Red Faction Guerrilla: Re-Mars-tered Edition Reviews
The story might as well not exist, the mechanics are clumsy and prone to screwing you over through no fault of your own, enemies come at you in endless numbers to make destroying things a deeply annoying and repetitive experience, and the slightly upgraded textures—which are the only real difference between this version and the original apart from some newfound performance issues—are virtually imperceptible because of the uninspired art design that's still trapped in the Guerrilla-era war against colorfulness.
The gameplay itself is fun and the weapon variety is great, but the crashes really kill a lot of the fun. Outside of that, the game world is rather bland, but at least that doesn't break the game.
There are a handful of high points, thanks chiefly to the emergent gameplay provided by Geomod 2.0, but not enough to change what is, in the end, an acceptable but unremarkable sandbox shooter.
It simply doesn’t hold up ten years after release, and whilst we can kick back and enjoy the wanton destruction for a little while, it just isn’t enough to hold the attention for as long as the game is asking of you.
Red Faction: Guerrilla's central mechanics of destruction are a blast, but in the nine years since the game's original launch, we've played a lot of much better games. What was perfectly acceptable by our standards back in 2009 just doesn't cut it anymore, and as a result, Guerrilla is plagued by a number of major issues. Unfortunately, thanks to a bevy of technical issues, it doesn't even succeed as a remaster.
Red Faction: Guerrilla's biggest strength is without a doubt the sheer amount of fun you can have smashing things across Mars. Sadly, that initial enjoyment doesn't last long as you proceed to do the same missions over and over again. Is this game worth picking up, or even worth replaying? For the sake of nostalgia, it might be nice to boot up the game just to relive old memories, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing this title. Despite launching at a reduced price and even being free in some instances, I would suggest playing something else. The standards for open-world third-person shooters has risen far beyond Red Faction: Guerrilla. Skip this game unless you are a huge fan of the original, or you just really love breaking stuff.
Hopefully, some patches bring this remaster up to par, because it would be unforgivable to have Guerrilla fail a second time due to a rushed port.
Regrettably, the game that surrounds this mechanic is a shallow and repetitive misunderstanding of open-world design. Add to this the less than impressive performance levels of the Switch version and you're left with a great idea that just doesn't have the design to support it. Much like the result of its primary game mechanic, Red Faction Guerrilla crumbles without the support of more engaging gameplay to surround that mechanic.
It's a game that's constantly reminding you that it is a game released in 2009, with its dated single-player mode and boring missions.
Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered is not the first time that THQ Nordic has commissioned the services of KAIKO, with the developer previously bringing the first two Darksiders games to current-generation consoles. The experience gained while updating those titles appears to have paid off, with this latest offering lending vivid life to the Martian landscape. Nevertheless, the game is the product of a different era, and its age shows through in a number of key areas, the most notable of which is the archaic and uninspired open world. Despite these drawbacks, the game remains as engaging, and a series revival with Volition once again at the helm would surely be welcomed by many.
Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered Edition's gameplay provides overwhelming issues that only some gamers can endure.
There's nothing new to say about Guerrilla that hasn't been said before - its gameplay is solid and enjoyable enough to hold up its shortcomings in the story and graphics departments. They just don't make games like this anymore, and perhaps with good reason. Nevertheless, this is a robust cult classic that houses some thrills up its sleeve. It's intriguing that Red Faction has even made a reappearance… Is THQ Nordic gauging interest for a sequel, perhaps?
A great time if you don't care about the story and you just want to mess around in an open-world destroying everything in sight. It can feel a little tedious after a while, but the immensely impressive destructibility for just about everything will keep you engaged to the end.
There's nothing outwardly wrong with Red Faction Guerrilla, and the HD remaster is handled competently. On the Nintendo Switch, and particularly in handheld mode, it actually looks really nice in capturing that grim-Mars wasteland. Sadly, open worlds age far worse than most other approaches to game design
Acceptable remaster without surprises and with old stlyle gameplay.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
It's just a destruction simulator, nothing more than that.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Red Faction: Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered is a bunch of fun for first -timers, but those who have taken the trip before wont find many reasons to make a return. The Switch struggles to keep up with the most intense destruction and ends up feeling more like a port of the original game.
Red Faction Guerilla got a remaster treatment, but it's underwhelming.
Red Faction Guerrilla is back with a remastered version that is not enough to make up the 10-year-old flaws of the game. In spite of the fact that destroying everything is still quite funny, there are better options nowadays for the fans of this crazy action games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Red Faction Guerilla ReMARStered is far from perfect, but it's fun, and it's proof that not every game needs to have a serious, super in-depth narrative to please.