REVIEW

Day Of The Tentacle Remastered Review

by Rob Pritchard, April 10th, 2016

This review of Day of the Tentacle Remastered contains minor spoilers for how to complete certain puzzles within the narrative as part of the critical analysis.

If there is one thing that the nineties will, or at least should, be remembered for, it is the wealth of great point-and-click adventure games that entertained millions of gamers worldwide. One of the most widely celebrated was Day of the Tentacle, a story that about time travel, exaggerated stereotypes and anthropomorphic multi-coloured tentacles that have plans for world domination. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the game, Double Fine have remastered it for PC, PS4 and PS Vita. While the humour and characters are just as funny as they have always been, there are several issues which tone down the laughs on occasion.

After being summoned by Dr. Fred to his mansion, three young adults called Bernard, Hoagie and Laverne accidentally free the evil Purple Tentacle, who is determined to exact revenge after he was defeated some time before. Dr. Fred decides to send the three back to the day before using his toilet-shaped time machines, but this goes terribly wrong and sends Hoagie and Laverne into the distant past and future respectively. Although you originally take control of Bernard, it is at this point you are given the opportunity to alternate control between all three characters, which is a feature that the original Day of the Tentacle introduced to the point-and-click environment. What makes this mechanic work so well is that each character responds in a way that suits their personality. For example, Hoagie is very laid back in nature, so he will not exert himself when it is not entirely necessary, Laverne is very open minded to the weirdest of ideas such as microwaving a frozen hamster to bring it back to life, and resident geek Bernard takes a logical approach to nearly everything.

For the two and a half hours that you spend jumping between the George Washington era of the past, the present day and a dystopian human- hating future, there are plenty of situations will have you clutching your sides in laughter. Unlike some time travel games which use each time period as a framing device, Day of the Tentacle Remastered uses the concept of changing the future as one of it’s key concepts. At one point in the game, you need Laverne to blend in with the tentacles in the future, which can only be done by changing the original design of the American flag with Hoagie in the past. To make things slightly easier, each of the character’s time machines are connected, so you can send most items between time periods at will. While the paradoxes involved with this mechanic would likely cause the universe to implode in real life, the process of altering history by transporting items through time is incredibly satisfying, especially when you discover a way to do so without using the time machine that has been provided for your inventory related needs.

It wouldn’t be a remaster without enhanced graphics and sound, and Day of the Tentacle Remastered’s new look is nothing short of high definition cartoon excellence. The redrawn assets bring the experience firmly into the current generation, and the newly composed versions of the soundtrack offer a refreshing re-imagining of the game’s original score. If you should want to go back to the original graphics or sound, you have the option to alternate both of them at any point during the game. Some of the tracks, such as the opening title theme, sound slightly more fitting to the theme of Day Of The Tentacle, but it is nice that Double Fine gave us the choice, rather than forcing a change onto us without our consent. As an added bonus, the hidden version of the prequel to this game has not been removed, so now you can relive the LucasArts classic Maniac Mansion should you wish to find it on your travels through time.

Although most of Day of the Tentacle Remastered is a solid reconstruction, there are a couple minor concerns I have regarding the remaster. The original save system remains, and an auto save option is available in case of emergencies, but the amount of time needed to load and save game files is quite simply too long for a game which took barely any time to do the same on its original release. The new control scheme is perfectly functional when there are only two options, but relies on fine movement of the analog stick or direction pad when presented with several different ways to interact with an object or character. This made me look several times at an object, instead of pushing or picking it up as I expected to do. If you feel that the modern interpretation is not to your taste, the original graphics mode lets you use the verb coin interface used in the original Monkey Island, but it would have been nice to have a new control scheme that doesn’t rely on pin point accuracy to succeed.

If you have been used to activating the help provided in most modern adventure games, then Day of the Tentacle Remastered is probably not the game you should try if you are relatively new to the genre. While there are no puzzles which are completely illogical, the lateral thinking required to solve some of the game’s toughest mind benders such as using the time machine toilet to make spaghetti into a hairpiece for a beauty competition may catch modern gamers off guard. Thankfully, each of the tougher puzzles is rewarded with a visual gag that could stand alongside the cartoon greats such as Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes, so more often than not you’ll get that feeling of accomplishment, rather than a sense of relief when you figure it out. Like the remastering of Grim Fandango released last year, it is slightly disappointing that optional help was not implemented into this re-release, even if you can just Google the answer nowadays.

Overall, Day of the Tentacle Remastered is a solid re-release of one of the most celebrated adventure games of its time. The optional new graphical tweaks and soundtrack allow you to play in a variety of ways, and while there are some issues with accuracy, the new control options work well and provides a way for gamers who have enjoyed hits such as The Walking Dead and Deponia to revisit a slapstick-filled time travel story that inspired some of the genre’s greatest successes. If you are looking for a game that will make you laugh, as well as tax your brain, then Day of the Tentacle Remastered will be just what the doctor ordered.