Red Faction: Guerrilla ReMARStered Review (Nintendo Switch)

The third installment in the Red Faction series has made its way onto the Nintendo Switch. Red Faction: Guerrilla ReMARStered remains one of the most enjoyable games of the last generation and continues its stride for current-gen systems. Its gameplay is incredibly fun and addicting while the story is engaging alongside some deep world-building. Although the game has some definite high points, the port itself does contain a few issues such as slowdowns and occasional crashes. Despite this, THQ Nordic’s recent efforts still contribute to an overall enjoyable experience.

Engaging Narrative

For anyone unfamiliar with the original version of Red Faction: Guerrilla, players take control of Alec Mason, a miner from Earth looking to join his brother and start a new life on Mars. After meeting up with his brother and witnessing his death at the hands of the Earth Defence Force, the governing body of Mars, Mason quickly joins the ranks of the Red Faction and sets off to help create a free and independent planet. As the story goes on, the player uncovers more information about the EDF and the Red Faction, alongside some history of other groups and their experiences on the planet. This sense of world-building is unique and helps make it feel as if the user is actually taking over a planet rather than just a generic Sci-Fi plot.

The ReMARStered edition includes the game’s DLC which is a prequel to the overall plot. If you haven’t played this title before, it is recommended to skip over it until the main story is completed. This is due to the DLC’s description spoiling a fairly major plot point. Once users do play through this, however, they’ll quickly notice how fun it is. It contains the same gameplay but there’s a whole new section to destroy along with a slew of new weapons and equipment. The plot is straight forward and could have done a bit more to create an emotional attachment to the characters featured, yet it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

Destructingly Addictive Gameplay

By far the biggest highlight for this title is the gameplay. It can’t be stressed enough how fun and addictive it can grow to become. I constantly found myself wanting to come back and keep playing even as my Switch’s battery was draining. The core of the game is simple: Destroy everything and shake Mars to its core. You’ll be running around while taking a sledgehammer to any building in sight. How it tumbles to the ground is up to the player. The game’s engine allows for immense destruction no matter how the user approaches the situation which is fantastic. There is so much to destroy and discover that many times you’ll realize that there’s still some story missions to play through. In addition to the satisfying and stress-relieving feeling of blowing everything up, a few hidden collectibles can be found that may please those looking for a bit more to do.

The destruction aspect of the game is the main selling point by far, yet there are still missions that need to be completed. This is where the game does fall a bit flat at times. Side missions help to lower the EDF’s influence on the population and raise morale from the residents, much like destruction does, yet they aren’t as fun. They come off as more tedious than anything else. Rescuing hostages, transporting cargo, and fending off waves of enemies is exciting at first but when there isn’t anything new to offer as the game goes on, it becomes tiring. Near the end of the game, some of these missions had to be finished to unlock the final plot points and it was the least fun bit of it all. Campaign missions are fun, though, and do shake up the gameplay from time to time.

A Port with a Few Flaws

At first glance, Red Faction: Guerrilla reMARStered is great. The game runs smoothly, gunfights are tight, and destroying buildings look good. However, as the title started to ramp up in its plot, that’s when many problems were noticed. When full-blown chaos erupted, featuring hordes of enemies and falling buildings, the frame rate would drop and slowdown would occur. Shooting enemies was complicated from a distance due to problems with aiming but this is an issue for many shooters on the Switch, yet auto-lock does not help much. Lastly, a big problem was the number of crashes the game endured. In the middle of the final mission for the DLC and the main game, it crashed and sent me to the system’s main menu prompting a few restarts. These were the most annoying instances but it did crash in other missions and even while just destroying the world. Docked and handheld versions both played fine and did not have much of a noticeable difference between them. When the title was running fine, everything looked good and appeared as a great port. Hopefully, a patch can fix some of these issues.

Extra Goodies

One last thing to note is the game’s additional modes and features. Red Faction Guerrilla’s remaster includes its Online Multiplayer and Wrecking Crew modes. Online can be fun and lets players take others on in a slew of different game types. The only issue is trying to find a well-populated lobby. You can sync up with friends online but searching for others can be difficult, yet there were a surprisingly decent amount of players looking for a lobby. Not enough to sustain the mode entirely but enough to have a few rounds of fun, at least at the time of writing. Wrecking Crew, on the other hand, is where you can have the most enjoyability. It’s the game’s local multiplayer option which lets users pick their favorite characters and go head to head over who can cause the most destruction in the time allowed. Surprisingly, though, Samanya can’t be selected for some reason. This is a great add on to the game and makes it feel like a full experience. These are both fun modes but you’ll definitely be spending most of your time in the main game.

In my nearly 15-hour playthrough of the game, there was plenty to do and discover on the planet Mars. I couldn’t get enough of this title despite the flaws found within the port. Even after the game’s completion, I continued to run around the world and blow everything up that I missed before. There also happens to be a new game plus which features an upgraded sledgehammer and a few more cosmetic changes for a bit more gameplay. The additional modes included are fun but they weren’t something that prompted a continuous playthrough of. Its DLC, however, was fun and worth those extra couple hours of gameplay. Overall, this was an enjoyable port of Red Faction: Guerrilla and should be played by any who haven’t experienced it before. Here’s to hoping for its sequel, Red Faction: Armaggedon, to receive a reMARStering of its own!

Thank you to THQ Nordic for providing us with a review code!