Crysis Remastered (Nintendo Switch)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): July 23, 2020
- Release Date (EU): July 23, 2020
- Publisher: Crytek
- Developer: Crytek, Saber Interactive
- Genres: Action, FPS
Game Features:
When it comes to the latest game releases, the Switch is usually late to the party. Games like The Outer Worlds or Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden come to Nintendo’s hybrid console months after their release on PC or other consoles. However, Crysis Remastered takes a 180° approach. It was recently released on the Switch, while its launch on PC, PS4 and Xbox One has been indefinitely delayed.
This it’s not due to some time exclusivity deals. Rather, the delay is a result of fans’ backlash over the graphics of the remastered edition as seen in a leaked trailer that left them unimpressed. This additional time would allow the team to “get Crysis Remastered up to the PC- and console-breaking standard you’ve come to expect from Crysis games,” according to a statement. Ultimately, Crytek went ahead with the initial release date for the Switch while the release date on other platforms is still unknown. Afterall, there’s so much the Switch can handle.
In Crysis, you play as Nomad, member of the U.S. Army Delta Force, on a rescue mission in the fictional Lingshan Islands. However, you soon learn that there’s more than North Korean enemies to face as the plot turns full sci-fi when other-worldly foes come into the picture to complicate things.
But Nomad is not part of any squad as his special squad comes clad in a nanosuit: a sleek exoskeleton of sorts that augments the wearer’s abilities. With the nanosuit, you are able to run faster, jump higher, invisibility-cloak yourself and wear a shield-like armor around yourself for a limited time.
Given that the game takes place in a sandbox environment, these features offer a decent level of freedom to tackle progression. For me, it’s mostly a combination of initial stealth take outs, followed by full guns-blazing action as I progress towards the goal relayed to me via the intercom. Progression is itself linear in a good way, not bloated with side quests to inflate playtime. It felt rather refreshing to play a AAA game on a current-gen console in 2020 that’s manageable within 10 hours while offering some open-ended progression mechanic. But then again, we’re talking of a 13-year old, but classic, game here.
If you were to tell someone back in 2007, when Crysis set the benchmark for melting high-end gaming rigs, that they would be able to play the game on a portable Nintendo console, their brains would melt just like those PCs did. The Switch indeed runs Crysis thanks to the porting job done by Crytek and Saber Interactive. However, it’s the Switch and not a high-end gaming PC, and it shows.
I played the game mostly in handheld mode, which will probably be the appeal here and whenever I boot the game and load my save, I would be welcomed by a significant load time. I would also face framerate dips in action-heavy sequences, which aren’t uncommon in Crysis, or when switching to the scope of a precision rifle. Not game-breaking as such but I did come across 5 instances when the game crashed on me and brought me back to the Switch’s homescreen.
As for the graphics, it’s a hit-or-miss affair, especially in handheld, which makes the “remastered” tag questionable. Sometimes it’s a wower to see how the Switch handles Crysis with crisp dynamic lighting and detailed assets from a tropical jungle to alien environments. At other times, it frankly reminded me of an Android game, and not the best one at that (there’s Bright Memory: Infinite that’s playable on the platform). This is accentuated by blurry environments and poorly textured foliage and rocky surroundings. And the lip sync is conspicuously off. But I’m not one to complain about visuals as long as the gameplay holds up.
But then again, other than its technical prowess, did Crysis really feel remarkable otherwise? The premise, although original, is not fleshed out enough in a satisfactory way for fans of narrative-driven games. So it’s the action where it’s at in Crysis. The destructible environments and flashy explosions enhance the carnage of action sequences but aren’t really killer features in 2020.
You’ll come across a range of weapons from explosive charges to missile launchers as you progress. It’s quite fun to mix and rotate through your armada while pairing them up with the nanosuit’s unique abilities. The addition of gyro aiming is a welcome addition on the Switch and helps in getting that headshot just about right with the precision rifle.
But the controls feel a bit cluttered and dated, especially considering the focus on combat. You’ll have to manually press Y to pick up ammo whenever you find some. You’ll have to hold X to access your weapons inventory, tap on the right D-pad button to cycle explosives and memorize similar combinations of what does what, without the ability to remap the buttons to feel more intuitive. Checkpoints also seemingly happen at random but are frequent enough to be overlooked.
Furthermore, since the Switch port is based on the PS3/Xbox 360 version, the Ascension mission is AWOL. Despite this being called a Remastered version, it’s ultimately an incomplete game, even if you wouldn’t necessarily notice it without prior knowledge.
Ultimately, despite its shortcomings on the Switch, Crysis offers its fair share of fun despite being a 13-year old game. The remastered tag does not really feel justified on this console but by default, it is the best (and only) way to play Crysis Remastered in this current-gen for now.
Crysis Remastered - Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Verdict
- Crysis runs on the Switch!
- Motion control for aiming
- Offers decent fun 13 years later
- Aesthetics don’t do “remastered” tag justice
- Ascension mission axed
- Load times and framerate issues
- Several crashes in handheld mode
