Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Critic Reviews

A fantastic port and a suitably solid way of seeing off the original trilogy of titles. Nightdive has rarely failed to deliver and Turok 3 is still a fun time.

It’s just amusing to see such a loving remaster of a game that is mediocre in the most charitable of terms. With the attention Nightdive has given it, you would swear it was a classic. And I love that. I wish more publishers and developers had the guts to dredge up the forgotten dregs of the past and not just repackage them but restore them for a new audience. I was prepared for Nightdive to take a pass at remastering Turok 3 because it would be financially unviable. It wasn’t the smart thing to do. It was the right thing to do. So, they forged onward and made it happen with their signature flourishes. Respect from top to bottom. Certainly makes it difficult to slap a score on it, though.

Nightdive’s excellent work aside, this is a remaster of an OK game. If you’ve played the previous two installments, remember that going into this one. The deficiencies of the original game in terms of storytelling and overall design are still present. If you keep that in mind, be prepared to enjoy the best version of Turok 3 possible.

It’ll take a specific kind of person to get the most out of Turok 3. Shadows of Oblivion is an impressive remaster of an interesting retro game, but even when it came out it wasn’t blowing any minds. Did you grow up on games like the Turok series, those chunky, 90s shooters made for consoles before Halo? Are you interested in fascinating, specific corners of gaming history, and what kinds of restorative efforts can be applied thereof? Players just looking for a new shooter to play probably won’t have a great time. For me, I feel like I just slingshot time-traveled inside my own brain. I don’t know what that means, either.

Turok 3: Shadows of Oblivion Remastered is fine enough, but lacks the updates and charm of its predecessors.

I came away from this with the impression that I really didn’t miss out on much. Turok 3 is a game that lost its identity, and it now comes as no surprise that the next game was a reboot where Turok was changed into a space marine. In trying so hard to be like the other big name franchises, it became little more than another copy and sadly faded into obscurity. That all said, it’s only just mediocre at its worst, and you still get to shoot grenades at dinosaurs, so at least it has that going for it.

All in all, this is a great remaster of a game from many of our childhoods. It is fun for the most part, has relatively okay replayability, and offers reasons for you to explore each area. However, due to the technical issues I ran into, it does hamper the experience. I think it’s a little hard to justify $30 for, so if you can find it on a sale, definitely do so. I think it’s a fantastic $20 game, even with the issues, because I’m sure Nightdive will fix it up. If you’re looking for a fun romp through a classic, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion has you covered, just be mindful of some of its hiccups and N64isms here two weeks into the launch period.

The technically great remaster hides a badly aged Turok. Those who don't miss the dinosaurs will at least get some entertaining retro action.

In terms of improvements and the overall quality of the remaster, Nightdive Studios did some really solid work. The problem lies in the game itself – Acclaim was overly fixated on Valve’s success and as a result published something that was neither a good Half-Life nor a particularly satisfying Turok.

A great remaster of a simply good shooter that lost its identity to seem like others video games from its era.