Freedom Wars Remastered Review (PS5) | Push Square
Freedom Wars Remastered is the triumphant return of the fan-favourite, fascistic Monster Hunter-style action game, originally published by Sony for the PS Vita in 2014. As the PS Vita (sadly) never achieved the breakout success it deserved, we always felt this forward-thinking title didn't get a fair shake. With «volunteers» on PS5 and PS4 to potentially power it, Remastered puts the IP's best foot forward, even if it does drag interminably in places.
Set in a grim future, environmental destruction and nuclear war have forced the remnants of humanity into vast subterranean Panopticans, independent city states competing for scraps in which most of the population is imprisoned, penal labour.
Due to extreme resource shortages, these «sinners» are penalised for the high crime of existing, with newborns handed million-year sentences, which can be shortened by serving in the constant conflict between Panopticons. These foreign aggressors, as well as advanced people from a place called On High, send futuristic Abductors to seize unwary sinners, and fighting these large foes is a big part of gameplay and a surprisingly involved spectacle.
The original Freedom Wars was developed in collaboration with a trio of studios and is quite a strange beast. Shift handled concept, art, and general design, while Dimps worked with Japan Studio to hammer out the mechanics and gameplay (technically making the title a first-party release).
Push Square's Robert Ramsey reviewed it at launch, and many of the problems of the original remain in Remastered, but an excellent graphical upgrade enhances it. Like all games (at least in performance mode), it's made much more playable by a consistently high framerate, and the switch in input from PS Vita to DualSense is not to be understated; the original's controversial controls have been modernised, haptics add heft, and with L2 and R2 triggers, you don't have to rely on the PS Vita's weird back touch pad for basic gameplay functions.
Freedom Wars'
Read more on pushsquare.com
