➤ Crysis Remastered Trilogy, the review of the restored version of three historical FPS 🎮

That Crytek was a studio devoted to technical perfection was already discovered with Far Cry in 2004, his first game. Who were these German developers who had launched an FPS out of nowhere capable of graphically rivaling the most recent titles of id Software and Valve (Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 incidentally), also managing to introduce several innovations in the genre, such as levels more open and a more dynamic game design of events and situations?

A single game was enough to launch Crytek in the Olympus of world developers and to make the expectation of their next project spasmodic, which already from the first images promised to be technically even superior to the already excellent Far Cry. Indeed, let's say better, it promised to be superior to anything else that had ever arrived on the market. It was to the point that at the time of launch there was almost no system capable of making it run perfectly, so much so that it became a benchmark and a little legend of the PC world.

Of course that game was the first Crysis and that technical mastery is still visible today in the Crysis remastered trilogy and that amazed us for the quality of the graphic modernization made by Crytek with all three chapters, so much so that in some moments it didn't even seem like we were faced with titles from two generations ago.

Let's find out how in the Crysis Remastered Trilogy review.

The series

Crysis Remastered Trilogy, the review of the restored version of three historical FPS — The improved graphic effects of the Crysis Remastered Trilogy

Crysis came out between 2007 and 2013, that is, they crossed the Xbox 360 / PS3 generation, stopping abruptly at the doors of the PS4 / Xbox One. One would suppose that, given the past time, they must appear antiquated. In reality this is not the case and, despite some signs of rust, they are still very enjoyable and can offer highly moments spectacular, thanks above all to the introduction of various effects that were unthinkable at the time. After all, and it's a little smile to write it for Crysis, it's not just the graphics that count. Trying the three games in a row was also an excellent opportunity to reread them and frame them better in the history of video games.

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In the path of the Crysis series, not only the path made by Crytek as a development studio is visible, but also the end of the clear split between the PC and the console world, which has increasingly led software houses to compromises to launch their titles on all the most popular systems at the same time, up to an upward adjustment of the common standards. Crysis was essentially a PC game, then adapted to consoles at a later stage. Crysis 2 was born with consoles already in mind, but it betrayed many of the ideas of the first chapter, resulting in poorer and, in many ways, insignificant. Finally, Crysis 3 reached an almost perfect balance, also demonstrating that it was possible to target audiences from different platforms without necessarily displeasing them. To specify that the writer played and finished the three original Crysis on PC, so he has the best versions in mind. Even the test of the Crysis Remastered Trilogy was done on a PC, equipped with a GeForce RTX 3070, which allowed us to play at the maximum possible detail. But now let's proceed to analyze them better one by one.

Crysis remastered

Crysis remastered is the first chapter of the series, as well as the most alien for structuring the levels and gameplay general. We are in 2020, on the Lingshan Islands, near the coast of the Philippines. The player takes on the role of the elite soldier Jake Dunn, codenamed Nomad who, wearing his special nanosuit and together with his team, called Raptor, must find out what is happening in the area and explain the meaning of the message sent by a certain Dr. Rosenthal, speaking of a discovery that can change the world forever. The Raptor team is made up of some characters who will return several times in the series, including protagonists: Nomad, Psycho, Aztec, Jester and Prophet. From the very beginning of the adventure, it is possible to use the powers of the nanosuit, which are for the most part the core of the entire experience, as well as the trademark of the Crysis.

Not only is it possible to run faster than normal humans and make powerful leaps, but it is also possible to create a protective shield around Nomad, become invisible for a few seconds and do other nice things that give a great variety to the gameplay. Obviously there is no shortage of weapons, which can be collected from the corpses of enemies or from the various deposits scattered around the maps. Without going too far on this first chapter, which does not include the Warhead expansion, to which we have already dedicated a rich review, we can tell you that it is an excellent job of rejuvenation, in which the new dynamic lighting system, the simulation of improved fluids , sharper shadows, ray tracing and all the other additions made by the developers help bring out a technical side still impressive today, even if only for the demonstrated ability to absorb the latest technological innovations (virtue of CryEngine). Now the myth of "Will Crysis turn us on?" has lapsed, but Crysis Remastered is still a pretty sight, especially for some breathtaking landscapes, which enhance the outdoors.

Crysis 2 remastered

No wonder the weakest title in the remastered trilogy is Crysis 2 remastered, the son of numerous compromises, largely due to Crytek's first approach to the console world, which was in fact unknown to him. We are in August 2023 and three years have now passed since the events told in the debut chapter. The protagonist of the game here is Alcatraz, a marine tasked with finding Dr. Nathan Gould with his team. At the beginning of the adventure, however, the submarine he is on is shot down and his team is exterminated. Alcatraz is also dying, but is rescued by Prophet, the leader of the Raptor team, who saves him by giving him his Nanosuit, version 2.0, and then commits suicide, so as not to suffer the harmful effects of an alien virus. The Nanosuit heals the wounds of Alcatraz which from that moment takes upon itself the onerous task of carrying out Prophet's mission. First, however, he must get the forces of CELL, a private military group that wants to kill him, believing him to be his savior, off his heels. From here will start an adventure that will lead Alcatraz to cross a New York at war, in which everyone seems to want to kill him, be they humans or aliens, and in which everyone seems to want to destroy each other.

As mentioned, Crysis 2 is the weakest chapter of the series, especially in the level design, enormously different from that of the progenitor. There where Crysis takes up the Far Cry philosophy, offering the player semi-open levels that give a good freedom to approach the different objectives, thanks also to the use of the powers of the nanosuit, which allow you to better and more freely exploit any hiding place or other characteristic of the lush maps, so as to allow the adoption of different styles of play, Crysis 2 offers a more canonical experience, made up of much more linear and closed levels and less freedom of general approach, despite the maintenance of powers. The feeling of being a kind of predator in a strongly hostile environment, which made it so special to wander around the islands of the first chapter in search of aliens and Koreans, is therefore less.

The remastered version not only reaffirms these defects, but somehow aggravates them, since we are faced with the chapter aged worse, precisely by virtue of its structural limitations. That said, it's still wonderful to see how the remaster has made the game's New York even more beautiful, with notable additions like Temporal Anti-Aliasing, improved shadows, a completely revised lighting system, revised character models, and more. The PC version also enjoys advanced effects such as shadows cast on water, hardware and software ray tracing and the application of Nvidia DLSS. Many textures have also been modified and are now much more defined and realistic. It must be said that, unlike the first and third chapters, Crysis 2 snapped a bit, especially at the beginning of the levels. Obviously the problem is the loading of game objects. Strange, however, that everything happens only with this intermediate chapter, while the other two the framerate was fixed at 60 fps. Nothing dramatic, but it's fair to point out.

Crysis 3 remastered

Crysis 3 remastered is the third and last episode of the series, that of the almost perfect synthesis between the gameplay of the first and second chapter. We are in 2047, twenty-four years after the events of Crysis 2. The CELL controls New York and has built a gigantic dome on it, called the Liberty Dome. The original goal was to create a containment area for the aliens who survived the events of the second episode, but CELL discovered a way to produce energy thanks to the technologies of the aliens and started selling it all over the world, to gods. loan sharking prices. Many went into debt for some and, when they didn't make it to pay, they were invited to play 1,2,3 Stella ... no, that's another story (let's not digress). They were brought into CELL's "Work for Debt" program, where they were essentially enslaved in the service of the evil military group. Prophet (to find out how he was reborn, finished Crysis 2 ed) is kept in suspended animation by the CELL, but is awakened by Psyco who wants him by his side to fight the enemies. During his captivity, Prophet had a vision of the future where the entire human race is being exterminated by aliens and he wants to do everything to prevent that from actually happening. To succeed he will have to espouse the cause of Psycho and face the CELL, going to destroy the center of power.

The levels of Crysis 3 were conceived in a very different way than those of the second episode, returning to look largely at the first, despite being more closed. Thus, after an initial linear level, but with fairly large areas that allow you to try out the powers and different styles of play, we start with more open areas, in which you can decide how to proceed to face the different obstacles, be they human or aliens. To underline the distance from the second chapter, Crytek has inserted a truly lethal weapon and a harbinger of great satisfaction: the bow. Using it does not consume the energy of the nanosuit, so it is perfect for those who like to play with a stealth style.

From the point of view of remastering, Crysis 3 is the chapter that offers the visual quality greater. After all, even the original on PC is still very usable without too many dramas, but this edition allows you to activate ray tracing, to raise the resolution up to native 4K and to enjoy the various additional effects already described for the other chapters, which here are magnified by an already richer and more detailed basic scenario. So get ready to be amazed by the light passing through the greenery that has invaded New York, or by the explosions of towers and vehicles. The rain effect is also particularly spectacular, as can be verified as soon as the adventure has begun. If it weren't for some details, it would be very difficult to mistake it for a title from eight years ago. It should be noted that throughout our test, Crysis 3 proved to be very fluid, despite having selected the maximum detail. The Crysis of maturity, in every sense.

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8.3

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Crysis Remastered Trilogy is an excellent collection as a whole, which allows you to play the three chapters that make up the series with more modern graphics, capable of taking advantage of even the most performing video cards. Of course, it is interesting to note how you start with an excellent title (Crysis), moving on to a decent one and nothing more (Crysis 2) to get to a really great one (Crysis 3), but honestly we do not advise you to sacrifice any of the three (they are can also be purchased individually) in case you decide to take the trilogy, because in any case they form a unique story, which is worth living in full, once you are inside. It must also be said that the experience as a whole remains identical to that of the originals, so those who have already lived it will not find great incentives to do it again, apart from the graphic ones.