Day of the Tentacle Remastered Review

Adventure games have made a return to gaming in recent years with thanks to games like the Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead. The point-and-click style games were massively popular back in the 80’s and 90’s with Sierra and LucasArts, putting out many of their best titles.

We have now seen many classic titles starting to return with some remastered versions that give new generations the chance to go back and experience some great games. We have already seen games like Grim Fandango and The Secret of Monkey Island. Now Double Fine Productions have released a remastered version of Day of the Tentacle. For this upgraded version a brand new interface has been added and players can now switch between the two art styles. So if you want to experience the game in its true original form you can do so.

The story follows three unusual characters called Bernard, Hoagie and Laverne as they try to stop the evil purple tentacle, who has drunk toxic waste and now believes he can take over the world. Dr. Fred is his creator and comes to the conclusion that the only way to stop the tentacle is to destroy him and his brother known as Green. Dr. Fred decides to send Laverne, Hoagie and Bernard back in time to try and stop Purple from drinking the sludge. Things don’t quite go as planned and sees are three unlikely friends stuck in different time zones.

What made Day of the Tentacle such a popular game and the reason people love Double Fine titles so much is the way in which they manage to use humour, interesting gameplay and puzzles into a cohesive experience. Not only that but they always have unique and genuinely well thought out stories and playful art style. Day of the Tentacle is bizarre, wacky and often reminded me of animated cartoons I would watch as a child. The great thing about the game is the fact that it’s not afraid to be quirky and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Like other point-and-click adventure games it’s all about exploring environments and puzzle solving. Some of the puzzles can be challenging at times, but if you have played other adventure games you know what to expect.

This is my first time playing Day of the Tentacle and was surprised at just how good it looked and ran. I especially enjoyed the three main characters in the game along with the other crazy characters. Double Fine games always do a great job of crafting interesting stories with unique and well designed characters and worlds. Day of the Tentacle is a fairly short game at around four hours long. I’m sure that different players will experience different lengths depending on how quickly they solve puzzles. With games nowadays striving to be bigger and have huge open worlds I often enjoy being able to sit down and experience a short compact experience that is well thought out. I really enjoyed just sitting down and playing through the game in one sitting, which helps make the experience feel more immersive.

The game also comes with some other nice additions like concept art that is unlocked as you play the game. You can also play through the entire game with commentary from Tim Schafer and other members of the team. I’m always interested in the development of games and this is a great way to get an insight to how the game was developed.

We are seeing more and more remastered games these days, some of which seem unnecessary and add very little, but Double Fine have done a great job with their games. This remaster is a beloved game and has been handled by its original creators over at Double Fine. The visuals are fantastic and the new hand painted additions work well with the original design. I loved the ability to switch between the original art and the new updated version, as I never experienced the game before. Achievements have also been added and are genuinely fun to try to unlock. I may even go back and play the game again and try to unlock them all.

Double Fine has once again taken one of their fantastic games and given it some nice additions along with some improved presentation. If you’re a fan of adventure games, Double Fine or the original release then I would certainly recommend this game. The story isn’t afraid to be utterly insane and reminded me of cartoons from my childhood. The characters, world and environments you explore are beautifully drawn and designed. This is certainly a fantastic example of how to do a remastered version of a game.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.