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The Thing: Remastered captures the essence of a timeless horror game and gives it a fresh coat of paint.
2024 has been a strong year for video game remasters. If you’ve been keeping up with my reviews, you’ll know that I covered afantastic remaster of 1997’s Rivenback in June, as well as the recentLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1-2 Remastered. Both of these games were a bit before my time, but I was able to appreciate the soul of the experience preserved after their loving updates for modern audiences. The Thing: Remastered, however, comes from an era of gaming I grew up with, originally releasing on PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles in the early 2000s.
As far as remasters go, The Thing: Remastered is about as good as you can expect. Just short of a full remake, it presents the original experience with updated graphics, some quality-of-life improvements, including bug fixes, and resolution support for modern displays. It’s essentially an enhanced version of the original, delivered incredibly close to what you would have played in 2002.
Screenshot: Try Hard Guides
Gameplay in The Thing: Remastered is a basic third-person shooter at its heart, with the option to switch to first-person for more accurate firing. You’ll navigate 20 levels, solving simple puzzles to clear the path from start to finish and killing monsters along the way. The monsters, or Things, appear in three basic forms: small, easy-to-kill creatures; larger Things that must be gunned down and then burned to defeat; and boss monsters that function similarly to the larger Things but include added mechanics.
What makes the game truly stand out is its inclusion of NPC characters and the way their presence introduces the same fear and mistrust central to the movie The Thing: Remastered is based on.
Screenshot: Try Hard Guides
Fear functions similarly, with NPCs reacting to their environment in ways that directly affect their fear levels. Scared NPCs perform worse in combat or take longer to complete tasks. When utterly terrified, they must be calmed down quickly or risk attacking you, damaging the environment, killing themselves, or suffering heart attacks.
Screenshot: Try Hard Guides
Most intriguingly, The Thing: Remastered features an infection system. To spoil the suspense slightly, any of your teammates can become infected at any time—even those scripted to turn during certain story moments. Infected teammates initially behave normally but will eventually transform into Walkers and attack.
This mechanic perfectly captures the fear central to John Carpenter’s The Thing. You’re never entirely sure who you can trust, as anyone can become a Thing at any time. It’s an incredibly unique horror element that I haven’t seen replicated in other games and one that makes The Thing: Remastered a timeless classic, now improved with modern graphical updates.
Screenshot: Try Hard Guides
Like other remasters, this game left me wanting more—not because of a lack of content but because of the potential it has for a total remake. With a modern engine and enhanced graphics, The Thing could easily become one of the most terrifying horror games ever. As it stands, the remaster is a fantastic experience that both fans of the original and newcomers will enjoy.
The Final WordThe Thing: Remastered captures the essence of a timeless horror game and gives it a fresh coat of paint alongside some quality-of-life improvements for a modern audience.10
The Final Word
The Thing: Remastered captures the essence of a timeless horror game and gives it a fresh coat of paint alongside some quality-of-life improvements for a modern audience.
10
Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on ourGame Reviewspage! Deathless. The Thing: Remastered is available onSteam,GoG,Xbox, andPlayStation.
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