Bungie’s classic Myth fantasy tactics series gets the remasters it deserves, courtesy of its community

While Bungie’s extraction shooter reboot might have put the classic Marathon trilogy back on the map (and on Steam), there are still some that hold a torch for their other early hit series, Myth. Exacting, precise fantasy tactics games about leading a vastly outnumbered force to victory against seemingly impossible odds, Myth still has its champions—despite never seeing a digital release.

The most dedicated of those fans made their very own miracle resurrection happen this past Easter Sunday with the launch of Myth: Twice Born Edition, a comprehensive remaster of Myth: The Fallen Lords, Myth 2: Soulblighter, the community-led expansion Chimera, and more besides. It’s unofficial, but made with the aid and endorsement of several original Bungie crew and featuring key art by original Bungie artist Mark R. Bernal.

You can check out everything included in this unofficial re-release in the launch trailer below, and see some impressive before/after shots in the release announcement thread here on Resetera. It’s the kind of thing that Nightdive would normally release on Steam for a premium. In fact, according to project lead Christopher ‘Jon God’ Lyles-Arthur, the project was set to be released through Nightdive at one point, but Myth rights-holders Take 2 got cold feet. Rather than scrap the work he and the community had done, they’ve opted to release it for free, although you’ll need to jump through some hoops first.

The only downside about this release is that in order to segment the download and allow the team to update components individually, the community remaster requires you to do a bit of downloading and assembling yourself. First and foremost, you’ll need to source a copy of Myth 2: Soulblighter. While second-hand copies go relatively cheap on Ebay (depending on how much you want the boxes and manuals), it’s not hard to find a digital copy, if you’ve no qualms downloading a decades-out-of-print game.

The good news is that whether you’ve got an original CD or ISO, you won’t need to install the game from the disc. Just create yourself a Myth directory on your PC and copy the Tags and Cutscenes directories from the disc to there. You can now download the latest version of Project Magma’s modern engine port (1.8.5 at the time of writing), run its installer and point it to your Myth directory with the Tags & Cutscene folders inside.

From there, you can download the Twice Born Edition main files. All you need to do is unzip and put the HD Megapack files in your MythPlugins folder, and optionally the HD High Contrast file, which makes some sprites (like arrows, spears and some pickups) a little more visible on the battlefield.

If you just want to play Myth 2 with shinier graphics, you can launch the game now and enjoy. But I’d highly recommend grabbing the files for Myth: The Fallen Lords Deluxe, a re-balanced and enhanced version of the Myth 1 campaign ported to the sequel’s engine, although a warts-and-all direct port is also available here. As with most other things Myth, just unpack the main file to your Plugins folder.

Make sure you grab the upscaled cutscenes in either de-interlaced (my recommendation) or interlaced form, and unzip those files to your MythCutscenes directory. Lastly you’ll probably need QT Lite, a video codec package that’ll allow those cutscenes to play on modern machines.

You’re almost done. The final cherry on top is Chimera. Part sequel, part expansion, produced by the community in close collaboration with Bungie. It too receives a full set of graphical improvements from the Twice Born Edition upgrade. You’re now good to go, with three gruelling campaigns and a deadly-experienced multiplayer scene to butt heads against. Good luck, and tell your dwarves to watch the friendly fire.