Beloved PS1 action-adventure returns with surprise new remake this week

A PlayStation 1 game you’ve probably never heard of is returning this week with a brand-new remake; long live video game preservation.

We absolutely love it when retro games get another chance to shine, the more obscure the better.

Later this week old-school PlayStation fans will be welcoming back a classic action-adventure game, with a free demo available on Steam right now.

Hard Edge, or as it’s formally known, T.R.A.G.: Tactical Rescue Assault Group – Mission of Mercy, is an action-adventure game with elements of a survival horror. It was released on the OG PlayStation in 1998 and weirdly has a lot in common with Resident Evil. It’s a bit more cartoon-y but the overall vibe is still there.

It’s been a long time since it first launched and anyone who has played this hidden gem has probably forgotten all about it, as PlayStation continues to do a disservice to its classic game repertoire.

Those that are racking their brains to remember this game won’t get any reminders from seeing the remake for themselves either, as strangely enough it does far more than give the game a visual makeover/modernised controls.

SUNSOFT

That’s right, the Hard Edge - War Zone completely changes the core gameplay loop, effectively altering its genre entirely. Instead of traditional combat the game now boasts “4v4 real-time tactical card” battling.

“Combine strategic deck-building with simultaneous team actions” begins the game’s official synopsis. “Every turn, draw cards to shoot, throw, or defend. Sacrifice cards to move in a high-stakes tactical ‘WAR ZONE.’”

It’s quite a bold transition from what will have come to expect, but as far as remakes go that’s quite a cool twist. Remakes should be reimaginings of the original and the new, possibly improved, Hard Edge obviously has that in spades.

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When you’ll get to play classic PlayStation remake, and what platforms

If the brand-new genre wasn’t confusing enough for you, get a load of this. Hard Edge - War Zone launches on PC via Steam on July 23, which is only a few days away at the time of writing.

However, it won’t be launching on the PlayStation 5 at the same time. Despite originally launching on the first PlayStation this remake will skip the new-gen Sony platform for some unknown reason. It’ll likely get a port if it’s popular enough, but for now it’s a PC-exclusive.

Perhaps it’s a tactical decision. Perhaps the original Hard Edge is on its way to PlayStation Plus as an upcoming addition to the classics catalogue, and the developers didn’t want that to conflict with this new remake.

We don’t know for certain, but what we do know is if you’d like to give the remake a go before it launches later this week, you can do so for free right now.

The game’s Steam page comes with a free demo, which we’d highly recommend you play especially if you’re on the fence about the game’s new card-battling genre.