Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered Review

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered picks up at the end of the events of Turok 2 where the Primagen’s Lightship was destroyed causing a chain of events that would lead to the universe’s complete eradication. This also caused the downfall of Oblivion, a monstrous cosmic entity, to perish. Unfortunately, the entity is back with a vengeance. It’s up the Danielle and Joseph, the first Turok’s spawns, to find and exterminate Oblivion.

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered is a remastered version of 2000’s Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion which was initially released for the Nintendo 64. The game is a first person shooter where players, as Danielle or Joseph, they will battle Oblivion’s forces with a decent arsenal of weaponry such as a pistol, shotgun, bow, machine gun and shotgun.

Given that you have two protagonists, you also have two different campaigns. However, while both campaign have similarities, they do have some nuances. Danielle uses a grapple to reach higher and further platforms. When you see a blue like disco ball from afar, it’s your cue to pull out the grapple and reach the next section. Whereas Joseph uses night googles to spot alarm systems. You’ll also pick up yellow diamonds called Life Force which once you’ve collected 100 of them, it increases permanently your maximum health.

Despite its aged, the game looks surprisingly great. Nightdive Studios did a really good job giving this game a fresh coat of HD paint. Level design, while limited giving the game’s length, are quite unique and while most revolve around a jungle, there’s still enough to properly distinguish levels from one another. The soundtrack is another surprise here. The enemy design is both predictable and unpredictable; especially if you’re new to the series. The variety is also there in terms of enemy design and boss battles as well. While I didn’t expect much, I found myself getting caught up in the soundtrack and I’d focus so much on it, I’d drown out the noise from enemy fire.

So the biggest issue here is the lack of a map. While I understand back in day it wasn’t always included and that it would’ve been problematic thing to implement via today’s technology, it makes certain level more confusing than anything else. Which overlaps the second point: some levels are clearly inspired by where the fuck do I go type of patterns. Sometimes, it’s obvious because you follow the Life Force collectibles but other times, it’s not as clear and you end back at the starting point without really knowing whether you’re on the right path or not.

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered is a surprise gem for me this year. Having never really dabbled in the series before, I went in with no expectations and despite some archaic mechanics such as no map, respawning enemies and some irritating boss battles, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered is one of the best games I’ve played this year. I will definitely look into the previous two games. If you’re looking for a short, albeit solid experience, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered is worth your time and money.