Remake Time: D/Generation HD Out Now

It’s been a long time coming — over two years, in fact — and I’d honestly started to wonder if the project had been quietly cancelled. But here we are: D/Generation HD finally launched on PS4 just a week ago! Interestingly, the PC and Xbox One versions had already arrived a few weeks earlier.

The original D/Generation first appeared in 1991 on PC, with Amiga versions following shortly after in 1992 and 1993.

D/Generation was a highly regarded action-puzzler in its day, frequently earning spots on various “Top 40/50/100 Amiga Games of All Time” lists — and for good reason. The game introduced a host of fresh ideas while delivering a tight, polished gameplay experience.

Visually, it may not have wowed many players — even at the time, the graphics were considered modest. But that hardly mattered. What D/Generation lacked in visual flair, it more than made up for with pure gameplay brilliance and fun.

The game was released on PC, Atari ST, Amiga 500, Amiga 1200, and Amiga CD32; all versions were mostly identical, except for the graphics, music, and some other minor differences.

The original team behind D/Generation isn’t directly involved in this reboot — beyond licensing the IP to West Coast Software, who handled the remake. How they managed to regain the rights from Mindscape is unclear, but this could pave the way for future remakes or HD upgrades of other Mindscape titles from the ’80s and ’90s. Mindscape’s back catalogue reportedly spans 150–200 games across multiple platforms, so the potential is huge.

Edit: After publishing this article, Mark “TDK” Knight kindly reached out via Facebook to clarify a few things. He was, in fact, the composer for the A1200 and CD32 versions of D/Generation, while Martin Walker handled the music for the Amiga 500 and Atari ST editions. Adding to the mix, Sean Gugler composed the original title and ending tracks, likely for the PC version.

So, as it turns out, some of the original team members are involved in the remake after all. How cool is that?

The D/Generation HD remake seems to have been handled the right way — no trendy faux-retro “2, 4, 8, 16-bit” indie gimmicks here.

Instead, it delivers sleek, modern visuals while keeping the iconic isometric perspective completely intact. The developers could have easily followed the all-too-common path of turning it into a first- or third-person game, like so many other reboots, but thankfully, they stayed true to the original vision.

It’s clear that a lot of care went into preserving the spirit of the classic, and as a long-time fan, I genuinely appreciate that.

The more I look at the game, the more I feel this is exactly how it could have looked back in the day. The original style is fully preserved, just rendered in much higher resolution. At first glance, it even feels like something that could have been achieved on a classic Amiga. Just imagine D/Generation HD running at 320×256 on an Amiga — now that would have been a dream!

The game now features a fully rendered intro, a huge step up from the old 2D slideshow-style openings. This time, it also comes with sound effects, which really enhance the experience. The intro looks fantastic and exceeded my expectations — especially when compared to the Flashback and Another World remakes from a few years back, which, while visually faithful, somehow felt a bit off.

West Coast Software managed to secure the complete source code and assets from the original game, so here’s hoping the level designs and core gameplay elements stay true to the classic.

The music has also been refreshed, composed by Mark “TDK” Knight — a highly talented musician with over 20 years of experience creating music for video games.

A quick glance at the trailer and a few YouTube videos suggests that the game retains the same mechanics and level design as the original 1991 release. I haven’t had the chance to do a full comparison myself yet, but it’s definitely something I plan to dive into eventually.

I plan to do a full review of the game at some point, but for now, you’ll have to make do with the two trailers and teasers above.

It’s always exciting to see the Amiga name pop up in PlayStation Store descriptions, and it’s even more fun to follow the discussions in videos and forums after a release like this — whether it’s a reboot, remake, or whatever you want to call it.

If you enjoyed the original game, you can grab it now on the PlayStation Store for an introductory price of just $12.99 USD/EUR.

Thanks for reading!

Note: Some parts of this article have been updated based on new information from Mark “TDK” Knight.

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