Freedom Wars Remastered breathes new life into a decade-old PlayStation Vita classic
Welcome to the future, where simply being alive is a sin. You see, with resources on planet Earth being at an all-time low, unless you’ve got something substantial to offer for the betterment of humanity you’re simply a drain. As a sinner you’ve been given a considerable sentence, and must spend your days in confinement, working to earn your freedom. And that’s pretty much the premise of Freedom Wars, a Monster Hunter-style action RPG that proved to be a hit on PlayStation Vita which has now been remastered for modern consoles and PC.
Your character in Freedom Wars is particularly unlucky, having been given a 1,000,000 year sentence for suffering a bout of amnesia. And so, having once had more than a handful of privileges, they’re starting at the bottom of the food chain again. To get back to where you once were, status-wise, and then go beyond, you’re going to have to fight for your Panopticon, competing against others for valuable resources. And that, of course, means putting your life in danger. You never fight alone, however. For one you have what is called an Accessory assigned to you – an android that oversees everything you do. Other sinners will also accompany you.
Being a Monster Hunter-style action RPG, missions in Freedom Wars Remastered typically find you fighting against large enemies called Abductors. Troublesome to take down, these Abductors come in multiple shapes and sizes and are equipped with a variety of weapons and other contraptions, making it wise to target them strategically. If you encounter an Abductor equipped with missile launchers equipped to its shoulders, for example, you might want to try and destroy them first.
Though technically, you don’t actually need to destroy every Abductor you come across in Freedom Wars Remastered. As you can probably guess from their names, the primary purpose of an Abductor is to abduct people, and most missions simply require you to save those that they’ve captured. If you want, then, you can free those being held by an Abductor while it’s still alive, before scooping them up and carrying them to an escape pod. You could even order your Accessory to carry them, if you wish.
Ultimately it’s up to you how you approach your task. Freeing those captured by Abductors while they’re still alive is the fastest way to complete a mission, but carrying someone to an escape pod with an Abductor in pursuit can be challenging. And so, many players might be more inclined to dismantle any Abductors they’re faced with instead, claiming valuable loot in the process as they break off parts one by one.
In any case, the combat in Freedom Wars Remastered proves to be engaging and enjoyable, even though it is pretty basic. A number of weapon types are available, and you’re free to equip multiple of them. You could pair up a large sword with an assault rifle, then, ensuring you have both melee and ranged options available at all times. Or you could opt for a duo of melee weapons, one lightweight and another more hefty. The choice is yours.
What elevates the combat to the next level is inclusion of a grappling whip, which not only allows you to quickly zip around the environment, but also launch powerful assaults on Abductors. Attach your grappling whip to an Abductor, for example, and you can perform a dash attack if you wish, charging at them while striking with your weapons. You can also target a specific part of an Abductor, such as pod in which someone is being held captive, and then quickly pull yourself it before grabbing on.
I should mention that you won’t always be fighting against Abductors in missions, though. Sometimes they’re accompanied by other robotic foes, and in some missions you’ll be in direct competition with sinners from other Panopticons, racing to rescue civilians before others can grab them for themselves. And as you do all this, you’ll not only be reducing your sentence, bringing you one step closer to freedom, but you’ll also be earning points you can spend to buy new privileges, such as being able to leave your cell. Your life doesn’t have to be quite so depressing providing you keep proving yourself useful.
Needless to say, if you like games such as Monster Hunter, it really is worth checking Freedom Wars Remastered out. It may not be all that deep, and its missions take place on maps that aren’t exactly expansive, but it’s an engaging experience with an interesting premise. You can even play it in co-op if you wish, and face off against other players. Ultimately, it’s easy to see why Freedom Wars was so successful on the PlayStation Vita, and it still has much to offer despite being a decade old.
Freedom Wars Remastered is available on PS4, PS5, Switch and PC.
