The New Deus Ex Remaster Is A Reminder That Better Isn't Always Better - Kotaku

"Just because a remaster of an old game has improved textures, better lighting, runs at a higher resolution, and features fancy new effects doesn't mean it's better. I mean, technically it is, but the end result can often look very ugly and wrong. And sadly, this is the case with the recently announced Deus Ex Remastered. Yesterday, during Sony's short and so-so State of Play, we got our first look at a newly announced remaster of the classic immersive sim Deus Ex."

"This new version of Elon Musk's favorite video game is being marketed as a remaster, with higher resolution textures and fancier lighting. And yes, technically, what is seen in the trailer is "better" than the original release. These are higher-resolution textures with more detail. Models are more detailed and complicated, too. What's here is better in the sense that it is all stuff that couldn't have been done 25 years ago in 2000."

"You would think that replacing the old textures from 2000 with new and higher-resolution textures would make Deus Ex look great. The problem with this new remastered port isn't that the textures are bad, but that they are being slapped on a very old game. The models, levels, and other parts of Deus Ex were designed 25 years ago, with the tech limitations of the period in mind."

Improved textures, lighting, higher resolutions, and new effects can technically enhance graphical fidelity while producing an unpleasant final appearance when applied to legacy assets. Old game models, levels, and art were created within past technical constraints so that limited detail and suggestive imagery worked together to form mood and coherence. Applying sharp, modern textures and different lighting to those assets creates visual dissonance, changing character and world appearance and creating a plastic, out-of-place look. The remastering process must account for original art intent, scale, and lighting to preserve atmosphere; otherwise higher fidelity alone can make a game look worse.

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