Crysis Trilogy Remastered review - Getting better with age

Crysis Trilogy Remastered brings PC gaming’s most infamous shooter into the modern age with a visual overhaul. But is it worth playing again?

The Crysis franchise may have started life as an almost comically intensive PC benchmarking tool, but it’s often forgotten just how impressive the first game’s gameplay was. While we got a taste of that with last year’s standalone remaster, the full trifecta is back in 2021 with the Crysis Trilogy Remastered.

While each offers something different, there’s never been a better way to experience this seminal shooter series, especially at a slightly lower price point than most new releases.

Crysis Trilogy Remastered – Key details

• Price: $49.99
• Developer: Crytek
• Release date: October 15, 2021
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch

Crysis Trilogy Remastered – Trailer

Midlife Crysis? Never been better

The key selling point with any remaster is its visual fidelity, and considering Crysis one is now fourteen years old (yes, we feel it too), what’s here is functional – if not particularly flashy.

It’s worth pointing out that those looking for a next-gen looking title to show off their latest hardware purchase may be disappointed with the Crysis Trilogy’s remaster. As gorgeous as these games were back in the day, technology has moved on. More modern (and demanding tech) like ray tracing won’t be found on the second and third games, for example, although you can switch it on for the first game (at least on Xbox Series X).

Still, the Lingshan Islands and New York City look better than they ever have. If you played through last year’s Crysis Remastered there’s nothing to surprise you here – there are much-improved textures, a higher resolution, and a much smoother framerate.

Playing the second and third games offers a similarly refined experience, but given how hard those games pushed the Xbox 360, it’s perhaps not surprising to see that they still look great now.

This old dog has plenty to show

Perhaps one of the most impressive elements, then, is how each game in the Crysis Trilogy Remastered bundle plays. While these games have been visually spruced up, much of the core mechanics are identical to the original releases.

It’s bizarre to think that a game that originally launched in 2007 has so directly influenced so many games we play today (looking at you, Far Cry 6). The original Crysis offers more open areas, complete with enemy scanning, stealth opportunities, and the option to go in “guns blazing”.

The key to that flexibility is the Nanosuit, worn by Nomad in the first game. Able to divert power to strength, armor, or stealth subsystems, it never gets old sneaking up on an enemy and then punting them as far as the eye can see.

While Crysis 2 maintains a small amount of that freedom in certain areas, the series does get more linear. The upside to that, though, is that Crysis 2 and 3 both feel like more modern shooters – with more responsive controls, smoother aiming, and improved hit markers and weapon recoil, as well as much more bombast throughout the campaign.

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In fact, the only real downside here is that both of those games have lost their multiplayer components. While Crysis 3’s asymmetric multiplayer was arguably the more interesting of the two, as someone that spent a huge amount of time in Crysis 2’s deathmatch modes, it’s a shame not to be able to revisit that – although it’s understandable.

Verdict: 8/10

If you’re looking to experience shooter royalty for the first time, then Crysis Trilogy Remastered is the best place to start. While the series’ ever-encroaching linearity might make its first entry its most fondly remembered, tight controls and improved movement in the sequels make them well worth a playthrough, too.

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Reviewed on Xbox Series X

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