Little Big Adventure, or Relentless: The Twinsens Adventure, as it was called outside of Europe, blew my puny mind in 1994. The isometric, pseudo-3D, non-linear adventure game seemed so ambitious at the time that I vividly remember devouring every preview and drooling over the glossy screenshots that graced my favorite magazines. Thankfully, it managed to live up to my high expectations, even if it was too tricky and elaborate for my silly 9-year-old brain.

It was a big hit in Europe, and a sequel came out a few years later, but apparently no one on the other side of the Atlantic gave it a second look. If you're an American reader, you may have no clue how magical the Twinzen adventure actually was; maybe it was too French for America in the 1990s, but I'm not sure. It really was very French.

This mistake, thankfully, can be quickly corrected. Because both films (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) will be reborn as remastered versions, courtesy of the developer [2.21], who is also working on a third film in the series.

Both games are visually quite dated, but the remastered versions have undergone significant changes, not only making them compatible with 4K resolution, but also giving them a softer cartoon style that is a bit reminiscent of Studio Ghibli's excellent work. This new Unreal Engine 5 remaster also touts more fluid animation, a tracking camera, and new analog controls. The old controls are still available, but I remember them being a bit fiddly even in the 90s.

You'll have to wait until next year to play in earnest, but you can get an early taste of the demo at the Steam Next Fest on June 19. If you want a more authentic time-slip, the original was re-released on Steam (opens in new tab) a few years ago.