Day of the Tentacle Remastered (PlayStation 4) Review

Cubed3 has already delved into the PC and PS Vita editions, but fans can also grab Day of the Tentacle Remastered on PlayStation 4, as well as iOS devices (no Xbox One or Nintendo versions, sadly). Whatever format it is picked up on, though, get ready for the ultimate retro point-and-click experience. There is no sign of the usual context-sensitive control system anywhere, instead featuring the clunky, old school 'verb system' most recently spotted in the, otherwise fantastic, Thimbleweed Park. It is what it is, though, and once players have grown accustomed to it, thankfully things start to get a lot smoother. It is a system that worked in the past because it was the only real option, but it is so awkward in today's world that it holds back the adventure right from the off.

Thankfully, though, that is the only negative that can really be levelled at Day of the Tentacle - which also includes the entire first game as an Easter Egg for those that search around carefully. The writing is extremely clever throughout, with many a laugh-out-loud moment, and puzzles that are very well crafted, requiring some deep thinking to figure out the various chains of events, combinations of items in the current inventory, and even when and where to use particular objects, since there are three characters to control, all in different time zones. Oh, and yes, that means that events changed in the past do have an impact on the future, which comes into play very nicely for certain conundrums.

2012's superb Resonance took a similar multi-character approach, using numerous people with varying skills to solve elaborate puzzles in an extremely smooth and purposeful way. Here it also works very well, but does have a habit sometimes of feeling like playing through each individual person's scenario before moving onto the next one, rather than having everyone working together in a seamless manner. It does get things right most of the time, but having the ability to pretty much throw all of the unwanted inventory items at the end of one character's section over to the next person set to escape their time zone, makes for a stop-start adventure, rather than a flowing one where the team is in sync with each other, working directly together. Still, as mentioned, it has enough clever puzzles and witty dialogue to win over the cynics out there that favour newer point-and-click adventures in general.

As for the 'Remastered' moniker, it opens Day of the Tentacle up to all sorts of criticism when things are not spruced up in a particular way, but kudos to the team for including smoother visuals, and attempting to make the cumbersome verb-system slightly easier to work with, bringing in a ring-style affair with illustrative hints. There is also the chance to play with retro visuals and audio, if so desired, and purists out there will likely automatically jump at the opportunity. Whatever the case, it has far more highs than lows, and in the absence of a third Maniac Mansion, leaves gamers eagerly awaiting Thimbleweed Park even more - despite Schafer and co. not being involved, it is back to the legendary Ron Gilbert, of original Maniac Mansion fame, after all, and feels in the same vein.