Looks like another remaster is in the work for a classic title. Valiant Entertainment and Nightdive Studios have announced that they will be developing Shadow Man Remastered, a cult classic title from the late 1990s and based off of the Valiant Comics series of the same name. Nightdive, who is known for re-releasing older titles, seems to be going above and beyond for this one. The game will have numerous updates, including some content that was cut from the original.
The updated game will use the KEX Engine, which is Nightdive’s proprietary gaming engine. System Shock: Enhanced Edition, another game to be updated by the studio, utilizes this engine which was critically acclaimed. According to the press release, the game will be launching “Windows PC via the Steam and GOG platforms, as well as to the PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch consoles.” While it doesn’t exactly state the obvious, there’s strong indication that the remaster could come to the next iteration of PlayStation and Xbox consoles. We’ll have to wait and see if/when the developer can confirm this though.
The new features for Shadow Man Remastered will include a plethora of visual updates for the title such as 4k widescreen display, dynamic shadow mapping, higher density of particle effects, HDR rendering, and an overall refined gameplay experience. In the press release, Nightdive Studio’s CEO, Stephen Kick stated that “Our goal with the remaster is to give today’s generation of gamers all the features that they expect from a modern title while preserving the qualities that made Valiant’s iconic character and the original Shadow Man game such memorable classics to begin with.”
For those who don’t know, Shadow Man is an action-adventure game based off of Valiant’s comic book series that originally launched for the Nintendo 64 back in 1999. It was later released for the PC, PlayStation, and the Dreamcast in the same year. At the time, it wasn’t exactly a big hit as reviewers slammed the overall presentation and gameplay, as seen here in Gamespot’s original review. Over time, the game began to build cult following, especially after it was ported through GOG on PC.
Shadow Man Remastered will launch sometime in 2021 for PC through Steam and GOG as well as “PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch consoles.”