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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Developer: Revolution Software Ltd
Publisher: Revolution Software Ltd
Release Date: 19 September, 2024
Platforms: Steam | Xbox | PlayStation | Nintendo Switch
Genre: Story Rich, Adventure, Point & Click
Digital Standard Edition: $29.99 USD
Physical Standard Edition: $39.99 USD (Amazon, BestBuy) - Early 2025
Voice: English, French (France), German, Italian, Spanish
Screen Languages: Czech, English, French (France), German, Italian, Spanish

---

Reviews:

Push Square - 90

As a remaster, Reforged is about as good as it gets. It hits that perfect sweet spot where the game looks kinda like you remember it looking all those years ago, but then you have the option to switch back to the original graphics and see just how improved the new version actually is. It's a massive leap. There's also a robust and quite granular hint system to help you with puzzles that can be completely tailored to your playstyle, including a story mode that drastically revises how much thinking is required to progress. It's one of many reasons this remaster is perfect for newcomers and returning fans alike.

SECTOR.sk - 90

Even after all these years, Broken Sword 1 still feels like a good book that you want to read a chapter of before going to bed, but can't put down. Now, however, it's more beautiful than ever.

The Gamer - 90

Reforged has raised the bar to breathe new life into the game, reworking the original assets to maintain authenticity, addressing small plot holes, and most importantly, it sets a new standard for how to make point-and-clicks more accessible in this modern day when players are less forgiving with their time and patience. Not to mention, all these years later, making George show everyone his dirty greasepaint tissue is still just as funny as ever. With that, I only have one thing left to say. Does this tissue mean anything to you?

GameSpew - 90

Whether you're a long time fan or a newcomer, this remaster of the classic Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is likely to have you enraptured from start to finish. Its visuals have been lovingly updated, and while there are some issues with the game's audio, this is undoubtedly the best way to experience George Stobbart's debut adventure. It's just a shame there aren't any extras.

Gameliner - 80

Even after 28 years, Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged still feels like a timeless classic with a compelling story to tell, puzzles to tackle, and conspiracies to unravel. Now visually completely overhauled, Revolution Software's iconic point-and-click adventure sets off to cater to the modern audience, as well as the die-hard fan of the series. The latter may unfortunately consider it a tough sell since Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged doesn't bring any new material to the table, but if you're new to the franchise, this is the ultimate edition to get drawn into the mystery.

God is a Geek - 80

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged makes a classic point-and-click worth playing almost thirty years on, with stunning visuals and engaging gameplay.

PC Games - 80

A good game will always be a good game and even better with a huge graphic update. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – Reforged is a great remake. Only the revised audio sounds a bit tinny and some content from the Director’s Cut is missing.

SpazioGames - 80

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is a successful restoration operation that brings back a timeless classic of the genre and an unforgettable piece of video game history, now boasting 4K resolution and a number of useful enhancements for the best version of the game to date.

Multiplayer.it - 80

Quotation forthcoming.

 

[Yoshichan]

game is so fucking good

 

[Duchess]

I've never played this one. I tried two of the others, and couldn't really get into them.

I think the first is the best, though?

 

[emivita]

I've never played this one. I tried two of the others, and couldn't really get into them.

I think the first is the best, though?

BS1 is the most universally praised, yes, but personally I think 2 was an improvement over 1. To each their own, I guess.

 

[Rivdoric]

BS1 is the most universally praised, yes, but personally I think 2 was an improvement over 1. To each their own, I guess.

Both of them are great. The first one has the best intrigue imho but I love the darker tone & music of the 2.
Broken Sword was actually my first video game, and as such it will always have a special place deep inside.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Played for a few minutes on the PS5 before I left for work and it's excellent so far. Gonna need a trophy guide though. Some of them Im completely clueless on how to obtain.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Trophies

1 Platinum • 6 Gold • 8 Silver • 12 Bronze

psnprofiles.com

Love being able to switch between the original and new look on the fly. The DOTT and Full Throttle remasters did this masterfully as well.

 

[RAIDEN1]

This is a reminder of what gaming should be about, instead of the half-baked crap we've been getting for the past few years...you buy what you pay for 100% experience, no season pass required when wanting to experience Broken Sword from start to finish...

 

[Magic Carpet]

Keeping an eyeball on this, might be the next thing I buy after I finish the Plucky Squire. I've never played any games from this series.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Keeping an eyeball on this, might be the next thing I buy after I finish the Plucky Squire. I've never played any games from this series.

If you like old school point n click adventures you absolutely need to play it.

 

[Magic Carpet]

If you like old school point n click adventures you absolutely need to play it.

I very much do, Are each of the games in the series self contained or do they carry over with characters and such?

 

[Flabagast]

any info on the switch port ?

 

[Chuck Berry]

I very much do, Are each of the games in the series self contained or do they carry over with characters and such?

Well they always involve George and Nico the mains. I have only played the first two and while they are separate adventures, they do make references to the first game in the sequel. Not sure about the others though.

 

[RAIDEN1]

any info on the switch port ?

Delayed till October, not sure why though not exactly this game is a "system-pusher" when it comes to graphics..

 

[The Cockatrice]

Gonna repost this.

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged | PC Mac Linux Steam Game | Fanatical

Step out onto the streets of Paris in Broken Sword - Shadow of...

www.fanatical.com

20%off.

 

[Shin-Ra]

BS1&2 (Great)
BS3 Sleeping Dragon (Very good)
BS4 Angel of Death (Cack)
BS5 Serpents Curse (Ok/good)

There’s your quick guide to the Broken Sword series.

 

[emivita]

BS1&2 (Great)
BS3 Sleeping Dragon (Very good)
BS4 Angel of Death (Cack)
BS5 Serpents Curse (Ok/good)

There’s your quick guide to the Broken Sword series.

I agree, though Broken Sword 4 was a decent adventure game for the time, but a bad Broken Sword game. And oh my god, one of the worst game ending I've ever seen. I was like... WTF were they thinking?

 

[Shin-Ra]

I agree, though Broken Sword 4 was a decent adventure game for the time, but a bad Broken Sword game. And oh my god, one of the worst game ending I've ever seen. I was like... WTF were they thinking?

Thankfully I don’t remember much about Angel of Death except its ‘workmanlike’ environment art and ugly characters. Despite being fairly bland, low budget 3D, at least Sleeping Dragon wasn’t aggressively ugly.

 

[TGO]

you missed the Deluxe Edition out, not that it matters as it sold out in seconds

 

[lockdown2222]

you missed the Deluxe Edition out, not that it matters as it sold out in seconds

Was it a limited run?

 

[TGO]

Was it a limited run?

500 copies from Redart Games

BROKEN SWORD - SHADOW OF THE TEMPLARS: REFORGED PS5™ (Deluxe Edition)

www.redartgames.com

 

[lockdown2222]

500?!?! That was it?!?! Omg…. Damn.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

I've updated the OP with a couple more reviews. Also, I've found this comparison with the Original vs Remaster & Reforged:

 

[Chuck Berry]

The team used the original as a basis to remaster the graphics and animations, adding finer detail and smoothing out little quirks, while restoring the backgrounds to the original concept art with beautiful details, and cleaning up the cutscenes. Plot holes have been plugged, with the bar stool after the explosion now clearly being blown to smithereens, or the drain pipe George contemplates as an escape route being long enough to actually escape from. The voice lines are the same lines, enhanced of course, and with some additional ones to boot. Not brand new recorded lines, but original lines that were recorded in the ‘90s and never used.

Fuckin awesome right there

 

[TGO]

500?!?! That was it?!?! Omg…. Damn.

What's worse is I was on the site before it went life and it just said coming soon.
I save the link to keep checking and it was sold out the same day when I checked later to see if there was any indication of when it went live.
Was so fucking annoyed by that.
On a positive note I love have this actually just looks like we remember it but clearly has been enhanced massively.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Just bought the game on Steam. Looking forward to seeing what this series is all about.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Why isn't this available in PS Store yet? There's a page for this game, but you can't see the price or buy it.

 

[Just_one]

Why isn't this available in PS Store yet? There's a page for this game, but you can't see the price or buy it.

Its there. I brought it in the morning and played around 1 hour right now at night. Still an amazing game. Really hoping they upgrade the second game aswell

 

[Chuck Berry]

Why isn't this available in PS Store yet? There's a page for this game, but you can't see the price or buy it.

It’s there. It’s been there all day.

 

[Rivdoric]

I played the game for a few hours :
- Beautiful redrawn, really redrawn, of the whole sceneries/background. It's astonishingly beautiful on my 4K OLED. Only "IA Upscaled" part are the very rare cutscenes as the difference with the beautiful 4K draw is obvious.
- Some new dialogues or minor sentences that i'd never heard. Die hard fans like me will spot them, otherwise will go unnoticed lol.
- Sound quality improved on both English & French. Though it is minor, they cleaned the files as some scratches & other noises were removed. Seems to use a little higher quality file.
- Lots of options & tweaks in the menus. Can also play with the original graphics. You can also choose to play 16/9 zoomed or original redrawn board size of 16/10. Both are worth a playthrough !

I REALLY hope it will sell okay as the devs said they'll Reforge the Smoking Mirror as well if the sells are good.
These 2 remasters will also help fund Broken Sword 6.

 

[Mr Moose]

Gonna repost this.

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged | PC Mac Linux Steam Game | Fanatical

Step out onto the streets of Paris in Broken Sword - Shadow of...

www.fanatical.com

20%off.

Will buy disc for PS5 later as well.

 

[emivita]

- Some new dialogues or minor sentences that i'd never heard. Die hard fans like me will spot them, otherwise will go unnoticed lol.

This is very cool. Even if it's minor content restored that was cut from the original game, I just love it. For example, I was ecstatic when they restored the jail cutscene in Tomb Raider 3 remastered and added music to the final boss.

I wonder how those lines sound in my native language, Italian. BS1&2 (especially 2) had a fantastic Italian dub. I'll find out when I get the PS5 physical edition next year.

 

[Markio128]

I’ll be buying this in the next few days. I’m currently finishing off my FF7R playthrough and don’t want the distraction of another game at the mo. I want to be prepped to start FF7R in hard mode on the PS5 Pro.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Its there. I brought it in the morning and played around 1 hour right now at night. Still an amazing game. Really hoping they upgrade the second game aswell

It’s there. It’s been there all day.

Nvm, it finally showed up in my local PS store, must've been some delay. Thanks.

I missed out on retail (shouldn't be so limited), but I'll pick up this one. Hopefully the sales will be good enough to refresh BS2.

 

[Rivdoric]

Nvm, it finally showed up in my local PS store, must've been some delay. Thanks.

I missed out on retail (shouldn't be so limited), but I'll pick up this one. Hopefully the sales will be good enough to refresh BS2.

If they keep launching 1000 limited boxed editions that go sold out in seconds that should be okay lmao.
I really hope as well.

 

[RAIDEN1]

I mean look at the contrast in fortune though, while there is hope that we may get a Broken Sword 6, the same can't be said for other great point and click adventures, namely Full Throttle, it is unbelievable that we are denied a spin-off or even a sequel to that game, even if the original voice actor of Ben has passed away many many years ago, it shouldn't mean that the story can't continue on....

 

[Judge Magister]

...
BS3 Sleeping Dragon (Very good)
...

Glad to see some love for The Sleeping Dragon, i had fun back in the day on PC. Uncharted 2's opening always reminded me of BS3's plane crash intro.

As for this redesign i think it looks great, fresh but truthful to the original.

 

[GHG]

Gonna repost this.

Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged | PC Mac Linux Steam Game | Fanatical

Step out onto the streets of Paris in Broken Sword - Shadow of...

www.fanatical.com

20%off.

Bought. Thank you.

 

[Branded]

Oh wat, this is already out? Nice! Will definitely grab it soon.

 

[Cakeboxer]

One franchise i never played and i really love point and click. Maybe it's time.

 

[Chuck Berry]

I mean look at the contrast in fortune though, while there is hope that we may get a Broken Sword 6, the same can't be said for other great point and click adventures, namely Full Throttle, it is unbelievable that we are denied a spin-off or even a sequel to that game, even if the original voice actor of Ben has passed away many many years ago, it shouldn't mean that the story can't continue on....

No fucking thanks. Schafer hasn't made a good game in years and we all know it would be made safe and sound for modern audiences. Help the Polecats sell cookies for the local girl scouts so Mo can get a sex change.

Terrible idea. The game ended fine. It's done. Let it be.

 

[RAIDEN1]

No fucking thanks. Schafer hasn't made a good game in years and we all know it would be made safe and sound for modern audiences. Help the Polecats sell cookies for the local girl scouts so Mo can get a sex change.

Terrible idea. The game ended fine. It's done. Let it be.

Well they were going to go via the action adventure route with the sequel but then that ended up getting shelved...but to me there is a rich universe out there ie the Polecats, rival gangs, stories that could be explored, untapped potential right there...

 

[ShadowNate]

It's a shame that we didn't get more voice acting from Roy Conrad, but that cancelled Full Throttle sequel looked like a smelly pile of garbage ideas and visuals.