‘KOTOR’ Producer Comments On What We Can Expect From The Remake
Many video game announcements for major franchises have been announced or talked about recently. Star Wars was one of those franchises with a highly anticipated video game coming out soon. At the fall PlayStation Showcase, Sony officially announced that they are developing a remake of Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). The game is currently being developed by Aspyr Media, Lucasfilm Games, and Sony Interactive Entertainment. Not only will one of fans’ favorite Star Wars games be getting enhanced graphics, it will undergo a complete overhaul as well.
Aspyr Media is being brought in again to help head up the game development. They previously worked on KOTOR when they released a port for the original game for iOS in 2014. In addition to this, they released macOS and Linux ports for the sequel Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Aspyr has also previously worked with Lucasfilm Games on ports for other classic fan favorite Star Wars games such as Republic Commando, and Jedi Outcast. Aspyr Media just seemed like the obvious choice to help remaster and remake the original KOTOR.
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When the game was announced, PlayStation featured an interview with the lead producer Ryan Treadwell. Many had speculated that this would be a remaster of the older, original game with everything the same as before except with better graphics. However, Treadwell made it very clear that Knights of the Old Republic – Remake is very much a remake as opposed to a remaster. Although, of course, the graphics will still be better than the older original version with the technology available to us today. Basically, Treadwell stated:
“We are rebuilding from the ground up.”
In typical teaser fashion, we do not have much details about the remake. Treadwell shied away from the information when asked about the specific changes to the game. The only thing he started to talk about was the graphical side of the game, which made sense, but not exactly what the fans want to know. However, what Treadwell did say in regards to the game’s graphics was still very exciting. It will now be possible to build the game with a “higher level of fidelity,” Ryan stated. This would be different from what the technology allowed in the original KOTOR. With improved graphics being a major part of this game, it explained why the game would only be on PS5 at launch. Lucasfilm Games confirmed that the game would also be available for PC. However, there were no release dates for other consoles as of right now.
When asked about the plot or gameplay of the remake, Treadwell revealed very little. He spoke very vaguely about making sure that the game was still “authentic to what players loved about the original game.” This is good news for fans of the original KOTOR and alleviates their fear of the game being “ruined.” Aspyr seems to be committed to preserving the spirit of the original game. Treadwell has confirmed that members of the original KOTOR development team is involved in the remake, which is always a good sign.
This vagueness gave rise to rumors saying that the game may be more of an action RPG instead of the classic Dungeon and Dragons-inspired combat in the original KOTOR. There may be similarities between the KOTOR remake and the recent Final Fantasy VII (FF7) remake. While KOTOR may not be getting as much of a drastic plot change like the FF7 remake, the combat mechanics may resemble what is used in the FF7 remake. The original KOTOR’s combat was slow and clunky at times, causing many pauses so that players could issue orders to the various party members. These delays became a bit tedious. The change to a more action-based style of combat makes more sense in today’s gaming world. After all, Fallen Order has been doing very well with similar combat mechanics.
Of course we still do not know much about Knights of the Old Republic – Remake since it is still in the early stages of development. However, fans can rest assured that this game will still be as fun and exciting as the original. Stay tuned for more announcements from Aspyr, Lucasfilm Games, and Sony Entertainment.
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