Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster Includes Level That's Been Missing for 29 Years

gamerant.com:

The Star Wars: Dark Forces remaster by Nightdive Studios features a restored prototype level from the game's old Consumer Electronics Show (CES) demo, allowing players to enjoy this level for the first time in 29 years. This mysterious level is referenced in the official Star Wars: Dark Forcesbox art, leaving many fans to wonder about its status.

Released on February 28, the Star Wars: Dark Forces remaster lets players experience the beginning of Kyle Katarn's journey on modern platforms, 29 years after the first-person shooter's release on PC in 1995. Nightdive Studios made substantial improvements to the game for the remaster, including support for 4K resolution and up to 120 frames-per-second on compatible displays and platforms. All fourteen levels from the original game have been greatly enhanced with advanced 3D rendering, improved lighting, and unique atmospheric effects.

Reported by PC Gamer and the Star Wars fan site/Twitter account DF21net, the Star Wars: Dark Forces remaster includes the prototype ISD Avenger level from the old CES demo from 1995. This level was cut from the original 1995 release, since Star Wars games developer LucasArts determined that ISD Avenger was too difficult of an introductory level for new Star Wars: Dark Forces players at the time. After the level was cut, the game's replacement level, Secret Base, was developed for the retail release. Despite not being available in the original retail release, the ISD Avenger level was used for the game's iconic box art, becoming a topic of discussion and intriguing Star Wars fans for decades.

Force Engine creator LuciusDXL is credited for helping Nightdive Studios recover and restore the prototype level for the release of Star Wars: Dark Forces' remaster. The level was present in the original LucasArts development vault that was given to Nightdive Studios for development, but it needed to be converted to a new file type. The conversion process also required Nightdive Studios to piece the level