Nightdive supplies ScummVM version Blade Runner after criticism of remaster

Nightdive Studios gives Blade Runner Enhanced Edition buyers the option to play the classic version of the game. Anyone who downloads the remaster via Steam will automatically receive the ScummVM version from now on. The update follows criticism of the remaster.

It is a free update for the version on GOG and Steam. After launching Blade Runner Enhanced Edition, players will be given the option of playing the remaster or Blade Runner Classic. That reports Nightdive Studios on Steam. The classic version is the variant that runs on ScummVM. This version of the original appeared on GOG in 2020 and includes an option to play the game with some scenes not used in the 1997 game. With the arrival of the Enhanced Edition, the ScummVM version of GOG disappeared. This one never appeared on Steam before.

Nightdive Studios announced plans to release a remaster of Blade Runner in 2020 for PC and consoles. The studio is basing the Enhanced Edition on its proprietary game engine KEX and includes support for widescreen viewing and polished character graphics, animations and cutscenes. Because the source code of the original was lost, the studio had to reverse engineer the original.

That turned out not to work out very well. After the game came out last week, the game was found to be full of bugs and players complained that visuals were worse rather than better than the original. Among other things Kotaku and PC Gamer noted that many details had been lost due to the remastering. The film Blade Runner celebrated its 40th anniversary last weekend.