An obscure space trading game from the Xbox 360 era is inexplicably remastered for the Switch but does it have anything to teach Bethesda ? In 2006, when third person space combat and trading game DarkStar One was originally released, Tony Blair was prime minister, Saddam Hussein was still alive, and Xbox 360 was in its pre-Kinect heyday. Looking back, it feels like an eon ago, which makes the game’s sudden reappearance on Nintendo Switch so unusual, especially since this isn’t a remake but a direct port. Unlike films which, despite advancements in image capture and sound reproduction, often remain watchable decades after they were made, video games tend to date more quickly.
What were once reliable stock-in-trade mechanics rapidly become risible, as technology and player expectations escalate. That often makes coming back to a nearly 20-year-old game quite an experience. The first thing you notice with DarkStar One is the graphics.
Although the Switch is the least powerful current console by a wide margin, it’s still capable of rendering astoundingly beautiful games, as players of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom can attest. Darkstar One is perfectly serviceable but reminds you of just how much things can change in two console generations. Murky textures, blurriness, and oddly squared off human faces are things we all mutely accepted in the early 2000s, and despite notionally having received a graphical makeover, things still look distin.
