MediEvil Recomp, a new PC-focused recompilation project for the original PlayStation gothic platformer, has released its first beta. Developed by BlackLabelHQ, the project aims to make Sir Daniel Fortesque's 1998 adventure run natively on modern PCs while offering a selection of visual and performance enhancements that would have been impossible on the original hardware.
The beta arrives with options including widescreen presentation, scalable aspect ratios, increased draw and render distances, higher frame-rate support, PGXP functionality, improved terrain, upgraded textures, and frame interpolation. It is an ambitious technical revival for a game whose personality has long been inseparable from the distinctive limitations of the first PlayStation.
Just as notable as its feature set is the project's stated stance on generative AI. BlackLabelHQ has made clear that it values human-made work and that pull requests created with AI will be closed. That position has drawn approval from MediEvil co-creator and lead designer Jay Wilson, also known as Jay Gunn, who stressed that the game's character comes from a period when developers built their work by hand with far fewer shortcuts and pre-made tools.
A modern route back to Gallowmere
MediEvil follows the famously inept knight Sir Daniel Fortesque, resurrected a century after his supposed heroic death to defend Gallowmere from the returned sorcerer Zarok. The original game blends action-platforming, light puzzle solving, macabre humor, and storybook horror. Its skeletal protagonist, crooked architecture, fog-heavy graveyards, and exaggerated monsters gave it a visual identity that still stands apart from many of its PlayStation-era contemporaries.
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That identity matters when revisiting a game like MediEvil. Its low-resolution textures, short draw distances, heavy atmospheric fog, and angular environments are not merely technical compromises to many fans. They are part of the game's spooky, theatrical mood. The art direction often evokes a dark fantasy cartoon, with an off-kilter gothic tone that can feel alternately charming and unsettling.
Recompilation projects sit in an interesting space because they can preserve a game's original design while allowing it to operate more comfortably on contemporary hardware. Rather than simply presenting an older title through a conventional emulator, a recomp project translates the game's original code into a form that can run natively on a new platform. The result can open the door to technical adjustments such as broader display support, smoother performance, and rendering improvements.
For MediEvil Recomp, that means players can experiment with a widescreen image, extend the visible range of the game world, and pursue higher frame rates. The project also lists PGXP, a technique associated with addressing the texture warping and geometry instability familiar to PlayStation games, alongside better terrain rendering and frame interpolation.
Those additions could make navigation, platforming, and combat appear considerably cleaner on modern monitors. At the same time, the beta's visual options mean the project will likely prompt discussion about how much modernization suits a game so closely associated with a specific hardware generation.
Preservation versus presentation
There is no single correct way to revisit MediEvil. Some players will prefer the original disc running through a CRT television, where the console's output, screen characteristics, and intended display environment combine to create the look remembered from the late 1990s. Others may welcome a version that gives the game more room to breathe on a large modern display without the compromises often involved in connecting older hardware.
The appeal of a recompilation is that modern conveniences do not necessarily need to erase the original experience. Widescreen, improved draw distance, and cleaner geometry can be treated as optional ways to revisit a familiar game rather than a declaration that the PlayStation version needs to be replaced. For a title with such recognizable atmosphere, retaining player choice is especially important.
MediEvil has already received official revisits over the years, including the PlayStation Portable remake and the later PlayStation 4 remake. Yet the first game continues to hold a special place for players who favor its rougher, more eccentric original presentation. The new PC project is therefore not simply about access; it is also about giving a particular version of the game a new technical context.
Its arrival is especially timely for the Halloween season. MediEvil has always been an easy recommendation for October thanks to its haunted villages, crypts, pumpkin-filled levels, and deliberately silly skeletal hero. It is creepy without being relentlessly grim, creating a playful autumnal adventure rather than a full horror experience.
Human-made work at the center of the project
The discussion around MediEvil Recomp has also become part of a broader conversation about fan projects and the growing presence of generative AI in game-related development. The project's contributor policy draws a firm line: work produced with AI is not welcome in its submissions.
"The charm of those days of dev' was that everything was handmade with barely any premade tools or shortcuts," Jay Wilson said while responding to the conversation around the project.
Wilson also called for generative AI to be kept away from MediEvil now and in the future. His comments reflect a concern shared by many players and creators: a retro game's visual and creative legacy should not be diluted by automated additions that lack the intent, craft, and context behind the original work.
That concern is particularly understandable for a game like MediEvil. Its style was built from constraints, but it was also built from deliberate artistic decisions. Every odd animation, theatrical silhouette, crooked building, and comic-horror flourish contributes to the overall tone. Modern technical work can enhance compatibility and performance, but it is fundamentally different from using generative systems to invent or replace creative material.
BlackLabelHQ's emphasis on human contributions positions MediEvil Recomp as a technical preservation effort shaped by people rather than an automated content exercise. For fans interested in both classic games and the methods used to maintain them, that distinction may be as meaningful as the improved rendering options.
Other ways to replay MediEvil
Players who want an experience closer to the original PlayStation release still have several routes available. Original hardware remains the most direct option, and the game can also be played on PlayStation 2 hardware. Connecting those older systems to current TVs and monitors can require some extra consideration, however, since modern displays do not always handle older video signals gracefully.
Dedicated upscalers are one option for players who want to use original consoles while improving compatibility with newer screens. Devices such as the OSSC and GBS-C can help adapt older signals for modern displays while keeping the look and response of the original game more intact than a basic display conversion may allow. A CRT remains the traditional choice for those seeking the period-authentic presentation, but it is not the only way to enjoy the original release.
Handheld emulation is another possibility for players using their own game backups, making it possible to bring Sir Dan's adventure on the go. Meanwhile, the PC-focused recompilation could also be an appealing fit for modern portable PC hardware such as Steam Deck OLED and ROG Xbox Ally X, particularly for anyone interested in its widescreen and enhanced-performance features.
The first MediEvil Recomp beta is an early step, not a final replacement for every existing way to play. Still, its launch gives one of PlayStation's most unusual cult classics a promising new life on PC. For longtime fans, the combination of native PC operation, adjustable presentation, and a public commitment to human-made development offers a compelling reason to return to Gallowmere.
Whether players choose original PlayStation hardware, a retro display setup, handheld emulation with their own backup, or the new recompilation beta, MediEvil remains well suited to a seasonal replay. Sir Daniel Fortesque may not have been the hero history claimed he was, but nearly three decades later, his crooked adventure has lost very little of its handmade charm.
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