A PC port of Drakan: The Ancients' Gates (PlayStation 2, 2002), built by static recompilation: the game's own PS2 program is translated to C++ and compiled into a native Windows or Linux executable, or a WebAssembly build for the browser. A new runtime supplies graphics, audio, input, saves and the PS2 system services the game expects.
You need your own copy of the game. This repository holds only source code and build tools. The game is built on your PC from a disc image of your own disc; the builder does not upload your game files.
Project website & user guides · Install on Windows · Install on Linux · Controls · Troubleshooting · Developer documentation
The original adventure, with configurable PC improvements. Windows has the fullest feature set; Linux and browser support differs (platform details).
| Area | PC improvements |
|---|---|
| 60+ FPS support | 30, 60 and uncapped world frame-rate modes. Actual FPS depends on hardware and scene; the original 30 FPS cadence remains available. |
| Enhanced graphics, optional | Higher resolutions, widescreen, borderless fullscreen, improved filtering and HD texture replacement. Optional DLSS Super Resolution / DLAA on compatible NVIDIA RTX GPUs, and ray-traced water/shadows on compatible DXR hardware. Enhancements can be disabled. |
| Mouse and keyboard | Direct mouse look, WASD movement/strafe, rebindable controls, sensitivity/inversion settings, keyboard prompts and mouse-driven menus. XInput controllers remain supported on Windows. |
| Modern bow aiming, configurable | Hold left mouse to aim with a crosshair and slight zoom; release to shoot. Choose Classic for the original bow controls. This changes the existing bow, rather than adding a crossbow weapon. |
| Dual wielding, configurable | Equip a second one-handed weapon in Rynn's left hand instead of a shield; attacks alternate hands. Can be enabled or disabled in PC Settings. |
| Modern inventory, configurable | Optional full-screen PC inventory on Tab, with the original inventory still selectable. |
| Dedicated map and inventory strip | M opens a full-screen map; I opens an equipment strip over the world. Each can revert to the normal inventory pages independently of the Tab inventory setting. |
| PC Settings and menus | F1 opens display, audio, input and gameplay options. Configurable modern title, pause and save/load screens, plus original-menu choices. |
| Upscaled video, optional | Locally generated 4× AI-upscaled intro, outro and logo movies on Windows. Original video remains available; a movie pack must be generated separately. |
| Narration subtitles | Added intro/ending subtitle support with scalable text, alongside the game's existing dialogue subtitles. Requires local language-specific SRT files; transcripts are not included. |
| Save conveniences | F5 quicksave / F8 quickload, additional manual save pages and optional modern save previews. Native saves live beside the game; browser saves use browser storage. |
| More ways to play | Native Windows and Linux builds, plus WebAssembly through the local or hosted browser player. |
The modern Tab inventory, dedicated map/strip overlays and advanced graphics are most complete on Windows; do not assume full Linux/browser parity. HD textures and movies are generated from your own disc, and narration SRTs are supplied locally. No such packs or game assets are distributed here.
See the full PS2-to-PC comparison for feature details, platform limits and original-style options; PC settings and optional extras explain setup.
Development captures of the PC port. Click a screenshot to enlarge it. The GIFs below are reduced-size demonstrations, not frame-rate benchmarks.
| Modern Tab inventory on Windows | Full-screen map showing Surdana and objectives |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Inventory strip over gameplay with a bow selected | PC Settings categories in the native Linux player |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Side-by-side texture comparison, original on left and HD replacements on right | Modern save browser with a Surdana save preview |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Rynn in Surdana in the native Linux player | Rynn in Surdana in the browser player |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Watch dual wielding (sampled capture sequence)
Optional dual wielding on Windows: a second one-handed weapon takes the shield slot. Animation assembled from sampled test frames; not a frame-rate demonstration.
Watch a short HD intro excerpt
A short excerpt from the locally generated 4x HD intro pack. The movie pack itself is not distributed.
More screenshots, setup instructions and optional features.
PAL release, SCES-500.06, as a plain .iso image. The builder checks the disc and stops on any other version.
USA release, SCUS-971.28 (experimental, Windows): builds into dist/DrakanPC-usa and plays with keyboard,
direct mouse look, PC settings and the game's own menus. Settings/pause and mouse sensitivity reloads have harness coverage;
widescreen, frame-rate options, modern Tab/map screens, quicksave, save pages and subtitles remain unavailable. Saves are region-specific, and a build refuses the
other release's disc. Details: USA disc support and
disc regions.
- Download DrakanPC-Setup.exe
from the latest release and run it (or build it
yourself with
python scripts/buildtool/package_builder_kit.py --installer). - Choose an install folder and your
.iso. Optionally tick NVIDIA DLSS (accepts NVIDIA's SDK licence) and browser version (needs WSL with Ubuntu), and choose how many CPU cores the build may use. - Leave "Build the game now" ticked. On first run the builder installs Microsoft's free C++ Build Tools. The first build takes one to two hours; some files take about 10 minutes each with no output.
- Start the game from the Drakan - The Ancients' Gates shortcut.
| Build specs (once) | Game specs (to play) | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10/11 64-bit | Windows 10/11 64-bit |
| Memory | 16 GB, 24 GB or more recommended | 8 GB |
| CPU | Any 64-bit; more cores build faster | 4 cores |
| GPU | Not used | Vulkan or Direct3D 12 drivers (Direct3D 11 renderer for older cards); NVIDIA RTX for DLSS |
| Disk | About 10 GB | About 0.5 GB, plus 1.2 GB for HD textures |
Details in Install on Windows. The game reads the .iso while it runs, so
leave it where it is. "Rebuild Drakan" in the Start menu continues an
interrupted build and keeps your saves and settings.
On x86-64 Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian, clone this repository and run the ISO bootstrap from its root:
bash scripts/buildtool/Build-Drakan.sh "/path/to/Drakan.iso"
./dist/DrakanPC-linux/Play-Drakan.shThe bootstrap installs missing public dependencies and reuses build/final-game for incremental rebuilds.
See Install on Linux for requirements, controls, saves and troubleshooting.
Build the browser version (installer option, or Build-LocalGame.ps1 -TargetPlatform web). Then either run
Play-Browser.cmd in dist\DrakanPC-web, or open the
browser player page in desktop Chrome or Edge and choose your
DrakanPC-web folder and .iso. The page contains no game code: it runs your own build from your own disk, and
nothing is uploaded.
pwsh scripts/buildtool/Build-LocalGame.ps1 -IsoPath "D:\Games\Drakan.iso" -WorkDir build/gameThe playable folder is dist/DrakanPC. Rebuild after a change with -Incremental. See BUILDING.md
for prerequisites, Linux and browser builds, presets and every option.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| F1 | PC settings |
| F10 | Release / recapture the mouse |
| F11, Alt+Enter | Borderless fullscreen |
| Esc | Pause menu |
All bindings can be changed in F1 or in drakan_input.ini. Gamepads use the original DualShock layout. Details:
input, combat controls.
- HD textures: docs/reference/hd-textures.md.
- NVIDIA DLSS: third_party/nvidia/dlss, docs/reference/dlss.md.
- Widescreen: docs/reference/widescreen.md.
| Target | Status |
|---|---|
| Windows x64 | Playable; D3D11 renderer, native settings and input |
| Linux x64 | Playable software-rendered build from your ISO |
| Browser (WebAssembly) | Playable from your ISO; built with WSL/Linux |
| Recompiler tool | Built and tested by CI on Windows and Linux (no game data) |
This is an experimental project. Expect rough edges in rendering, the widescreen HUD and some combat situations.
| Path | Contents |
|---|---|
ps2recomp/ |
The PS2Recomp fork: recompiler, runtime, IOP and tests |
runtime/ |
PC renderer, audio, input, settings, UI and replacement system services; runtime/web holds the browser player |
configs/ |
Recompilation configuration for SCES-500.06 |
scripts/ |
Build tools, installer, tests and test harnesses |
analysis/, docs/ |
Reverse-engineering tooling and technical notes (index) |
third_party/, licenses/ |
Vendored third-party code and licence texts |
python scripts/run_tests.py # Python tests
python scripts/repository_guard.py # tracked-file audit: no game data may be committed
git config core.hooksPath .githooks # pre-push auditNever commit disc images, extracted executables, generated code, game assets, saves or captures; the guard and the pre-push hook reject them. Conventions are in AGENTS.md.
The project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. Third-party components keep their own licences; see LICENSES.md and THIRD_PARTY.md.
Drakan2PC is an unofficial fan project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Surreal Software, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Games or any other holder of rights in Drakan: The Ancients' Gates.
- Bring your own game. Source and installer packages contain no disc images, game executables, translated game code or playable game data. The game is built locally from a disc image you make from a disc you own. Documentation links to separately hosted screenshots and short demonstration clips; these are not game packs.
- Use your own disc. Do not download disc images you do not own, and do not share disc images, built games or files generated from your disc. This project does not support piracy.
- Trademarks. Drakan is a trademark of its respective owner. PlayStation and PS2 are trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. NVIDIA, RTX and DLSS are trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation. All other trademarks belong to their owners and are used only to identify the products they refer to.
- No warranty. The software is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, as set out in the GPL.
- Rights holders with concerns about this project can open an issue on this repository to contact the maintainer.