Grimstar: Crystals are the New Oil!
Game
Game2024
The Thing: Remastered
Developer Nightdive Studios, Computer Artworks
The Thing is a 2002 squad-based third-person shooter survival horror video game developed by Computer Artworks and co-published by Vivendi Universal Games (under the Black Label Games label) and Konami for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Versions for the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance were also planned, but were both cancelled early in development. Set as a sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film of… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
294 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 6, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
85
LovedLoved
174 positive · 30 negative
95% range 80–90%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 174 | 30 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 10 | 5 | 74 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
889 of 1,000 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
84% recommend · 168 yes, 31 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 199 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,284 of 1,435 positive).
Some reviewers note the game's dated mechanics and janky controls, but still recommend it for fans. [1][2][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [14]
I wanted to love this, but Nightdive managed to break the experience by keeping the worst parts of the original and removing the only safety nets. Here just three reasons to don't buy it, avoiding a waste of our precious time. One - The Infamous Fisk Bug is still here: Just like in 2002, the NPC Fisk often fails to trigger the keypad sequence in the Laboratory level. High framerates (common on modern PCs) cause his …
- [4]
I'm gonna have to give THE THING (remastered) a tentative recommendation. The deal with this game is that you can tell it was made by people who GET what made the movie work. Its especially apparent in the first mission, which is essentially a tutorial. The blue lighting, the ambient wind from the blizzard, the lights that guide you from building to building. The beginning of the game absolutely NAILS the look of …
- [1]
It's difficult to review games like this. On one hand, the game is not very good. It doesn't do much with The Thing IP and quickly devolves into a lukewarm action shooter common during that time on the PS2 during the second half instead of a survival horror. The trust mechanics are interesting but rather basic. The story is complete nonsense and has no depth. But on the other hand, it feels unfair to down thumb a …
- [2]
Game of my childhood, one of favorite horror settings for it's time, now playable on modern systems! Playing this now reveals how many interesting and original game mechanics this game had for year 2002. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course it has connections to the movie universe. Best thing that The Thing does (:D) - it accurately represents that movie feeling of total uncertainty who is human / who is not, who …
- [3]
If you're a fan of the movie, give it a try. The game itself is painfully average at best, as for an early 2000s game, but it has some interesting ideas such as fear and trust mechanics for the NPC. (Although it's half-baked and doesn't work properly most of the time.) It took me around 8 hours to finish it and doesn't really have any replay value, but I'd say it was an enjoyable experience overall nonetheless.
Summarised from 34 of the 224 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
84% of the 199 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The Thing: Remastered. The complaint that keeps coming up: gameplay feels dated and clunky. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Thing received "generally favorable reviews" on all three platforms; the PlayStation 2 version holds an aggregate score of 78 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on twenty-seven reviews; the Xbox version a 78 out of 100, based on twenty-one reviews; and the PC version a 77 out of 100, based on nineteen reviews. Eurogamer's Kristan Reed scored the PlayStation 2 version a 5 out of 10, arguing that the trust/fear system "is nowhere near as much of a neat gameplay innovation as the hype had some people believe [...] As a squad based game it would work far better if you ever had to care a great deal for anyone's survival. As it is, most of the team seem to split off once a level's over (or turn…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 294 · most liked first"Our standing rule is: If one of us brings up using GenAI in any of our work, then it's safe to assume we've been assimilated by The Thing and should be burned alive by Kurt Russell," said a game design consultant in the US.
neutral · AI labelView post →GAME 7 TONIGHT IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS. THEY CAN DO THE THING. LET’S GO BLUE JAYS 🇨🇦
neutral · AI labelView post →The Thing Thong~ Would definitely get this skin if they actually put it in the game
positive · AI labelView post →They only saving grace will be if they do The Thing. If they do The Thing, all complaints will be absolved and it will be game of the decade. Game of the century.
positive · AI labelView post →don't ask me why it's morally okay to mod Thing I Like into Deadlock when I am so vehemently against buying Thing I Like Skin from the Thing You Like Battle Pass in any other live service game.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Thing is such a classic literally one of my fav games of all time, the first time I saw it I wondered into a game shop back in 2004, I must have been about 7 years old. I remember my dad grabbing the game off the shelf in the store and asking me hey tony? showing me The Thing on Xbox Original. I was just like oh wow that game looks awesome, please dad, please XD, he said to me, ok tomorrow we will go back and I will buy you the game. The next day I jumped out of bed and begged my dad to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to love this, but Nightdive managed to break the experience by keeping the worst parts of the original and removing the only safety nets. Here just three reasons to don't buy it, avoiding a waste of our precious time. One - The Infamous Fisk Bug is still here: Just like in 2002, the NPC Fisk often fails to trigger the keypad sequence in the Laboratory level. High framerates (common on modern PCs) cause his AI to "slide" past the trigger, soft-locking the entire game. Two - The KEX…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nightdive just released The Thing: Remastered & you can bet your burning alien carcass I'll be streaming the entire game.
positive · AI labelView post →And, as is traditional, it is time to once again reflect on how wonderful it would be to have an Addams Family VR game where you play as The Thing, skittering round the house setting and disarming traps as required.
neutral · AI labelView post →I love nightdive studios. I support their mission and buy a ton of their games. I bought this game and even though I am reviewing it negatively, they do good work, and it wasn’t a bad experience. I don’t regret my playthrough or my money spent. I can tell the remaster aspects of this game are done well. Being a massive fan of the movie and nightdive, I wanted to like this game. But unless you played back in the day and want the nostalgia, I cannot recommend this game for a fresh player.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Both the prequel (2011, movie) and the sequel (2002, computer game) to The Thing (1982, movie) are also named The Thing, meaning the trilogy consists of The Thing, The Thing and The Thing.
neutral · AI labelView post →Pointless remaster. Fixed basically nothing and didn't improve on anything. Majority of the game has no soundtrack, either. Also, Nightdive studio head said that anybody who supports Trump should be shot (Exact words after the shooting being: "Anyone who supports this monster deserves to go down with him.") Not american, not interested in american politics, but to have a studio head who wants hundreds of millions of people shot for not voting for the same person as him is a bit cringe tbh. So…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a big fan of the 1982 film, it pains me to say this, but The Thing Remastered just falls flat. The game’s first major mistake is assuming that John Carpenter’s film needed a definite ending. Part of what made the movie effective was its ambiguity. By trying to provide answers, the game removes some of the horror that made the original memorable, and the direction it takes honestly doesn’t make much sense either. At first, exploring the recreated locations from the film is genuinely…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm gonna have to give THE THING (remastered) a tentative recommendation. The deal with this game is that you can tell it was made by people who GET what made the movie work. Its especially apparent in the first mission, which is essentially a tutorial. The blue lighting, the ambient wind from the blizzard, the lights that guide you from building to building. The beginning of the game absolutely NAILS the look of the movie, and I want to say this goes to the limited use of music as well.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I couldn't pass the first mission when i was a kid , when it released on steam i felt obligated to finish the campaign , 10/10 would recommend this game and the thing movies i love this franchise
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let's ~~talk about gender~~ make a game about The Thing!
neutral · AI labelView post →It's difficult to review games like this. On one hand, the game is not very good. It doesn't do much with The Thing IP and quickly devolves into a lukewarm action shooter common during that time on the PS2 during the second half instead of a survival horror. The trust mechanics are interesting but rather basic. The story is complete nonsense and has no depth. But on the other hand, it feels unfair to down thumb a remaster that is just as flawed as the original. I decided to go with a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FINALLY PLAYED THAT THANG! I had some old-school fun with this one. Give it up to Nightdive. They're doing God's work. And this was the first time I played this game, though I have no excuse whatsoever: For decades now, I've owned disc copies, both of them sitting right there on my big shelf o' games (a PS2 version and a PC box version). I even have foggy memories of booting it up on my well-worn PS2 circa 2005 or so. My first impressions? Oof, it was an ugly game. And worse, it seemed too…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is ass. I've played it as a kid a lot, but never finished - back then it was way too scary and too difficult for me (I would guess that half of that difficulty was coming from horrendous controls of the PC port). This time, though, I was finally able to beat it and oh my God, it really should have stayed a childhood memory. This game has tons, tons of mechanics which are completely useless and underbaked. Believe it or not, I read interviews with original developers in the Retro…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Add "between my legs" to a movie title The Thing... Between- Actually, I don't want to play this game anymore. Post cancelled.
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a review of the game itself, not the remaster as I've never played the original. Nostalgia goggles is the only way to have fun with this game. A janky, confusing, unintuitive, unfun mess of a game. Framerate all over the place for a 23 year old game on modern computers. Sometimes less than 10 fps. Thank god for the common save points or I would have given up sooner. Was almost a passable, classic game but its just miserable to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In my next upcoming video (due on October 15th) we're taking a look at "The Trap Door" - a 1986 claymation cartoon (and computer game) starring Berk, Boni the Skull, The Thing Upstairs, and Drutt. Any memories you can share would be appreciated, some of which will be featured in the video.
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally managed to get a full loop spinning in this game. But of course, there's bugs and jank and that one function that just refuses to do what it's supposed to do... And I still have to do The Thing. This would be a fantastic time for a break. #gamedev #solodev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Purely for nostalgia. For whatever reason this game was on my bucket list since it released aeons ago. I am thankful I got to finish this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 – Childhood Nightmares, Fully Defrosted This remaster hit me right in the childhood paranoia. I remember watching The Thing way too young, convincing myself every dog, shadow, and slightly quiet room was about to betray me. This game brings that exact anxiety back… beautifully. Every corridor whispers “don’t trust anyone,” every teammate looks one bad animation away from becoming a multi-limbed horror, and the snow somehow feels colder than real snow. It’s nostalgia, fear, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The ultimate in alien terror I can't overstate how surprised I was to see a remaster of "The Thing" suddenly appear on Steam - and even more surprised to discover just how well it works today. The team behind it clearly put in serious effort, updating the original for modern systems and even adding a handful of thoughtful improvements. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3613841343 At its core, this is a classic survival horror experience: claustrophobic, maze-like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game of my childhood, one of favorite horror settings for it's time, now playable on modern systems! Playing this now reveals how many interesting and original game mechanics this game had for year 2002. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course it has connections to the movie universe. Best thing that The Thing does (:D) - it accurately represents that movie feeling of total uncertainty who is human / who is not, who is your ally / who is enemy. I had no bugs, game is not long, shooting feels a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Carpenter considers this the canonical follow up to the film, and its easy to see why. This game is awesome.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →one of the best game movie adaptations to the movie and a sequel to the original movie from 1982 one of my favorite horror movies ever made Carpenter is a legend
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{Graphics}--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{Gameplay}--- ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☑ It's just gameplay (It is very basic but it was good for when it first came out.) ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{Audio}--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{Audience}--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☑ Grandma ---{PC Requirements}--- ☑ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Thing; Remastered. A classic, not bad at all for a remaster, still captures the age and feel story has crazy potential for MP games or spin off stories if they ever wanted... otherwise I know a few indies that take this energy xD but would recommend to anyone who enjoys the genre
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stuck in a waiting game at work, so thought I'd Do The Thing! I'm definitely inclined towards submission, though that means I make a great service dom when the stars align. :9
neutral · AI labelView post →Exactly the same as the original PS2 version just with slightly better facial expressions. It runs very smoothly. I didn't notice how cheesy the lines are in this game when I was a kid because I was mostly watching my dad play this game. I had fun playing this game again with my dad and marveling at how far gaming has come since then.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Thing 1982 cult classic masterpiece. There are only few movies (Alien 1979) in this universe where it hits that high note where no one can reach it. When I look back now and then it puts smile on my face. This movie shaped me who Im today. It was one of the most frightening experiences I witnessed when I was little. Not the proudest moment of them all but it never got better after that when it came to horror. To experience this one alone and at that age was devilish combo of not sleeping…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i keep thinking wow itd be so fun to play a game based on The Thing, where theres a group and one person is some kind of evil creature and you have to figure out- before remembering what a beloved and common genre of game this is. werewolf. mafia. blood on the clocktower. I could go on
neutral · AI labelView post →Watched The Thing for the first time and ngl there was a moment where I had the thought "This is like a really good game of Among Us" and I think that's wonderful
neutral · AI labelView post →Not a very long game and doesn't quite achieve what it's going for in terms of its squad trust/distrust and infection systems, but still a positive experience overall. Though it falls short of its goals, the attempt is still very interesting and I'm quite surprised that no one has tried to replicate/reimagine it since. A lot of the jank and frustration with the original game has been fixed here, so I would say this is most certainly the definitive way to play The Thing in the modern age.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such a classic growing up. This remaster serves it purpose well. For anyone who is a fan of "The Thing" this ones definitely worth picking up.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a buggy mess, and unfortunately, the bugs aren't even the worst part. The whole idea is that you should be afraid of your own team, slowly building trust and checking whether they're actually human or "The Thing." Sounds interesting on paper. In practice, it gets old very quickly. The story isn't particularly good either, so there wasn't much keeping me interested once the gimmick wore off. And then there's the technical side of things. Sometimes the game just freezes with the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're a fan of the movie, give it a try. The game itself is painfully average at best, as for an early 2000s game, but it has some interesting ideas such as fear and trust mechanics for the NPC. (Although it's half-baked and doesn't work properly most of the time.) It took me around 8 hours to finish it and doesn't really have any replay value, but I'd say it was an enjoyable experience overall nonetheless.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, Great remaster, if you loved the game back in the day and want to play it again, get it. But this was my first time playing the game, so all the feedback isn't directed at the remaster studio. The game is action, theres zero subtly or psychological horror, much less any horror. It was interesting at first, and the game it implied at the start sounded really cool, but it quickly devolves into a run and gun blast them game, which wore off the charm fairly quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For nostalgia alone this game is one of the best. The early levels have such intricate details and callbacks to the 1982 film and even the 2011 prequel. The Thing Remastered demonstrates the niche 2002 title still holds up 26 years later, jank and all. NightDive gave this game a pretty decent facelift. It's no Halo remake, but you can definitely tell they put a lot of love into it. ✨ 9/10 ✨
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i'm not going to judge ancient games by modern standards, even though this one aged particularly poorly in my opinion. No, what really makes this one so unbearable apart from not being that good in the first place, is that the friendly NPC AI is so incredibly stupid, that it actively impedes regular gameplay. This is not concerning the game's trust/fear mechanics (which are woefully underbaked anyway), but your allies keep getting stuck in the level geometry or just stop following you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The most awful game I played all year. Love the visuals though, but basically cockroach extermination simulator. Clunky and just terrible. But will finish out of principle. Can't recommend tbh. Thought it was kind of ironic that a game about overgrown bugs has a ton of glitches in it. Barely playable. As a side note. During the shoot heavy sequences I would recommend you use a mouse /keyboard instead because the controllers auto aim is pure sh!te. N lets not forget the price tag. 10 dollars…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Mehhh.. Some games can't be saved by nostalgia. It has some good bits at the beginning, but after 2 hours you start to notice what an abomination it is. Lot of weird design choices and it gets boring and monotonous very quickly. Nightdive Studios did a great job of improving the visuals, but they didn't fix the original's game most basic issue - Ambient Sound. From the second half of the game, where you increasingly spend time in enclosed spaces, bunkers, basements, and laboratories, you'll…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love The Thing video game because you can tell the developers didn't want to bother animating the protagonist holding a weapon with both hands.
positive · AI labelView post →Stream over! We got some good art progress done and may or may not have kept some domes too! Thanks for the raids copygirl & cocoanico 💚 We raided @bunnyhearted.bsky.social who is playing the game of horror movie The Thing for her Retrothon!
neutral · AI labelView post →I had a crack at a simple horror scifi game inspired by the gory body horror of Dead Space and The Thing - 'Death is in the Stars' - and I used my ShortRPG System to run it. It's dead simple and yes that is a picture made of worms and a halloween stock photo. www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
neutral · AI labelView post →it really does kill me how much all the loud public discourse about whether it's okay to ship certain characters or w/e meant just constantly spoiling The Thing The Game Is About Processing in a way that just did absolutely no justice to how gutting and insidious the realization actually is
neutral · AI labelView post →brings back all the nostalgia I had for this game when I owned it for PS2. I had bought a used copy and could never finish the game due to the disc being scratched up. So glad they remastered it. I finally got to complete it after all these years. Tons of fun with a lot of hours of gameplay. Really captured the essence of the movie. Ran this on my ROG AllyX and it worked great!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you get it for less than $10, it can be an enjoyable study to speed through the game then look at the accompanying concept art and wonder how such an ambitious start resulted in such a bland, repetitive final product. Don't expect to have fun though. Or to find out anything new about the Thing-iverse.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Is it a good game? Maybe? Does it feature the hit song After Me by Saliva? No. Do I love it and all of the early 2000 memories? Yes!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very faithful remaster. OG game is a very early 2000's action shooter. Solid exploration elements and the NPC management (with sanity + ammo) is a pretty cool idea. Environments manage to capture that cold + desolate + spooky vibes
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a 6 hour blast. The gameplay is a bit dated since its a PS2 game, but once your really get into it the game is fun. I enjoyed the squad mechanics of the game of managing ammo, guns, and health of your team. The atmosphere was pretty damn good, and locations were all interesting. Now the Thing itself. I really loved the design of the enemies, and some were even taken out of the movie. You had small creatures that can be killed with bullets, and then the humanoid/giant enemies that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Foghorns Drown is scuch an atmospheric folk horror indie game that does the psychological horror angle right. Keep @studiolaaya.bsky.social in your sights, with this and the bananas slasher parody The Thing Beneath they delivered 2026! #indiegames #folkhorror www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK1M...
neutral · AI labelView post →fantastic game, im fan of the thing 82' and i love this game, it completes the whole story, with a great plot twist at the end, i just love this game, im actually glad that they dont do a remake but a remaster, this has its whole Ps2 vibe, and still the AI in this game is great, only some bugs it was like 2 times, and they dont do anything, at least for me. SO this is a great remaster, and great game, with a great story, and it all combines to be one of my favourite game, SO this is a MUST PLAY
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Indie Comics: The Thing/Concrete Video Games: Batman/GTA (as a video game) #ngl
neutral · AI labelView post →Today's video is The Thing the board game, not to be confused with Who Goes there or The thing infection at outpost 31, or the numerous earlier thing games. This is a rare case of a game utterly not working for me. Find out why here. youtu.be/HDr2JpCv5Ow
negative · AI labelView post →Excellent game and remaster. I somehow managed to 100% it without trying.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent remaster. Great game. we need more games set in The Thing universe.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
