MediEvil (2019)

The game mostly succeeds on charm. I love the premise, this tragicomic hero, who died instantly in battle, getting a chance at redemption beyond the grave. I like the look, broadly, and its mood of child-friendly horror. Think Tim Burton, Casper, Goosebumps. But the execution beyond that is quite bad. Some extremely limp comedy, and Fortesque's characterisation feels off. Buffoon or straight man? Blank slate or a more defined character? Unclear. No jaw, a purely physical comic persona? Not quite.

The combat is weightless, but the power curve is satisfying, and it ties it nicely to playing levels in a completionist fashion, incentivising exploration. Bar some nice level design, it's never very good to play, but it's impressively compelling, and well structured. Glad I played it.

Was great to go back in a nostalgia trip, remake stays too faithful to the original for its own good, some camera and combat problems.

Game continues to be fun, remake is beautiful, reminiscent of a time when you didn't have ultra realistic visuals and things needed to be highlighted, with a funny story to keep the game going.

I was worried about the lenght of the game, but it was longer that I remembered.

Had a good time, played on PS4 via PSnow, completed on 03/03/2022

Sigh... this game age... poorly...

Some positives, the game looks great, the sound design is on point, and definitely got my nostalgia strings pulled. I also, like the fact the level are short because the the game is difficult, but it’s difficult for the wrong reasons.

This game is quite boring, besides nostalgia I don’t get any type of feels. The controls and combat are terrible, I really don’t like like how Sir Daniel swings the sword it’s bad. There was no quality of life improvements. A simple lockout button will make the 10x better.

Maybe that’s why it’s the only game I didn’t get from those Pizza Hut demos. Play it at your own risk.

While painstakingly recreating the feel of the original, this version nails a superior remake with excellent upgrades to graphics and music and tweaks both core gameplay and adds bits and pieces that make it truly special to both people who loved the original MediEvil and those venturing into Gallowmere for the first time.

Sir Daniel Fortesque is a dead warrior brought back from the grave to fight the evil sorcerer Zarok and release his hold on the kingdom of Gallowmere. You'll be hacking and slashing through a variety of spooky levels and environments and slowly accruing upgrades to health and weapons via chalices you obtain when killing enough of enemies in a level. The game has a shield, a dash, a slash, and a charge, giving the player plenty of opportunities to waste enemies. You'll get basic weapons like a sword and a club and get more unique with magic longbows, dragon armor, and lightning down the road. The game's combat feels a bit smoother, with camera controls that operate similarly to the original but updated enough to give the player all the control they need during a fight.

There's a fantastic array of set pieces in the original MediEvil and they all come back for the remake. Haunted corn fields, pumpkin patches, the asylum grounds, a pirate ship - this game reminds us how wild and original these places were, and the graphics/music upgrades help. Characters and enemies are lovingly animated with their original voices intact (why fix what isn't broken?) and the music hits the same notes as the original but much more gothic and spooky. Bosses also get tweaks here and there, with the Pumpkin King getting a total overhaul to the captain of the Ghost Ship getting an extra phase to spice things up. Near the end is a set of Lost Soul quests that will give players too familiar with the original a lot more to do, with a special surprise that will warm their hearts.

MediEvil can be criticized for not being brand new, but the original game was already so well-crafted that all it needed was a few tweaks here and there to become an absolute classic. This remake goes the extra mile with those tweaks and a gorgeous graphical overhaul to make it the definitive MediEvil game.

I don’t think this remake deserved the lashing it got from critics. I only ever played a demo of the second game on PSOne but remembered it fondly. When I read about the aforementioned reception I was apprehensive...but thankfully, there was no reason to be.

Yes the cutscenes/dialogue are corny. Yes the camera is occasionally janky. Yes, the lack of checkpoints can be a real pain in the ass. But if you meet this on its own terms, as a late 90s era platformer, it’s still a pretty fun way to kill ten hours. The art style and visuals are awesome (and beautifully recreated), the level design is really creative and the gameplay is simple but satisfying! I’m glad I brought this!

I picked up MediEvil on the advice of my girlfriend, the original being one of her favourite games from her childhood and went in initially quite sceptical as to whether or not I would I enjoy it having never played the original.

At first the clunky controls and camera were off putting but once I adapted to the old school feel of it I was really able to let go and enjoy the game for what it was.

MediEvil is without a doubt a game of its time. A game from a time when games were made just to be fun without the need for a grand narrative or bloated filler content and that is just what it is. Fun.

Whilst overall MediEvil is a relatively easy game, every level brings new challenges through new tougher enemies, platforming and puzzles. The boss fights can also be quite challenging and feel downright chaotic at times especially when you get low on health knowing that if you die you are going to have to do the whole level all over again.

There were a couple times where I wished there were checkpoints after dying but in hindsight I am glad they were not added into this remake because it really added to the intensity of Boss Fights. There were at least 3 bosses that I emerged triumphant against critically close to death and feeling of victory was great under those circumstances.

I can't finish this review without touching on the updated graphics and music which I thought were absolutely fantastic. MediEvil really is the perfect Halloween video game and feels like playing a Tim Burton movie which I thought was awesome.