Review: Day of the Tentacle (remastered)
Genre: 90s Point and Click adventure game
System: PC
Story: A sequel to a beloved NES (and other systems) game, Maniac Mansion. The story opens with the beloved tentacles getting into trouble and, of course, trying to take over the world. Of the original cast, only Bernard the nerdy guy return along with his two friends: Hoagie and Laverne. Hoagie resembles a cross between Keanu Reeves and Tom Arnold, while Laverne is a more sadistic version of Big Bang Theory's Amy Farrah Fowler. The group gets split between time periods and must solve unique or obvious puzzles to get back to their own time ... or at least a day before, and stop the tentacle. The story is easy to follow and the time zones add an edge to the puzzles, making it feel like Back to the Future.
Gameplay: Point and click... click again... click that thing with that thing. There aren’t too many snags a new player would run into playing this game for the first time. If playing the remastered version, the options for any object become narrower, overall helping the player. Day of the Tentacle is more of a puzzle game, than adventure, so the player may find themselves in a pickle. When in doubt click on something with anything in your inventory. The puzzles can seem convoluted, but it will all make sense in the end... but probably not.
Pros: Fun graphics, easy interface and unique puzzles. The time zones of each character add additional depth and puzzles. Unlike its predecessor, there are no annoying deaths, at least not that I found. Repayable with a friend, helping them solve or sharing the fun and jokes.
Cons: The game was made in 1993, so some of the jokes, problems, or solutions don’t hold up (pay phones, white out). But if the player puts themselves into the early 90s, then fun will be had by all. Some of the puzzles don’t make sense (the squeaky beds), and others may seem too easy (switching the hammers). The worst thing can be the click hunting, looking for items to interact, but that's an issue that plagues most adventure games.
Rating (1-10 compared to other games from its time and genre) Graphics – 9 (unique cartoonish style that plays off the original game) Premise – 8 (a little forced, but time traveling puzzles to save the world are always fun) Gameplay – 8 (Easy to move around, but there are some fetch and travel about quests) Originality – 8 (Sequel to get the premise, time puzzles are nice) Difficulty – 9 (Good amount of puzzles and fun) Overall – 8.4 (Buy it on steam and have some fun)
