You know that feeling when you submit an essay or work project that you think you did pretty well, only to have it handed in a few weeks later with a low grade and scathing comments? I don't know, because I've thrown all the negative feedback I've ever received out the airlock of narcissism, but it's something Nathan Siedhaus can probably relate to.

Siedhaus is the lead developer of Grey Skies: A War of the Worlds story (the original HG Wells is public domain), a third-person stealth action game that has been out for over two years. It has been heavily criticized by players for almost as long, and currently has a "Mostly Negative" score of 33% with 110 player reviews on Steam. However, Seedhouse was so busy with his personal life that it took him a while to realize that few people were enjoying the game. But now, as GamesRadar discovered, he hopes to make it right with a free remaster.

In a post on the game's Steam page, Seedhouse said that "a couple of years of crippling personal issues" kept him away from development, but that he has now returned to "realize that Grey Skies has problems and is extremely poorly reviewed.

"I didn't know how bad it was until recently."

However, Seedhouse says that the time away has given him "fresh eyes" and that he "fully [understands] the problems most people had with the piece." Despite this, he still believes that "under these problems, we made a decent game," and he intends to make that clear by "remastering the game using the new technology that has become available and my own improved development knowledge."

"I intend to look over all concerns carefully and address them one by one. We will pay close attention to the most common complaints, such as inconvenient movements and frustrating stealth elements," said Seedhouse. Once the remaster is complete, it will be distributed free of charge to owners of the original "Grey Skies. That original version will soon be discontinued.

"I hope we can correct some of the mistakes we made," Seedhouse said, "and maybe some people will want to play it again." It is unclear how many developers will be involved in the "Grey Skies" remastering, but probably not that many.

I contacted the Grey Skies development studio to ask about the size of the development team and will update this article if I hear back.

While I wish the remastering team well, I am skeptical that they will be able to do the work necessary to change people's perceptions of the game. That said, Seedhouse seems to have been through the wringer over the last few years, and even if players aren't convinced, he seems to truly believe in the game he created in 2020. Perhaps he really did it, and "Grey Skies" can join the rare list of Steam games that, after much sweat and toil, have made their way from a red dot to a blue dot in user reviews.