Return of the deadeye.

What took Rogue One two-and-a-half ponderous hours to unspool, LucasArts' shooter pulls off in ten thrilling minutes.

In, out, job done.

An illustrative cutscene showing Darth Vader in conversation with a uniformed general on the spaceship. I presume he’s saying something like, “I find your lack of faith disturbing, General.” But who knows?

To make Dark Forces play effortlessly on modern machines, Nightdive has had to dig deep.

Moreover, the game’s art has been completely redrawn to look crisp on modern, high-res displays.

The result is a game that looks sharp and fresh, but crucially, not new.

Cover image for YouTube video

The rumbling MIDI soundtrack, the modulated “Hey, who goes there?”

Venturing deeper, a few presentational blemishes appear.

In stark, hardware accelerated HD, their blocky simplicity really stands out like an untextured thumb.

In a swampy area flanked by rusted metallic walls, with a tentacled monster in the sludge ahead of us. Our player character fills them with lead.

Broadly though, this is an excellent restoration.

Particular praise should be given to the reconstructed cutscenes, which are an essential part of Dark Forces.

In this way, each mission has its own distinctive flavour, bringing something different to the experience.

Looking at a plinth on a wall that features Jabba the Hutt at the centre of it.

But it’s also a satisfying space to unpick.

The Arc Cannon is also afantasticlate-game weapon.

Dark Forces doesn’t let you save during missions.

A classic, white-walled corridor in a Star Wars star destroyer spaceship, with our player character mowing down a couple of stormtroopers on their way.

Instead, your progress is maintained through lives.

You get three by default on medium difficulty, with extra lives hidden throughout the levels.

But the lives system proves to be both liberating and unobtrusive.

An illustrative close-up of a male character in a big brown coat with their arms folded and looking very disgruntled.

That said, Dark Forces does have a few flaws.

The game isn’t especially strong when it comes to ending levels.

Doom at least has you throw a switch before the level bleeds away to the completion screen.

A lady in a long flowing robe stands presenting a screen with a person’s face on it, to another character.

Yet the game’s biggest flaw is its fascination with exploding mines.

Mines are both a weapon and a hazard in Dark Forces.

They suck in both functions.

But in the latter they’re a downright menace.

They trigger quickly and have a huge splash radius, which makes them difficult to avoid.

One mission, Jabba’s Ship, is absolutely littered with mines.

Mission ending manual or automatic, and slider for menu transition speeds.

Nonetheless, I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed returning to Dark Forces.

Now I’ve played this remaster, I’m no longer sure it needs one.

Nightdive’s makeover reveals an exciting, smartly designed shooter that superbly encapsulates Star Wars' more roguish side.

But always in motion is the future.