Review for Crysis remastered. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 23/07/2020 The version for PC came out on 18/09/2020 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 18/09/2020 The version for Xbox One came out on 18/09/2020
Crysis is finally back with its Remastered version, now also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. In fact, in the course of last month we have already had the opportunity to talk to you about the version published first on Nintendo Switch in its review. However, since this is a more contained version in terms of quality (due to the technical limitations of the Nintendo console compared to the others), many were waiting for this publication to find out how much Crytek would be able to revive the first Crysis.
Over the years the series has managed to collect considerable success with the public, seeing the publication of three chapters. The first, the protagonist of this Remastered, dates back to the now distant 2007, and in those years it established new quality standards (even too high for that period). Crysis was in fact a technically advanced title to the point of becoming a reference point as a technical benchmark, and remain so for several years to come.. We would also like to point out that this version does not include the Warhead expansion released in 2008.
The Crysis Remastered will take us once again to the island of Lingshan by putting us in the shoes of Nomad (aka Jake Dunn), who, together with the rest of the Raptor team, has been tasked with investigating the presence of Korean militia on the island and save some hostages. The foreign army is, however, only the lesser of the evils that we will find ourselves facing; all discovering to be inside something much greater than us. This is an overall very captivating plot, made best by a renewed technical sector which we will talk about later.
As the super soldier
The Raptor team is an American special forces team made up of five members. Their peculiarity lies in the equipment: armor, called Nanosuits, able to drastically change the fate of a battle. These suits are in fact able to considerably enhance human abilities, giving superhuman strength and speed. In this way we will be able to run and jump in a decidedly out of the ordinary way, but also to lift and throw heavy objects; the beauty does not end here.
What makes Nanosuits so efficient are Armor and Concealment modes. In the first case, the suit will be able to harden to the point of becoming bulletproof, while in the second we will be able to become substantially invisible (although we could still be identified if an enemy were to get too close). Both of these modes, including the "super jump", will have a certain energy consumption, and will be managed by a battery which will thus limit our improved capabilities..
The suit won't be our only offense system in Crysis Remastered; in fact we will have different types of weapons that will range from the simplest machine guns, to shotguns, missile launchers and other more "unique" ones. These can then be modified with different accessories at any time to adapt to any situation. We can thus change the viewfinder, add a silencer, the tactical flashlight or some particular grafts. The possibilities offered by weapons and the Nanosuit are then further improved by a discrete environmental destructibility.
Unfortunately, however, not all that glitters is gold: one of the weakest points of the entire title lies in the shooting. The entire aiming, sensitivity and aiming assist system is in fact not very responsive, in addition to giving feedback that is not up to the level of other FPS. The problem is probably to be found precisely in the nature of Remastered of this Crysis, in association with the porting from PC to console. In fact, we are talking about a game that was born 13 years ago, and it is therefore normal to have a feeling of gameplay a little "old" and slower than what other titles of the genre have accustomed us to.
Between quality and Ray Tracing
What was immediately successful in the first version of Crysis is the overall impact of the technical sector, and this Remastered does not want to be outdone. Let's start by saying that on PlayStation 4 Pro the title has three types of graphic presets; in fact we have a mode focused on performance, one on graphics and the "Ray Tracing" mode. You got it right, this Crysis brings this technology to the current generation consoles for the first time (with obviously some limitations, such as its absence in the reflections of the water).
Of the three graphics modes, however, the only ones actually playable are those focused on performance and that of Ray Tracing. This is because the frame rate of the one focused on quality can hardly remain stable at 30 fps, while in the other two cases the drops are more sporadic (although still present). The best in terms of quality / performance compromises is thus the RT one: in fact, we have a decidedly excellent overall impact, especially as regards the settings.
In fact, among the new remastered textures we have some ups and downs, even if in any case these are not abysmal differences. The best are, precisely, the environmental ones, while on the other side we find those of the various characters (especially in the case of enemies and secondary characters). Remaining on the subject of "technical defects" we only found temporary freezes during checkpoints (therefore less serious defects than the Switch version). Despite everything, the game as a whole may visually not appear as a remastered version, but rather as a title created for the current generation.
Nonetheless we certainly would have appreciated a Crysis remake more than a Remastered one; this to go to refine not only the gameplay, but also some deeper technical details such as animations and polygons. This consideration is also valid with regard to sound, and in particular for dubbing (considering the evolution that the videogame market has known in this field). However we want to point out that some of these defects are mitigated on the PC version, due to the higher resolution that can be achieved and the higher performance stability.
Crysis Remastered is a respectable title, capable of qualitatively improving a game that is already cutting edge. This, unfortunately, with the flaws related to bringing back in 2020 an FPS from 13 years ago (with the gameplay of almost two generations ago); a problem that would have been overcome in the case of a remake. The most successful part is therefore the graphics sector, with the addition for the first time on consoles of this generation of Ray Tracing, despite the not excellent stability of the frame rate on consoles which we hope can be overcome (and improved) with a 'possible improved version for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
► Crysis Remastered is a Shooter-Adventure type game developed by Crytek Saber Interactive and published by Crytek Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 23/07/2020 The version for PC came out on 18/09/2020 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 18/09/2020 The version for Xbox One came out on 18/09/2020
