We don’t know about you, but Halloween is one of our favourite times of the year. Autumn is in full force, supermarkets are littered with skeletons and pumpkins, and it’s possibly the only time of year where it’s acceptable to watch The Exorcist on repeat while gorging on Toblerone (although you'll forgive us if that's been our Saturday night ritual for much of the year — 2020, eh?). For most of us, Halloween will likely look a bit different this year; some may not even bother celebrating at all. Thankfully, though, Pumpkin Jack has arrived to fill the ghostly void, and we’re delighted to say that it’s absolutely worth picking up.
If you’re a fan of the classic action platformer MediEvil, then you’ll be right at home with Pumpkin Jack. Taking place in the quiet, dreadfully boring Arc En Ciel Kingdom, the Devil himself conjures up a curse to plunge the kingdom into depths of despair, unleashing monsters and ghouls upon the poor, unsuspecting residents. The King tasks his champion Wizard to defend his people, so in retaliation, the Devil enlists his own champion to take on the Arc En Ciel Wizard: Stingy Jack.
The story is about as in-depth as you need it to be. As you traverse the land, you’ll encounter a rather mouthy owl, who guides Jack along his 6-8 hour quest with hints, tips, and the occasional jibe. Other characters pop up here and there, including a merchant who sells cosmetic skins, and a range of spooky boss characters that will test your platforming and combat skills. The character and world design is simply magnificent, and there’s plenty here to really kickstart a successful franchise, should the developer choose to do so (oh, and we should mention that Pumpkin Jack was developed by just one person, Nicolas Meyssonnier, with Adrien Lucas on porting duties).
The stages themselves are fairly open, whilst maintaining a comfortable level of linearity. You can stray off the beaten path to find hidden crow skulls (which can be exchanged for the cosmetic skins mentioned earlier), but by and large, you’ll be following a designated path from A to B. It’s really well done, and while a couple of levels suffer from a touch of repetition, most of them are expertly paced, injecting new and absurd tasks from riding a ghostly horse through a swamp to navigating a magical maze that brings back vivid memories of Ocarina of Time’s Lost Woods.
Gameplay is split between platforming and combat, with a few mini-games sprinkled in for good measure. Fighting off hordes of the undead (which, of course, can’t distinguish between friend or foe, and so attack Jack regardless) is relatively simplistic, but consistently satisfying. Tapping 'Y' unleashes a combo that is more than capable of cutting down most basic enemies, and you can also perform separate attacks whilst in the air. As you complete each level and its subsequent boss, you’ll be gifted with a new tool of destruction, including a magical sword, a blunderbuss, and a spear. Each has its own unique attack animation, and we particularly enjoyed how the magical sword allows Jack to float along the ground like a powerful mage.
The platforming is a touch trickier, and can cause a bit of hassle here and there. Jack can double jump right from the start of the game, but his movement is severely hampered once he’s in the air. This means that if you misjudge a jump and go off in the wrong direction, it’s quite difficult to correct this, and you’ll end up falling more times than necessary. It’s a minor gripe, though, and doesn’t rear its head too much, particularly once you’ve gotten to grips with how Jack controls. On the whole, the platforming is well implemented, and there’s plenty of variety to keep you on your toes, including rotating columns and bouncy mushrooms.
Visually, Pumpkin Jack isn’t going to compete with some of the Switch’s more accomplished titles, but in terms of its art design, it’s absolutely wonderful from start to finish. It’s typically 'Halloween', with oranges, purples, and greens making up the majority of the colour palette. The environments can feel a tad bare at times, and some of the assets tend to fade away on occasion (though we might argue this actually adds to the spooky effect at times!), but the variety on display here is commendable, and the game rarely, if ever, feels stale. If you’re playing in handheld mode, though, just be aware that the graphics look quite rough in comparison to docked mode.
One housekeeping measure we would recommend if you do decide to take the plunge on Pumpkin Jack is to make sure you crank up the camera sensitivity. The camera works really well for the most part and rarely gets in the way of the action, but its default setting is far too slow. Moving the dial right up to maximum is definitely the way to go here, and makes the gameplay feel much smoother as a result.
Conclusion
Pumpkin Jack is an absolute triumph. For a debut title, it’s remarkably confident in its vision, delivering a delightfully spooky experience that feels very familiar to MediEvil without outright copying it; in fact, with MediEvil's controls feeling distinctly dated by 2020 standards, we’d go so far as to say Pumpkin Jack is superior. The controls are slick with satisfying combat mechanics, and while the platforming can occasionally feel a bit frustrating, it’s mostly very well done. Visuals in handheld mode can look a little grotty, so we’d recommend playing on the TV if you can, and make sure you crank up that camera sensitivity. Fear not though, folks; Halloween is well and truly alive in 2020 thanks to Pumpkin Jack.
Comments 44
This deserves a physical edition methinks.
I'm so glad that this actually got GOOD REVIEWS!
I'll be getting this.
On sale for $23.99 NA eshop
$29.99Sale ends Nov 12
this game should be free with paid DLC
I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING TONIGHT!
I like the look of it, but might just hold out. There's a few other games that are still on my radar before this.
An entire review but no mention of performance/framerate? damn.
@magicismoney why?
@gojiguy I know, they only occasionally throw in that information at random it seems. Same with the menu/control options. I want to know the functions of the game and how it works/performs much more than someone’s opinion of the story and art... but I’m used to this so no hard feelings.
P.S. I do appreciate the mention of the camera sensitivity adjustment option... wish I knew of X/Y can be inverted.
I thought the review was going to conclude with a 9. What happened? A point docked for camera sensitivity that you can change? Spooky!
@magicismoney what, why?
Congratulations to the sole developer, Nicolas Meyssonnier, for being so ambitious and successful. It's rare to see someone go at a 3D game alone.
@yourmom Presumably because he doesn't know what's good.
$24's a little high for me, but only because I'm only marginally into platformers. Definitely need more holiday games in my life.
I’ll be picking this up. 3D platformers with things to collect are my jam.
@BlubberWhale I watched the vid review and sure enough they showed the option menu. Both can be inverted.
Good to see a 3D platformer indie and one that reviews well.
Hell yeah, was hoping this would be good! Reminded me somewhat of Death Jr. on the PSP!
I can't resist a 3D platformer. This one looks pretty good, too. I've been spoiled with 3D platformers this generation. I hope the genre is back to stay.
@AG_Awesome Amazing! Thanks! You picking this up? I’ll probably wait for a sale. Already started Ghostbusters, and I have at least a couple other Halloween-vibe games.
@HexagonSun It’s pretty great, right? Have you played New Super Lucky’s Tale? For some reason I really dig it. (Still need to go back and finish it though.)
@gojiguy - Perhaps that indicates that it's not an issue. I'll be getting on Steam either way, cuz the PC version supports ray-tracing shadows/reflections.
I'll probably get it on Steam, with the RTX features. Looks awesome!
This baby’s coming home this weekend.
smh not a spinoff of Jack Bros starring Jack o' Lantern
@BlubberWhale no problem! And absolutely, but my backlog means I’ll wait a bit to get it. I loved Medievil though.
@BlubberWhale Yes. I own that one, along with most of the 3D platformers released on the Switch. Super Lucky's Tale was a blast! For the previous couple of generations, Mario was the only way to scratch the 3D platforming itch without going retro. I haven't had so many great 3D platformers on a system since the N64.
MediEvil is my favorite PS1 game besides Castlevania Symphony of the Night so really considering looking into this one.
I got this to last night
But have got to play it yet
Honestly, I always had a thing I did when I was a kid, all the way through college, with Halloween.
I'd play the spooky levels in just about any platformer all over again. Mad Monster Mansion (Banjo), Citadel of Shadows (Vexx), Creepy Castle (DK64), Pumpkin Hill (SA2),everything Luigi's Mansion... In fact, I just did this again last year because of LM3.
Sounds like this will fit in just fine.
Seems like a great game to get on sale one day.
@JayJ yep, my thoughts exactly!
If they sharpen up the handheld experience with a patch I buy.
That's the deal - but I hope they do because these types of games are right up my street.
@Kabloop Sherlock ?
@TheFrenchiestFry I'd say it's more jack from a nightmare before christmas myself. Jack bros are the personas right? I just call them pyro jack and the cold one lol
@Kabloop a "simple looking game" made by one person on PC, ported by one other to Switch. Gee, I wonder.
@doctorhino Another awesome game that is only by one guy is Ghost of a Tale. Think it only recently came to Switch, too.
@Olliemar28 Speaking of, any plans for a review of Ghost of a Tale?
Bought. So far great.
@magicismoney That's one unpopular opinion. But hey, I'm not here to yuck your yum.
I'll wait for a deep sale, just because I have set maximum prices for digital and physical games. Definitely on the wishlist, and it looks great fun. Maybe by the time it goes for a price I'm willing to pay, there's a patch for handheld visuals as well?
Also, we the lovely people, demand to be addressed as such in video.
Is there anyone else having issue with the second mine cart sequence? There's a certain jump where I inexplicably explode almost every time. I've died 25-30 times already and it driving me insane. I feel this game could've benefited from some more play testing.
@Shambo me too. I am drawn to this title, but I just have too many games at this point.
I have enjoyed it a lot! However, am I the only one who feels Pumpkin Jack moves almost like the characters from Fortnite?
I know it deserves a lot of merit for developing this almost on his own but I also believe the praise its got here is undeserved. It is not a bad game but it is not particularly good and to say it's got plenty of variety... almost feels like a lie tbh.
It's an ok game and his dev deserves praise for making it alone, but I sadly don't see the greatness anywhere.
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