A free fan-made PC port of The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey is now available, giving players a way to experience the 2004 Nokia N-Gage mobile hack-and-slash RPG without tracking down working hardware from that era. The project, called Shadowkey: Reforged, combines the original game files and scripts with updated art and a rewritten PC graphics engine for an upscaled, 4K experience that runs natively on PC, with no N-Gage or emulator required. Its release build for Windows, Mac, and Android shipped Wednesday.

The port expands the game's original portrait orientation for a 16:9 monitor standard and displays at up to 120 fps, though the game's logic still matches the original's 25 fps. Character and environmental models have been retextured, and the port adds touches including bloom lighting, rippling water, and an upgraded interface with sharper text rendering than the mobile phone could support. Because it uses the original game files, which the article notes can be obtained from an easy-to-find legitimate copy of the game, Reforged's quests, dialogue, and game rules are worked out from the original program, according to the game's website.

A Modern mode adds features absent from the original game and from Reforged's more authentic Classic mode, including smarter enemy AI, fall damage, searchable containers, and a fast travel system. The Modern mode also includes controller rumble, a smoother on-screen interface, and what the project describes as better death poses.

Reforged author Dan Whelan writes that he used AI to assist with coding, building the engine, and debugging, as well as to create most of the modern, higher resolution artwork. The project moved from its first playable version in late October to the full-featured release build. Whelan has been issuing daily updates, and the current designation is Version 0.2.9.

Limitations rooted in 2000s-era N-Gage game development, which contributed to middling review scores for the original release, remain fairly apparent in the remake. The port nonetheless gives Elder Scrolls completionists a way to play one of the series' least-played releases while the wait for Elder Scrolls VI continues.

More AI news from TechManNews.