The Thing Remastered PS5 Review. The early 2000s were a vastly different time for video games. Not only were they more experimental and audacious than many mainstream triple-A titles today, but a swarm of intriguing licensed titles across a wide breadth of genres bubbled up to the surface, some of which stayed around and were wildly successful, while others popped and dropped into the bargain bin at your local Blockbuster rental store.
One of the hotter properties of the time was The Thing, which was initially an acclaimed 1982 horror film directed by John Carpenter. In 2002 it was granted a video game-only sequel that for some reason is also called The Thing. Now, The Thing video game has been remastered courtesy of Nightdive Studios, and surprisingly shadow dropped twenty-two years after the original version’s release. But is its game design too outdated now, or is this one relic from the past you’ll want to keep around?
The Thing Remastered Review (PS5)- A Well Thawed Out Remaster
Unsurprisingly for a video game playing as a direct sequel to the film, you’ll want to go and watch John Carpenters’ The Thing first, so that you understand the story and characters as this sequel picks up right where the film left off, only this time you’ll be playing instead of watching the freezing horror unfolding right in front of you.
If you’re not in the know, “The Thing” is a shape-shifting extraterrestrial life form that has the ability to assimilate and take the form of its victims, and is impervious to conventional firearms, is prone to fire, and is a grotesque assemblage of mutated flesh that even a mother couldn’t love.
This game sequel to the The Thing begins with two groups of U.S special forces Alpha and Bravo investigating two distinct campsites deep within the frozen wilderness of The Antarctica. Team Bravo scout the US camp, while the Norwegian camp is searched by Team Alpha. During their excursions, they discover various notes and a tape recorder with a message from one of their comrades detailing the dangers of this insidious new threat, and learning more about the unnerving events that have already unfolded before both teams’ arrival.
The way The Thing video game starts out is very methodical in how gradually it paces itself before all hell breaks loose and it should be commended for its build-up of drama and tension, although it can be argued that it doesn’t pull you in and make you care about the situation of the story, and you might find yourself lost and confused if you don’t watch the film first, but otherwise the narrative translation from film to game here is pleasing.
Don’t Go Messing With Your Squad
As a remaster, The Thing Remastered contains a clunky mix of refinements and two-decade weathered design choices. Quality of life improvements are appreciable such as redone lighting and textures, which if nothing else brings serviceable improvements to this old PS2 classic. Environments of course look sharper, and the 4K resolution is an admirable if unsurprising step up from the original game. All of this is expected of remasters and The Thing Remastered follows suit, but many bugbears still remain that taint the experience and serves to remind you of just how old this horror experience is.
More than a simple third-person horror shooter, The Thing Remastered places importance on not only protagonist Captain Blake, but his squad as they all face the frozen hellscape together. Each member of Blake’s team possesses special and much-needed abilities such as a medic to heal you, and an engineer who can fix fuse boxes and act as a trusty electrician for you.
Don’t think for one single solitary second though that your squad are pushovers, as they require your effective leadership in order to trust you. If you are too reckless with them, they will not co-operate with you, making your tasks very difficult to handle, so play nice and they’ll be nice back. This isn’t a children’s birthday party though, this is a nasty and visceral fight for survival in a dangerous climate-no cakes and pressies here, only chaos, terror and apprehension.
What’s Old is New And Old Again
One of the big fixes this remaster addresses is to do with a unique mechanic pioneered in the original game called the Infection System. In the original version of The Thing, there was a nagging issue where NPC squad allies could burst out as unexpected mutated freaks without a positive blood test. The element of complete surprise is complement-worthy, but in this case it was a serious backfire that proved the Infection System was broken. Now, this remaster rectifies the problem completely and squad mates will only be infected if they make bodily contact with The Thing itself.
The shooting mechanics in The Thing Remastered are serviceable, but without conventional aiming it can be unfocused and might take a bit of getting used to, especially if you’re a young buck whose third-person shooters are of the modern variety.
Also clunky are the various command selection wheels and all the “how to play” prompts that pop up as you play. Let’s not mince words here, you’ll likely groan at how The Thing Remastered slows itself down to accommodate you, but hey, this is as an old and largely untouched game, so you should know what you’ve signed up for before playing.
A Cryogenic Reminder of the Past
The fear and dread of the nastiness awaiting you in sub-zero temperatures is already enough to quake your boots, but you need to be mindful of your steadily dwindling health when outside. The cold can be as much of a deadly force as The Thing, what with the resulting Hypothermia halting your progress and forcing you to load your nearest save. While this mechanic certainly gives you more to fear than you already do, it’s quite annoying to be immersed in your investigations, just for Captain Blake to fall on his face and the save data screen to jump up into your face like a mischievous spider.
On the subject of saving your data, The Thing Remastered is definitely a throwback. No, you won’t need to buy a memory card, but you will need to prepare for traipsing a good chunk of ground if you previous save was 10 or so minutes before you perished. As such, prepare to be frustrated, unless you can cope with the trappings of a twenty year-old game that ran on a system that released three console generations ago.
Nightmare Navigation
There is no map for navigation, so you’ll need to rely on light sprigs on the ground outside in the snow to navigate your way to your destinations. While this form of guidance is workable, a map would definitely make getting around less daunting, even if that would come at the expense of the dread and sense of icy isolation that underpins The Thing as a horror franchise-meaning that although you are with squad mates, the dread is still palpable.
The absence of a map isn’t the only thing that feels anachronistic, as the cutscenes carry an insatiable habit of springing up without notice or preparation, and they’re often quick and trite. Sure, some games today contain intrusive cutscenes that seem pointless, but in The Thing Remastered cutscenes pop up out of nowhere and aren’t always meaningful to the story. Yes, we might’ve been spoiled by the luxuriousness of modern game design, but if we could at least see them coming, they wouldn’t feel like they’re pouncing on us like the malevolence in this particular horror game.
If you were hoping that The Thing Remastered would fix many of the issues of the original 2002 game, you will be semi-satisfied. The Thing Remastered preserves the twenty-year old PS2 game without tarnishing it, and improving some presentation aspects, as well as tidying up the formerly broken Infection System. However, if you expected refinements to game’s shooting mechanics or many of its old foibles then you’ll be disappointed. The Thing Remastered is a worthwhile relic to experience, but you should only do so if you are aware of its various antediluvian quirks. The Thing Remastered isn’t quite a frozen treat, but it’s at least better than licking icicles with your tongue.
The Thing Remastered is out now on PS5 & PS4.
Review code kindly provided by publisher.