While we eagerly await Star Wars Outlaws, Lucasfilm Games and Aspyr are taking us back to an earlier version of the galaxy far, far away’s criminal underworld with a remaster of Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, starring Jango Fett.
The reveal trailer, which came out of nowhere, doesn’t do a whole lot of explaining what’s actually new in this new release of the often overlooked GameCube and PS2 original, but the official PlayStation blog has all the deets, at least when it comes to the PlayStation versions. It’s launching on PS5/4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam on August 1.
Star Wars fans who have been paying attention to the retro releases over the years (which have been abundant ever since Disney took over George Lucas’ empire) know a pretty solid PS3/4 ‘classic’ release has been available for a long time. In fact, it even has trophy support. Aspyr’s release, however, is a remaster with platform-specific features, more achievements, and even restored cut content.
We’ve yet to learn about other platforms’ new features, but the PS4/5 version has “improved environment, new lighting effects, and a new flashlight equipment.” Moreover, PS5’s DualSense controller has unique features such as adaptive-trigger effects, voice comms, and lightbar support to display Jango’s current health, taking this specific version above other recent Aspyr-led Star Wars remasters.
Perhaps more enticing for Star Wars diehards and those still mourning Star Wars 1313 is the fact that, at long last, Boba Fett can be unlocked after hitting 100% on your save file, bringing back the good ol’ feeling of unlocking bonus content after a while instead of just achievements. Also, he looks pretty dang cool in a PS2-era kind of way.
For those coming in fresh: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter tells the (Legends) story of how Jango Fett became selected to work for Darth Tyranus and be the blueprint for the Republic’s clone army. The dangerous mission involved hunting down a fallen dark apprentice of Tyranus called Komari Vosa, who led the dangerous Bando Gora cult on a crusade against Force users through the use of mind-altering neurotoxins. Of course, a few familiar Star Wars locales show up during Fett’s quest, yet the third-person shooter & adventure game went to some surprising places and featured a colorful cast of seedy characters.
Hopefully, Bounty Hunter will launch in a better state than the divisive Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection, which has received a number of solid patches since its rocky release, but has understandably soured Star Wars and casual players alike quite a bit on Aspyr’s traditionally decent-enough remasters.