Broken Sword – Shadow Of The Templars: Reforged Review

“Paris in the Fall…,” there are few opening lines of dialogue as iconic in a video game than the beginning of Revolution Software’s Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, first released in 1996. The whole game is an icon of the point-and-click genre – a cultural cornerstone for many players who grew up during ‘the golden era’ of adventure games and an everlasting inspiration for developers of modern point-and-clicks. I still remember playing the PlayStation version in the late 90s and being completely immersed and enamoured with the story, characters, and history. This game is in my all-time top 10, and it was the catalyst for my interest in adventure games and story-driven experiences, as well as the Knights Templar and history in general. However, while the original may hold its own in most areas, visually it looks like a title approaching 30 years old, which is why the British studio took to Kickstarter earlier this year to help put the finishing touches on Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged, a 4K remaster of the 1996 classic. It’s hard to put into words just how excited I am, not only to play Shadow of the Templars once again in a glorious new fidelity but for a new generation of players to hopefully experience what I did all those years ago.

If screenshots could talk

Shadow of the Templars takes place in Paris and sees American tourist George Stobbart (voiced by Rolf Saxon) become entangled in a mystery involving murder, a cult and a secret treasure. Stobbart joins forces with the tenacious French journalist Nicole Collard, and together they embark on an investigation that takes them all over the world, meeting a host of unique and entertaining characters as they unravel a conspiracy with ties to the Knights Templar.

As a remaster, Revolution’s main focus was to give the game a massive graphical facelift, and as a result, Reforged’s visuals now more closely resemble the original game’s cutscenes, which have that classic animation style (think Disney films like Aladdin). Backgrounds are now full of impressive amounts of detail and colour, helping to bring the locations and environments to life, offering a new level of immersion. Using the original backgrounds as the foundations to build upon, Revolution has been able to ensure that the charm hasn’t been lost, as well as fix some narrative quirks – such as the bar stool surviving the opening scene’s bomb blast, which now lies in pieces across the café’s floor.

A neat addition is that you can switch between Reforged and the original’s visuals at any time with the press of a button. So, for any new players who want to experience how us oldies played it back in the day, you can play the game as it was originally designed. It really does make you appreciate the level of work that has gone into sprucing this up for modern audiences.

Like any good point-and-click game, having a well-written narrative is key to ensuring players are hooked, and Reforged delivers a good old globetrotting adventure bursting with dry and witty humour and unique, eccentric characters brought to life by some excellent voice acting (although the new enhanced audio still sounds a little old). And we can’t forget the superb work that composer Barrington Pheloung did with the game’s soundtrack too, which has also been enhanced and is just as striking as it was the first time I heard it.

Revolution has also tweaked some things ever so slightly to make them more appropriate in 2024, such as the scene where George can kiss Nico when she’s tied up or the Syrian carpet merchant, who is now more upbeat. It’s a testament to the writing team that the game’s humour manages to hold up even now. Of course, it’s a product of its time, and not all of it lands as it did in the late 90s, but I couldn’t help but crack a smile or even have a chuckle after hearing lines that I’d forgotten over the years or showing George’s dirty tissue to everyone I could.

“Can’t make your mind, huh?”

The original interface worked great for its time, with Revolution paving the way for how other point-and-click games should be. With Reforged’s revamped UI, Revolution has once again set the standard with a simple and intuitive interface that is easy to use. Best of all, it works excellent with a controller, so console players won’t have any issues scrolling around the environments.

Not all players want the challenge that point-and-clicks can give, which is why Revolution has included a Story Mode. In Story Mode, objects that are of no use anymore will be no longer be interactable and items that don’t push you forward but still might have a use later will be greyed out, allowing players to focus on the right items to progress. If you’d prefer to simply have the answer giving to you there is a hint system that can be enabled with 60 second, five minutes or one-hour timers. Furthermore, Story Mode will slowly nudge you in the right direction by highlighting areas or objects that you should be checking out. It won’t be for everyone, and those who want the challenge can play in Classic Mode, or if you want a bit of both you can create your own custom settings.

Final Thoughts

For a game, let alone a series, to have a 30 year long history and fanbase is no small feat and Revolution’s work has retained its audience and place in gaming culture for a reason. Broken Sword: Shadows of the Templars is nothing short of a masterpiece, and the fact that we’re still playing this game decades after its initial release is proof of that. Reforged feels like the perfect way to honour the game’s past but modernise it for new audiences. There’s something calming about returning to a game that’s so familiar and such a part of who we are. I cannot thank Revolution enough for the joy that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars has brought me over the years and I hope the game finds a new audience and sparks more love for the point-and-click genre.

Reviewed on PC // Review code supplied by publisher

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