What the heck happened with the Assassin’s Creed 2 remaster?

Sometimes, remasters do an amazing job of bringing out a game’s original art direction, making formerly muddled art crisp and fresh. Other times, we get Assassin’s Creed II, remastered for Xbox One.

Polygon captured the video above to highlight the differences. Instead of showing off how much better it looks, though, we just get a glimpse into a weird world that looks like one we used to know, but where everything is wrong. Ezio of the original game climbs with grace and fluidity. This Ezio climbs like a spider on hallucinogenic drugs.

Look at that poor guy

Perhaps worst, though, is the guy in the background. While the remaster has brought the original’s softer edges into sharp focus all around, it seems like this guy game from another game. Or lived a life we can’t possibly imagine. It’s hard to guess exactly what went on here. Maybe they used an earlier version of the Assassin’s Creed II code.

Whatever happened here, it looks like the backwards compatible version of the game that so many of us already own is the one to play. Ubisoft doesn’t do much in the way of remasters, and maybe this is why.