Summary of "XIII: Remastered: The Remake - Please Just Stop, Leave XIII Alone"

Summary of XIII: Remastered: The Remake - Please Just Stop, Leave XIII Alone

Storyline & Background

The original XIII is a cult classic first-person shooter from the early 2000s (PS2/GameCube era). It was praised for its comic book-style visuals and innovative stealth/shooter hybrid gameplay. The original game remains available on Steam and continues to work well.

Remaster and Remake History

About 1-2 years ago, XIII Remastered was released but turned out to be a technical disaster, plagued by bugs, poor AI, ugly visuals, and performance issues.
Despite this failure, a new remake of the remaster was developed by French studio Tower Five, who notably do not list the project on their website.
Unfortunately, the remake still suffers from many of the same problems and does not significantly improve upon the previous botched remaster.

Gameplay Highlights & Issues in the Remake

The remake attempts to replicate the cel-shaded comic book style using visual filters, but inconsistently applies them, resulting in mismatched cutscene and gameplay visuals.
Footprint animations are buggy and nonsensical.
Some controls and collision detection have seen slight improvements (e.g., solid walls during flashbacks).
Enemy AI remains poor, though death animations and frame rate are somewhat better than in the first remaster.
Glass and water effects look worse than the original, featuring strange frosted glass and missing water splash effects.
Key original features such as throwing knives (a signature weapon) and destructible environments (like breaking glass) have been removed.
Multiplayer modes are reduced to only deathmatch and team deathmatch, with fewer maps and no AI bots for local multiplayer—unlike the original, which had multiple modes and bot challenges.
The original’s dynamic music system malfunctions in the remake, causing combat music to play randomly and indefinitely.
The helicopter enemy spawn mechanic from the original, which brought reinforcements, is missing.

Comparison with the Original Game

The original XIII looks better, runs smoother, and offers more content despite being 20 years old.
Its comic book UI and sound design are more dynamic and appealing.
The original includes multiple multiplayer modes, bot support, and better environmental effects.
The remake removes features and content, making it a step backward despite two attempts at improvement.

Key Tips & Takeaways

If interested in XIII, it is strongly recommended to buy and play the original version instead of the remake.
The original provides a better experience at a fraction of the price.
The remake fails to capture the essence of the original and introduces new bugs and visual inconsistencies.
Features like throwing knives and dynamic enemy reinforcements are important parts of the original’s gameplay that are missing in the remake.