Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Reforged is a straightforward but effective remake

I have a long and potted history with the Broken Sword series — which begins back in 1997 when 14 year old me would get the bus into Leeds to trade three or four of my older games for one brand new one. Whilst I would often regret making such unfavourable trades, that was never the case with Broken Sword, and so you should know that I go into this review of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged with a heavy dose of positive bias.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is at least the second remake of the original game — with the PS One and PC version followed by both a (superb) Gameboy Advance demake and a later mobile and Nintendo Wii “Director’s Cut” which was fine, but kind of unwelcome because of the things it changed. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is now available on PC, PS5 and Xbox One, and is very much a remake of the original game — ignoring everything that was included in the Director’s Cut version.

The new version comes with completely remade 4k visuals that include new and lovingly created backgrounds and updated character designs and animation. As a returning fan, my take on this is that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged perfectly (and I do mean perfectly) captures the original feel of the game. Any returning fans will know how important it is for characters like George, Nico and their supporting cast to “feel” right, and that mission has been accomplished.

Perhaps for the same reason (and because it’s almost expected in a remake) the player is also able to switch between classic and modern graphics at will, and it is fun to look at details in the original and then switch back to modern to see the tiny details that have changed. Again, this mainly reveals that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged has been crafted with love and attention to detail, only replacing or modernising items that frankly, one simply cannot identify in the older visuals. 

Additionally, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged features a reworked orchestral soundtrack that is just as sublime today as the original Broken Sword soundtrack was in 1997. It has perfect weight and timing, and every piece of music serves to enhance the feeling of danger, excitement or discovery that the game is trying to convey with whatever is happening at any given moment.

On a more mixed note is the voice acting, which is completely original. Given some of the issues associated to changes made in Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Director’s Cut, I can understand why Revolution Software made this decision – and as a fan I am in support of it – but you should know that the voice acting sounds noticeably compressed compared to the music or other sound effects. I guess that’s simply because the original files were recorded and stored on technology that is almost 30 years old, but it beats the decision to re-record the game with new and unfamiliar voices. 

And so if you are a fan of Broken Sword, then you can probably stop reading — Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is a near perfect remake of the original game that carefully preserves your memories and simply serves them back to you as you probably remember them, albeit with the updated visuals and a hint system that might get you through a few of the more infamous puzzles and challenges.

But what about everyone else? What if you’ve never heard of Broken Sword? Well, let me start by going back to something that I hinted at right at the beginning of this review – that my bias for Broken Sword is strong. As it happens, I think that Broken Sword is easily a top-five-best-ever point-and-click adventure, and Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged simply delivers it in a better, more modern package.

The original (and therefore this remake) is a carefully considered game that was researched very thoroughly by those who made it. Many games are simply thrown together speculatively and there’s a sense that only a small number of the people involved were truly invested. Broken Sword is the complete opposite — and it is clear that in 1997 Revolution Software (and lead designer Charles Cecil) had a clear vision, and the remake (also done by the original studio — a rarity) feels just as joined up. 

That doesn’t make a great game on its own though – what makes a great game is engaging characters, a fantastic story, great scripting and humour, lovely visuals and a soundtrack that supports all of this. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged has all of this and it absolutely stands alongside games like Monkey Island as one of the very best examples of this genre. Simply put, if you like adventure games, puzzles and great stories, then Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars: Reforged comes very highly recommended. 

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is out on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC.