Crysis Remastered Trilogy | Xbox Review

I have a deep love for the Crysis series. Most recently I had an opportunity to review Crysis Remastered, which I thought was a fun experience. Then I was shocked when there was the announcement and release of Crysis Remastered Trilogy. So naturally, I immediately wanted to continue the story again and see if all three games continue to hold up to their pedigree. So let’s suit up once again and take a dive into Crysis Remastered Trilogy and see if this is something that you should play.

Why Now

First, I wanna get this out of the way immediately: I was surprised and confused at this release. With Crysis Remastered recently being released, I’m not quite sure what the Crytek Team was thinking. It seems odd to me to double dip on a release so quickly. Why release the first game as a standalone and then include it a few months later in another release. In my mind, they should have just waited and released all three games together, rather than release the first in the time window they chose. I still think they should have tried to include the standalone game Crysis Warhead instead.

Prepare Yourself For Fun

Now, next comes the story in this little journey. I’m going to skip ahead to Crysis 2 and 3, since I have recently finished a review of Crysis Remastered covering the first entry in the series. Crysis 2 picks up 3 years after the first game ended. The alien race, the Ceph, from the first game are still at large and have now invaded New York City. You play as a new character named “Alcatraz,” who is placed in the Nanosuit 2.0 by Prophet from the first game after you almost die in the opening credits. The story follows you as you fight back against the invasion of the Ceph, and becomes pretty entertaining and wild as the game progresses. Crysis 3 picks up even further down the line 24 years after the second game finishes.

All three games do have fun stories, but I still feel that Crysis 3 has a few plot holes and would have benefited greatly with some further refinement. Even looking back now on my third playthrough of the series, the final chapter feels weak and rushed. I’m hopeful that with the recent announcement of Crysis 4, this will be fixed in the end.

High Energy Smorgasbord

The gameplay of the trilogy is still an absolute blast to play through. The developers of Crysis have checked all the right boxes. The Nanosuit makes you feel powerful as it unlocks more and more abilities as the game progresses. But still keeps itself in check by only allowing you as the player to utilize one power in each of the different “skill trees.” This way the game is still challenging and doesn’t allow a player to become overpowered. The gunplay and fighting in the Crysis Remastered Trilogy still feels amazing and tight. When it comes to Crysis 3, I still absolutely love using the bow and sneaking around dropping enemy targets. It’s just a rush that has to be experienced to truly grasp what fun stealth can be like.

Beauty in Destruction

Finally, I just want to take a moment to gush over the graphics in this game. The Crysis series has always been a benchmark of graphical fidelity over the years. Even to the point of becoming the “Yeah but can it run Crysis” meme. This new remaster still holds that high standard. The views in the Crysis Remastered Trilogy are stunning. I would clear out an area of enemies just to walk around for a few minutes and take in the sites of a destroyed New York City. It’s a crazy thing to take in the amount of detail and love put into the environment. Also, just looking at the enemies and the suit you’re wearing is incredible as well. On a couple occasions, even my Xbox Series X seemed to struggle ever so briefly during intense firefights.

Final Moments

So, should you check out the Crysis Remastered Trilogy? My answer would be a resounding YES! It’s a fun ride from start to finish, even with the weak third act in the series, I still love it to this day. With so many gamers out there that never got the chance to experience it during its heyday, the time seems perfect to now. Also, with Crysis 4 being recently announced to be in development, the hype train is running full force for me. So strap in and get ready for the wild ride that is Crysis Remastered Trilogy.

To hear me talk more about Crysis Remastered Trilogy, be sure to listen to Episode 369 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 1:02:54s time stamp.

This review is based on an Xbox copy of Crysis Remastered Trilogy provided by Sandbox Strategies for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Epic Games Store.