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Created by small development team of seven people over a three year period, there are immediate parallels between the new Shadow of the Beast remake on PS4 and the Amiga original released in 1989 - both games were produced by modest studios looking to take advantage of the latest visual technology available, while showcasing their creative spark. The original game impressed upon release with the game pushing up to 12 layers of parallax scrolling on-screen, in addition to featuring an optimised colour scheme to get the most out of the Commodore Amiga 500's limited 32 on-screen limit. Meanwhile, on PS4 advanced shaders, physically-based rendering, and per-pixel lighting take centrestage, showcasing a very different type of visual flair, while running at 60fps. The two games are a world apart from each other, but both are in tune with the latest advances in graphics technology for their respective eras.
The dramatic overhaul here in the PS4 remake brings a 16-bit classic to a whole new audience by expanding upon the original's simple gameplay and updating the mechanics to modern standards. It's a complete re-imagining of the game, taking cues from its other-worldly art design and memorably eclectic soundtrack, before reworking these into a whole new experience that is more polished and enjoyable to play. Going back to the original game, and the poor collision detection makes attacking an exercise in frustration, while the difficulty curve is absolutely brutal. It serves as a fantastic technical demo for early 16-bit titles, but doesn't offer much from a gameplay perspective.
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