The graphics for Metal Wolf Chaos XD (remaster of fan-favorite president-piloting-a-mech game) have been updated in a way that feels more in line with the executive office it represents. And no, we don’t mean that publisher Devolver Digital made it more orange.

For those who haven’t kept track, the off-the-wall action game that is somehow from the same company that brought you Dark Souls and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Metal Wolf Chaos was a 2004 Xbox exclusive game where you took control of fictional President Michael Wilson as he fights to retake the country after a military coup led by the traitorous Vice President Richard Hawk. As is tradition, this involves the president commandeering a nearby high-tech robotic suit and blowing stuff up.

Weirdly, the game never made it stateside until Devolver Digital worked with FromSoftware to release an HD version in August 2019. The HD re-release had the benefit of increasing the resolution, letting the game run on modern platforms, and replaced all the Japanese menus with good old-fashioned Americanese. Unfortunately, it was a little bit lacking when it came to the flash and pizzazz that often comes from these updates – especially when it came to the matter of lighting effects.

However, GeneralArcade (a Singapore-based company that worked with Devolver Digital to upgrade the game) has made some major improvements to the game’s lighting in the recently-released 1.03 update. It’s a solid showcase for the way that modern consoles can work a lighting engine.

As you can see, the difference is enormous. Not only does light convincingly radiate from windows and lanterns, but it also scatters across concrete surfaces in a way that feels much more realistic. The reflections from metal surfaces, as well, help everything feel like it’s part of a cohesive whole.

It’s the kind of update that elevates Metal Wolf Chaos from a token graphical upgrade to a game that’s worth experiencing a second time – assuming you had the chance to experience it for a first time to begin with.

Source: Twitter

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