/vr/ - Retro Games

>>10207308

For pixel art, yes. It's integral to the look of the game. The scaling algorithms and new AI tech really massacre the original art, and it looks far worse.

For polygon art, I don't think resolution takes anything away from a game. In the old days on PC going to higher resolutions was always a huge improvement, and if you had the hardware you'd definitely run a game in SVGA. I don't really think there's anything particularly desirable about the chunky and wobbly PS1 look, although I do find it nostalgic these days. Getting rid of the wobble in the majority of games and upping the resolution is just fine.

I'm coming to the end of my first playthrough of the game. Based on some reading, I elected to play the original Playstation version rather than the PC or Dreamcast port. My impressions aren't based on nostalgia, I'm coming into this pretty fresh.

Everything about this game is striking. The presentation is incredible for the PSX. The art direction is superb, and the texturing and lighting is some of the most polished on the system. Technically the game is a marvel, with open world streaming, and shifting between the two planes being particular technical achievements. Top notch voice acting helps elevate a compelling story, and the worldbuilding is well done. The dynamic between Raziel and the other characters in the story is great, and the setting of decaying Nosgoth is fantastically realized.

The frustrating part is the controls and combat. Movement is digital only, with lots of warm-up frames in the animations, making everything feel clunky and disconnected. Gliding is imprecise, and the specific way directional input is implemented means that the platforming is atrocious. There was one boss fight that involved precise jumping between pillars that took me a lot of attempts, just due to the rough controls.

Combat is very basic, with a few ways of taking out extremely passive enemies. There is a combo or two, but the vampires you fight can easily be avoided or dealt with and only function as minor stage hazards. There are also a few boss fights, with each one needing a specific trick to defeat them.

The real meat of the game is the environmental traversal and puzzles. While there is the occasional block puzzle or two, a lot of the progression requires clever lateral thinking combined with smart use of the plane shifting. This was my favourite aspect of the game, and finding some of the hidden areas really surprised me.