Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is the nostalgia hit you need right now

Gaming

August 6, 2024

Daniel Morris

No matter your thoughts on the franchise’s current state, I think we can all agree that at its best, nothing hits quite like Star Wars. George Lucas’ sci-fi epic has always had quite a tough time making the jump to the video game medium, which is why when a good Star Wars title appears, you take notice.

In recent times, games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor have proven popular among fans. However, just recently, Aspyr released a remastered version of the 2002 classic, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The Attack of the Clones prequel has received positive reviews from fans and critics alike upon its revival, which is why it might just be the nostalgia hit you need right now.

You’re the bad guy

Credit: Aspyr

In most Star Wars games, you play as the unequivocal good guy. It’s just the franchise formula at this point. But in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, you play as bounty hunter (shocker!) Jango Fett on a personal mission of his own. Jango might be the protagonist of the game, but he’s no hero.

We just think Star Wars is more interesting when it’s morally grey. Here, you play as a bad man doing some pretty bad things, yet it’s entirely compelling the whole time. This type of story is part of the reason why the game still holds up to this day.

New(ish) visuals

Credit: Aspyr

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter arrives with a fresh coat of paint – sort of. Most of the game’s textures have been upscaled by Aspyr, ensuring it holds up at modern resolutions. After all, this is a PS2 / GameCube-era game, so it wouldn’t look too great untouched.

However, the real highlight here is the new lighting effects. Light is actually illuminated now, reflecting off its surroundings to make for a much more aesthetically pleasing experience. This is most noticeable with Jango’s blaster bolts, which shine as they fling toward their targets. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter looks every bit as good as you could hope for from a 2002 title remastered in 2024.

Modernized controls

Credit: PlayStation

Being real, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is over two decades old now. Other than visuals, there’s nothing that dates a game more than a clunky control scheme, and the original game is no different. Luckily, this remaster does a great job of bringing the controls into the modern era with some small changes. These subtle differences make a massive improvement to the overall experience.

PlayStation 5 players will even notice some unique features on their controller in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The lightbar is used to show off the in-game health bar. while voice comms are given directly through the controller. It’s details like these that make it such a strong remaster.

Play as Boba Fett!

Credit: Aspyr

Throughout the original Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, gamers could only play as Jango Fett. In classic 2002 fashion, rumors and myths swirled back in the day about the possibility of playing as his son, Boba Fett, although this proved to be nothing but fiction.

With the remaster, Aspyr has made those myths a reality. That’s right – you can now play as Boba Fett in Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, as he appears in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Does it break the lore? Completely. Is it still awesome? YES.

If you’ve been on the fence about Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, whether you played it back in the day, or never tried it at all, it’s worth your time. Even if you wait a little to see if it goes on sale, keep it in mind. Heck, if Star Wars Outlaws flops later this year, maybe return to this one.