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.

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Featured Gamer/Source

The video and commentary are by Lace and John from the channel Many A True Nerd.