Origins of SiN
The 1990s were a time of great shooters. These are now known as boomer shooters by the kids, which is such a weird, yet somehow appropriate term for them. Growing up in that era, I played so many of these and have such fond memories of finding diamonds in the rough. SiN was such a weird game when it came out, it was a little bit Quake, a little bit comic book, and all late 1990s vibes. Back in 2020 Nightdive did revisit the game on PC, cleaned it up and remastered sections, but now six years later we finally are receiving the definitive version of the game, and on consoles as well. Revisiting SiN has been a blast, and definitely a time capsule of the 90s.
SiN follows the adventures of Colonel John Blade, which is a fantastic name for a character. He is fighting against an evil corporation known as SinTEK Industries, who has created a new drug that is likely creating mutants throughout the city. The story is told through a mixture of cut scenes and in-game dialogue. SiN became known for its colorful characters and fun storytelling. It really does play out like a comic book, and that is part of its charm.
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: XBOX (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99
The first thing players will notice are the visual upgrades. Nightdive once again did the work to move the entire game into their Kex Engine. This allows for upgraded textures and better lighting. This does a great job of bringing the original developer’s designs to life. The level design is really intricate, and now I appreciate it more thanks to the upgrades. I could also toggle between the new and old visuals at the press of a button, which is such a little thing that I love.
These visual upgrades definitely bring out the art direction and design of the world, but they also accentuate its shortcomings. SiN is a neat game with plenty of personality, but strip that away and this is your standard FPS template from the time. It has all the essential checkboxes checked with vehicle levels, stealth levels, and drawn-out segments. There are situations that are neat but designed in a way that doesn’t make sense. It is amazing this game predates Half Life by like a week but attempts to do some of the things that game made famous. They just aren’t done as well.
This doesn’t kill the fun though. For people who have nostalgia for the game, this is still a blast, but newcomers will wonder why it is fondly remembered. By today’s standards this is a product of its time. There are some unique things the game does, such as Blade being able to be hurt at specific body parts, but a lot of them feel like they did it because they could, not because they should.
Nightdive has done a lot to this remaster. The controls have been rebuilt for consoles, and the shooting feels fine. That is not a fault of the developer, the game was always a little finicky. They also added in some cool behind the scenes stuff such as animation tests and weird oddities such as ads. Their graphics options on console continue to be unmatched with plenty of ways to tweak the game. This is definitely the best way to play SiN in the year of our lord 2026. It even includes the expansion Wages of SiN, which is neat. Multiplayer is included, but I didn’t find a ton of people playing, it was a novelty even back then though, so I am not surprised.
I loved SiN back in the day, so this release is aimed directly at me. I loved my time with it, but I know most people won’t find the appeal. The game hasn’t aged well in both design and game play. Still if you grew up in that era and somehow missed it, you will appreciate what it does. It was a fun trip down memory lane, but this release won’t be resurrecting the franchise. Again, it feels like Nightdive is making games just for me, and I am OK with that.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.