Following the discovery that Aspyr, a developer with a contentious track record, had been found using an outdated version of a community-made mod for Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection by its creator, my expectations for the game’s successful launch were significantly lowered.
Following last month’s well-received remasters of the first three Tomb Raider games, which only featured minor censorship changes such as the removal of Pierre’s naughty jacket, alongside an intrusive disclaimer regarding the “inexcusable racism” depicted within the trilogy, an addition which was spearheaded by Crystal Dynamics. A mod was then created to remove this disclaimer, but it was subsequently removed by Nexusmods due to its violation of woke policies.
The release of Aspyr’s Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has been marred by significant issues.
The Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has garnered over three thousand Steam user reviews, resulting in a “Mostly Negative” overall rating of just 19%. Fans have voiced complaints about bugs, crashes, server issues, and a multiplayer mode that is virtually unplayable.
“Probably one of the worst launches of all time,” Steam user Dinkleberg comments. “None of us can get in a game and there are only 3 servers.” Similar grievances flood the game’s Steam review page, which is currently dominated by negative feedback.
Many users urge each other not to waste their two-hour refund window. “Don’t waste your two-hour refund window till confirmation of fix,” advises a user named Nightnight. “Currently, game is totally unplayable. Even if you manage to get into a server, players cannot spawn.”
The state of the game servers at launch has been a common source of criticism. While the original Battlefront games were celebrated for their multiplayer experience, numerous players online have reported that the Classic Collection launched with only three dedicated servers, each accommodating up to 64 players, despite peaking at 9,232 concurrent players on launch.
While players have the option to host their own servers, some users have encountered issues with this feature not functioning properly.
But it wasn’t just the servers that frustrated players. Multiple gaming subreddits, particularly the Battlefront subreddit itself, are flooded with complaints about the collection. Users have raised concerns about a variety of issues, including floaty controls, frequent crashes, stuttering gameplay, and limited options for playing with friends.
Certainly, the game appears to be nothing more than a blatant cash grab, offering little beyond a rehash of the original classics with slightly improved visuals for $35.
Aspyr’s reputation took a hit when they were discovered using a user-made mod without permission, which aimed to reintroduce exclusive content from the Xbox version of Battlefront II.
Adding insult to injury, this incident further underscores their negligence and lack of attention to detail, a pattern that has been evident in their previous releases. For instance, in the case of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lord for Nintendo Switch, Aspyr initially promised a “restore content DLC” but later canceled these plans without offering refunds to customers unless they reached out to support.
Furthermore, Aspyr had assured players of LAN multiplayer functionality for Star Wars Episode 1: Racer on Nintendo Switch, only to backtrack on this promise. Despite initial assurances, the feature was never implemented, and Aspyr later acknowledged that they had no plans to include it.
On Steam, the Classic Collection, despite not being marketed as a full-blown remaster, demands a whopping 62.87GB of storage space, whereas the original games only required a combined 12.39GB.
Players are puzzled by the hefty storage demand, as one Reddit user queried why such a large space is necessary “just for these two old-ass games with barely anything done to them.” This issue is largely attributed to modern developers’ incompetence in the gaming industry, as they likely neglected to compress game assets.
This repeated failure to fulfill promises not only leaves players disillusioned but also raises doubts about the company’s integrity and dedication to its audience. Despite previous letdowns, many players still seem to trust Aspyr, as evidenced by the thousands who eagerly purchased the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection for $35, particularly for its online features.
However, they were left sorely disappointed with a release marred by numerous issues, including broken netcode and a botched online experience, the game is unlikely to recover from such a disastrous release.
