Cult classic XIII, a cel-shaded shooter from 2003, has been remade, with the newer version out today. And boy, fans of the original are not happy with it.
The 2003 game wasn’t perfect, but it did have an enormous amount of style, owing both to its unique visuals but also stuff like comic book-style kill sequences.
You’d think this would have been a cinch to clean up for a modern age, but the remake’s developers, in deciding to tinker with XIII instead of just updating it, have done some serious damage.
I don’t normally pay much attention to Steam reviews, but in a case like this they can be pretty telling. Some highlights/lowlights from fans posted so far include:
Most disappointing remake of a game I’ve ever had the misfortune of playing. A downgrade from the original in every conceivable way.
This remake is the laziest and the most disrespectful product I have ever seen in my life, a true spit in the face of every XIII fan.
Don’t buy this game. Play the original. At it’s current state, this one is in no way worth full price.
Absolutely the worst “remake” I’ve ever played.
The reception on Reddit, meanwhile, is no better.
I’ve installed the game and tried it out, and yeah, they’re right. It’s bad. Animations are inconsistent (sometimes fine, sometimes almost non-existent), the sound is terrible, the “upgraded” visuals actually detract from the original’s entire cel-shaded appeal and the developers have inexplicably changed key features of the game, like swapping out the old ability to carry every gun for a limited number of slots.
It sucks! But that’s the bad news. The good news is that if any of this has reminded you, hey, XIII was pretty cool, you can still buy the original for spare change.
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