Ubisoft remaster their classic Zelda-esque adventure for a second time, in what seems to be a prelude to its long-awaited sequel. It’s often very hard to understand the logic of some video game publishers. Ubisoft recently had their not-E3 Ubisoft Forward showcase, where they focused on Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Star Wars Outlaws but also gave some time to their other franchise.
In their wisdom, they chose not to mention anything about releasing a new remaster of Beyond Good & Evil this month or that it contained new content that implied the long-delayed sequel was still on the way. As such, there’s surprisingly little context for why this remaster exists and why exactly it’s been released now. There was already a perfectly good remaster during the Xbox 360 era and while this one is unquestionably better it’s still nowhere close to being a full remake, and so you still have to put up with the legacy of PlayStation 2 era cameras, controls, and impenetrable storytelling.
Although it was never very successful when it was first released in 2003 (the November release date can’t have helped it) Beyond Good & Evil has remained a cult favourite ever since, thanks to its ambitiously open world environment, eclectic cast of characters, and simple but enjoyable action. At the time it was often compared to The Legend Of Zelda but the resemblance is slight and to this day Beyond Good & Evil remains endearing unique. A labour of love by Rayman creator Michel Ancel, the first.