There’s no shortage of compelling FPS campaigns out there. From Call of Duty to Battlefield, to Halo, to DOOM, we all have a favourite and we stick to it, right?. Well, playing Crysis Remastered Trilogy has made me reassess my preferences, thanks to a stunning single-player experience housed within the collection’s three different games.
I didn’t play any of the Crysis titles when they first released. I was aware of the ‘But can it run Crysis’ meme, of course. But it took until last year’s release of Crysis Remastered - the first game in the series - for me to finally dive in. Playing it on Nintendo Switch, I enjoyed the game but its age was apparent. So my fear was Crysis Remastered Trilogy would suffer the same issues when I started it on Xbox Series X.
Watch highlights from GAMINGbible’s stream of Crysis 2 Remastered here
Luckily for us, the remastered versions of Crysis 2 and Crysis 3 feel much more modern. Similarly to 2020’s Modern Warfare 2 Remastered, Crysis 2 Remastered feels both brand spanking new and of its time. The visuals have been polished to a lustrous sheen. The gameplay is slick. The controls are responsive. There are still signs of it being a remastered 2011 title, with some characters not being too easy on the eye. There’s also the occasional glitch, like an enemy flickering, or the ragdoll physics going over the top. But overall, it’s a joy to play.
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Then there’s Crysis 3 Remastered. The original 2013 version may not be considered the peak of the franchise, but the updated version is more than worth your time if you enjoy single-player FPS games. The story carries on from Crysis 2 (more on that later), and the gameplay feels further refined from its predecessor. There’s also a newly added bow, which is an excellent stealth weapon. Silent and offering excellent range, it’s a genuine gamechanger.
The only real downside with it is the campaign isn’t as immersive. Many potential set pieces are played out as cutscenes, robbing you of the ability to control your protagonist, meaning you never feel like anything is actually at stake. Compare this to sections of Crysis 2 Remastered - like where you’re cruising along in an armoured vehicle, unleashing mayhem as the enemies try to take you out - and you soon find the lack of threat takes you out of the experience, as you idly scroll Twitter again.
However, if you can stay focused, you’ll find Crysis Remastered Trilogy offers a gripping, outlandish story. It starts with shades of Predator, as you’re part of a team of exceptionally lethal soldiers sent into a jungle that secretly houses an extraterrestrial threat. It progresses to a point of worlds colliding, with New York City being decimated as the result of an alien invasion, and I’m only just scratching the surface here to be honest. I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoilers, but the whole series is a treat for fans of sci-fi action.
It’s worth noting that the multiplayer part of Crysis 3 hasn’t survived the remaster process. This isn’t new for an updated port (we saw it with MW2), and its absence arguably won’t be noticed by newcomers like myself. Still, it feels as though it would’ve been a nice addition, with the game’s superb combat feeling like an exciting prospect in a PvP scenario.
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As a single-player experience, Crysis Remastered Trilogy is up there with the best FPS games I’ve ever played. The evolutionary steps between each title create the feeling of time travelling with each step, all while maintaining a high level of visual fidelity over its 30-hour runtime. The increasingly slick gameplay makes replaying missions immensely pleasurable, letting you walk different routes and try out varied combat styles. In short, it’s wonderful that now virtually everything can run Crysis, because it’s a series that all FPS fans should play.
Pros: Slick and responsive gameplay, dazzling visuals, gripping story, plenty of replayability
Cons: Some signs of age, arguable dip in quality in Crysis 3 Remastered, no multiplayer
For fans of: Call of Duty, Halo, original Crysis games
8/10: Excellent
Crysis Remastered Trilogy was tested on Xbox Series X and PC with code supplied by the publisher. The game is out now for Xbox consoles, PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, and Nintendo Switch. Read a guide to our review scores here.
Featured Image Credit: Crytek