Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster, the next big overhaul from Nightdive Studios, is set to arrive on Steam and consoles on February 28, 2024.
Dark Forces tells the tale of Kyle Katarn, a former member of the Imperial Army who quits the team and takes up the mercenary life after discovering that his parents were murdered by—gasp!—the Empire. Naturally, he finds work with the Rebel Alliance, which contracts him to uncover the truth of something called the Dark Trooper Project, and then put a stop to it. Much shooting is involved.
To be honest, Dark Forces never really lit my saber, although I suspect that’s because I’m not much of a Star Wars fan. It was a very popular shooter back in the day, though, and very well-received by critics: It came out in 1995 and I’m pretty sure pcgamer.com didn’t exist then, but according to Mobygames we gave it a 92% score in our magazine review.
The fact that the remaster is coming from Nightdive also sets my expectations high. The Blade Runner remaster from 2022 was a big whiff, yes, but the more recent System Shock is a masterful example of how to modernize a game without losing any of the qualities that made it great. The Star Wars: Dark Forces remaster will support 4K resolutions with “advanced 3D rendering” effects, updated controller support including a new weapon wheel, rumble effects, and motion controls, and Steam achievements.
Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster is available for wishlisting now on Steam, which for the moment still says that it’s “coming soon.” And yes, so does the trailer up above—that’s because it’s the reveal trailer from when the remaster was first announced. But barring any delays, February 28 is the day.
