
At first, the price may seem to be slightly higher than some remakes at $44 AUD, $30 USD, and 25 Pounds, but I was happy to pay a little extra due to the bonus content on top of the remastered visuals. That, as well as the inclusion of achievements you can earn and aim for, make it have a bit of extra gameplay that will keep you entertained for around 10 hours (not including bonus content.)
As we approach the end of this Kessel run of a review, it’s clear that Nightdive yet again understood the assignment in remastering and more importantly, preserving Dark Forces so a new generation of padawans can enjoy the game, whilst appealing to the more… seasoned of gamers like myself. I’m looking forward to showing my son the game that I played as a kid, longing for an adventure in a galaxy far, far away. Nightdive Studios has handled this with care, and there’s no doubt that while Kyle Katarn is yet to discover his Jedi lineage, the force is certainly strong with this remaster.
So, What’s It Like? Dark Forces Remaster is like Doom, crossed with Star Wars.
