Freedom Wars Remastered

Play it on: PS5, PS4, Switch, PC

Current goal: Complete my CODE 3 exam

I was one of those weirdos that got really into Freedom Wars on the PlayStation Vita back in 2014. There were a lot fewer games back then, and the satirical, sci-fi anime vibes wrapped around the Monster Hunter-like gameplay worked really well. It was just the right kind of flashy but repetitive action-RPG for a handheld at the time.

How does it hold up over a decade later? Surprisingly well! The upscaled graphics are dated but crisp, sort of like how your imagination remembers PS2 games looking. No weird texture smoothing or other common remaster complaints. Some much-needed gameplay tweaks also help even out the grind, like no longer needing to mash buttons to sever off enemy limbs (you can just hold the button now).

All in all it’s led to a pretty painless and quite enjoyable trip down memory lane. The political dystopia humor still hits, and 10 years later there’s still no flavor of Monster Hunter quite like Freedom Wars. I don’t know how long my vacation to the post-apocalyptic panopticon will last, but for now I really hope the Vita exclusive’s arrival on modern platforms will pave the way for the sequel the game always deserved. – Ethan Gach