Vroom vroom. That is the sound of 11 rivals revving their engines as they blink the sweat out of their eyes and exhale years of self-doubt from their lungs. Today is their day. We have lined up these racing games on a starting grid and are interested to see how things shake out. Will the realism-obsessed driving sims take the lead with their sublime physics engines? Might the futuristic combat racers simply destroy the opposition with explosive rockets? Or perhaps a nippy arcade crowd-pleaser will soar to the finish line, propelled by the sound of roaring cheers. It's all to play for here at our incredibly messed-up grand prix with a worrying lack of rules or regulation. Start your engines, everyone, these are the 11 best racing games on PC. 3! 2! 1! ...
Vroom vroom. That is the sound of 11 rivals revving their engines as they blink the sweat out of their eyes and exhale years of self-doubt from their lungs. Today is their day. We have lined up these racing games on a starting grid and are interested to see how things shake out. Will the realism-obsessed driving sims take the lead with their sublime physics engines? Might the futuristic combat racers simply destroy the opposition with explosive rockets? Or perhaps a nippy arcade crowd-pleaser will soar to the finish line, propelled by the sound of roaring cheers. It's all to play for here at our incredibly messed-up grand prix with a worrying lack of rules or regulation. Start your engines, everyone, these are the 11 best racing games on PC. 3! 2! 1! ...
This is a big one, folks: Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic(KOTOR). It’s one of the most well-regarded Star Wars video games of all time. I was a young, barely-millennial at the time of its release. As such, this behemoth RPG was overshadowed by flashier titles like Podracer and Jedi Academy.
However, in light of the highly anticipated remake/remaster coming… hopefully at some point… This felt like the perfect time to finally dive into the golden child of Star Wars games. After twenty years (don’t remind me), does the game still shine?
The force is strong with this one
For years, fans of the galaxy far, far away have been begging for the story and lore established in KOTOR to become part of the larger canon. Nearly all hope was lost when Disney seemingly tossed decades of content into the trash. But in the darkest night (that night being The Rise of Skywalker), hope was rekindled. A giant, albeit blurry, statue in the background of Exegol looked like Darth Nihilus, a villain from the KOTOR sequel. The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary confirmed Revan as canon. So, KOTOR is indeed canon again, even if only partially.
With this ‘Legends’ game back in the conversation, the major standout is the story of KOTOR. Not only does it hold up, it remains one of the most captivating in all of Star Wars. Getting to truly experience it for the first time after all these years was a joy in and of itself. The story, though, is arguably the absolute highlight of the game. It’s enough in this case, but that’s not always the best for video games.
A long time ago…
Darth Malak is an epic villain
Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic takes place nearly four thousand years before the events of the Skywalker Saga. This era, like the entire history of this fictional galaxy, is rife with war and hardship. The war between the Republic and the Mandalorians has just ended. Taking advantage of the chaos, hundreds of Jedi turn to the dark side and join the Sith. Led by Darth Revan and his apprentice, Darth Malak, the Sith hope to extinguish the Jedi and the Republic. This is where your adventure begins.
After choosing your basic appearance and base class, you wake up on a starship with no memories. Your class choice arguably makes the most difference in this early section as it’s part of your backstory. Other than that, your starting class isn’t a make-or-break choice. You can tailor your team’s skills around any weak points you develop. I went with the Soldier class to give me an edge with basic attacks.
You wake up on the Endar Spire, in the middle of a devastating attack by Sith forces. Before long, Carth Onasi, the renowned Republic soldier and pilot, saves you. You narrowly escape with him, and crash land on planet Taris, a crime-ridden, anti-alien world. The crash landing triggers a vision of Jedi Bastila Shan. She is presumed captured somewhere on the planet.
Follow your own path
Gorgeous statues on Korriban
Taris is a hellish introduction to the play style. You’ll spend a lot of time deep underground and in sewers, fighting gangs and all manner of creepy creatures. Your first major mission is to save Bastila from the Vulkar Gang. As it turns out though, she doesn’t exactly need your help. Bastila immediately notices something strange about you, though. It seems you two share a mysterious connection.
After seeking guidance from the Jedi Council on Dantooine, you can officially begin your free-roaming journey as a force-sensitive fighter. Acknowledging your connection to Bastila, the council instructs the two of you to track down pieces of a Star Map. The combined maps reveal the location of a secret base called the Star Forge. You must find the Star Forge, before the Sith use it to conquer the galaxy. There’s actually a lot more to it than that, but the story has a beautiful way of unfolding as you go.
There’s a section of the game that always occurs after leaving your second planet, whichever that may be. After Taris and Dantooine, my order of travel was Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, then Korriban. This accelerated my story with Bastila, but you can go in any order you choose. Many choose Kashyyk, then Tatooine.
From a certain point of view
“Gutless simp…” lol
Other than the story itself, KOTOR’s crowning achievement is its freedom of choice. Beyond choosing the path of your story, the game has a rigorous morality engine. Nearly every quest has the potential to gain you light side (good) points or dark side (evil) points.
What’s truly brilliant about this mechanic is that choosing the light side usually makes things harder for you. It’s a great reflection of real life. Of course it’s easier to threaten shop owners than to pay prices you can’t afford! And it’s definitely harder to de-escalate a feud than to blast everyone. That’s a wonderful lesson to teach younger players, and is in line with the philosophy of the Force.
The main events of the plot unfold as you choose which planets to visit first. There’s so much to do, and many ways to do nearly everything. From swoop racing to playing Pazaak, there are tons of side quests with multiple endings. There are even quests that, if you plan to be purely light side, you can’t (or shouldn’t) do! For example, The Genoharadan bounties are essentially a dark-side-only questline.
Your choices also change little things, like the way your companions talk to you. You accumulate a team of nine companions, including a Wookie, a Mandalorian, and three Jedi, including Bastila. Dipping more into the dark side changes the way Bastila relates to you most of all.
If you take the dark path, she’ll express her worry and outrage over your choices. Dark side choices even make her question her own choices, and whether she could defy the Jedi code. How you respond to Bastila (or Carth if you play as a woman) even determines whether a romance option becomes available. The romances are quite spicy, and frankly, a little devastating.
I have a bad feeling about this
Visions of fate and consequence
The gameplay itself, at times, doesn’t quite hold up. Setting aside the fact that the graphics haven’t aged extremely well, there are more than a few portions of the map that are essentially just very long walks. Perhaps beautiful at the time, it feels a little monotonous in 2023.
The only version of quick travel is the ability to return immediately to your ship and then back to your last location. This action heals you automatically, which is great, but it did cause the game to crash more than once for me. Save often!
The fighting style is, from a certain point of view, rather genius. It’s a turn-based combat system with a wide variety of moves and bonuses. It allows you to strategize attacks and coordinate between team members smoothly. However, it feels stuck between styles. There’s more traditional turn-based combat systems like Fire Emblem, and there’s the real-time fights like in The Force Unleashed.
In KOTOR, having to stack moves or change strategies on the fly makes the combat feel delayed and a bit clunky. The satisfaction of a lightsaber strike is diminished when it takes up to 10 seconds for a strike to land.
With so much to do and such belabored lore, the sheer amount of alien dialogue can start to feel a little maddening. Overall, though, these issues are generally small potatoes. There are hundreds of opportunities for varying levels of combat. With a forgiving attitude, the scenery is often quite gorgeous. If you’re a Star Wars nerd, there’s hours of fun characters and history to discover. There’s a reason so many people love Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Black mirror
Would you want to vacation here?
*MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION!*
I have to mention one of the most surprising and horrifying side-quests of any game I’ve ever played. On Dantooine, a woman informs you that her droid, the last memento of her dead husband, has been stolen. She tasks you with finding him and bringing him back. However, upon asking her a few questions, it becomes evident that this droid broke out of her house. The plot thickens…
You find her droid being attacked by Kath hounds. He tells you that his master, the woman, is addicted to him and treats him as her husband. Even at night… in bed… the droid is implied to be a sex slave! In a T-rated Star Wars game!
To earn light side points for this mission, you must grant the droid’s request to be taken out of his misery. You have to mercy kill him and condemn the woman for her actions. It’s randomly one of the darkest moments in the game. But she finds new love, so it all works out? We need justice for droids in Star Wars.
In the realm of spoilers, it’s worth noting that the big twist in this game (you are Darth Revan) has a detrimental effect on a romance with Bastila. You can choose to forgive her for manipulating and essentially re-creating you (not a great basis for a healthy relationship). If you try to profess your love after rescuing her, though, she basically blames your love on her fall to the dark side. Yeesh. At least it’s a great example of why the Jedi discourage romance. “Bastila, you’re breaking my heart.“
Final thoughts on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Well, that was insane.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, after 20 years, mostly lives up to its stellar reputation. It’s an incredible story with engaging twists and turns. The combat is varied and well-animated for its time. While there were some bugs, glitches, and a couple of crashes, I was playing on the Switch. It could be that the Aspyr port has trouble with a smaller capacity system.
It’s clear that KOTOR has had massive ripple effects across the Star Wars fandom and the world of gaming itself. While the remake is still far from release, we all wait with anticipation. In the meantime, give in to your hatred nostalgia and play this vintage, timeless gem.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is a somewhat forgotten classic Star Wars game that has made its return in a mostly great manner. Some issues of the original game persist along with a couple of technical hiccups, but for the most part, it’s good to see this explosive title strike back. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter Developer: […]
In 2002, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter launched on PS2 and GameCube. The third-person action-adventure game let players hop into the bounty-hunting boots of Jango Fett aka Boba Fett’s clone dad from Attack of The Clones. It wasn’t great, but was a fun prequel to Episode II. Now, 20 years later, it’s been remastered,…
The immersive sim has seen a revival in recent years. Not only from larger studios like Arkane, keeping the faith alive with their time loops and space stations, but also from a bunch of smaller developers bravely exploring a typically ambitious genre. RPS has always had an affinity for these systemically luxuriant simulations, historically lauding the likes of the original Deus Ex as the best game ever made. But given everything that has come since, is that still the case? Only one way to find out: make a big list.
The immersive sim has seen a revival in recent years. Not only from larger studios like Arkane, keeping the faith alive with their time loops and space stations, but also from a bunch of smaller developers bravely exploring a typically ambitious genre. RPS has always had an affinity for these systemically luxuriant simulations, historically lauding the likes of the original Deus Ex as the best game ever made. But given everything that has come since, is that still the case? Only one way to find out: make a big list.
The way not-E3 games showcases work is that you open with something attention-getting an unexpected, end with the biggest game of the show, and pack the middling and mundane in the middle. Sid Meier's Civilization VII is surely one of the biggest announcements of this year's (in-progress, as I type this) Summer Game Fest 2024, and yet it was buried in that middle section, as unassuming as Sid himself.
Amazon has unveiled its Prime Gaming lineup for June, along with the usual monthly bonuses for Prime members.
This month's collection features seven free titles that Prime members can download and keep forever. The most popular of which is Star Wars Battlefront 2, supported by six indie titles including Genesis Noir and Mythforce.
The full list of free games with Prime in June will include:
At RPS we like Alices. When somebody comes along with the name "Alice" you don't just say "oh hi" like some insolent rube. You nod with solemn respect and you say, "Alice". An Alice is someone you should not take lightly, nor take for granted, nor leave unmonitored. For they will destroy worlds and build better ones while you are not looking. This is dangerous and exciting. Alices are a force to be reckoned with. To treat an Alice poorly is to invite shame, dishonour, and contempt. Here are some of the best Alices in video games!
It's been a long time since I played the original Prey from Human Head Studios, but I still vividly remember so much of it thanks to how groundbreaking the gravity-defying, portal-hopping gameplay was at the time. There were so many mind-blowing moments as you followed protagonist Tommy Tawodi on the search for his girlfriend Jen through the gigantic and often very goopy interior of an alien space craft. The way the game played with the very concept of 3D space and even your sense of scale was epic to say the least, but how does this all transfer to VR? How does it feel to jump through portals and walk up walls when you're fully immersed in the experience?
Well, that's what I'm investigating in this week's episode of VR Corner, as I finally take Prey's flat screen to VR mod for a spin on the Quest 3. This standalone mod, which was created by a modder named Luboš who utilised some of Team Beef's VR code for Doom3Quest has been available to download on Sidequest for over a year now. Handily, it includes a free demo of the first 90 minutes of the game with the download. This means you can try it out to see if your stomach can handle all the gravity flipping action, even if you don't own the full game.
Featuring full VR controller aiming and roomscale, Prey VR runs fairly well as a standalone app on the Quest 3. As you'll see in the video however, there are a few perfomance issues here and there. Whilst rare, lower framerates are sometimes noticable when looking through large portals that appear in big rooms and, for some reason, especially when Tommy is in spirit form during the spirit-walking tutorial. Other than that there's a few minor graphical hiccups surrounding the portals themselves but it's all forgiveable when you're confronted by the majesty of the rest of the experience.
Today I learned Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert is working on a new game, which he describes as "Classic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park". Well, hello there!
Work on this project actually started several months ago, but it only came to my attention this afternoon thanks to TimeExtension. I have since done more browsing, and come across some posts on Terrible Toybox, as well as Gilbert's own Mastodon page.
Now, admittedly there still isn't a huge amount of information on Gilbert's upcoming project at this time. The game doesn't even have a proper name yet, and rather has been labelled as Game Name TBD on Terrible Toybox's website. Meanwhile, Gilbert has been using the hashtag #rpgtbd to tag his social media posts.
The 360 years feel like a lifetime ago. This week, Xbox stunned the industry by announcing it had closed three studios, and repurposed a fourth into another service game support team. This follows the 1900 people laid off across Xbox at the start of this year, and those Xbox employees quietly caught up in the 10,000 layoffs Microsoft made the year before. It has been a disastrous piece of PR self-sabotage, particularly with the reputations of these studios in mind.
Arkane Austin struggled with the uncharacteristic co-op, online shooter elements of Redfall, but before that made the excellent 2017 reboot of Prey and the first, fantastic Dishonored that led to the immersive sim's modern mini-revival. Tango Gameworks, Microsoft's only Japan-based studio that was led, until earlier this year, by horror legend Shinji Mikami, made The Evil Within games and the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning breakout Hi-Fi Rush. Roundhouse Studios was founded by the makers of the original Prey, but is now presumably destined to make different coloured leather boots for The Elder Scrolls Online. Alpha Dog made mobile games, an area where Microsoft has been specifically looking to expand. More broadly, for two console generations now, Xbox has floundered under a clear and obvious lack of inventive, attention-grabbing exclusive games. It just bought these studios in 2021.
If it weren't for the people involved, in 2024, these closures would almost feel routine. This is far from the end of Xbox, of course - in Los Angeles next month, it'll hold yet another make-or-break press conference, that maps out yet another plan for rescuing a lost generation. But be it through exasperation or exhaustion - or the wider industry's sheer, pent-up rage - this feels like something of a nadir. Xbox has spun its wheels for more than a decade, lurching from U-turn to U-turn, strategic reboot to strategic reboot, acquisition to acquisition, closure to closure. The good times have always felt just over the horizon. Project Scorpio will set the tone; Game Pass is the future; the Series X will have the games; Starfield will jump-start Game Pass now it's stalled. The growing sentiment today is that they'll probably never come.
Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has rallied around Xbox boss Phil Spencer following Microsoft's shock decision to close four of its game studios - including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks - saying, "I know this hurts him as much as anyone else."
Ybarra made the comments on Twitter/X amid widespread condemnation of Microsoft's move and as anger over the closures continued to grow. "I see a lot of shots at Phil over today's Xbox announcements," he wrote on social media. "I get it. But knowing him as a human, I know this hurts him as much as anyone else. I can't speak for all of the leadership there, but I do know him and I do know what he is likely going through."
"I'm not trying to defend the decisions," Ybarra continued. "I think we all get ourselves into situations that are tough and unexpected (certainly I have). It's part of the job, as is the accountability for the outcomes. But he's a good human and he cares deeply for the creative process and developers. That's my first hand experience in working closely with him for 8+ years and knowing him for 24+."
The 360 years feel like a lifetime ago. This week, Xbox stunned the industry by announcing it had closed three studios, and repurposed a fourth into another service game support team. This follows the 1900 people laid off across Xbox at the start of this year, and those Xbox employees quietly caught up in the 10,000 layoffs Microsoft made the year before. It has been a disastrous piece of PR self-sabotage, particularly with the reputations of these studios in mind.
Arkane Austin struggled with the uncharacteristic co-op, online shooter elements of Redfall, but before that made the excellent 2017 reboot of Prey and the first, fantastic Dishonored that led to the immersive sim's modern mini-revival. Tango Gameworks, Microsoft's only Japan-based studio that was led, until earlier this year, by horror legend Shinji Mikami, made The Evil Within games and the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning breakout Hi-Fi Rush. Roundhouse Studios was founded by the makers of the original Prey, but is now presumably destined to make different coloured leather boots for The Elder Scrolls Online. Alpha Dog made mobile games, an area where Microsoft has been specifically looking to expand. More broadly, for two console generations now, Xbox has floundered under a clear and obvious lack of inventive, attention-grabbing exclusive games. It just bought these studios in 2021.
If it weren't for the people involved, in 2024, these closures would almost feel routine. This is far from the end of Xbox, of course - in Los Angeles next month, it'll hold yet another make-or-break press conference, that maps out yet another plan for rescuing a lost generation. But be it through exasperation or exhaustion - or the wider industry's sheer, pent-up rage - this feels like something of a nadir. Xbox has spun its wheels for more than a decade, lurching from U-turn to U-turn, strategic reboot to strategic reboot, acquisition to acquisition, closure to closure. The good times have always felt just over the horizon. Project Scorpio will set the tone; Game Pass is the future; the Series X will have the games; Starfield will jump-start Game Pass now it's stalled. The growing sentiment today is that they'll probably never come.
Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has rallied around Xbox boss Phil Spencer following Microsoft's shock decision to close four of its game studios - including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks - saying, "I know this hurts him as much as anyone else."
Ybarra made the comments on Twitter/X amid widespread condemnation of Microsoft's move and as anger over the closures continued to grow. "I see a lot of shots at Phil over today's Xbox announcements," he wrote on social media. "I get it. But knowing him as a human, I know this hurts him as much as anyone else. I can't speak for all of the leadership there, but I do know him and I do know what he is likely going through."
"I'm not trying to defend the decisions," Ybarra continued. "I think we all get ourselves into situations that are tough and unexpected (certainly I have). It's part of the job, as is the accountability for the outcomes. But he's a good human and he cares deeply for the creative process and developers. That's my first hand experience in working closely with him for 8+ years and knowing him for 24+."
The 360 years feel like a lifetime ago. This week, Xbox stunned the industry by announcing it had closed three studios, and repurposed a fourth into another service game support team. This follows the 1900 people laid off across Xbox at the start of this year, and those Xbox employees quietly caught up in the 10,000 layoffs Microsoft made the year before. It has been a disastrous piece of PR self-sabotage, particularly with the reputations of these studios in mind.
Arkane Austin struggled with the uncharacteristic co-op, online shooter elements of Redfall, but before that made the excellent 2017 reboot of Prey and the first, fantastic Dishonored that led to the immersive sim's modern mini-revival. Tango Gameworks, Microsoft's only Japan-based studio that was led, until earlier this year, by horror legend Shinji Mikami, made The Evil Within games and the critically acclaimed, BAFTA-winning breakout Hi-Fi Rush. Roundhouse Studios was founded by the makers of the original Prey, but is now presumably destined to make different coloured leather boots for The Elder Scrolls Online. Alpha Dog made mobile games, an area where Microsoft has been specifically looking to expand. More broadly, for two console generations now, Xbox has floundered under a clear and obvious lack of inventive, attention-grabbing exclusive games. It just bought these studios in 2021.
If it weren't for the people involved, in 2024, these closures would almost feel routine. This is far from the end of Xbox, of course - in Los Angeles next month, it'll hold yet another make-or-break press conference, that maps out yet another plan for rescuing a lost generation. But be it through exasperation or exhaustion - or the wider industry's sheer, pent-up rage - this feels like something of a nadir. Xbox has spun its wheels for more than a decade, lurching from U-turn to U-turn, strategic reboot to strategic reboot, acquisition to acquisition, closure to closure. The good times have always felt just over the horizon. Project Scorpio will set the tone; Game Pass is the future; the Series X will have the games; Starfield will jump-start Game Pass now it's stalled. The growing sentiment today is that they'll probably never come.
Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has rallied around Xbox boss Phil Spencer following Microsoft's shock decision to close four of its game studios - including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks - saying, "I know this hurts him as much as anyone else."
Ybarra made the comments on Twitter/X amid widespread condemnation of Microsoft's move and as anger over the closures continued to grow. "I see a lot of shots at Phil over today's Xbox announcements," he wrote on social media. "I get it. But knowing him as a human, I know this hurts him as much as anyone else. I can't speak for all of the leadership there, but I do know him and I do know what he is likely going through."
"I'm not trying to defend the decisions," Ybarra continued. "I think we all get ourselves into situations that are tough and unexpected (certainly I have). It's part of the job, as is the accountability for the outcomes. But he's a good human and he cares deeply for the creative process and developers. That's my first hand experience in working closely with him for 8+ years and knowing him for 24+."
“I like the look of Prey but I haven’t picked it up yet,” sounds the lament of the perma-wastrel, content to watch life’s most precious resource tick away then dissolve into the ether, never to return. “Looks good but it’s still 25 quid on Steam” sounds the cry of the fool unaware that all their possessions are but substanceless adornments to a life hollow for not having played, arguably, the only good video game ever made. “I didn’t like Prey anyway,” blowfish-ly puffs the deeply incorrect naysayer, unaware that they will never be invited to any of my birthday parties. Well, no excuses now*. Fanatical are doing a thing where you can buy FPS imsim Prey and two others from a respectable selection for a fiver.
Following a report by Game Developer on the ESA’s refusal to budge during a hearing on easing copyright restrictions around academia’s remote access to legacy games, Deus Ex creator Warren Spector has written for the website on his own frustrations with, and efforts to aid, game preservation. Channeling some of the classic immersive sim resourcefulness he helped pioneer, he writes that he’s “literally dumpster dived to retrieve information other developers have simply thrown away, believing it to be worthless.”
Twitter user pl_evil has helpfully translated a recent letter to shareholders from Bloober Team, showing that their new game "Project C" will be revealed later this year. This will be the studio's next original game, after they wrapped up Layers Of Fear last year with, confusingly, Layers Of Fear (the natural progression for a series: Layers Of Fear, Layers Of Fear 2, and then Layers Of Fear again, although it was going to be called Layers Of Fears at one point).
Bloober Team are currently doing a lot of IP work for other people, with the Silent Hill 2 remake due out later this year, and a game codenamed "Project R" in concert with Skybound Entertainment. Skybound are The Walking Dead company, so I wouldn't give you long odds for a bet on what Project R is about. Neither would I be surprised if Project C is unveiled this summer by a man named Geoff with shiny shiny trainers. I'm interested to see what it is, and honestly I'm hoping it's a brand new standalone thing, rather than a forced sequel to Observer or 2021's The Medium (where I got the header).
If you wanted to buy any of the games in the Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection, Dungeon Keeper, or Sim City 3000 - but didn't want to do it on GOG where they were already on sale - then rejoice! EA has made these classics and more, and for some reason The Saboteur, available on Steam for the first time. You can see the full list of games here. I don't have anything specific against The Saboteur, but I do think it's very funny that the list goes, like, "beloved game from the 90s, beloved game from the 90s, 7/10 action game from 2009, beloved game from the 90s". Also, I can take the opportunity to make fun of Graham and James, the tallest wrongest boys at RPS, who apparently both liked it.
The remaster of the original three Tomb Raider games was released not that long ago. For PC users, there was a choice between purchasing it on Steam or Epic Games Store. However, there seemed to be some notable differences between the two versions, which the developer has now acknowledged.
According to a post from The Gamer a couple of days ago, fans began to notice that Tomb Raider I-III Remastered was different on EGS than on Steam. For starters, the Epic Games version had different skyboxes in places like the Colosseum, and the Greece levels had "new light holes."
https://youtu.be/Q_vH_0gpVlk
Since then, a post on the Steam page has noted that EGS had a build of the remaster that had "incomplete assets," and the download contained "some work-in-progress materials" that weren't meant for public consumption.
Update also imminent
Aspyr has now fixed the problem, uploading the correct version to Epic. However, some – such as a reporter from Eurogamer and the aforementioned The Gamer article – have noted this incomplete build had better-looking assets than the Steam version. This could suggest that the two downloads are not evenly matched, for whatever reason.
That aside, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered is also getting its first update soon. In the same Steam post, the developer thanked fans for their "continued support, shares, and feedback" on the games, with an update said to be in the works.
We don't exactly know what's coming, but the studio says it anticipates sending this update out "in the next few weeks."
Following reports last year that Embracer Group was considering selling Borderlands studio Gearbox as part of its ongoing "comprehensive restructuring programme", it's now being claimed a sale to a third party is in the "late stages" of being finalised.
That's according to Kotaku, which says Gearbox CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford had previously told staff the studio was facing one of three possible scenarios: it would either stay with Embracer, be sold, or would finance a buyout and become independent once more. However, Pitchford reportedly shared an update with employees earlier this week, saying a decision had been made about Gearbox's future, with more to be revealed next month.
Kotaku says it understands Gearbox will sell to an unnamed buyer and that the sale is currently in the "late stages of being finalised". And while Embracer Group - which purchased Gearbox for $363m in 2021 - did not respond to Kotaku's requests for comment, Pitchford deflected the website's inquiries, saying, "We will be thrilled to share whenever we have projects to announce or news to share as we work hard towards our mission to entertain the world."
Embracer Group is set to sell Saber Interactive in a deal worth up to $500m, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Saber will continue to work on its remake of Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic after development was removed from Aspyr in 2022.
This deal is just the latest from Embracer as part of its restructuring programme that's already seen over a thousand staff laid off and studios closed.
UPDATE 1/3/24: Aspyr has seen all the Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered chatter about the differences between the Epic Games Store version and other versions of the game. And, well, it has left me a tad confused.
Apparently, the Epic Games Store version was a "development build with incomplete assets", despite it looking better than other versions.
"Content in that Epic Games Store build contained some work-in-progress materials that do not represent our final quality expectations. We have corrected the build to match the live Steam version," the developer wrote on Steam.
Five of the Best is a weekly series for supporters of Eurogamer. It's a series that highlights some of the features in games that are often overlooked. It's also about having your say, so don't be shy, use the comments below and join in!
Oh snap! It's card-game time. Have you ever played a game only to lose yourself inside a game inside that game? What a sentence. And has that 'game inside the game' ever been a game of cards? Don't lie to me!
According to Tomb Raider fans, the best version of the recently released Tomb Raider I-III Remastered collection isn’t on Steam or Xbox. Instead, it’s on the Epic Games Store. Or, well, it was, until today when the studio behind the remaster patched it out of existence, leaving some players frustrated.
The creators of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered have apologised to players for releasing an unfinished version of the game on the Epic Games Store, following a series of unflattering comparisons between versions on ye olde social media.
UPDATE 21/2/24: The first trailer for the Borderlands movie is now available, featuring Jack Black's voice as Claptrap and the expected amount of poo and pee jokes. Watch it below in full:
ORIGINAL STORY 20/2/24: Two new photos from the upcoming Borderlands film have been released.
The photos, shared by People, both feature the Academy Award-winning Cate Blanchett - with some very enviable red hair - as infamous outlaw Lilith.
UPDATE 4.45pm UK: Consider me educated. I have looked into this further, and it turns out not only is Trinity the name of the military order in the rebooted Tomb Raider games, but it is also the code name for the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, which was conducted by the United States Army back in 1945. And that could be what the Tomb Raider website is referring to. Whoops!
So, yes, the mention of Trinity on the Tomb Raider site may well be a coincidence that left the super fan in me a little too enthusiastic. Reader, I confess, I may have jumped the gun a bit here. I am going to send a message to the Tomb Raider team though and ask if they have any comment on the wording in the blog post, because my curiosity has now been piqued even more.
A Tomb Raider fan and modder has revealed that they put their own personal projects on hold for a very good reason: they have actually been leading the development of Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered.
XProger is the brains behind OpenLara, an open-source cross-platform engine of the classic Tomb Raider series. However, this project and others are now on hold, as XProger was scooped up by Aspyr's parent company Saber Interactive to work on its official Tomb Raider project.
"For the past year I've been busy with a dream project that has become the culmination of the last eight years of my life - Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered," XProger shared on X, thanking Saber for "trusting me to lead the project and assemble a dream team of true fans".
Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. This week: tombs, maps, and bats.
If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.
Nothing says Valentine's Day like launching someone you dearly love off of the side of a cliff, which is exactly what I did. Before you get all concerned, my husband is fine; I am of course talking about the one and only Lara Croft.
Aspyr is proud to announce, in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the beloved Star Wars Battlefront series, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 will soon be able to play the classic Star Wars Battlefront games online and offline in a complete collection.
On March 14, PlayStation players can get back online and fight in iconic battles from across the Star Wars galaxy.
Classic Games, Bonus Content, And much more
What’s included? Let’s take a look:
Star Wars Battlefront (Classic)
Includes Bonus Map: Jabba’s Palace
Star Wars Battlefront II
Includes Bonus Maps: Bespin: Cloud City, Rhen Var: Harbor, Rhen Var: Citadel, and Yavin 4: Arena
Includes Bonus Heroes: Asajj Ventress & Kit Fisto
Bonus content!? That’s right. Classic bonus content has been restored, included, and is premiering for the first time on PlayStation.
We welcome Jedi General from the Clone Wars and member of the Jedi High Council, Kit Fisto as a playable hero. Kit’s special abilities are Saber Throw and Force Orb, making him a fierce contender in Hero Assault for hybrid ranged/melee players.
Villains fans, don’t feel left out. We’ve also brought the Linksaber wielding Sith assassin, Asajj Ventress. Asajj’s special abilities are Star Blades and Force push, making her a great choice for close-ranged encounters and quick escapes.
With all original maps and the new bonus maps, we are packed with fan-favorite planets from across the Star Wars universe.
Battlefront Classic: 17 total maps Battlefront II: 22 ground maps, 6 space maps, and 9 more space maps exclusive to the single-player campaign and galactic conquest
(Up to) 64 Player Online Multiplayer is Back
We’re excited to announce that cross-gen multiplayer is supported, so whether you’re playing on PlayStation 4 or PlaySation 5, get ready to jump in.
Conquest: Capture control points and deplete the enemy resources
Capture the Flag (CTF): Play with 1 or 2 flags, on the ground or in space
Hunt: Clear the battlefield as soldiers or defend your planet as native species (yes, you can play as an Ewok)
Assault (Space): Pilot legendary starships: TIE fighters, X-wings, and more in space and air dogfights
Hero Assault: Originally only available on Tatooine, hero assault pits heroes against villains in an arena battle for the highest score. We’ve expanded Hero Assault to be playable on all ground maps, which means you can face off on the Death Star, Kamino, Naboo, and many more locations.
Looking for an Offline Solo Experience?
XL mode premiers on PlayStation
Storm the sandy beaches of Kashyyyk, survive the dusty dunes of Geonosis, or relive the iconic Hoth battle, complete with AT-ATs, snipers, mounted guns, snowspeeders, and tow cables.
The return of Galactic Conquest
Craft your own Star Wars story in Galactic Conquest. Devise your strategy, recruit your troops, and execute your tactical vision for conquering the galaxy. Will Luke Skywalker kneel to the might of the Empire? Will Mace Windu defeat Lord Sidius? The galaxy’s fate is in your hands.
And the classic single-player campaigns
Relive iconic battles from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in Star Wars Battlefront I’s campaign mode, where you’ll be at the center of the galaxy-shaping events.
PLUS
Join the elite 501st Legion of Stormtroopers and experience the rise of Darth Vader in Star Wars Battlefront II’s campaign mode.
A few final details
Offline 2-Player splitscreen is included. Cozy up on the couch because 2-player splitscreen is included. And it feels like an offline blast from the past.
Trophies are included! A personal favorite is Execute Order 66: Defeat a Jedi hero by knocking them off the map in Battlefront II
Thank You for 20 Years! We hope you enjoy reliving iconic battles from across the Star Wars galaxy. We’ll see you online March 14.
Two incredibly popular Star Wars games— 2004’s Battlefront and 2005’s Battlefront II—are coming back in a new classic collection that will bring 64-player online action to consoles for the first time as well as other new features and bonus content, too. And you won’t have to wait long as these classic Star Wars…
UPDATE 4.45pm UK: Consider me educated. I have looked into this further, and it turns out not only is Trinity the name of the military order in the rebooted Tomb Raider games, but it is also the code name for the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, which was conducted by the United States Army back in 1945. And that could be what the Tomb Raider website is referring to. Whoops!
So, yes, the mention of Trinity on the Tomb Raider site may well be a coincidence that left the super fan in me a little too enthusiastic. Reader, I confess, I may have jumped the gun a bit here. I am going to send a message to the Tomb Raider team though and ask if they have any comment on the wording in the blog post, because my curiosity has now been piqued even more.
A Tomb Raider fan and modder has revealed that they put their own personal projects on hold for a very good reason: they have actually been leading the development of Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered.
XProger is the brains behind OpenLara, an open-source cross-platform engine of the classic Tomb Raider series. However, this project and others are now on hold, as XProger was scooped up by Aspyr's parent company Saber Interactive to work on its official Tomb Raider project.
"For the past year I've been busy with a dream project that has become the culmination of the last eight years of my life - Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered," XProger shared on X, thanking Saber for "trusting me to lead the project and assemble a dream team of true fans".
Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've been playing over the past few days. This week: tombs, maps, and bats.
If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.
Nothing says Valentine's Day like launching someone you dearly love off of the side of a cliff, which is exactly what I did. Before you get all concerned, my husband is fine; I am of course talking about the one and only Lara Croft.
There was a time when Tomb Raider stood as one of the most recognisable game series in the world, but decades later the original entries are largely unknown to those that didn't grow up with them. That's where Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered comes into play, a collection of brand-new versions of the first three titles with enhanced lighting, improved detail, high-res textures and better performance. Remastered feels both fresh and retro at the same time - and I've been playing it over the last week to determine how it stacks up against the original games in terms of visuals, controls and more.
Back in 2016, I created an episode of DF Retro covering the original Tomb Raider where I compared the PlayStation, Saturn and PC versions while showcasing some of the underlying technology in action, such as Sega Saturn's unique sprite-driven 3D rendering. Since that video, the Tomb Raider scene has continued to thrive with the release of the open-source Tomb Raider engine OpenLara, not only showcasing impressive new visual feature features but also enabling the community to go wild with porting. There now exists, for instance, versions of Tomb Raider that can run on classic consoles like the Sega 32x, 3DO and Game Boy Advance.
The rebooted series itself has also gone on a hiatus of sorts, disappearing following the release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider as we await a new installment. In the here and now though, we have this brand-new re-release of the first three games thanks to Aspyr and, save for a few minor issues here and there, my experience has been excellent.
Games can be beautiful because they are timeless, but they can also be beautiful because they are timely. When it comes to timelessness, you're going to struggle to beat Tetris. Its stark and nested blocks face every age with the same eternal silence, while the impulse to organise and tidy that they inspire is so deeply rooted in living things that it probably transcends species. Just this morning I watched a crow on TikTok working a stick into a clear plastic tube to dislodge a treat. This crow, that lives in a tree somewhere and probably eats the eggs of other birds because it is compelled to, this crow was ready for Tetris.
For timeliness, though, I give you Tomb Raider - the early Core games. These are the same games that have just been repackaged and remastered in a new collection with an annoyingly unwieldy name. And that all fits, to be honest. To play these games is to play - if you're me - something gorgeous and awkward, something that is gorgeous in part because it is awkward. But the timeliness of it all! I cannot even see these games without slipping back to the 1990s. Scream is on at the cinema. My ex-girlfriend is back from a gap year in Australia and keeps saying everything good is "immense". Everyone I know seems to have bought the same record bag to university. Chocolate bars are going through a great Cambrian explosion (forget Snickers, pick me up a Maverick!), and in every halls of residence there is at least one grubby grey plastic PlayStation, sat upside down so the laser works, with people clustered around Lara Croft's latest. They're stuck on a puzzle. They're playing together, as a kind of chorus. They're calling out suggestions. They've all missed the key that is hidden on the floor behind them.
A warning for what follows, then. Tomb Raider isn't just a game to some of us. It's a madeleine, my Maverick bar, dunked in Lucozade, which takes me back to the time that I was rediscovering games in general. And this time is now so distant, these games such a fond but unplayed fixture of my imagination, that just playing this collection is an act of rediscovery itself, by turns thrilling and melancholy, joyous and frustrating.
The recently released Tomb Raider I-III Remastered collection is a damn-near perfect reconstructed version of those classic ‘90s action platformers starring the iconic Lara Croft and her two handguns. And if you were curious as to why the remastered Tomb Raiders were so dang good, you can probably thank a talented Tomb…
Readers, consider this is a public service announcement for (deep breath) Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Trilogy Starring Lara Croft. Do not, for the love of all that's ancient and holy, play this game with its newly-added modern control scheme. The original tank controls are by far and away the best (and only real) option for going back and experiencing Lara's OG adventures from the late 90s, and I'm not just saying that out of nostalgia. The modern controls are bad, plain and simple, and are as much an enemy to Tomb Raider's incredibly precise mode of 3D platforming as the tigers and wolves that stalk its trap-filled catacombs. They are utterly maddening, and the antithesis of everything Tomb Raider stands for. I implore you, do not go anywhere near them, for your own sake as well as Lara's.
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