Day of the Tentacle Remastered (iOS) Review

Time travel is a tricky concept, especially for video games. It can be done like in Ocarina of Time where actions in the present can alter the future without compromising the story, or it can simply be used as an unchangeable story element like in EarthBound or the original Final Fantasy. Day of the Tentacle takes the concept one step further, by blending story and gameplay together. Time travel is far from just a thematic prop here, it's a mechanic.

The plot centres around three main characters: Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne. The opening sees the three investigating a Doctor Fred's lab, and getting coerced into being sent back in time to stop a nefarious purple tentacle from drinking toxic that will inevitably lead him to succeeding in world domination. Like all good stories, however, something goes wrong and the time machine malfunctions.

Bernard remains in the present, Hoagie is sent back to colonial America, and Laverne is sent into a future where Purple Tentacle has accomplished his goals of domination. What follows is point-and-click adventure that combines humour with engaging puzzles so masterfully that it's hard to believe it took 23 years for Day of the Tentacle to be rereleased. Tim Schafer of Grim Fandango and Psychonauts is in his prime here, his signature style shining through in the dialogue, and while the amateur voice-acting can be a bit hard to swallow, it actually adds another layer to the absurdity present.

LucasArts shows off the creativity of their game design most with how the different eras interact with one another. Hoagie can influence Bernard's timeline and Bernard Laverne's. Character switching is a necessity for solving puzzles and progressing in the story, but it never feels like a chore. All three protagonists have their defined personalities and quirks that play off their eras impeccably well. There's something charming about seeing a deadpan man named after a sandwich interact with Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.

On the remaster side of things, the visuals have been touched up to give the whole adventure a cel-shaded feel without compromising the artistic integrity of the original. In fact, the original is actually fully present and playable for fans looking for a more 1993-esque oriented experience.

What makes Day of the Tentacle Remastered work so well is its insistence to be as faithful to the already hilarious and clever original without trying to fix what's not broken. This does mean there are design choices that feel outdated, but it also allows for a very clear look at what Day of the Tentacle was like in the context of its time. And in a point-and-click about time travel, that certainly means something.