A different time
There are so many remasters and remakes it can be hard to keep track of them. Enclave is about as deep a cut as one could possibly imagine. This game, originally developed by Starbreeze Studios, yes the same team that brought us The Darkness and the Chronicles of Riddick games, is one that I was not expecting. Released originally back in 2002 for the original Xbox and PC, Enclave is the definition of an early 2000’s third-person action RPG. It is chock full of clunky controls, dark environments, and goofy physics. I was excited to revisit as I had fond memories, but this remaster has reminded me how far we have come in 20 years.
The world of Enclave is dark. The story revolves around a wizard named Zale who splits the world into two sides, light and dark. There are two campaigns, one for each side. The Light campaign is up first as players take on the roles of various characters with more unlocking as you progress. Finishing this campaign opens up the Dark campaign allowing you to step into the shoes of evil. It was a novel concept in 2002, and adds some replayability to the overall package.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $14.99
Playing Enclave can be frustrating at times. This is a remaster, so it is mostly intact from the original game. This includes the inconsistent AI and wonky hitboxes. There are times I swing my sword right through an enemy and somehow miss them entirely. There are enemies that stand still while others beeline for me like they are in a panic. Combat feels clunky and not like it should be in third person. This was an issue with these types of games in the early 2000’s. Trying to figure out the collision detection between models was a challenge in the early days of 3D.
The game is broken down into levels across both campaigns each with gold to collect in each one. The more you find, the better armor and upgrades you can purchase for your character. This serves as the collectibles making one run sufficient for each campaign. There is little reason to revisit once the story has been completed.
The visuals have been cleaned up a little. Textures look better, the resolution is much higher, and it runs at a decent clip. This is still the original skeleton though which means any quality of life updates you are hoping for are not here. The game feels rough to the point that I had it crash a few times on me, even on console. I get why, this is not exactly a game most people remember. It is nice to see it return, but for the most part this is original code cleaned up and made to work on modern machines. That is it.
Enclave is a quirky game that has some moments and I enjoyed revisiting it. I love this era where any game can come back and it is great for nostalgia. If you don’t have any fond memories of this game you might want to steer clear. This is not going to impress anyone in today’s world, but for those looking for a trip down memory lane of this obscure title, this version achieves what it set out to do.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
