The Thing Remastered (Xbox Series X/S) Review

The Thing: Remastered is a direct sequel to John Carpenter's film and follows Capt. Blake, a somewhat generic protagonist who feels more like a Macready knock-off than his own character. The game's initial segments, which recreate environments from the film, offer a sense of immersion. These sections contain references to the source material. However, as the narrative progresses, the game shifts away from its grounded setting, adopting elements reminiscent of action-oriented survival horror games, resulting in a less engaging experience.

The original film's setting was desolate and depicted an environment of extreme isolation. The game is consistent with the film and introduces elements such as secret underground bases and laboratories, which feel out of place in a grounded early 80s setting. There are far too many guys hanging out in Antarctica and too many bases and underground lairs to take seriously. There should have been fewer but more dense and detailed locations.

While The Thing: Remastered's narrative won't impress, it retains a strong atmosphere. The 2002 game's visuals have been updated with enhanced lighting, weather effects, and textures. The game's ambience is notable, with wind and blizzard effects contributing to a sense of disorientation. The revised lighting enhances the visual presentation, evoking similarities to Dean Cundy's cinematography in the film. However, the game does not utilise Ennio Morricone's score or any thematically similar music, and musical accompaniment is minimal.

The 1982 film is characterised by a distinct visual style, employing a palette of cool blues and intense purples. Low-light scenes juxtapose with the glistening texture of the creature designs stood out and made Rob Bottin's effects memorable. The Thing: Remastered replicates this aesthetic, enhancing player immersion by providing a more visually rich experience compared to the original release from 2002. In some angles, it's hard to tell that this is an old PlayStation 2 game.

Beyond graphical updates, the remaster features gameplay refinements. Movement is smoother, and the difficulty has been adjusted downward. The original version was known for its challenging mechanics, including forced transformations of uninfected squad members, accidental self-immolation, and falling due to sloppy level design.

Nightdive rebalanced the difficulty to prevent accidental friendly fire. Squad mate AI has been significantly improved, demonstrating increased combat effectiveness. When equipped by Blake, squad mates frequently engage and eliminate enemies independently, often detecting and responding to threats before player detection. In most cases, Blake's team is more effective than they ever were in 2002. Enemy engagement lacks complex tactical elements. Larger enemies occasionally appear, requiring a combination of gunfire followed by incendiary attacks like a blowtorch or flamethrower. Foes will typically charge and flail their tentacles and limbs. So long as Blake stays mobile, they will not pose much of a threat.

Shooting mechanics have been revised to be more fluid. Players can spray and pray easily when dealing with hordes of aliens. The trust and infection systems, originally intended as core distinguishing features, did not function as designed in the initial release. Nightdive Studios has attempted to refine these systems within the existing framework. However, significant improvements are limited by the game's fundamental design.

Blake's squad is subject to infection, resulting in transformation, or can experience psychological trauma when encountering disturbing scenes. Observable behavioral cues indicate when an NPC is experiencing distress like vomiting or having a fit. In cases of extreme distress, NPCs may commit suicide.

Detecting imitation squad mates requires a blood test for definitive identification. However, administering this test induces a transformation in infected individuals. Conversely, withholding the test allows infected members to maintain a human appearance and can still help fulfil their role on the field. If players advance to the end of a level, the squad usually disappears or is removed between stages without explanation.

The Thing: Remastered is not a great game, but it is enjoyable for fans of the film. Nightdive Studios took the time to include many easter eggs that connect between the 1982 and 2011 movies. The new visuals impress and the old bugs and design flaws have been mostly ironed out, making this more playable than ever. This remaster makes the original game as good as it could ever be.