The first Crysis, released way back in 2007, before a recession and an AI boom, was the real measuring stick of whether you had a PC worthy of being called a ‘gaming PC’. The impressive visuals, intense action, and the ever-awesome Nanosuit made it a staple of the best FPS games in the 2000s, with sequels leading it into the early 2010s. While Crysis’ mark on the industry isn’t as strong as it once was, it helps that they’re still incredible games to play, and you can grab the entire trilogy – remastered in all its goodness – at a lower price than ever.
While the Crysis series has been in a coma for 13 years now, with the announced Crysis 4 seemingly gathering dust like that pesky Half-Life 3, the trilogy was once a household name amongst the PC gaming community. ‘Can it run Crysis’ was the benchmark for a system’s specs, and that’s because even in 2007, the original game was an absolutely breathtaking experience visually, and it also had some fantastic gameplay to boot.
Set in the distant future of… 2020? (Really? I can’t believe we’ve now gone past where Crysis was deemed ‘futuristic’.) Anyway, you play as Nomad, a Nanosuit-clad soldier who is sent to the Lingshan Islands following a distress signal from a team of archaeologists after they are invaded by North Korean soldiers and after they’ve uncovered an alien-built structure. Sadly, that means fighting humans and aliens at once, so good luck with that.
Fortunately, in all three games, the Nanosuit isn’t just a bit of enhanced armor. Instead, it’s a high-tech set of gear that allows you to cycle between modes, so long as you can manage your energy correctly. Strength Mode gives you enhanced power, punching cars through the air with ease, while Armor Mode increases your resistance to shrapnel and bullets, making you nigh-invincible. Speed Mode grants you, well, increased speed, and the final piece is Cloak Mode, allowing you to become almost invisible – for reference, whenever I get invisibility in a game, I always hear ‘Cloak Engaged’ in my head. That’s how monumental this series is.
While the first Crysis is a sandbox-style world, the latter two games are more linear experiences, but the entire trilogy ties well together and, as mentioned, still holds up to this day. The visuals are absolutely fantastic, remaining a masterclass of world design to date, and the gameplay helps carry it into the coveted ‘iconic’ status of PC gaming. If you’re young enough not to remember how massive this game is, well, here’s your chance to get it, as the entire Crysis Remastered Trilogy is just $18.99 / £15.57 at Fanatical, a lower price than ever before.
Thankfully, this version is published by Crytek itself, so no need to download the dreaded EA App to get access to the games like before. And, you’ll be adding to the revenue of Crysis games, so hopefully we get that eternally-awaited sequel before I inevitably die to an invading alien race in the near future of 2020. I’ve been waiting 13 years for a new entry, okay? I’m exhausted.