DF Retro: Powerslave/Exhumed - A Game Ahead of its Time

[@gabor-toth]

I was a Saturn owner myself in those days and Lobotomy were gods for the platform. I couldn't believe what they did with these games and how good Exhumed and Quake looked. They were one of the absolute finest Saturn developers, a real killer asset for the machine. It was a huge blow that they got closed.

[@Markis5150]

I always hoped Sega would either buy them or atleast continue to form a working relationship where they contracted them to make more games for Saturn. I still remember buying the game day one,noone knew wtf the game was or cared at Software Etc. It quietly made a name for itself among the hardcore following. But it was just a quiet whisper as all the magazines bandwagoned towards PlayStation. A real shame Sony used their checkbook in those days to keep great games off the Saturn. Blood Omen Legacy of Kain and Resident Evil II were prime examples of Sony's b.s. interference with 3rd party game development on Saturn.

[@Degahen]

Markis5150 While Sony did have a shady reputation back in the day of paying off developers to either not do ports for other consoles or just do crappy and lazy ports, Resident Evil II for the Saturn was cancelled not due to Sony but due to Capcom focusing on development for Code: Veronica X which truly is ashame. However I didn't know the other two you listed we're cancelled, again what ashame.

[@allancandaza]

and also duke nukem 3d too on saturn

[@aussieguy1012]

I prefer df retro over normal DF

[@SicSemperBeats]

everyone was does

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Indeed!

[@Objectorbit]

DF Retro is why I subbed to the channel.

[@SicSemperBeats]

Objectorbit thought i was the only one. Df retro is great

[@thiagovidal6137]

Same.. DF Retro is what made me subscribe. It's my favorite gaming show ever.

[@ACGreviews]

One of my favorite games of all time. Good video John

[@ivodassen87]

ACG sounds like a buy

[@BeatmasterAC]

definately a buy XD

[@Sammie2716]

mine too, loved the saturn version so much

[@TeamCGS2005]

@ Yeah they remember how shit the recent iterations are like Duke Nukem Forever.

[@To-mos]

Modders are keeping it alive, I just learned about it though their voxel model packs.

[@Farshad.Barnoos]

DF Retro is the best.

[@Alianger]

DF Retro, then, is the best.

[@sabmu757]

Farshad Barnoos minus the toxic fanboy comments below!

[@neocaron87]

DF retro is now the first reason I'm watching DF! Wish we had episodes more often.

[@princedizzy9678]

Me not so much. Mainly because these games are old and we're made before I was born so I can't relate

[@Alianger]

Dizzy is older than a lot of these.

[@cacomeat7385]

Notifications for DF Retro are the best thing to wake up to.

[@batmangovno]

The Japanese title for Powerslave is quite the Vaporwave treat.

[@bhoylhogro5093]

John Linneman is the only reason I subscribed to this channel. His insights aren't only limited to raw tech analysis, but also gameplay commentary. The frame-rate and performance analyses by the other creators are fine, but they cater more to the "justifying my purchase" audience.

[@jmbenetti]

jojocapy His content is filled with love. Is as he became what we wanted to be as kids and he is there to show us what we could have been 😁

[@SicSemperBeats]

yep when he comments on the gameplay you really get that retrospective look at the game

[@retroboy-fh1ji]

José Manuel Benetti es verdad :)

[@PikaStu666]

Watching this again in 2022, eagerly awaiting the release of the remastered version later this week!

[@lolmao500]

What

[@PikaStu666]

@@lolmao500 is that a question or a statement?

[@franciscor390]

The beauty of John's passion always comes through, this boyos you cannot buy.

[@dtadeo2006]

MUST be an Iron Maiden reference!

[@Lord_Deimos]

And of course there is a death metal band named Exhumed!

[@ReiAyanami1712]

This is why in some regions game is called Exhumed I guess

[@ConTraStoZ]

Name:powerslave and as you can see the pyramid in the game... of course🤷🏻‍♂️😄

[@TheStudioKidA]

That’s a great Iron Maiden album too

[@Hijynx87]

amen

[@Grease-Goblin]

My favorite of theirs. Opens with Aces High, ends with Rime of the Ancient Mariner, how can you improve on that?

[@retrosoul8770]

Favorite band of all-time, Up the Irons!

[@SableDrakon]

And now PowerslaveEX is being sold for 20$, and it's awesome.

[@mrnecromancer2005]

About 5 years ago I was playing through Powerslave when I found out from a friend of mine that he played it on PsOne and PsOne version wasn't the same. Doing some research I also found out, that Saturn version was even better. If only that info was available back in 1996...

[@twist3d537]

the ps1 version is 100x better

[@Deathtank75]

no

[@ItPutsTheLotionOnItsSkin]

... That info was available in 1996. There were these things called "gaming magazines". They were physcal objects made of "paper". I was fully aware of the differences between the Saturn and PSX versions in '96. It wasn't the dark ages, you were likely just a stupid kid oblivious to these things. Actually, it may have been Richard of DF that mentioned some of this stuff in Saga Saturn Magazine as he was the editor at the time. And yeah, the Saturn version is easily the best.

[@Link3131a]

Thanks John, your dedication is seriously appreciated.

[@ilikereason]

DF - There is an Update! Recently it was announced that this game is getting a full release soon. The full game is a combination of both the PS1 and the Saturn games with a bunch of updates to make it look and run great. A legit remaster that a lot of people wanted. With the recent release of the Quake remaster, it is really great to see that the full Powerslave EX remaster is coming soon. It says that the release is in 2021. It is up on the PC store pages on GOG and Steam so go add it to your wishlist.

[@BudgetBuildsOfficial]

Got to love some of those little tricks they went though to get the performance they wanted.

[@summerlaverdure]

very technically impressive

[@dan_perry]

Is it weird that I've watched this like 4 times over the years?

[@alexp.3152]

I had Exhumed for Sega Saturn and i loved it! Such an underrated game, and a great soundtrack! Very unique as well!

[@timmyturner5951]

Remastered edition is beautiful. Glad you popped up. Instant subscribe.

[@racefaceec90]

i'm looking forward to playing the remaster of exhumed when it's released on thursday for consoles. i played the original ps1 version back in the day and really enjoyed it. tbh am more excited for these games than i am for any modern stuff (i'm looking forward to test drive unlimited solar crown but cautiously so).

[@EposVox]

Great episode as always!

[@aluurchin2]

Keep your cancerous comments about ps4 or xbox one away from DF Retro. One of the best content from DF.

[@agentfrost7823]

Adam Jensen Well spoken brodah, you do know de wey

[@SicSemperBeats]

THE BEST

[@charizardoreo]

Keep those kinds of comments away from all videos really

[@isturbo1984]

Then stop bringing it up. The only thing I hate more than the fanboy wars are comments, commentating about the comments section. Often brought up before the fanboy wars even are, smh.

[@squidstone8399]

You're just creating non existent fuss. I didn't see a SINGLE ps4 or Xbox one fanboy comment on this one

[@MoSaeed-cu9dm]

The music is strangely memorable! Brings back memories of watching my older brother play this for hours on the Sega Saturn!

[@Ledgepls]

Alright, it’s retro vid...surely there won’t be any toxic platform wars in the comm- oh....ok then.

[@mightyhadi6132]

PC is the best

[@JuciyMango]

DREAMCAST IS BETTER THEN YOUR XSUCK, PLAYHORRIBLE, SWUCK! (Sarcasm)

[@odinsplaygrounds]

Virtual Boy is the best platform!

[@Rountree1985]

The gaming community is one of the most toxic communities on the internet. It’s mostly because of the teenagers and alt-right Nazis.

[@odinsplaygrounds]

Lol.... alt-right nazis..... there are just "sooo many" of them in the gaming community.

[@superlosia1234]

I see Ancient Egypt, I click.

[@TheChestnutBowl]

"Then perhaps GT Interactive will see sense and get Lobotomy to do Saturn Quake..." Richard Leadbetter totally called that one.

[@mariuszj3826]

Digital Foundry, love you for making an episode about this amazing game. This defined my Sega Saturn experience.

[@sjorspion]

I happy to see this game is getting more and more love! I loved it back in the day and now!

[@ichangedmyname4108]

i loved this game so much, had it on sega saturn, it was the only fps my mum liked at the time, and we found every developer bust hidden throughout the game, spent years playing it.

[@CrackDavidson1]

I started collecting for the saturn some years ago, this was one title i picked up. It's great, the progression keeps it exciting and mysterious all the way through

[@isiickclarcke]

Dear god, I freakin LOVED Powerslave on the PS1! The gameplay, atmosphere and soundtrack was top notch. So awesome that you guys covered this utter gem of a game. Props!!!

[@Visuwyg]

Seems like Nightdive watched John's video and made the ultimate version just for him! It's great.

[@STARSTyranT]

Absolutely brilliant. Thank you.

[@treepizzle]

Wow. Impressive. Can't believe I didn't give this game more of a chance! I'm a huge Saturn fan. Thank you.

[@dialmightyspartangod6717]

Almost cried seeing this. Miss SEGA very much.

[@JunKurosu]

They're still alive

[@dialmightyspartangod6717]

Jun Kurosu But not in the hardware console space

[@Cade_The_Squirrel]

SEGA are still making great software though, games like Yakuza and Sonic Unleashed show that SEGA are still very much alive and kicking

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Not Sega as the children of the 80s and 90s knew them.

[@Cade_The_Squirrel]

I was born in 98, grew up playing Sonic 1 2 3 Toejam and Earl and the other SEGA classics, I may have been born in the late 90's but I'm still a 90's kid, I think SEGA are still as good as they were in the 80's and 90's, games like Sonic '06 are small bruises on a pile of great games and the worst recent Sonic game is Sonic Forces which is really just ok, Sonic Boom is another matter but that was mostly a third party company

[@dreammfyre]

Kind of strange to not bring up Heretic or Hexen(released 7 months prior) while talking about this game. Those two titles pioneered the more open ended, power-up based, and level less structure(not to mention the tons of often obtuse puzzles) in first person shooters, and were an obvious inspiration for this game. Even the concept of universal ammunition is ripped straight from these games, who used mana instead of bullets/arrows for a lot of the weapons.

[@NightWanderer31415]

Interesting

[@robhuanout5443]

I think this video was a showcase of what the Saturn could do when handled with care, even know they do talk about both the PC and PS versions here.

[@adambadowski5461]

Heretic was a great Doom Clone, with linear level design, however Hexen has brought more complex design and level connnection-less structures :) Both were great!

[@greenhowie]

The focus on exploration over combat makes this feel almost like a parallel evolution to Tomb Raider.

[@SmiggyG]

Throwback Entertainment posted this on Twitter in Nov 2020. "Worst Kept Secret: We're happy to be partnering with @NightdiveStudio to bring an enhanced edition of PowerSlave to PC and console in the future."

[@tombfoot]

I loved this game on PSX! I picked it up second hand in a game shop and really enjoyed it.

[@Spodlude]

Came back here after watching the latest video, really glad I gave this game a go!

[@EmmanuelEXEf06]

I liked a lot the DOS version for the huge and complex level design (even if it's not full 3D and some flaws), big and hard maps so when i played the ps1 version, it was very original and good but i missed the complex level design of the PC version (yeah they removed really a lot of 3D stuff compared to the saturn version). And then, i played with the saturn version, better level design for some part than the ps1 version, it was all good! :D Saturn version Powa! ^^ I would like a mix between the big maps with a lot of relief of the DOS version with the items/exploration system of the Saturn version, it could be awesome!

[@drunkensailor112]

FINALLY a RETRO episode. this is the only reason I stay subscribed to this channel.

[@agnel47]

The 90s were truly gaming greatest period.

[@johnathanblade1]

There are sooo many deprecated threads and discussions dedicated to the questions that this video answers. Good show!

[@PaulRoneClarke]

Let’s not forget the music. Fantastic tracks. Really emotive.

[@GTAVREALISM]

I still remember everyone at my school had a PSX, except one other kid in my class, me and him brought in our Saturn's to school on a show and tell day, he brought his copy of Quake on Saturn, I brought Powerslave and Nights into Dreams, everyone in our class was completely amazed, I remember my teacher (who like PC games) saying that had he known he could have played these on the Saturn, he never would have bought them on PC, he didn't care about the extra visual flare on PC, the PC wasn't really the powerhouse it is now. By the end of that svhool year, there were enough kids in my clas, and the other 6th grade class, that we bought the 6 player adapter and would regularely get together to play games like Three Dirty Dwarves and NHL 98.

[@ThatOldSchoolMagic]

I swear no other youtube has spoken of this game and done it so much Justice as you guys have. A lot of reviewers tend to skip out on a lot of details but you guys went all out on this one. Well done.

[@bswift1991]

So glad to see more DF Retro being made, this is one of my favourite channels and this series might be the best part of all!

[@Evolution56]

Spent countless hours playing this on my Saturn. What a jewel it was. The music, atmosphere, graphics were awesome for the time. Those graphics amazed me that the Saturn could do that. Thanks for the video, as it brings back wonderful memories. Still own this, with my Saturn, along with a copy of Panzer Dragoon Saga also.

[@RyoGuiRen]

The best FPS not only of the Saturn, but of the entire 32bit era, finally acknowledged!

[@NightWanderer31415]

Agreed... since you said 32 bits. Turok and Goldeneye on N64 are better IMO.

[@superbroly64DS]

I agree 100% in fact it's much better than most modern first-person shooters

[@theobserver4214]

Cristián Paris N64 games are still part of the 5th generation of games (which includes Saturn, PSX, 3DO). So no.

[@HasXXXInCrocs]

I love these. I always watch DF retro the day its uploaded. Such great detail and high quality story telling. Love you guys.

[@DirectorToby]

This was a bloody brilliant video. Never heard of the game before but remained interested and entertained throughout.

[@iwantthemoonback4198]

Watching this again after the re-release on Switch. And interesting to hear about Powrslave Ex on the KEX engine... I can't think why they was removed! :)

[@SantoIago]

I didn't even mean to click this video, especially considering I've literally never heard of this game, but this is a fantastic video my dude. I feel like I can go toe-to-toe with any mouth-breathing old timer with my new found, tested and thoroughly bred knowledge of console hardware I never had the chance to experience. thxbro

[@amiibolaypunto1659]

You know, i'm rewatching these videos and your enthusiasm is contagious, it's clear that you choose your content and your choices are always beloved games or themes for you. I always end up hyped after seeing a DFRetro. In fact i ended impulse buying Ridge Racer V the other day after rewatching the Ridge Racer DFR. Please keep it up, your works become better the more i revisit it.

[@QuatreFun]

You have NO idea how much I played this game as a kid! Thank you for this video.

[@eric4133]

Learned from this video you can back track to previous levels in this game, no wonder it didn't make sense when i played it 20 years ago or so.

[@gaymer618]

I remember this as a kid, don’t have many memories with my dad but this is genuinely one of them. It gave me nightmares once as I fell asleep during the day while everyone was playing ps1 and I just remember waking up screaming. I been looking for this game to kinda connect the dots of my childhood for sometime now. Thanks.

[@Dirk1Steele]

I really enjoy these retro videos. Provide some really interesting insights to games of times past. Please keep up the great work.

[@Sly2Cooper]

One of the first shooters with adventure element in it. It was so impressive when I played it back then on Playstation. And thanks to the review I now consider to play the Saturn version. I just love you DF Retro!!

[@hansgruber9323]

Saturn Version is a hardcore game in terms of the Teamdolls... my childhood horror. At that time I found some without any hint by just bombing walls and examine every sprite. Played again 10y later with the locations found on the net.. the doll in the laserfield and the last one took me hours. As I‘ve collected them all, I felt like a gaming hero... thanks lobotomy and thank you for this upload. I miss these tricky elements, such as playing death tank zwei in another game because of a save state on my memory card😩😍

[@esotericmissionary]

Damn it, John, you just reminded me how much I really wanted to play this game, back in the day, but I never got to! Now I'm positive I would've been enthralled by it, and I still would be. Especially that Saturn version. Great episode, man, thanks for covering this gem!

[@SmashDde]

Oh how I *loved* this title back in the days. Brilliant to see a DF Retro about that now.

[@adrianmoj5227]

I remember renting it for Playstation back then and it was a fun shooter for a few days. But i don't remember anything that stood out except the ancient egypt theme. Excellent video as always. John i hope you never stop doing this videos, best thing on youtube!

[@l_unaSy]

I only knew about the DOS version of Powerslave as well. Love DF Retro for covering all these games from the era when a game can have drastic differences from platform to platform.

[@valia]

3:34 Look at that sweet scanning screen! Now I know why those old games look so realistic when I was a child.

[@fullauto86]

I love finding old df retro episodes ive never seen

[@adamparker9214]

Uk Saturn collector and Exhumed is a game I back too many times over the years really enjoy it. Didn't know about the PS cuts to the game. Nice to see Saturn win at some things when talking PS vs Saturn. Great video DF !

[@ColpoRosso]

Awesome game. The saturn version is incredible. Everytime someone says the same old "saturn can't do 3d" show them Powerslave and Quake.

[@ppowerman5000]

Exactly. The Saturn was great at 3D...just Sega didn't released the proper programming libraries to developers...if they did...Maybe we still could have a Sega console in the market....maybe.

[@f1nkangel]

Ah, played it back in the day on the PS1, wonderful...just bought it again on the Xbox series on your recommendation, and it's so sweet...my kids are regarding it with suspicion, but are interested!

[@aideyp7333]

I bought this for my Sega Saturn thanks to Richard Leadbetter and the extensive previews in Official Sega Magazine. As John commented it was truly amazing for its time. I hadn't played a Metroid game until Metroid Prime on the GC. Thanks for pointing out the similar design features

[@KenzGamesCollection]

So happy this game has now been released on modern consoles and the game looks and plays amazing

[@lunarx3dfx]

I love DF Retro. Never miss an episode. Can't wait for the next one. Keep up the good work!!!

[@64kram]

Exhumed is one of the games that made the Sega Saturn my all-time favourite games console.

[@danielmcgivern6260]

You unlocked Death Tank by finding the hidden team dolls in the game. Which was another awesome challenge in itself.

[@TatsuMainframe1]

Loved the video and still miss Lobotomy Software a hell of a lot!

[@leegsy]

Exhumed was one of the best games I ever had for my Saturn. I always remember my friend who had it for his Playstation and when he saw the Saturn version he remarked how different it played. Those were the days when "fanboys" could actually enjoy different consoles and different games without being childish and elitist about it.

[@spazzdineveryway]

Love DF's professionalism. Refreshing, objective and informative. Great job

[@SmiggyG]

Powerslave was easily one of the best games of that gen. Death Tank Yeah! Lobotomy worked wonders with the Saturn. Duke Nukem 3D and Quake were also good ports. Another great DF Retro vid John. Thank you!

[@powwow360]

Truly, thanks a lot for this excellent and in depth video. This is one of my favourite games and set a high standard for me at a young age and love to see more people know about it. One aspect of the game I liked was the development doll collectibles hidden in each stage. There was roughly one in each and were ingeniously hidden that required very sharp observation to find, and also great skill to acquire in some cases (the laser maze one in particular!).

[@felinvirginia1]

Exhumed was my first FPS in my life, it was so damn hard but really good

[@superbroly64DS]

By fact is one of the best first person shooters next to quake and blood

[@Stormgazer]

It’s still one of my favorite games on the PS1

[@retroboy-fh1ji]

Stormgazer me too

[@Stormgazer]

Retrofan 99 You have great taste!🎉

[@vanceg4901]

Still have the Saturn and Powerslave and won't ever get rid of them. Great atmosphere in this game.

[@hersnab]

Such a great experience. One of two games that were essential for the system. Completing the game and unlocking the God mode was quite a challenge and for the time one of my favourite gaming experiences. Death Tank 7 player with a multitap was a great party experience.

[@filoseba]

so much respect for the works of talented people in DF RETRO

[@gaminginframes2819]

Had it for my Saturn and loved it! Great to see you guys do a video on it.

[@RhubarbRehab]

I played exhumed on the ps1, ahh the memories, such a unique game.

[@HolyRaincloud]

This game actually looks fun

[@replicantnexusx9117]

Great to see DF Retro back.

[@ffx5846]

The best section on this channel. Keep it up!

[@EvtheNev]

Never played this game but it looks awesome. Man early/mid 90's shooters were the BEST! Such fond memories.

[@zerocool5238]

Spent so many hours on Exhumed. Best way to describe it is the Half Life of its time

[@chriscooper2447]

Hmm, no mention of the team dolls hidden throughout the Saturn and PlayStation versions. They were fun to track down.

[@danpacey]

I'll bet more than 75% of Sega Saturn Magazine readers went out and bought Exhumed - it really was pushed very hard by both SSM and Sega Power, with good reason - it was both a huge technical achievement and a brilliant game. I bought it at release, finished it completely including finding all the Team Dolls (you forgot about those, John!), played my share of Death Tank (and later Zwei), and learned eternal respect for Ezra and the Lobotomy team. It was magic. For Saturn owners of the time it meant a lot that we had the "best" version of the game. Many years later I was excited to find the PC version - then immediately disappointed to discover it wasn't anything like the same game!

[@xl2k2008]

The funny thing is that the Saturn version uses 320x240, but the devs probably didn't know that using 352x224 or 352x240 increases the CPU clock from 26 Mhz to 28 Mhz, and increases the VDP1 clock as well, also from 26 to 28. So 352x224 pushes more pixels and runs faster than 320x240. Games like Burning Rangers use that resolution as well, but I guess Lobotomy either didn't know or didn't like the different aspect ratio. They could also have used transparency on the scaled sprites, which works well on Saturn unlike transparency on distorted sprites, but maybe they felt it impacted the framerate more than they would have liked.

[@pagb666]

The level design in the PC version is top notch. Got amazed by it when I played it a couple years ago.

[@user-ro5cn8ih5o]

Df retro videos are pure joy...

[@ZinhoMegaman]

Great video as always! You just forget the death animations for our character in the PC version, they are exclusive to this version and awesome!

[@SoulMist17]

Waiting for the look at the remaster by nightdive now. Awesome video.

[@AlexMitchell-sj4sb]

I borrowed a Sega Saturn off someone during the summer of 1999, I guess they no longer liked playing it. This was one the games they had that I played the most.