There are some series that stand out in peoples’ minds for various reasons. It may be a pioneer like Doom or Dragon Quest, or it might be a beloved long runner like Mario. In some cases however, it might be because of one game that was truly epic. This was the case with Red Faction Guerrilla, a game that stood out in its franchise and received great acclaim. THQ Nordic has now brought a remake of the game., Red Faction Guerrilla : Re_Mars-Tered Edition, to Nintendo Switch.
Before people get super excited about what is different here, I need to get expectations in line. There is only one major gameplay change here, but the visuals were changed for the better and the fact is that the gameplay didn’t need to be changed. The Switch version has the same additions that THQ Nordic has put in games like Darksiders, with the choice of going for better performance or visuals. It is a nice touch, as you can play the game in a way that suits you best. This is the gameplay change that I mentioned above and it fits well.
The game has updated lighting, shadows and shaders, in addition to better post processing effects and improved textures. These all work in tandem to create a magnificent looking game that mostly holds up visually compared to most games released today. However, there are issues as the pre-rendered visuals and cinematics do break the illusion when it comes to the game’s age. This is in addition to other details such as texture flaws that were in the original and were carried over to this version, such as the tendency to have repeating textures for instance.
How to describe the gameplay though? Red Faction Guerrilla is perhaps the gold standard for destructible environments in gaming. There is virtually no limit to how you can interact with the environment, and this clearly influenced later games from other developers For instance if you feel caught in one area, you can just fight your way out of the actual environment. The destruction physics allows for a lot of fun here and you will want to experiment with what you can do. Commandeer a vehicle and drive into things, go all out with explosive weapons, the choice is yours. You might want to replay sections as well, because of the different ways you can go about things.
There is a drawback here though, and that is that some of the environment is bland and there seems to be a lot of empty space. This ends up breaking the immersion a bit for me, but when the game is good, it is very good. Another plus is that all the DLC that had been released for the game is bundled here with this release, giving you the total experience.
The story is something I haven’t mentioned and that is because while it is okay, it is really nothing special either. That said, it is not the selling point of the game and therefore it should not need to be dwelt upon. I loved revisiting this classic and will encourage everyone to try it out. It is a literal blast from the past!
Disclaimer: A review key was provided