What We Can Hope For From A KOTOR Remake
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic, for many people, was, and still is, the pinnacle of all Star Wars games, having sold millions of copies and won multiple Game of the Year awards back when it was first released in 2003. Not simply just another jaunt to a galaxy far, far away, it helped make the idea of choice and consequence in games mainstream, and has continued to define much of the current landscape of gaming today, nearly 20 years since its debut. Taking place almost 4,000 years before the events of the film series we all know and love, it also provided much in terms of what it was able to depict in the Star Wars universe, with a creativity and flair we hadn’t yet seen at the time outside of the movies. It was also able to re-contextualize the mythos of both the Jedi and the Sith using many pre-established events and characters that had been touched upon in the Legends canon to help fill in the larger gaps of its own story.
It was followed by a sequel a couple years later, Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, which many consider to be the superior game in some ways, and Star Wars: The Old Republic, an ongoing story-driven MMORPG set about 300 years after the second title that has seen multiple expansion packs over the years, with the most recent, Onslaught, having come out in late 2019. This is particularly notable because while it’s still very much alive, with a fairly active userbase (which saw a boost in numbers when it launched on Steam this past summer), Lucasfilm has still not officially brought the sub-series into the new canon, which makes it the only piece of Legends material that is still currently active in the franchise to this day. Though separated from the main series by a few millennia, it has remained incredibly popular, and has significantly influenced filmmakers, developers, and creators alike, who are now getting a chance to take a crack at their own projects under the new Lucasfilm banner. A legion in The Rise of Skywalker was even named after Revan.
For a while now, there’s been talk about a potential reboot or sequel of some kind being in the works. With recent developments, we now have a clearer picture of who is actually behind the wheel of the upcoming remake.
Over the last week, it’s come to light that, Aspyr Media (pronounced 'Aspire'), who handled the mobile ports of the first two KOTOR titles, as well as kept their PC ports updated, have been all but confirmed for the momentous task of bringing this classic game into the modern era. Jason Schreier, a prominent games journalist currently working for Bloomberg, had been teasing his insider knowledge that they had been chosen to lead development on this project for a while, which, given his credibility, would be hard to argue against. Furthermore, during a recent press conference with Embracer Group, a video game investment firm and parent company of Aspyr, they teased a brand-new AAA title in development within a pre-established IP. And though not outright confirming it, it was quite clear what the connotation was upon further inspection.
In the video below, YouTuber MrMattyPlays discusses the information presented here in more detail, while also giving his own thoughts on these latest developments:
To sum it all up, and if sources are to be believed, this would be a net positive for a potential remake, though a safe one. Aspyr Media has already put quite the effort into their ports, updating the original content for both of the first two games. They understand the engine, the characters, the lore, and the stakes involved, let alone fan expectations. It would not be a stretch to think that the remake itself would try to stick as closely to the original as it could in terms of a blueprint. One could expect they’ll update the gameplay to be more active while retaining D&D-style combat, as well as a serious boost to graphical fidelity, which will hopefully take full advantage of the new generation of consoles, but also add quality of life improvements such as quicksaves and better menu functionality, as well as achievements and trophies that we’ve come to expect with any current game release. There has also been talk that the success of the remake/reboot could open the doorway to a High Republic-set KOTOR-style RPG. But at this point, aside from the obvious, it’s merely speculation. With the new Lucasfilm Games division taking over management of all Star Wars games moving forward, it seems an official announcement is right around the corner, let alone inevitable.
Source(s): GamesRadar+, MrMattyPlays, Screen Rant