Broken Sword’s remaster gets a September release date

The GOAT has returned

Revolution Software

Have you heard the good news? The first Broken Sword game – one of the best point-and-click adventure games of all time – is getting a remaster. It was announced last year during Gamescom 2023, but now it’s finally got a release date, and it’s actually pretty soon. 

Revolution Software, the developer and publisher behind the game, has announced that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – Reforged will be released on September 19, 2024. 

The remaster features stunning 4K graphics that have all been redrawn and recreated from a mixture of the original game’s art and the original hand-drawn pencil drawings that were used to create the backgrounds in the first place. Charles Cecil, the creator of the Broken Sword series, outlined the changes and updates in an extensive post on the PlayStation Blog.

According to Cecil, every background, character sprite, and UI element has been redrawn in 4K for the updated version. The animation has been improved, too, adding to the workload, but it sounds and looks like it was very worth it. 

It looks just how you remember it / Revolution Software

The HUD has been reworked and modernized, too, with Cecil saying that younger players just weren’t attracted to the old system. 

“Whilst the original Broken Sword had hugely innovated in the genre in the ‘90s,” Cecil says in the blog. “It quickly became clear that it was time to innovate again – some younger players simply weren’t attracted to a gameplay experience that for many adventures simply hasn’t significantly changed over 30 years.

“People play adventure games because they love solving puzzles which drive the story forward and we were determined to ensure that the gameplay experience delivered a wonderful feeling of achievement. So we reviewed videos and comments from those users, and re-designed elements that they got snagged on.” 

Cecil says that the new HUD and user experience are now “much more innovative and contemporary,” but stresses that because people loved the original so much, the traditional approach will be available in Reforged, too. 

We spoke to Charles Cecil last year at Gamescom, where he declared that Broken Sword is making a comeback, with the announcement of both Reforged and the next game in the series, Broken Sword 6: Parzival’s Stone. Cecil also told us that he’d love to give the Reforged treatment to other entries, especially Broken Sword 4, the most contentious game in the series, which he says was made “under huge duress.” 

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – Reforged will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch on September 19, 2024.