Shadow of the Beast remake to include surprises for fans of original game

The remake will include an emulated version of the original game

 

With all the excitement for Uncharted 4, it's easy to forget that there's another PS4 exclusive waiting just around the corner. Based on the 1989 Amiga title of the same name, Shadow of the Beast is a 2.5D platformer - interspersed with moments of puzzle-solving and bloody combat - that takes place on a surreal alien world that looks like it was ripped straight from the cover of a seventies prog record. This isn't actually too far from the truth - the original game featured contributions from Roger Dean, an artist who built his reputation on the back of album covers for bands like Yes, Uriah Heep and Gentle Giant.

If you've seen any of the dev diaries that have been released the game so far, you'll know that Heavy Spectrum, the developer responsible for ushering SotB out of retirement, has a massive amount of respect for the cult Amiga title, and are attempting to be as faithful to '89 original as possible. Players will be able to judge just how faithful the translation to the current generation is for themselves, as the developer has revealed that an emulated version of the original game will be available as an unlockable extra.

That isn't the only retro easter egg for fans to look forward to, either. They will also be able to unlock the original SotB soundtrack (one of retro gaming's greatest OSTs), and a high-res scan of the artwork painted by Roger Dean for the game's initial release.

Shadow of the Beast arrives exclusively on PS4 on May 17.