Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged PS5 Review

Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged PS5 Review – A global adventure

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was originally released in 1996, with the original game receiving praise for numerous aspects, such as its voice acting, storytelling, and music. In 2024, a remastered version has been released. But through a modern lens, and as someone who never played the original, does the game still live up to the hype? I enjoy a good point-and-click adventure, having played the likes of Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders, and more recently Thimbleweed Park and The Darkside Detective. I was expecting something similar with Broken Sword, though, personally, I found it to be a bit of a slow burner.

The game features plenty of puzzles, and while some can feel challenging, they often reward you with an “a-ha!” moment once solved. The mix of inventory-based and logic puzzles will keep you engaged, with George Stobbart, the American protagonist, using a variety of objects or interactions with characters to progress. One of the game’s more notorious puzzles involves a goat—a puzzle so infamous, yet simple in execution, that it has its own Wikipedia page! There is a hint system, but the first few hints rarely offer much help. In many cases, I had already worked out what needed to happen but didn’t know how to make it happen. For example, a hint might tell you to distract a character, which I’d already figured out. New hints take five minutes to appear, though I later discovered this can be reduced to 30 seconds (hindsight, as they say, is 20/20). For more hardcore players, the hint system can be set to an hour or even turned off completely.

Despite the engaging puzzles, the uneven pacing can make certain sections feel sluggish. You’ll spend much of your time speaking to a host of quirky characters, trying to gather as much information as possible. Admittedly, talking to so many people can become a little tiresome after a while, which can cause the game to drag in places. However, the game’s humour in both plot and delivery shows why it was praised for its writing. The story remains intriguing as George travels around, uncovering more and more about the mysterious clown. His journey takes him down quite the rabbit hole, with twists and turns aplenty, though the ending feels rather abrupt and anticlimactic.

George does most of the legwork, travelling and putting himself in danger, but he has some help from Nicole “Nico” Collard. Unfortunately, she doesn’t play a major role in the game. Although they’re supposed to be working together, she mostly stays in her apartment, offering occasional insights. Nico doesn’t become a playable character, and although the game attempts to develop a romance between her and George, it never feels convincing. Nico often seems more irritated by George, as if he were an annoying younger brother, though she does show that she cares for him on occasion.

Being a remaster, you can choose between playing with updated, hand-drawn graphics or switching to the original pixelated version. I opted for the new graphics, which are much brighter, crisper, and more detailed, though fans of the original may prefer the nostalgic charm of the pixel art. The game controls smoothly enough for a point-and-click adventure—you simply click where you want George to walk or interact. There are also new menus, including reminders of the story so far, the option to log certain dialogue for future reference (though I never used this), a redesigned map, and reworked sound, which, unfortunately, still comes across as a bit muffled and tinny at times.

Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged PS5 Review Summary:

Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars: Reforged is an engaging revisit to classic point-and-click gaming, particularly for those who appreciate a story-driven experience. The remastered visuals add a fresh layer while staying true to the original’s charm, and the humour and dialogue remain as entertaining as ever. While some puzzles may feel quick to solve, others require more thought, though the uneven pacing between puzzles and story can occasionally disrupt the flow. Nevertheless, for fans of the original or those drawn to narrative-heavy adventures, it’s still a charming, if somewhat leisurely, journey that honours its roots.