FIRST LOOK IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE NIER

NIER REPLICANT PS4, XB1, PC

Remasters aren’t just about giving classic games a new lick of paint – this is also an opportunity for a past title to get the plaudits it missed out on the first time around. After the rapturous acclaim for Nier: Automata, a post-apocalyptic melodrama hidden inside an action-packed game about fighting androids, it was only right for its overlooked predecessor to get another chance to shine.

But even early followers of director Yoko Taro will find something new here, as

Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139… (to give it its full title) is actually a remaster of the PS3 version released exclusively in Japan, where the titular protagonist was a teenage boy rather than a middle-aged man. So this time, instead of a daughter, you’re trying to save your sister from a terminal illness.

The core game remains the same, as you team up with a talking book and fight creatures roaming the land called Shades, while the action occasionally flips from full 3D action to 2D platforming (although Platinumgames, the action-game overlords who developed Automata, are not involved).

The remaster arrives next April – when, besides having improved visuals, it will also include some new and rearranged music to add to the original’s already amazing otherworldly score.