Nostalgia is a powerful drug and game developers understand that very well, which is why plenty of games have been given the remake or remaster treatment. The latest to join the remake/remaster library is the first and second entry of the classic adventure game series, Little Big Adventure (not to be confused with Sony’s Little Big Planet), or Relentless: Twinsen’s Adventure.
The first game was released in 1994 while the sequel was released three years later in 1997. I only had the chance to play Little Big Adventure 2 or Twinsen’s Odyssey and I remember loving every second of it despite its incredibly janky controls even for that time. But the story, the characters, the world and most importantly the sense of adventure really drew me in. So I am eagerly waiting to see what this remake will bring and hope it will retain the originals’ charm.
Last year on May 31 in conjunction with the series’ 25th Anniversary, both games, now bearing the names of Twinsen’s Little Big Adventure Classic and Twinsen’s Little Big Adventure 2 Classic were given a handful of modern updates by [2.21]. The update included features such as New Game+, Steam Achievements, Controller Support, Windowed Support, Steam Cloud Saving and more.
However, come 2024, the team at [2.21] want to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Twinsen in a big way by releasing remakes of both games. According to their announcement, “Each game will benefit from a graphical and technical overhaul with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. This means that we will faithfully rebuild both games from scratch. In order to improve the experience, we will also rework Twinsen’s controls and add new features. The option to use the original game controls will of course remain available for those who wish to play as in the original games. This work will also be the occasion to remaster the original music of the composer Philippe Vachey, to guarantee you the best possible experience.”
From the screenshots, we can tell that the upcoming remakes will feature a more cartoon-ish art style and the developers have shared that it will feature more fluid animation and support for 4K resolution. The iconic soundtrack by Phillipe Vachey will also be given the HD treatment to “re-enchant the Islands of Twinsuns”.
Last but not least, with the revamped controls, gamers won’t have to suffer the jankiness of the original control scheme but if you want that ‘original’ feel, you can opt to play the game with the optional old-school keyboard controls. However, for those who want something more up-to-date, the revamped controls will include new tricks for Twinsen like evading and the ability to change weapons instantly.
So far no exact release dates for Twinsen’s Little Big Adventure Remastered and Twinsen’s Little Big Adventure 2 Remastered have been shared by [2.21] but a demo of the first game will be available during the next Steam Neo Fest, which is expected to be held on June 19 until June 26.
