REVIEW : Pumpkin Jack (PC)
As we’ll see in the course of the review, Pumpkin Jack screams Halloween and MediEvil from every seed contained in the protagonist’s pumpkin. Developed by a single person, Nicolas Meyssonnier, it is a title that does not claim to revolutionize anything, focusing everything on humour and an artistic direction with a very strong cartoon style. In essence, it is a 3D action platformer with puzzles to solve, many fights, some collectables to find and various extra sequences, such as a ride on a minecart or an escape from a building on fire. What is surprising is that, although the production level is not very high, everything works as it should and, indeed, it also does something more, reserving many surprises.
History
As soon as Pumpin Jack is launched, one expects to be faced with an amateur product. In some ways it is, but in others, it is truly amazing the ability shown by Meyssonnier to know how to manage his limits, that is to say, that he never pretended to do more than his means allowed him. The game begins with the rebirth of Jack, a damned soul to whom the devil himself entrusts a mission: to defeat the wizard hired by the inhabitants of Arc En Ciel to counter his infernal armies. Jack is a criminal in the soul, while in his new incarnation the body is no longer that of a human, but of a scarecrow with a pumpkin as ahead. He doesn’t like working for the devil, since he doesn’t like taking orders, but what else can he do?
His adventures begin with the most classic of tutorials that teach us to jump, climb and dodge obstacles. So let’s take our first weapon, indeed, our first two weapons: a crow, which will be with us for the rest of the game, and a shovel, which fortunately we will change to something more effective already from the second level.
We will soon find that a crow is also a useful tool for solving some puzzles to get out of trouble from situations that are not exactly peaceful. For example, we can use it to lower drawbridges or remove obstacles. As for the more traditional weapons, they have only one use: to break objects and enemies. The attack buttons are only two, which alone should make you realize how simple the combat system is. In the advanced levels, more powerful weapons are unlocked and the enemies become stronger, but in general, you have to go ahead and give blows as if there was no tomorrow, dodging when necessary, without being too much to make mental comparisons with the technicalities of a game Platinum or other modern action.
Gameplay
In Pumpkin Jack everything is simplified to the bone, starting with the story that flows clear and light like the water of a stream. Every once in a while Jack and the other characters hit a few lines, but there’s never really anything shocking. To vary a little the basic formula we think the platform phases, generally well done, but with problems in some sections that make them a bit frustrating. In particular, sometimes the camera ends up not making the scene very legible, leading to making mistakes that would otherwise be avoidable. Nothing destructive, mind you, but in the long run, you notice it. As is the case with the basic repetitiveness, only partially broken by the aforementioned mini-games, of which the possibility of detaching Jack’s head from the body to solve some specific puzzles deserves a mention. For example, in the second level, we will have to be able to bring a bomb to its destination using Jack’s tentacles to throw it along suspended platforms. Too bad that these are predetermined moments and that you can’t take your head off when you want.
Graphics
From a technical point of view Pumpkin, Jack is a decent title, especially considering that it was made by only one person. The graphic elements that make up the levels are very simple, almost stylized, but Meyssonnier has composed them with taste, creating a perfect fresco for Halloween … perhaps too much, in the sense that it looks like a kind of manifest game of the upcoming holiday, with a special eye for the little ones. Probably the effect is wanted, but the result is short of breath from a strictly artistic point of view.
REVIEW : Unforgiving – A Northern Hymn (PC)
