izigame.me

It's a great game and I'm not complaining... well, maybe a little.
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is an absolute classic—one of the best point-and-click adventure games ever made. The Broken Sword series is also one of the few I’ve followed closely over the years (Broken Sword: The Angel of Death being the only exception—I never really got into it and haven’t finished it yet).
I first played The Shadow of the Templars as a kid back in 1996 and immediately fell in love with its atmosphere, humor, and mystery. While the 2009 Director’s Cut got some harsh backlash by fans, I personally enjoyed the new scenes, even though keeping the originals intact would have been ideal.
Now, we’ve got Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars - Reforged, offering 4K Remastered Visuals and Enhanced Audio. To make myself absolutely clear, this is by far the best the game has ever looked or sounded. The visuals, which were always fantastic, now boast an incredible level of detail. Where the original game had some awkward facial expressions or body language, this remaster fixes them brilliantly. There are a few stylistic changes, like swapping the wooden floors of the Musée Crune for stone, which might come down to personal taste, but overall, the visual updates are everything a fan could hope for.
However, I’m slightly disappointed in two areas: the sound and the interface. While Barrington Pheloung’s soundtrack sounds amazing and better than ever before, much of the dialogue comes across muffled, and certain consonants—especially "s" and "z"—sound oddly lisped. I understand this is a remaster of a '90s game, but I expected more from modern AI processing. Maybe I'm overestimating its possibilities.
As for the interface, it’s fine for traditional mouse or trackpad players, but I’ve grown accustomed to using a controller for point-and-clicks—thanks in part to Return to Monkey Island, which, to me, reinvented the point-and-click interface for consoles. Sadly, Broken Sword: Reforged still relies solely on the old method of controlling the cursor with an analog stick. Given the strides in controller-friendly navigation for point-and-click games in recent years, I was hoping for something more intuitive, especially for a game available on multiple consoles.
To anyone who hasn’t played this game before, I recommend it 100%. This is the best version of a great game that’s aged remarkably well. So well indeed, that for those who already own the original, I’d suggest giving it some thought—perhaps wait to see if any updates improve the audio or for a potential price drop.