Fans of classic Star Wars games can rejoice, because long-time fan favorite Dark Forces is being remastered. While it’s not being remade from the ground up, which is supposed to be happening to Knights of the Old Republic, this still means the classic first person shooter will be coming back with 4K graphics, high-frame rate models and fresh new cutscenes.
Dark Forces Remastered will still look like the Dark Forces you remember — complete with that Doom-style aesthetic the early ‘90s were well known for. The remaster means it should look and play better on modern systems. The new cutscenes also appear to look more stylized, and less pixelated than the original version of the game.
If you’re not familiar with Dark Forces, then this is your chance to catch up on a classic piece of Star Wars history — even if it isn’t canon anymore. The game follows Imperial Agent-turned Rebel Kyle Katarn in a tale of how the rebels acquired the plans for the first Death Star. Well, one of them at least.
This is a story Star Wars Legends told multiple times, because the old canon was an absolute mess in terms of continuity. Dark Forces probably had the best staying power, though, as evidenced by the fact it spawned three sequels: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2, Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy. Because Katarn was secretly a force user the whole time, even though Dark Forces doesn’t feature any lightsaber combat.
Plus many of these games are still available to purchase on modern systems. The entire series can be found on Steam and GOG, while Jedi Knight II and Academy are readily available to buy on Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PS4.
A remaster is certainly going to give Dark Forces a new lease on life, and the timing couldn’t be better for it. Considering we’re still waiting for the second season of Andor, a similarly dark tale of the Star Wars universe featuring the very Katarn-esque Cassian Andor, playing through Dark Forces would be a great way to pass the time.
We don’t know an exact release date yet, that’s apparently coming later this year, but it’s been confirmed that Dark Forces Remastered will be coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch and Steam. Who knows, if it’s a success then maybe we’ll see remasters of more classic Star Wars games. That should keep us occupied while we wait for development on KOTOR to get a move on.
