Nightdive’s Next Updated Retro Video Game Is Not One You’d Expect

Fresh from bringing back classics such as Star Wars: Dark Forces, Turok 3, and Quake 2, Nightdive Studios has announced its next restoration — and it’s a game no-one expected.

You’d be forgiven for having not heard of PO’ed. It was developed and published by Any Channel Inc. initially for the 3DO in 1995, with a PlayStation port released in 1996 courtesy of defunct publisher Accolade. In the game you play a chef who tries to escape an alien world. It’s very mid-90s video game!

Here’s the official blurb, courtesy of Nightdive:

Inspired by generational powerhouses Doom and Quake, the original PO’ed pushed first-person action games to new heights with its over-the-top, action-packed, fast-paced, explosive, ridiculous, bloody, smelly, scrumptious, adjective-filled, ultra-violent 3D gameplay. You play as a chef who crashes on an alien planet infested with extraterrestrial foes, using a menu of “household” weapons to deliver a dish best served cold (by dish, I mean revenge, just in case you were confused).

PO’ed: Definitive Edition is an updated version of the 1995 first-person space shooter, and it’s coming soon to PC and consoles. The Definitive Edition features updated visuals, antialiasing, increased frame-rate, redefined controls, and up to 4K 144 FPS performance, Nightdive said.

Here’s the list of PO’ed: Definitive Edition key features, from Nightdive:

• A plate full of quality-of-life features to enhance the gameplay and fix bugs present in the original game (which can be toggled off)
• Wet your whistle with widescreen support for the HUD and other on-screen graphics
• A new delicious difficulty mode has been added for hardcore players
• 15 appetizing achievements
• A dash of localization support for English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish
• Total freedom! Cruise on foot or fly with your jetpack through 25 wild 3D environments

PO’ed: Definitive Edition releases for Windows PC via Steam and GOG, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch in “the very near future.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.