After nearly three decades, Star Wars: Dark Forces is coming back, this time in stellar 4K.
The remaster was announced in August of this year and has now finally received a release date: Feb. 28, 2024. It will launch almost exactly 29 years after the original, which came out in 1995 and is revered as one of the best Star Wars first-person shooters.
Star Wars: Dark Forces will launch on all platforms, including the current and previous generations of consoles. It seems the PS4 and Xbox One still have some juice left in them, though considering the game’s relatively simple looks, it’s no surprise.
The remastered version of the Star Wars FPS classic will keep exceptionally close to the original and retain its gameplay, which was considered revolutionary among shooter games of the time. Players could jump, swim, and look around, which was highly uncommon during the golden age of first-person shooters. Developer Nightdive promised many modern features for their remaster, including 4K resolution and 120FPS.
“Created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and fully remastered through our KEX engine, Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster supports up to 4K at 120FPS and features advanced 3D rendering, modern gamepad support, trophies and achievements, and more!” said the developers in the reveal trailer.
Star Wars: Dark Forces is another remaster following the recent trend of sticking close to original versions. Its graphical style, art direction, cutscenes, and more will remain the same but be improved for modern screens and hardware. Their approach is reminiscent of the Diablo 2 remaster, which only brought quality-of-life and graphical improvements, and players could even revert to the classical look with the press of a button.
The return of the retro shooters, colloquially known as “boomer shooters,” has been a trend in the past few years and one I gladly support. Now it’s spread to popular franchises like Star Wars, who knows what else may be coming next?
