Written by Andy….
Nightdive Studios is bringing the 1998 FPS back to modern platforms on September 24, with upgraded visuals, modern controls and the Wages of SiN expansion included.
There are certain games that feel very much like products of their time, and SiN is definitely one of them.
Originally released in 1998, SiN arrived during a period when the first-person shooter was changing rapidly. Built using the Quake II engine, it combined the fast-paced shooting you would expect from the era with interactive environments, scripted sequences, branching routes and a much greater emphasis on letting players interact with the world around them.
Now, Nightdive Studios is bringing it back with SiN: Reloaded, a full remaster launching on September 24 for PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
For anyone who missed the original, SiN puts you in the boots of Colonel John R. Blade, a security consultant battling Doctor Elexis Sinclaire, CEO of SinTEK Industries.
Sinclaire has begun flooding the streets with a DNA-altering drug, resulting in an army of genetically engineered mutants and giving Blade plenty of reason to start shooting his way through the problem.
It is exactly the sort of gloriously over-the-top setup you would expect from a late-’90s shooter.
More Than Just a Visual Upgrade
Nightdive has built a reputation around bringing older games onto modern hardware without completely sanding away what made them distinctive in the first place, and SiN: Reloaded is being handled using the studio’s KEX Engine.
The remaster will support resolutions up to 4K and frame rates of up to 144 FPS, alongside HD textures and models, anti-aliasing and upgraded 2D screens and menu artwork.
Players will also be able to switch between the remastered visuals and the original SiN Gold presentation, which is a particularly nice addition for anyone who wants to see just how much has changed.
The control scheme and user interface have also been modernised for both controllers and mouse and keyboard, while maps throughout the game have been improved.
Importantly, the package also includes SiN: Wages of Sin, the original mission pack which introduces another campaign centred around taking down a mafia boss and his army of henchmen.
A Shooter That Liked Giving You Things to Touch
One of the more interesting parts of SiN was how interactive its environments were for a game released in 1998.
Players could access computer terminals using DOS-style commands, interact with security cameras and elevators, and even use vehicles including forklifts, patrol boats and helicopters.
Your actions could also affect how levels unfolded, opening different routes and creating branching paths through parts of the game.
It also featured area-specific damage and allowed players to shoot weapons from enemies’ hands, ideas that helped it stand apart from many of the more straightforward shooters of the period.
Those elements are arguably what make SiN: Reloaded an interesting remaster rather than simply another old FPS receiving sharper textures.
What’s Included?
Alongside the main game and Wages of Sin, the remaster will include:
- HD textures and models with support for up to 4K resolution and 144 FPS
- Anti-aliasing and upgraded menu and 2D artwork
- Modernised controller and mouse-and-keyboard support
- An updated user interface
- Improved maps throughout the game
- The ability to switch between remastered and original visuals
- New achievements
- Higher-resolution versions of Zak Belika’s soundtrack, mixed and engineered by Chris Mock
- A vault containing behind-the-scenes material
Nintendo Switch players will also be able to digitally upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition at no additional cost.
There is something appealing about seeing games like SiN given another chance.
This is not a remake attempting to reinvent the original game. From what Nightdive has shown and outlined, SiN: Reloaded is focused on making the original easier to play on modern hardware while preserving the things that made it distinctive in the first place.
The combination of fast FPS action, interactive environments and branching level design helped make SiN stand out back in 1998, and bringing those elements forward with updated visuals and controls should make the game considerably easier for a modern audience to revisit.
Whether you played the original or have never heard of Colonel Blade and Elexis Sinclaire before, SiN: Reloaded looks set to offer a fairly uncompromising trip back to the late-’90s FPS era.
SiN: Reloaded launches on September 24 for PC via Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.