Nightdive is set to bring the Blade Runner adventure game, originally published by Westwood back in 1997, to the PC and consoles.
Sci-fi fans have a particular reverence for Blade Runner. There’s good reason too. The 1982 film, from director Ridley Scott, translated a deep science fiction world to the silver screen, and did so with style.
Flash forward to the late 90s though, and there was no sequel yet, no comics or expansions of any kind. That is, there wasn’t one until Westwood’s Blade Runner game for the PC. The adventure title incorporated some excellent gameplay and grew the story of the movie, intertwining its narrative with that live action feature. So while it’s a fresh story, it’s also familiar thanks to crossover events and characters.
Thanks to Nightdive Studios, it’s also coming back for a new generation of gamers.
“Blade Runner is still a jaw-dropping achievement on every level, so while we’re using KEX to upgrade the graphics and respectfully elevate the gaming experience in a way you’ve never seen before, we’re still preserving Westwood’s vision and gameplay in all its glory,” said Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick. “While you can enjoy the benefits of playing the game on modern hardware, the game should look and feel not as it was, but as glorious as you remember it being.”
Nightdive CEO Stephen Kick
Enhanced
So as you can see from that quote, this isn’t quite the same game that you might remember. Nightdive is promising a bunch of enhancements to the original, including the mentioned graphical bump.
Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition will feature updated character models and animations, upscaled cutscenes using machine learning algorithms, widescreen resolution support, keyboard and controller customization, and much more. However, fans will be pleased to learn that the original look and feel of the game is being preserved.
Nightdive
So when can you expect to dive back into the dark world of Blade Runner? Nightdive says that the title should be heading to “Steam, console, and other platforms” some time this year.