It feels like a dream come true. Nightdive Studios have finally been given the opportunity to remaster a Star Wars game. Whilst I appreciate the work Aspyr has done (and still does) with its re-releases of titles from late 90s and early 2000s, such as Episode I: Racer, Republic Commando, Knights of the Old Republic, and Jedi Outcast, those games usually featured some glaring issues, be it in their presentation, or some weird bug. Nightdive rarely misses. Their life goal is to take an older title and remaster it to the point of rendering its original release obsolete in comparison. And I couldn’t have been happier with their Star Wars debut, for it was the perfect choice for them to remaster. They brought Star Wars: Dark Forces back from the dead, and it has never looked better.

A little bit of historical context: Dark Forces was originally released on DOS way back in 1995. It was the first Star Wars first-person shooter, as well as LucasArts’ first FPS. It ran on a proprietary engine that made Doom look like an Etch A Sketch in comparison, as it allowed designers to come up with levels featuring multiple floors and more complex geometry. Sure, levels still looked simplistic, but for 1995 standards, the damn thing was really impressive. It also helped that its level structure wasn’t simply comprised of going from A to B, killing everything in front of you. Levels had a few objectives, such as searching for a prisoner, or collecting a macguffin. After completing the objective, you’d have to make your way back to the beginning in order to complete the level.

Let’s just say that games like GoldenEye and Perfect Dark owe their existence to Dark Forces‘ objective-based structure. It also broke new ground for the genre, at least for the time, by having a more complex story than the half a dozen lines of plot seen in Doom or Wolfenstein 3D. It introduced us to Kyle Katarn, who would eventually become one of the Expanded Universe’s most important characters. The plot in Dark Forces was so good, Disney took elements from it when writing the scripts for both Rogue One and the second season of The Mandalorian. But the thing about Dark Forces is that, with the exception of a lame PS1 port, it had never been re-released, or even remastered. It was a game stuck in a limbo. You could get it on GOG, but in a very dated state.

Enter Nightdive. They took the original game’s source code, transplanted it into their proprietary Kex engine, and started doing their traditional witchcraft. Think of all of the games they were able to bring back from the dead. Turok, Turok 2, Quake II, Rise of the Triad, Shadow Man, PowerSlave, Doom 64. Even if some of their previous remasters feel a bit more impressive, the way they were able to adapt an old DOS-based shooter to modern consoles is worthy of applause. It is a dated shooter in terms of its level design and gameplay, not to mention the fact its soundtrack is entirely MIDI-based, but I had a blast with it.

Furthermore, I loved the brand new additions and extra features included in the package, including a test demo level from 1995, never released before. Nightdive also made sure to deactivate all visual enhancements during that particular level, in order to give players a more immersive experience. It’s like I’m a LucasArts executive, playing a tech demo from a team of people who want me to greenlight this silly project! Furthermore, there are tons of concept art pictures and documents detailing how levels used to be made on the Jedi Engine, rotoscoping techniques, and more.

Sure, the levels are still very blocky and simplistic in design. The sole fact they were polygonal in 1995 was already shocking in it and of itself. There wasn’t a lot Nightdive could do to improve what little Dark Forces had of polygonal visuals. Now, when it comes to spritework, every single asset, be it the guns, your HUD, the enemies you need to shoot down, has been completely redone with high-definition artwork. The blaster looks amazing onscreen, and even the game’s once cheesy and kinda ridiculous cutscenes, well, they still look silly, but they also look good at the same time. If you are a maniac purist, you can also revert back to old visuals and an original aspect ratio. It’s the best of both worlds, even though there is a clearly better option between those two.

I have just a few gripes with this remaster as a whole, because a lot of its options can be tinkered with. Don’t like the bloom or overrealistic lighting effects, which turn some levels into pitch-black tunnels? Just turn these settings off. Character motion is making you sick? You can also toggle it off. Controls aren’t to your liking? They are completely customizable. Weapons are a bit too inaccurate? Well, it’s Star Wars, but you can also activate an aim assist option. The few things I didn’t like were the absence of a weapon-changing mode which wasn’t a clunky wheel (the consequences of playing the game on a controller, I guess), an ugly main menu interface, and an odd objective presentation screen, which just felt cheap and rushed when compared to the rest of the project.

The Force is strong with Nightdive. They took an old, but iconic Star Wars shooter, adapted it to their magnificent engine, remade its assets, tinkered with the presentation and gameplay, and delivered the ultimate Dark Forces experience. A game once touted to be borderline forgotten is now available on modern platforms in way that makes its original build feel like crap in comparison. It runs like a dream, it looks great (considering the game it was based on, of course), it’s plastered with content, and it’s overall a blast to play. Nightdive’s first foray into retro Star Wars remastering was a surefire hit, and I can’t wait to see what they’ll revive next. Jedi Knight? X-Wing? Both? 

Graphics: 7.0 For its time, Dark Forces featured revolutionary graphics. The Jedi Engine was pretty groundbreaking for its time, but it did age massively over the years. The level design is very simplistic, but assets and sprites have been reworked, looking sharp on a big screen. Brand new lighting and post-processing effects help make Dark Forces look much better than it used to.	Gameplay: 8.0 It’s ridiculously fast-paced, and some of its weapons are a bit inaccurate (then again, it’s lore-appropriate when you think about it). It still controls well enough, with responsive and fully customizable controls. My only main gripe lies on the weapon selection wheel.
Sound: 7.0 The voice acting is comprised of some of the most iconic roles in the series, such as Denny Delk as the game’s narrator. It’s heavily compressed, but still pretty good. The soundtrack is all MIDI-based, which is an acquired taste. Sound effects are nostalgic if you’ve grown up with other Star Wars games from the 90s, as they have all reused a lot of Dark Forces‘ assets.	Fun Factor: 8.5 It’s a no-nonsense retro shooter from the 90s, it’s an iconic as hell Star Wars game. There are lots of secrets to unveil, stormtroopers to mutilate, and extras to explore, including behind-the-scenes documents and a test level created by the developers before the original Dark Forces‘ release.
Final Verdict: 8.0

Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch. The original Dark Forces is also available on PC and PS1.

Reviewed on Xbox Series S.

A copy of Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster was provided by the publisher.