Super Lone Survivor will remaster an unsettling classic next year
I'm really good at being alone and alive, actually.
Remember Lone Survivor? It's hard to believe Jasper Byrne's harrowing side-scrolling adventure game is almost a decade old at this point, but such is the equally terrifying march of time. Today, the developer and composer announced Super Lone Survivor, a remake that's bringing the 2011 game up to date with a new engine and a brand new chapter later next year.
It's to my shame that I never actually played Lone Survivor, so much as I listened to that first trailer song again and again almost a decade back. Fortunately, I think 2020 Nat might just be ready for some forlorn, thoughtful horror mysteries.
In a blog post, Byrne explains that the game has been completely rewritten in a new engine, opening up the door to new features like shadows, parallax scrolling and improved effects. With the original Lone Survivor getting on a bit, the remake will also support all the high resolution, high refresh rate, 64-bit machines folks are using these days, along with ultra-smooth scrolling and support for 4k effects. While this'll help most of the game, they'll get their best showing in a new scenario, Ascending. For now, Byrne's remaining tight-lipped on what else to expect from the new content.
"I still have no idea how long Ascending will be," Byrne writes. "I don’t want it to spiral, but then again the story feels relevant right now. By packaging it with the original game, it removes the pressure to do a full sequel, something I never intended to do."
Byrne's original was a wonderfully moody one-man horror show with a phenomenal soundtrack, according to Adam Smith's (RPS-in-peace) Lone Survivor review - not a jumpscare fright-fest per se, but a forlorn, introspective game that rests uncomfortably in the back of your mind long after playing.
"It’s a game made by someone who appreciates that the best way to get under someone’s skin is to make them think about that skin, not just the way that it peels off when a knife is applied, but the way that it feels to touch, the way that it covers our skulls and helps us to express ourselves, and the way that it wrinkles and ages."
Super Lone Survivor is set to launch on PC and Switch in 2021.