25 years ago, Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy blew away audiences and laid the foundations of the adventure genre, with its singular atmosphere and groundbreaking visuals. This year, the remake designed by Microids Studio Paris is on track to pull off a similar feat! We took a closer look at the huge effort the team is putting into the graphics.


From the outset of development, the ambition was clear: virtually all of Amerzone’s visual elements needed to be redesigned for the remake arriving this autumn. From the textured 3D models to the lighting effects, almost everything was recreated from scratch using modern techniques. “Much of our focus was on the vegetation and water, which feature heavily in the scenery,” explained Xavier Tual and Frédéric Gesquière, the pair in charge of artistic direction at Microids Studio Paris. “We worked on making the foliage varied and luxuriant, and bringing realism to the various rivers, lakes and swamps that the players will discover over the course of their adventure.”

In addition to the environments, the characters were given special attention in this ambitious remake. Each one was remodeled and based on the original drawings of the creator Benoît Sokal, in order to bring out all their splendor and surpass the technical limits of 1999. Then, for the first time, they were animated using motion capture. “This allows us to reproduce the subtleties of an actor's performance, and achieve a result that’s as human as possible,” told us Xavier. “The characters in Amerzone have been marked by life; their faces are windows into their personalities.”

Another new visual and technological feature: all the environments and characters are now displayed in real time, in contrast with the fixed images that were used in the original game. “Real-time 3D brings things to life; we can feel the wind in the trees, see the birds take off and the water move,” commented Frédéric. “It also creates depth; it makes it possible to observe the surroundings and objects from different angles.” To create this lush world, Microids Studio Paris has pushed the engine Unity to the limits, building on the expertise it demonstrated in 2022 with Syberia: The World Before.


While transforming Amerzone’s graphics to bring them up to today’s standards, the team set itself the goal of remaining faithful to the original release. “One thing that hasn’t changed a bit is the atmosphere and overall feel,” Xavier assured us. “Our aim is to enhance all of the content of the original game, […] to fully realize Benoît Sokal’s vision, without the technical limits that constrained his creativity at the time,” added Frédéric. A few things have been left as they were though, like the sketches in Valembois’ notebook, which have simply been put in high definition to enjoy them as never before.

To strike the fine balance between innovation and respect for the source, the teams at Microids Studio Paris spent a lot of time replaying the original title and returned to Benoît Sokal working files. “We asked ourselves what the essential elements were that needed to be kept, and what we could add to the game without straying too far from the original,” told us Xavier. “Take the iconic temple for example, with its Mayan-style architecture, surrounded by rock and lava. We kept all of that, while polishing it to make it even more brilliant!” To achieve its goal, the team has been able to rely on the vast experience gained working alongside Benoît Sokal over nearly a decade; as well as on his family, who have been looking after his legacy since he left us.

The result? A visual overhaul that should both live up to the expectations of the original fans, and wow new audiences.

🕊️ Wishlist Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy now

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429190/Amerzone__The_Explorers_Legacy/

📬 Stay connected!

Amerzone Twitter - Twitter - Facebook[www.facebook.com] - Instagram[www.instagram.com] - Amerzone TikTok[www.tiktok.com] - TikTok[www.tiktok.com] - Discord[discord.gg]

This year, players will get a chance to discover or revisit Benoît Sokal’s first masterpiece – Amerzone. Previously, we looked at how the remake will remain faithful to the 1999 original; we will now take a peek at some totally new features in the pipeline, beginning with game mechanics. Let’s get started!


This was our first question: how does Microids Studio Paris identify which mechanics from the original version should be kept and which should be modernized. Romain Pierson, Game Designer, gave the following explanation: “We started by spending a lot of time playing the original title, to check each mechanic for playability and clarity.” The team also looks at how today’s audiences like to play, and checks whether Amerzone’s gameplay is still compatible. “In the 1999 version, players only had to click once on a lever to pull it down; today, players wouldn’t find that satisfying enough.” Romain offered as an example. Lastly, the highly positive reviews of Syberia: The World Before, Microids Studio Paris’ previous adventure game, highlighted mechanics that were well received by players and could be added to Amerzone.


With this in mind, which gameplay elements are being transformed in the remake? “First, there are the puzzles and the way players interact with objects,” told us Amanda Goengrich, Concept Artist. “In the original game, everything was very static. Now, as in Syberia: The World Before, players can enjoy turning objects around in their hands, observing them, and figuring out how they work. As Benoît Sokal liked to say, in reference to Little Red Riding Hood, ‘pull the peg and the latch will drop’”. In addition to all the puzzles from the original, which have been made more dynamic and organic, you will also find some fresh challenges that offer surprises and keep the game going longer.

Another new gameplay feature in store in Amerzone is the addition of a diary, packed with functional and narrative elements. There, players will find objectives and optional clues to help them, as well as notes about the adventure taken by the player character, an inventory, documents, and an investigation tab. “The investigation system is another innovation in this remake,” commented Amanda. “As a journalist, our character can choose to dig deeper into something that piques their interest, with a view to writing an article about it. These investigations are kind of like side missions.”

Next, in this remake, Amerzone has been tweaked in various ways to enhance and modernize the game experience. In particular, much effort has gone into the transitions between scenes: while they used to be instantaneous, there are now real movements where the player is totally immersed in the character. There is also a fast movement function to rapidly backtrack, and players will find automatic saves at numerous checkpoints. “We now also offer two difficulty levels – Journey and Adventure – that give a choice between getting a bit more guidance or playing with total independence,” Romain added. “And we’ve also been working hard to make sure that Amerzone is equally playable using a mouse and keyboard, and a PlayStation or Xbox controller.”


“We are creating this remake for fans of the original title, who will find everything they loved about Amerzone, along with our added little improvements,” concluded Amanda. “But it’s also for new players who enjoy story-based games, deep thinking and being transported into imaginary worlds.”

This is a great chance to discover or rediscover Amerzone, with reviewed and improved gameplay!

🕊️ Wishlist Amerzone - The Explorer’s Legacy now

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429190/Amerzone__The_Explorers_Legacy/

📬 Stay connected!

Amerzone Twitter - Twitter - Facebook[www.facebook.com] - Instagram[www.instagram.com] - Amerzone TikTok[www.tiktok.com] - TikTok[www.tiktok.com] - Discord[discord.gg]