Game #1104: MediEvil(Playstation 4)

 Many years have passed, yet Dan still hasn't found his jaw.

 My first introduction to MediEvil was very rocky to say the least. I had a bootleg version of the sequel, I played it for a bit and hate how slippery it was. Many years later I'd give both games a proper try and I wound up enjoying them a lot, as I have attested in this blog. My interest in this remake was high, so I'm glad I finally had the time to give it a proper chance.

 And... this is a straight up remake. While the game was remade from the ground up, it's clear they tried to make it as similar to the original as the could, warts and all, for good or bad. And proof of that is the game's lukewarm reception, by critics who are completely out of tune with what people actually want and for the target audience of the game's they are often sent to review. MediEvil on PS4 is NOT a game for everyone, it's a game for people that enjoyed the original, enjoy oldschool games or can put up with old game design. And I mean that, the best things about MediEvil are here, but also its worst elements, things that they could've easily fixed but opted not too in order to stay as faithful to the original as they could... and you can even unlock the original game.

 MediEvil was a very early 3-D action adventure game, and it shows. Movement is super slippery, which is something to get used to, and combat is super imprecise and floaty. You smash the square button to have Sir Dan mindlessly slash to and fro in front of him. Hitboxes seem to be a bit less forgiving in this remake, as I felt like I was trading hits with enemies much more often than I did in the original. Was it enough to make it more annoying? I'm not sure. I feel like I had to go back to previous levels to refill my health potions as often as I did in the original.

 Healing is as annoying as it used to be. Basically, you can find Health Potions that increase your total life gauge, in a way, on some stages, for a total of 10 extra potions or life bars or lives or however way you want to look at them. There are only two ways to refill them, as they are not refilled between stages, finding health potions or health fountains. Health fountains can only restore up to two health potions, and latter levels are, well, harder, so you'll find yourself going back to previous, easier, stages to refill your health potions, as it's not like you can refill them and quit the level, oh no, you have to finish the stage again. In the original game, life fountains would dry up for good, but here they'll refill every time you re-enter a stage, albeit they've only got enough for two refills per attempt. That said, I just went back to the first stage, Dan's Crypt, and I'd grab the two health flasks, worth a single refill, over and over again. This mechanic is easily one of the worst parts about the game and something I feel they should've fixed, simply by refilling your health upon completing a stage, but thankfully, the game is good and short enough as not to outright ruin it. Still, it was an easy fix and it wouldn't have ruined the game's feel, only add more convenience to the player. 

 Speaking of fixes... the Swamp stage is as bad as it was in the original, The game is filled with pits that rob you of an entire life-bar/potion, and falling in them is very easy due to the narrow paths, the slippery controls and Dan's poor jumping. That said, maybe they did something to make it less annoying, since this time around I don't remember getting a game over, just losing a ton of health bars! On the other hand, call me blind, but a couple of times I mistook level exits with health fountains, which forced me to redo some stages since I didn't collect the chalice, more on this later, thinking I was heading into a healing fountain, for you see, both level exits and health fountains are indicated by small green, foggy lights. Eventually you'll learn, probably quicker than me, that level exit lights are a bit larger and of a darker shade of green, but still, I would've made level exits an unmistakable yellow as to avoid any sort of possible confusion. Once again, it would've been a small tweak that wouldn't have hurt the original design and make things more clear, just for convenience's sake.

 The game's dialogue is pretty much identical, and that's a good thing because I did enjoy the game's humor and set-up. Once again, I loved the game's chalice mechanic, where upon defeating a certain amount of enemies in a stage, which I think was made slightly more lenient in this one as I feel you require less enemies, you can obtain a chalice that will give you some sort of reward upon finishing the stage, such as a new weapon or health potion

 There were two other small tweaks, as well as one big addition to the game. First tweak, you can now equip to different weapons at the same time, and swap them by pressing the triangle button, which isn't

 as useful as it sounds, but it's not entirely useless. Also, now you have an optional, alternate third-person camera which made aiming long-distance weapons a cinch. I must have used it just one time during my playthrough, but hey, I used it! On the other hand, the game's only new addition are the Lost Souls. Unlocked near the end of the game, they are an excuse to replay the entire game once again, as once you unlock them, you'll be able to find a Lost Soul on every stage, and they'll give you a riddle, which you must solve in order to discover where and on which level to lay them to rest. Basically, it's just busywork, but I could see myself doing it on a future playthrough.

 I only had two major issues with the game. First of all, one time a door that was supposed to open on the colored-glass window boss didn't open.... which I fixed by restarting the level, no biggie. The other one was worse, when I first installed the game... I couldn't play it without updating it. It was the first, and only, time a game acted like this. I had to uninstall it, disconnect from the internet, and install it in order to play it unpatched. Unbelievable.

 As someone who liked the original MediEvil, and as someone who hates stealth sequels like Final Fantasy VII Remake, I really liked this game. I also love the fact that you can unlock the original, even if it's locked behind a ton of busywork. That said, I still think they should have made some concessions in regards to healing, as it wouldn't mean changing the game's difficulty, only helping the player waste less time doing repetitive chores. While Dan's overall health is quite plentiful, thus trading hits with enemies isn't so punishing, I think they could've tried to tighten the combat a bit more. Still, I do think it's a great game because I think the original was a great game and this one sticks so closely to that one, so as long as one doesn't mind archaic game-design, this is a no-brainer.

 8.0