Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster offers fans the opportunity to (re)immerse themselves in a small moment of history. It is the very first FPS adapted from the cult saga. Beware of getting old with this regressive trip.
In 1995, Disney had not yet transformed Star Wars into a huge cash machine. In 1995, there was only one trilogy that we devoured over and over again, fascinated by the universe imagined by George Lucas. No double lightsabers, no Baby Yoda, no spin-off films or TV series… Just a good foundation on which many people were able to build their imagination. Already at the time, Star Wars was already huge in pop culture, and LucasArts was striving to make its license profitable. This is how the video game came out Star Wars: Dark Forces.
A lambda adaptation? Certainly not. Star Wars: Dark Forces is the very first first-person shooter (FPS) game in the colors of Star Warswho wanted to be heir to Wolfenstein 3D And Doom, the pioneers of the genre. Light years away from a shaky copy that only plays on the notoriety of its brand, Dark Forces allowed himself to make his contribution to a building then under construction. Not content with adding narration (missions introduced by complete briefings, mixed with a few cutscenes), the game added a notion of depth to the aim, as well as the Y (vertical) axis. A revolution that deserved a remastering.
Star Wars: Dark Forces is a hell of a piece of history
You have the graphic choice
You can easily go back to the original rendering for a real nostalgic trip… or better feel the work put into the upgrade.
To restore the nobility of a title which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2025, LucasArts turned to Nightdive Studios – a specialist in bringing it up to date. Anxious to offer the best possible setting for an iconic title, the developers did not forget to call on the creator of the project The Force Engine (TFE) – a retro design of the graphics engine of the time to offer a makeover . “ They approached me to help them as a technical advisor on the project, which includes exchanging information and sharing some TFE code snippets. », he confided on August 22, 2023.
Nightdive Studios has done a colossal job
We are therefore far from opportunistic remastering, which can justify a fairly high price (a little less than €30). In any case, the result is worth the detour: Nightdive Studios has done a colossal job to bring a breath of modernity to Dark Forces (it is not just a simple sharpness filter), while preserving its identity. Added to this are current functions, such as sound effects that can come out of the DualSense controller on PlayStation 5. It’s clean and fluid, and only certain collision bugs darken the picture. Never mind, reliving childhood memories in these conditions is enough to provoke a little something, especially when we talk about Star Wars.
In this game, we play as a mercenary defector from the Empire, Kyle Katarn, who is now mobilized to carry out the dirty work of the Rebellion. The first mission invites us to steal the plans of the Black Star then, very quickly, the scenario revolves around an investigation into a new body of soldiers (the Dark Troopers, which we will find in particular in the series The Mandalorian). There are fourteen chapters in all, with objectives ranging from sabotage to exfiltration of designated targets to outright infiltration.
Be careful, play Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster amounts to agreeing to immerse yourself in a regressive experience. Expect to get lost for several minutes in levels with labyrinthine architecture, looking for a small switch or a narrow passage. It was the mood of the time and exploration sometimes rhymes with frustration, when the solution is complicated. This still makes it possible to extend a lifespan which would not be very thick in a straight line. If you’re lost, you can consult one of the many guides written for the original game.
When we’re not wandering the corridors of the Empire’s installations, we’re taking out stormtroopers, here you go. But not only. Loyalty obliges the films, the troops of the Empire do not know how to aim much better in the video game. It is rather their number, and the gameplay which adds the vertical axis, which can pose a problem in the event of faltering vigilance (not to mention that they tend to set traps by hiding in cramped places).
Note that Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster recycles the principle of lives: you have a limited number to complete a level, otherwise you will have to start from the beginning. They will never be too much to pass certain difficult platform phases or survive the mines that litter the ground. Last interesting point: Dark Forces draws on an arsenal that is quite remarkable in its variety, for a title published in 1995.
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