Update [Fri 7th Jun, 2024 21:45 BST]:
Yes, we were right!
The Thing: Remastered has been officially announced by Nightdive Studios. There's no firm release date just yet, but it's heading to the Nintendo Switch later this year. It's been enhanced with upgraded textures, models, lighting, and much, much more.
Let's check out the key features (note: a couple of these will not be relevant for Switch owners):
- Return to U.S. Outpost #31 – Continue the story of The Thing and face off against terrifying monsters, from scuttling head-spiders and human-like walkers to gigantic multi-tentacled level bosses.
- Who Goes There? – Command a squad of up to four NPCs from Soldier, Medic, and Engineer character classes through the game’s 11 frightening levels.
- The Warmest Place to Hide – Someone in your squad may not be who they appear to be. The shape-shifting alien hides inside an imitation, so keep a watchful eye.
- Don’t Lose It – Gain the trust of your squad members and minimize their fear levels lest they become defiant or, worse, succumb to paranoia.
- Ultimate Alien Terror – Upgraded models, textures, and animations hand-crafted by Nightdive, plus enhanced lighting and atmospheric effects.
- Stunning Visuals – Up to 4K 120 frames per second visuals on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
- Checkmate – Trophies and Achievements on Windows PC via Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles.
We'll be sure to keep you updated on any additional information on The Thing: Remastered in the coming weeks and months. For now, let us know what you think with a comment.
Original Article [Thu 6th Jun, 2024 15:30 BST]:
Nightdive Studios has been on a phenomenal run recently, launching excellent remasters such as Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster, PO'ed: Definitive Edition, and System Shock (now that's a Switch 2 game waiting to happen, right?).
The studio will be making an appearance at the upcoming IGN Live event this Friday, and it's posted a cheeky little hint at what its upcoming project might be over on X. Now, unless we're making a drastic error here (in which case, we sincerely apologise), it looks like it's going to be a rerelease of the 2002 cult survival horror game The Thing.
The image shown by Nightdive appears to be a heavily cropped version of the original key art, albeit with altered colours. Thankfully, Horror Games Community has presented a neat little comparison that makes it pretty clear cut to us:
It's definitely that, right? We'd be mightily surprised if it was anything different. Either way, we're excited to find out more this coming Friday. Nightdive Studios is proving itself to be one of the most talented studios out there when it comes to reviving older games, so we've got our eyes peeled.
Originally released on the PS2, Xbox, and Windows, The Thing was an excellent adaptation of the 1982 film of the same name by renowned director John Carpenter. Developed by the now-defunct Computer Artworks, it was a fairly traditional third-person shooter that, in this writer's opinion, paved the way for classics like Dead Space.
It's interesting, we never thought we wanted a remaster of The Thing, but now that we've seen this, we can scarcely think of little else. But what do you fine folks reckon? Let us know with a comment.
[source x.com]
Comments 67
This is one of my fav movies ever and one of my fav Xbox games! I never thought I’d see it re released. Such excellent news. PLEASE be in the switch. 🤞
Excellent news, since the game is trapped on that generation of consoles IIRC.
The problem with these rumours is nobody trusts anybody now, and we're all very tired... 😉
How cool (if true)! I looooove the OG Thing movie and never got a chance to play the game so I’m excited to try it out!
Awesome! I enjoyed this game back in the day.
absolutely superb choice. what a great game.
Interesting, The Thing is one of my favourite movies, but I never actually played this.
It’s not an adaptation of the 1982 film; it’s actually the official sequel to the story, with an American Special Forces unit arriving at the Antarctic base to see what went wrong. However, it seems that man is still the warmest place to hide….
It's a good game! I'd love to see it remastered.
Also why god why is System Shock not on the switch. Dark Forces is a meh in my book and POed is a straight up no thanks, but System Shock man. I could kill for that one.
It was amazing back in the day, if I am not mistaken it had a pretty cool insanity system on your companions wich could lead to them distrusting you and hallucinate.
this is awesome, I never got to play it - but the carpenter movie remains my favourite cosmic horror movie of all time, and IMO the best depiction of an eldritch horror monster on screen bar none. I hope the game is good!
I loved the atmosphere of this game back on PC. I might be interested. But we really need some immersive sim on Switch (System Shock, Thief, Deus Ex etc…).
@AG_Awesome No kidding. The movie is awesome! I wasn't born during the time of it's release, but it's one of the horror movies i always struggled to watch.
Not because it was bad or anything. Quite the opposite. The movie was just very effective with the horror. It always freaked me out watching alone at night.
The Thing is truly a classic.
The movie in 4K HDR10 and DTS:X is simply amazing (plus it's just a great movie in general).
I never played the game, but I heard it had really cool mechanics and was a great "sequel" to the film.
Yooooo, I just watched Jerma's stream of this game a couple days ago! What are the odds?! Game looked like it had plenty of jank, but still looked really fun! Really dig the concept of not being entirely sure you can trust your CPU teammates. Honestly, the more survival-horror games on Switch, the merrier! Would be totally down to give this game a shot.
Nice, the fact that we never got this game on the GameCube means this would be the first time Nintendo players would get to experience this classic action game.
I was literally saying to my buddy the other night how I'd absolutely love for them to port this to current consoles!
Always loved this game
I saw Jerma play this the other day and it looked soooo cool! The idea that any of your crewmates could turn at any moment seemed so.... strangely next-gen and I absolutely adored that about it.
I remember the 1982 movie when I watched while still in middle school in 2004.
And I also remember the 2011 film. But I didn't get the chance to watch the ORIGINAL 1951 film, The Thing. A.k.a "The Thing from Another World". I should go fix btw.
Aww yiss, this and half life were the best games of my childhood
@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot As someone who has seen the 1951 movie, I can tell you that Carpenter did to that movie what Johnny Cash did to NIN’s “Hurt:” turn 💩 to gold. That 1951 movie is kind of just a generic late-night monster movie with none of what makes the ‘82 film unique.
Instead of watching the 1951 movie, you should read the excellent 1938 Campbell novella that inspired these films. It’s fewer than 100 pages and is definitely closer to what Carpenter did in spirit. Just my $0.02.
Anyway, what a surprising announcement. I’m curious to see how what QoL enchantments or changes this remaster will provide.
I had no idea this game existed! The Thing from the early eighties was one of the creepiest movies I'd ever watched back then. The special effects were so grotesque! The movie probably made for a compelling game on PS2 - maybe it's similar in feel to Alien: Isolation?
I'll keep an eye out for more news on this one...
Nobody's mentioned the funny cartoon parody on YouTube? This is how I discovered the existence of this game, lol.
@TotalHenshin I think you have it backwards, NIN's Hurt > Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash BUTCHERS that song.
I played on Xbox, was pretty challenging I don't think I finished the game, great choice for a remaster. I'll consider this one if the price is good.
THE THING!!!!
If a remaster of this (upgraded graphics so it looks a bit better, better controls, that’s all I need) happens, I do hope it comes to Switch.
We need more of The Thing. Whether it’s like this game, a re-release of the movie in theaters, a reboot or remake or a sequel movie whatever but we need more of The Thing .
Wait what happens to the Killing Time remaster?
https://x.com/gematsu/status/1798430779283791880
This would be great, but I keep hoping for them to do Cybermage: Darklight Awakening
@PKDuckman Ha, I guess this was the 'next' remaster from Nightdive. Still confident The Thing will be announced tomorrow.
Thanks to The Thing, Alien, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street i was a convert to the horror genre at a very early age.
The Thing is one of those great Lovecraftian films that isn’t actually based on a particular story of Howard’s. Though it shares its setting with At The Mountains of Madness. At the Mouth of Madness is another one by Carpenter that’s not based on a particular Lovecraft work.
While i love Stuart Gordon’s shlocky takes on specific Lovecraft stories (especially From Beyond), i don’t think they evoke the themes of H.P.’s stories, quite as effectively as the aforementioned films.
The recent film, Annihilation, was pretty good.
My favorite Lovecraft tale is The Colour Out of Space. There’s a film of it directed by the guy who did the Val Kilmer featured, The Island of Doctor Moreau. It’s got Nic Cage and is okay except for two utterly pointless scenes and one lackluster cgi monster(the rest of the cg i don’t mind). In some genres cgi is fine, but in horror, i almost never want it. The Thing , perhaps above any other film, sets the example.
I never played The Thing video game, but had two buddies who did, and one thought it sucked and the other loved it. I think the critic reviews were mixed too.
I might try this out if it happens.
(I wonder if Nightdive will ever get to Dark Corners of the Earth…)
@Pho Agree to disagree 😄
I loved this game. It was flawed (for example: there were moments were teammates were scripted to turn, but if you tested them just before, they’d be fine), but for most part it was fun and interesting..
@TotalHenshin Fair enough, differing tastes. 🤘
@TotalHenshin there is also a follow up novella to the film called ‘Things’ which tells the film from the creature’s point of view. It is revealed to be sentient and doesn’t understand why the humans are so hostile to it, as to its species joining together is how they communicate. It has some really freaky ideas, sure as people being conscious that they are being taken over and slowly fading away as the thing consumes more of their cells and the creature’s disgust at finding out what humans really are…
@Teksetter it’s closer to Dead Space as it is far more action oriented than Alien Isolation.
@Diogmites check out Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness if you haven’t already. Along with The Thing and Mouth of Madness it forms the third part of his ‘Apocalypse Trilogy’. Also have you seen Event Horizon? A great cosmic horror film imo.
@Gamecuber I had no idea there was even a novella. Two in fact. I'm going to check them out.
@Gamecuber I’ve seen Prince of Darkness once, but it’s been awhile.
Seen Event Horizon a few times. It’s fun.
Why? Why this if all games?
Thats really cool. Heard some things back then. The movie is amazing and I never got to play it
@Diogmites I liked Dark corners of the earth for having 2 of my fave HPL alien races - flying polyps and yithians. I wish they'd make a film based on Shadow out of time.
Two cool races for sure! It’s been awhile since i played it, i liked the shoggoth chase.
The Shadow out of Time would make a sweet film. Self Made Hero has a decent graphic novel adaptation.
I was bummed Guillermo del Toro never got At the Mountains of Madness made.
They just announced they are remastering 3DO's Killing Time. I am stunned as it is a game I've wanted Nightdive to tackle for years. So excited!
@Pho You made me log in for the first time in months just to say this. NIN's Hurt is wonderful, but has more angst dripping from it. Johnny's version has that old pounding sorrow from someone at the end of their time reflecting on mistakes and their regrets they have no time or ability to make right. Cash made that song his own with that cover, just like Tesla (the band) managed to do with Signs.
I love both, and come on Cash didn't butcher it.
Also hopefully Nightdive treats this one good. Their remaster of BLOOD has forever made me cautious of a day one buy from them.
@Elbow they do both occupy different emotional spaces. I think that's a pretty fair assessment of the songs, and I think my phrasing was a bit heavy-handed in regards to Johnny Cash version. I was just flabbergasted by the NIN version being called a 💩.
I've not heard of BLOOD, did it have issues?
I'd buy this on switch but I am a bit paranoid that my switch is about to mutate into a horrible monster of a last gen system full of games I can't play on the next platform.
@Grail_Quest I am excited to try that one again as well! Thanks for the news!
@Olliemar28 Only a Swith deals in abtholutes!
@Moistnado not only that but you will also become the next Thing!!!
YAYYYY. It is real. It looks good to be a horror game fan for everyone.
Slitherhead (all other platforms except Switch)
Clock Tower Rewind (all platforms including Switch)
FNAF Into the Pit (all platforms including Switch)
The Thing Remastered (all platforms including Switch)
PLEASE RUN WELL ON SWITCH 🙏 FOR THOSE THREE HORROR GAMES I MENTIONED ON THIS LIST
Is it definitely on switch? I didn’t see what systems it was on.
YES!! The Thing is one of my top 3 movies of all times (incl Jaws and Alien), and the game was great as well.
Can't wait to play the remaster.
@Pho I do agree that calling NIN's version crap is also insane, I love both of them.
As for BLOOD, yeah, it's a PC shooter that came out in the late 90s on the Build Engine (the Duke Nukem 3D engine) and Nightdive did a remaster of it a few years ago. Think Duke but with a much stronger lean towards Gothic art styles, horror, giant spiders, dark humor, etc.
I was all on board until release day, it had horrible issues since they were trying to get it running on their proprietary engine and it had so many bugs, visual issues, and enemies acting differently and with wildly varying damage and health pools than they did in the original DOS version. It's like the only time I've ever heard of Nightdive batching a release, even though they fixed it up pretty well with patches.
I know Nightdive can do great work but the Blood remaster botch on release really hurt my day-1 impulse buy urge with their releases.
If you want a quick stroll through what went wrong with it, a YouTube video by Civvie11 titled "BLOOD: FRESH SUPPLY - PINK ON THE INSIDE" has an excellent summary of the issues.
@sikthvash And even if this does eventually release, it probably won’t be until the first ***damn week of winter.
@AG_Awesome The first sentence in the article says it's coming to Switch.
@Tasuki in the video… I didn’t see it in the video. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
YUuuuuussssss! I hope people will give Nightdive a break now. I've appreciated the recent sleepers, especially as someone who didn't have a 3DO (I played PO'ed back in the day on PS1, but not Killing Time).
Anyway, if you are pining away for the halcyon days of the PS2, you should pick this one up.
@anoyonmus perhaps I am mutating into a last gen low poly, low resolution, janky framerate monstrosity.
@Moistnado Maybe… who knows
I stopped playing this back in the day when I got a negative blood test from a team mate and then 5 seconds later he rurned into an alien.....
I remember having this on the original Xbox and never getting around to fully playing through it, really cool that so many great games from the PS2/PS3 era are now easier to access than ever. Ironically Nintendo really needs to learn from this how much gamers love old titles they've got locked in the vault.
@Pho from The wiki article on the song you're talking about "In 2002, Johnny Cash covered "Hurt" to commercial and critical acclaim. The related music video is considered one of the greatest of all time by publications such as NME. Reznor praised Cash's interpretation of the song for its "sincerity and meaning", going so far as to say "that song isn't mine anymore"
Trent loved the Cash version so much he considered the song to be belong to the man in black after the cover, would agree with you though, both versions are amazing IMO just a different emotion on display, like with the OG and disturbed versions of sound of silence, one is sad acceptance, the other rage at the situation
This is right up my alley. Definitely buying the physical copy. I'd love more PS2 era remasters in the Switch's waning years
@Steel76 I had a random day off to myself a few months ago. Celebrated by day drinking and watching Jaws, Alien and the Thing back to back on Blu Ray. To borrow from Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons ‘Best day ever!’ 😁
@Gitface yeah and by then no-one will trust each other anymore. We’ll all be very tired…
See now this is a remaster. An old gem that hasn't been mentioned in decades.
Not the blatant cash grabs Nintendo unloads every couple months.
@Gamecuber
You inspire me to do the same tomorrow 😁👍👍
@mlt I want their Forsaken Remastered on Switch more.
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