Critically panned Blade Runner remaster now includes non-remastered version on Steam
Better replicant.
Developer Nightdive Studios has announced that its critically panned remaster of Westwood Studios' classic point-and-click adventure Blade Runner will now include the well-recieved ScummVM version of the original game on Steam.
Nightdive's remaster was announced back in March 2020, but the project appeared to be on a permanent hiatus after the studio told Eurogamer it was struggling to overcome certain "obstacles". It was a bit of a surprise, then, when Nightdive's long-awaited Enhanced Edition of Blade Runner resurfaced earlier this month with a 23rd June release date, but perhaps less of a surprise, given its history, when the remaster launched to less-than-stellar reviews.
For those that purchased the game via GOG, there was some respite in that all copies of the remaster came with the previously available ScummVM version, developed by a dedicated group of enthusiasts. Steam purchasers, however, were stuck with Nightdive's inferior remaster - until today, that is, when the studio revealed it would adding the ScummVM version as an alternative download for all purchases.
"Hello everyone," Nightdive wrote in a Steam post announcing the news. "The original Blade Runner, titled Blade Runner Classic, is now available to play with the Enhanced Edition. The free update will be downloaded automatically and when you start Blade Runner through Steam, you'll be given a choice of launching the Enhanced Edition, or the Classic version."
Nightdive also re-iterated it's working on a first official patch for the Blade Runner remaster - but offered no indication of when this might arrive or what it might include.