One of the best ways that studios have capitalised on April Fool's Day in recent years is by announcing a seemingly absurd project that couldn't possibly have been greenlit for real, only for it to wind up being a wonderful reality.
This time, retro specialist Nightdive Studios is tackling one of the most ridiculous, polarising FPS games from the '90s: PO'ed.
Launching later this year, PO'ed: Definitive Edition takes the 'classic' 1995 title and gives it a good ol' spruce, revamping the visuals, modernising the gameplay, and even adding in an extra difficulty option for all of you veterans out there.

For the uninitiated, PO'ed sees you take control of a chef who must escape from a hostile alien planet by utilising items such as frying pans, knives, and of course, any extraterrestrial weapons you happen to pick up along the way. It's one of the most absurd games to come out of the '90s, for sure, and likely the reason why Nightdive chose to announce it on April Fool's Day. Bravo, indeed.
Let's check out the key features:
- 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
Most recently, Nightdive Studios released the exceptional Star Wars: Dark Forces Remaster, which we called an 'absolute must-play for fans of far-away galactic conflict'. It bagged a score of 9/10.
We'll be sure to update you on further information as and when we hear it, including PO'ed: Definitive Edition's eventual release date.
Are you excited to check this one out? Did you play the original? Let us know with a comment down below.
Comments 44
Nice. Played this way back in high school on a friend's PC. Give it another try.
If there's room for "Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer" then there's definitely room for a remaster like this.
This might be a smaller fun project for Nightdive to work on between big projects too, something for junior devs to start on too.
This is one of those odd 90's fps I never even played or really had an interest in.
I saw it in the magazine, never played it, but it became essential setting of our school-time ttrpgs that '…you are angry cook starting with frying pan as a weapon'.
This was on my list to play on my 3DO. Now I can wait and play it in HD instead. Nightdive freaking rocks! Now if these guys could get their hands on Heretic and Hexen....
Took me a minute to work out how to pronounce that. It's been years since I've heard someone say pissed off that way, and I don't think I've ever seen it written. The game looks nuts though, so it's going right on my wishlist.
As someone who knows their 90s FPS games... I had never heard of this one until I saw the announcement video on their IG. xD
Next level April Foolery - make a ridiculous claim that has to be an AF gag, then follow up on it.
Would've preferred Nick Newhard's Blood, but I'll take PO'ed as a backup.
I had a 3do but chose to avoid PO’ed as i felt with the mixed(mostly negative) reviews it was too big a risk.
If you’re familiar, you’re probably wondering why i didn’t avoid the greater risk in purchasing the 3do.
The console was actually my roomie’s. I counseled against the purchase , but he bought it anyways. My disdain for Trip’s little-engine-that-couldn’t didn’t prevent me from partaking its dubious pleasures though, and i have a bit of a soft spot for the console, despite its ridiculous daisy-chained controllers.
Space Hulk , Slayer, Killing Time, Sewer Shark, Need for Speed, Gex, Total Eclipse, Supreme Warrior, Theme Park, Hell, Samurai Shodown, Lucienne’s Quest(jk, i wish) and Return Fire were all titles i took on to varying degrees of enjoyment. But not PO’ed.
Too insane.
Might have to check it out now, though.
Edit- added some games cuz memory wuz jogged
@RupeeClock - It's also likely they may have a smaller side team working on oddities like this so they can take on more projects without encumberment.
Ha ha. I had Poed on the Panasonic 3D0, quite possible one of the worst games at the time.
They would be better off releasing Killing Time
The reception to this release will certainly be interesting. I thought I knew my fair share of these “boomer shooters” since I grew up in that era (first PC game I owned was Doom), but I haven’t heard of this.
Also, boomer shooter is fun to say, but I always wince a little as I do.
@Lord Forgot about Klling Time! We rented that one once. Interesting game. Thanks for the memory!
@Diogmites Too many people, too quickly write the 3DO off as a failure. It's true that the strength of the 3DO library did not measure up to the PSX or N64 however.... for a brief window, between 1993-1995 the 3DO was so cutting edge, it might as well have been from the future. Light-years ahead of the technical capabilities of it's contemporaries at launch, the graphics and sound were jaw dropping. The first time I saw it in action with Crash N' Burn, I was blown away. It remained the most sophisticated console on the market for two full years, until the launch of the Saturn. During that time it built a library that contained a surprising number of quality games, several of which you listed. I fell in love with the system during those pre-playstation years, and it remains my favorite non-Nintendo system to date.
@Grail_Quest Good to read you enjoyed the system too! I remember the 3do being considered cutting edge by a lot of people.
A local bar was the first to get one, as the guy who owned it was an enthusiast. Initially, only Way of the Warrior was available. That was the first game i played, and so wasn’t blown away lol. It drew some people into the bar, but ultimately didn’t get played much.
Regardless, i ended up having a lot of good times with it too.
Not a fan of the N64, so would actually take the 3do’s library over it.
Thank you for the reply!
This game was messed up.
While other FPS games were just copying Wolf3D and DOOM, this game was inventing its own genre. I like it.
BTW, this game was also ported to the PlayStation. It's supposed to have some kind of enhancements to it.
Comon Nightdive, give us Shadow Warrior (classic) already. I know you want to.
@Grail_Quest @Diogmites
I had some good times with the 3DO also. Star Control II was a standout in so many ways. But I also enjoyed others.
Road Rash and Guardian Wars come to mind. The latter was what we’d now call a tactics or strategy RPG. Though I think it might have predated Final Fantasy Tactics.
Return Fire was a lot of fun. Great use of public domain music!
Some of the later games were interesting experiments in moving freely in a 3-dimensional space. Star Fighter was one, there also was some game where you used a jet pack. Ton of greyhound much more grey, and frame rates like a slide show — but it was still novel to have such freedom of movement.
Also, a dungeon crawler that played in real time called D&D Slayer. It looks very rough now, but at the time it was somehow very engaging.
I played it on the PS1, like a normal person. Interesting that both people who had a 3DO are here to comment.
@sfb Never played Star Control 2, heard it was good.
Guardian War sounds rad. I looked it up and it does predate FFT by a couple of years. There were earlier tactical rpgs, but Guardian War is a game i’ve never heard of!
We had a lot of late night tournaments of Return Fire. It was fun until people started unplugging controllers when they lost. And yeah, some great classical tunes like Ride of the Valkyries and Flight of the Bumblebee.
Star Fighter sounds interesting.
I can’t believe i forgot Slayer! I love that game. A lot of people rate the sequel over it, but for me the first game is the best, though it slogs a bit and i recall having to exploit the game’s shortcomings to beat the later levels.
Thanks for the reply and reminding me of Slayer!
I'm not surprised Accolade went the way of the dodo. This looks awful! And yep, that's nostalgia speaking...I thought it looked crap back in the day lol.
Edit: Yeah, we need a Star Control2 remaster My favourite game on the 3DO.
@LikelySatan xD by my count we’re up to four 3do owners!
I’ve never seen such a large gathering…
@Diogmites it's made me question all I thought I knew...
But Return Fire is a stellar game. Had many, many late nights playing that one...on PS1.
mid would be overstating how this feels to play so I hope they make it better in some fashion
@sfb You bring back a lot of great memories. Road Rash was incredible. In fact the 3DO version is still probably my favorite racing game of all time. It gave you this amazing sense of speed and you felt cool slicing through oncoming traffic like a pro.
Guardian War is great. In fact, I'm in the middle of that one now. Both games made use of the (then) new CD format with excellent soundtracks. Soundgarden featuring heavily in RR and clean soaring electric guitars in GW, although the weapon shop jazz music was a little... strange. Then again, that quirkiness is part of what gave 3DO some of it's charm.
My favorites were Alone in the Dark, Bust a Move, Escape from Monster Manor, Flashback, Gex, Kingdom: The Far Reaches, Lemmings, Lucienne's Quest (yes, I had a copy), Out of this World, Road Rash and Wing Commander 3.
Being able to plug headphones into the controller jack and have volume control at your fingertips felt next level! Great reminiscing with you guys!
@Grail_Quest It birthed Need for Speed and Gex as well! Plus, it had a great version of Super Street Fighter II and a pretty good version of Samurai Shodown. For one bright and shining moment from 1994 to 1995 it felt so futuristic. Also, nice to see another Faxanadu fan!
@Pawsebutton I raise the Dragonslayer in salute!
Daggers and Wingboots, Mantras and Monsters await you!
Alien Trilogy would probably make sense
Hopefully one day Nightdive remasters Battletanx! Had tons of fun with that game back on the N64. Especially multiplayer.
The voiceline "Nuke Deployed" is forever carved into my memory.
@Diogmites
Star Control 2, it’s one of those games where you can truly lose yourself in its world. The lore is elaborate to say the least. So many races to interact with, and a vast (printed!!) starmap to navigate. And a compelling action game at its core, featuring ships with real strengths and weaknesses. And back then, the 3DO version was not only the sole console version - it was the sole voiced version. The rights have been in legal hell for years, but I think there is an unofficial PC version called the Ur-Quan Masters.
One of the game’s creators actually called me in response to my fan letter. Just a singular experience all around. And I am not even a story-driven gamer in the first place.
Regarding Slayer. There is a rogue-like (rogue-like?) game called Barony. The core loop is far more severe than Slayer, but in terms of perspective and aesthetics it really reminds me of Slayer. Just rreid it the other day. I suspect my skills are too weak to do much of anything in Barony, especially from a first-person perspective - but you might want to check it out regardless. Seems Barony has a dedicated following.
@Grail_Quest
Yeah, I really loved the music in Guardian War. There is one piano-based song that was my favorite. I think I found it on YouTube a few years ago. Given the way that game is paced, some of those songs were really drilled into my head!
And I like the art style. I guess the character might he called chibi these days. I think the developer micro cabin made a handful of similar games over the next few years. Maybe one on the Sega Saturn as well?
Road Rash, oh gosh, another great soundtrack, but of course primarily licensed music. I think that was the first time I heard Soundgarden. And I still love those Hammerbox tunes. “You trip me like summer sunshine!” Their singer, Carrie Akre, occasionally pops up in other contexts. Once she sang on a Smithereens song, “House At The End Of The World.”
@sfb I didn't know Toys for Bob did Star Control 2. Interesting.
@sfb That’s awesome you got a response from the dev! I played the first Star Control on Genesis(MegaDrive) and i really dug it. The 3do version of SC2 had voicework and the pc version didn’t?! Dang.
Barony is something i’ve read about , i believe, perhaps in an old magazine .. not sure, but i’ll check it out! Thanks for the beans!
@GrailUK Speaking of Accolade, it would be nice to see someone remaster Redline.
@AllieKitsune I've never played that. Is that the car arena game? (probably not what I'm thinking of tbf lol)
Heretic? Hexen 1 and 2? Blood? Shadow Warrior?
This feels a little like bottom of the barrel tbh.
@sfb I too had the 3DO with Star Control II......until my sister borrowed it to take to college. I never saw the system or any of the games again.
I was the only person I knew who had the system and when friends came over, they had no clue what it was. I had a good library of what I would call fun games. Samurai Shodown, Gex, Alone in the Dark, Space Hulk, FIFA, Dragon's Lair, The Horde, Crash N Burn, Guardian War, The Incredible Machine!
@dkxcalibur Space Hulk, what a brutal game! Those gene-stealers would get right in your face and tear you to shreds!
I always thought the overwatch mechanic in that game was interesting. Maybe the first game I played that used overwatch, likely that was a rare feature for console games in the mid-90s. Obviously it was integral to the game, given the speed advantage that the gene-stealers had.
I never really explored the original Warhammer IP, but they’ve come out with some interesting games over the years.
@GrailUK There's some of that, but there's also on-foot FPS levels.
However, the PS2 game "Motor Mayhem", which is just a vehicle arena game, was salvaged from a planned and cancelled sequel.
@WaveBoy I love a good jank game, I've played the Quake remasters for a ridiculous amount of hours, and Nightdive is one of my favorite studios. I'm actually really looking forward to this. I pick up almost everything they release. The fact that their release of Powerslave was based around the PSX AND Saturn version was what told me that Nightdive gets it.
@mlt Blood and Shadow Warrior have had remasters. They just need to put them on Switch. I doubt SW will ever be on consoles though. Not much of that game's humor flies anymore.
@AllieKitsune I was just thinking that!
@WaveBoy Turok 3 is definitely the weakest of the 3 main Turok games. It was just trying to be Half-life, like so many fps did for years. But how Half-life ruined fun fps for ages is a different rant. The port is fine. Runs well and controls well. The game is worse than Turok 2 in most every way. I'm glad to have all 3 on one console and that they did so much work to get it running though. Respect.
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