Beyond Enemy Lines - Remastered Edition

Considering the original game was released in 2017, does a game like this truly need a remaster? Beyond Enemy Lines - Remastered Edition aims to rectify the errors of the 2017 original title, but this soldier’s aim might be more than a bit off. Featuring some select improvements over the flawed mechanics of a subpar FPS might not be enough for this remaster to shine, but at least the developers tried their best to rectify their mistakes. The question is, should you play this remaster if you have even a passing interest in the original game?

Revamped Controls

A common complaint many players had with the original edition of Beyond Enemy Lines was the lackluster feeling of the game’s gunplay. Developers Polygon Art has taken these complaints into consideration for the remastered edition, but it seems like the results aren’t what players expected.

Just like in the original, ballistics are all over the place. Sometimes, what seems like a straight shot will somehow deviate from its course, and that’s made even worse when you consider just how much of a bullet sponge every enemy in the game is.

It’s worth noting, however, that there are some improvements since the base version of the game. This is still nowhere near as polished as a Call of Duty or Battlefield game, but it’s a bit more enjoyable than its predecessor. For starters, weapon handling has been vastly improved. Some weapons also feature additional attachments that weren’t available in the game’s base version, so that’s always a plus.

AI Woes

Unfortunately, the game’s AI remains as braindead as it was in its original release. Enemies simply lack a sense of self-preservation, gleefully jumping into the trajectory of your bullets at any chance they get. Even though the game’s always been presented as a throwback to the old days of hardcore FPS titles, you’ll find little to no resistance coming from the game’s AI. However, that might be for the better, because one of the most obnoxious parts of the original Beyond Enemy Lines is still alive and well in the Remastered Edition.

That’s right: there’s still no proper save function. Dying in this game means losing all your progress, which nullifies what little sense of accomplishment you could ever have in a game like this. This inability to save isn’t a bug that the developers somehow ignored: it’s intended as a feature. There’s a thin line between challenging and frustrating, and sadly, it seems like this game might belong to the latter category.

Better Performance

Being a small passion project, the original Beyond Enemy Lines had some nasty performance issues that got in the way of fun all too often. That’s one area where the Remastered Edition truly shines.

Most of the performance issues are now gone, leaving the game looking and playing better than ever. The increased visual quality is also a nice touch, even if some scenes might still look a bit too simple for graphics elitists.

Pros

• Improved visuals
• Better gunplay

Cons

• Terrible enemy AI
• Boring map designs
• No checkpoints
• Archaic mission design