Forget The Jedi: Why Dark Forces Is Still The King Of Star Wars FPS
Kyle Katarn isn’t your typical hero, and Dark Forces isn’t your typical Star Wars game. You’re dropping into the boots of a mercenary-turned-rebel-hero in a world where the Empire feels genuinely imposing, and the stakes are buried in the gritty underworld of the galaxy. It’s a heavy-hitting trip back to the era of the boomer shooter, where the atmosphere is thick, the blasters are loud, and the Dark Trooper project is a looming shadow over everything.
Specs & HUD | Gameplay Review | Performance & Fidelity | Settings & Control Details
Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster Playstation 5 Review: Specs & HUD
- 1.28GB download size, making it a quick install for your PS5.
- Platinum trophy included with a total of 30 trophies to hunt down.
- Three game difficulties are available, letting you choose between Easy, Medium, and Hard.
- Fully licensed game featuring the authentic Star Wars universe and weaponry.
- A wireframe map can be kept on your screen at all times to help you navigate the complex levels.
- Pause menu utility features a map, missions, and tips that basically act as an in-game manual.
- HUD toggle allows you to turn the entire interface on or off depending on your preference.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
This is a first-person shooter in a full 3D game world, and honestly, it’s a lot of fun. You get to unlock and use new guns from the Star Wars universe as you push through each location. Every level looks awesome and comes packed with a set of main and side missions to complete, so there is plenty to get stuck into. It’s a single-player game only, which keeps the focus exactly where it needs to be on Kyle’s mission.
The level design is classic 90s brilliance, meaning there are many secrets to find and alternate routes around levels if you’re willing to look for them. I love that you can have the wire frame map on your screen at all times to help with navigation because some of these Imperial bases can get a bit winding. The game moves at a speed and is very snappy, which keeps the action feeling intense from start to finish.
Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster Playstation 5 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Awesome graphics that respect the original look while bringing everything up to modern standards.
- Instant graphics swap allows you to toggle between the original and new enhanced visuals with a single button press.
- Enhancement options let you toggle enhanced cutscenes, enhanced sprites, and choose between hardware or software render modes.
- DualSense speaker support is an excellent addition, pumping all the shooting sound effects right into your hands.
- Well-integrated rumble shows they actually put effort in and didn’t just throw it away.
- Snappy movement ensures the game feels responsive, though it can still make you feel a bit ill with motion sickness.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Accessibility options include toggles for head bobbing, weapon flashing, HUD flashing, subtitles, mission ending, and menu transition speed.
- Crosshair settings offer full control over style, scale, and colour, including custom colour options.
- Sound volume sliders for music and sound, with low-pass filtering and music type options (General MIDI or OPL3).
- The Field of View (FOV) slider is present to help you adjust the perspective to your liking.
- Full control remapping is supported, including the ability to add new options like strafe or even cheats.
- Stick settings provide invert axis, sensitivity sliders, swap sticks, swap weapon wheel, and stick smoothing.
- Motion sensor support is included along with invert look and turning style options.
- Vibration toggle features a dedicated strength slider to fine-tune the haptic feedback.
- Auto run and crouch can be tweaked, with auto run on a stick click and crouch set to hold or toggle.
- Cheat code support is fully included for those who want to mess around with the classic codes.
- Control reset limitation means you cannot simply hit reset to default on the remap controls menu, which is a bit of a pain.
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Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster Playstation 5
Summary
GOOD STUFF
The graphics are awesome, and being able to set it so you can swap between the original and the new enhanced graphics instantly is a massive win. Nightdive really put the work in with the DualSense integration; the speaker for all the shooting is an excellent addition, and the rumble is well-integrated and not just thrown away. You get a full 3D world that is a lot of fun to explore, filled with secrets and alternate routes. The customisation is top-notch too, from remapping controls and adding cheats to deep crosshair and sound settings like choosing between General MIDI or OPL3.
BAD STUFF
It isn’t all smooth sailing because you cannot simply hit reset to default on the remap controls menu, which is a bit of an oversight. The game still has a strong possibility to make you feel ill via motion sickness; while the new options lower the chances, the game moves at such a speed and is so snappy that it can still catch you out. It’s the kind of game I can only play in short bursts because of that stupid motion sickness, even though I’m enjoying the actual gameplay.
FINAL VERDICT
Star Wars Dark Forces Remaster is a cracking update to a legend. It’s a lot of fun, and for me, it’s best in short bursts because of the motion sickness, but I love every minute I feel ok. They’ve treated the source material with real respect while adding in all the modern bells and whistles you’d actually want. If you want to experience Kyle Katarn’s start in the best way possible, this is it. Just keep an eye on that snappy movement if you’ve got a weak stomach.
