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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Following up the sublime Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster was always going to be tough. Rather than tackle another well-known franchise, Nightdive Studios has wisely chosen to revisit one of the weirdest forgotten gems of the ‘90s with PO’ed: Definitive Edition. Utilising the same principles as Dark Forces, Nightdive’s latest project breathes fresh air into the Any Channel-developed FPS which debuted on 3DO, modernising it in all the right ways while maintaining a respectable level of authenticity.

We should stress right from the start, though: this is a weird game, and it won’t be for everybody. The Dark Forces Remaster was based on an already well-known title, and even if you hadn’t played the original, it was crammed full of recognisable imagery from the Star Wars franchise to help ease you into the old-school experience.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

PO’ed: Definitive Edition has none of that. Its setting, enemy design, structure, and more are very much ‘outside the box’ — if that sounds like your thing, then you’re in for a wonderful time. We suspect, however, that if your FPS experience is limited to more modern examples of the genre, you might want to try something a bit, well, less weird before stepping into the world of PO’ed.

You play as a chef who happens to be stuck in a hostile, alien world and must use everything from frying pans to rocket launchers to survive. See? We told you it was weird. The story admittedly takes somewhat of a backseat to the action here, with separate levels propelling you through the experience with no added fluff in between. We appreciated this quite a lot; the game places a lot of emphasis on fun and freedom above all else, so not having to sit through cutscenes or text boxes is a big win in our eyes.

As for the levels themselves, they’re often big. Really big. Early in the game, you gain a jetpack that can traverse anywhere within any open space. With this in mind, you’ll often find levels made up of vast spaces with short corridors sprinkled in between. Breaking out the jetpack in smaller areas can prove a bit fiddly, but zooming around in a huge room is great fun, and it’s one of the most well-realised uses of a jetpack we’ve seen in any video game.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Despite this, many of the levels in PO'ed are, quite frankly, a nightmare to navigate at times. Often, the required pathway is incredibly well hidden; as in, you have to pass through what looks to be a completely solid wall but is actually an illusion - that kind of thing. It's undoubtedly frustrating, and we have to admit to resorting to a YouTube walkthrough of the original on one occasion so we could figure out where the heck we were supposed to go.

The combat, meanwhile, can be hit-and-miss. There are a lot of enemies throughout PO’ed, and the game tallies how many you managed to wipe out after each level, so there’s a good incentive to hunt them all down. That said, your weapons aren’t the most accurate at the best of times, and even when we enabled the crosshair feature, we were spraying bullets all over the place; almost like we’d just completed basic Stormtrooper training. Enemies are often incredibly accurate, so even if you strafe back and forth, most major encounters will leave you missing a hefty chunk of health.

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Not all weapons are created equal though, so while the throwing knives and the basic pistol require more focus so as not to miss your shot, others such as the Uzi, drill, and rocket launcher are a bit more forgiving; you can comfortably waltz into a room all guns blazing and be confident that you’ll eviscerate several enemies in one fell swoop. What helps greatly is the inclusion of gyro aiming — a staple of Nightdive’s ports at this point — and you can tweak the sensitivity to suit your needs. By default, aiming is executed with the analogue sticks while gyro is there as a kind of ‘fine-tuner’, but you can increase the sensitivity and have it be your primary method of control, if you wish.

In terms of its visual and audio design, we’ve already mentioned that PO’ed is a weird game, and this is only reinforced here. The enemies include what looks like a pair of red lips with sharp teeth jutting out, a pair of muscular legs with a weird mouth, uh, there, and so much more. It’s odd, we tell you. The audio is similar, and while there’s no music to speak of, which is unfortunate, some of the sounds you’ll hear will have you creased with laughter. One of our favourites has to be the kung-fu-esque “Hwaaaah” the main character emits when performing a backflip. Oh yes, you can perform backflips at will in this game. It’s pretty great.

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Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

As usual for Nightdive’s ports, PO’ed: Definitive Edition ran flawlessly on Switch at 60fps with not a single noticeable drop. The visuals are crisp, and several enhancements such as view bobbing, HUD messages, and more have been included here. If you’re after a purer interpretation of the original, however, you can disable any or all of the enhancements within the options menu. So while we struggle to offer up a blanket recommendation for the game itself, there’s no denying Nightdive’s efforts and skill in modernising the experience.

Conclusion

PO'ed Definitive Edition is yet another fine example of Nightdive Studio's excellent work in preserving unique, oddball games of yore while adding some welcome mod cons. With this one, however, the core experience is a little bit too weird to recommend to just any FPS fan. The general premise is odd, the enemy design is unsettling, and the layout of the levels can prove frustrating, especially for newcomers unaccustomed to its old-school ways. Despite this, the jetpack is honestly one of the most fun mechanics we've sampled in gaming, and the bizarre audio design had us in fits of laughter at multiple points. If you've played the original or fancy checking out one of the most unique FPS games from the '90s, it's well worth a punt.