Crysis Remastered (Nintendo Switch) Review

This critic literally melted Crysis back when it was first released, and the reason why was probably the fact that... well, he didn't really have anything better to play for a month or so. That's not supposed to be a sarcastic remark, aimed at angering its many fans. It's not bad, sure, but it's not great either. Of course, being Nomad, one of the members of the Raptor team, definitely had its perks, as a neat piece of tech enabled him to become super strong, fast, and durable with the push of a button, and if these weren't enough, his cloaking mode could make him disappear in an instant. The levels were semi-open-ended too, letting you use these abilities as you saw fit. As mentioned before, not a bad game.

...But, while all these sound cool, the actual execution was far from perfect. Apart from stealth, the nanosuit's modes wouldn't exactly get many opportunities to shine; the equipment was too generic for such a title; and the levels, while initially non-linear, would soon turn into boring train rides, with no room for any alternative tactics. Add to that a subpar, predictable plot, plus characters that felt like B-list actors trying to act badass, and it was easy to see that this wasn't the excellent game the press made it out to be. In the end, while Crysis was good, the gameplay and setting wasn't the reason it became famous.

Along with a bunch of other titles, all of them first-person shooters, Crytek's creation was tech demo first, video game second. The photorealistic jungle of Crysis was rendered by a highly demanding engine that was purposely designed to put the strongest systems to the test. Yours truly, a fan of art style rather than bland realism, was never really impressed by what it had to offer, but it's hard to deny that it was a technical marvel, even if it was one that wasn't as well optimised, compared to, say, id Software's or Epic's line of graphic engines. Having said that, since this is a remaster, and one that's also a freaking Switch port, it is bound to be much better. Right?

Sadly, it's not better. Moreover, Crysis Remastered is a version of the original game that can't be simply categorised as mediocre or bad. This is downright insulting, for the simple reason that it's not a remaster. Yes, you've read that correctly. This basically asks from you to pay for something that's supposed to be an updated version of a 2007 title, without really upgrading anything. There are some changes, sure, but nothing that can be categorised as 'remastering.' This shouldn't be labelled Crysis Remastered, but Crysis: Slightly Altered Edition. Not only that, but the final result isn't even that good, as similar to a previous PS3 port, it changed things that it shouldn't have.

As if this was a generic Hollywood blockbuster, colours have been desaturated, thus gone are the vibrant greens of the lush jungle, the bright blue of the ocean, and the yellow-orange light of the sun. Contrast has also been vastly increased, making everything significantly darker. Of course, unless you've played the original PC game and have a good memory as well, you won't notice these things. If you try to compare them side by side, however, you'll surely begin to scratch your head as to why those changes were made. The final outcome definitely isn't ugly... but it's perplexing for sure.

There's an even bigger issue here, though. Not only this isn't a remaster, but it also isn't a 1:1 port of Crysis. It's a downgrade! The resolution, texture quality, and model geometry have all taken a hit, and that would be understandable if this was simply marketed as a port of Crysis for the humble Switch, instead of a remaster - and the problems don't even stop there! This is actually more problematic than the already flawed original, with plenty of frame rate plunges, slooow loading screens, and even numerous crushes. In the end, while some will revel in the fact that they can play Crysis on a handheld Nintendo System, there are far better alternatives out there *wink-wink-nudge-nudge*