XIII Reviews
The XIII remake is best described as absolutely incompetent. A game from 2020 shouldn’t look, play, sound, and perform worse than a 2003 title that wasn’t even that hardware demanding back in the day to begin with. I am baffled with how unfinished and unpolished this game is. I may have played worse games this year, but I seriously doubt any of them, be it Fast & Furious or Road Bustle, infuriated me as much as this remake. The more I play it, the more I loathe it.
In all honesty, XIII from 2003 wasn’t that great of a game to begin with. PlayMagic clearly wanted to modernize and improve what that game did, while keeping the integrity of the game in-tact. But for some reason or another, just couldn’t come through on that. The game’s best feature is its cel-shaded graphical fidelity, being a remake that looks better than it plays. If you manage to pick this up, though I’d recommend you wait for patches and updates, you’ll either appreciate what’s been done or be convinced to pick up XIII – Classic instead.
Fans are better off playing the original on PS2, Xbox, and GameCube. The remake is barely playable in its current state.
We’d strongly advise against playing XIII on current-gen hardware in its current state, at least. Next-gen, the game is considerably better but there’s a lot that’s still not quite up to scratch. We’d certainly advise waiting on this until at least the first update is live, but what we will say for sure is there’s other inherent problems here that go beyond re-balances and tweaks.
Microids and PlayMagic delivered what looks like an unfinished game, with many bugs hindering the story progression and other problems like the bad enemy A.I., leaving just the original plot and the good cel-shaded graphics as the only positives.
Review in Italian | Read full review
You can easily imagine a world where the XIII remake is a success, but sadly this isn’t that world. Broken is about the nicest thing that can be said about this remaster that is somehow worse than the original.
This remake of XIII not only fails to recreate the source material but also fails as an enjoyable gaming experience.
If you want to play XIII, look for the original. Just skip this reimagining.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
With no AI improvements and a clear design choice of using 3D models, the aesthetics of the original XIII spoil it more than they improve it.
Review in Greek | Read full review
This XIII Remake was supposed to allow fans of the original to relive their memories in a way that was suited to modern hardware and gameplay norms. Sadly, this game failed to deliver due to a questionable choice of art direction, last-gen controls, and many, many flaws and bugs that hamper the game.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
The only good thing about this remake is that it's a great example of how not to do one.
The 2022 XIII remake is a second chance to give new life to a cult classic. Unlike the previous attempt, this version does right by its fans by honoring the cult classic. It also does a great job at introducing it to a new generation of gamers.
Although the remake of XIII was released in 2020 to generally negative reviews, this version, which is now being released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series -and to which the 2020 versions will be updated for free- has corrected several of the initial problems of the game, although there is still work to be done. If you couldn't enjoy the original game in its day, this remake in its current state may already be a good option for it, as long as we stick to its flaws.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
XIII Remake is still brimming with inconsistencies. The story is good, and the visuals have improved, but the gameplay is a bit messy. Although there are a few improvements, it does not feel like I was playing a current-gen game. Without the story, I am certain I wouldn’t have bothered playing this game again. The plot and the graphics carried this game. Microids were given another chance, and they didn’t do enough with it. Having said this, some restorations were brought to a classic.
The remake of XIII can be considered playable now thanks to the efforts of studio Tower Five, but polishing it above mediocrity would just not be possible without starting the development from the ground up.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Credit to the people behind the original title, it doesn’t just differentiate itself with its cool visual style
XIII is a linear first-person shooter with a neat graphical style that offers simple fun akin to a game that belongs in an arcade. However, FPS veterans may be put off due to its linearity and general lack of depth.
Such an offensive slap to all fans of the original game and to all gamers in general.
Review in Russian | Read full review
XIII makes a return as a remake of the 2003 original. It's a game that should have stayed in the past where it belonged.
One tiny step forward and three huge leaps backwards. Some minor modern improvements fail to mask the failures of this remake. If you want the best experience, the 2003 original is the definitive edition.