Freedom Wars, the fan-favorite multiplayer motion sport ceaselessly hailed as one of many PlayStation Vita’s greatest video games, is formally coming again. Bandai Namco introduced right this moment that Freedom Wars might be getting a remastered model on fashionable platforms, bringing with it 4K decision, 60fps assist, and different enhancements.
First launched on Vita again in 2014, Freedom Wars is a dystopian third-person multiplayer motion sport just like Monster Hunter that helps as much as eight gamers. It was initially developed by the now-defunct Japan Studio, which was merged into Workforce Asobi in 2021. Freedom Wars’ servers have been turned off that very same yr. The remastered model is being developed by Dimps Company, which was capable of achieve permission from Sony to make use of the license.
Regardless of Freedom Wars’ standing as a distinct segment favourite, it was capable of develop a cult following and earn a spot on our listing of the 25 greatest Vita video games.
“Freedom Wars’ emphasis on combating, looting, and upgrading creates an addictive gameplay loop for Vita house owners. It actually is not the one Monster Hunter clone out there on Vita, but it surely’s maybe its most profitable one,” we wrote on the time. “The endurance of its addictive fight-loot-upgrade cycle is enhanced by deep gameplay, customization choices, and a very attention-grabbing on-line part made it certainly one of our favourite transportable releases of 2014.”
Along with graphical enhancements, Freedom Wars Remastered will characteristic an overhauled weapon crafting system and further problem settings, amongst different additions. Nonetheless, we wrote in our hands-on preview that it feels just like the way it was 10 years in the past.
“A part of me sees Freedom Wars Remastered extra as a novelty – a Vita traditional that’s now not less than playable on fashionable platforms with its most essential elements unsullied, for higher or worse. It’s basically the 2014 sport with some quality-of-life requirements,” our previewer Michael Higham wrote. “It was an ideal match for Sony’s final handheld, and a blast to sink hours into, competing with different Panopticons throughout your area and lowering your jail sentence in futility. I’m unsure if it’s going to take the identical method it did 10 years in the past, however I do consider it is a large win for preservation and making a cult traditional way more accessible in a trustworthy type.
In the identical preview, director Takashi Tsukamoto calls the remaster a neccessary first step on the trail towards finally make a sequel.
“We’ve been eager to create one thing like this for a very long time, however we actually did not have the chance. As Dimps [the development team], we’ve been trying for alternatives to launch one thing, possibly a sequel – one thing associated to Freedom Wars. Nonetheless, it was very troublesome to arrange a staff and nothing was actually lining up. Sooner or later, we stated possibly a remastered model of the unique could be good.”
As for why it is taken this lengthy to revisit Freedom Wars, Tsukamoto stated, “The chance by no means actually offered itself till now. We have been capable of come to an settlement with Sony concerning the license and they have been capable of companion up with Bandai Namco, and it simply so occurs that it’s about 10 years later that every one of it began coming to fruition.”
Tsukamoto says he hopes the brand new remaster might be profitable sufficient to “take the subsequent step into probably releasing a sequel,” including, “As a lot as we’d wish to share it with you, we do not know if there’s going to be a sequel but after all, but when there’s a sequel, we’ve tons of concepts we’d wish to implement into stated sequel.”
Freedom Wars Remastered is about to launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, and Nintendo Swap on January 10, 2025. Within the meantime, try our listing of the perfect 2024 video games to this point.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s Information Director in addition to co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Ship her a DM at @the_katbot.