MediEvil: An Unsuccessful Remake
Every so often I discover a video game thanks to the efforts of my husband, Kevin. This past December, I learned about a game titled MediEvil, which was originally developed by SCE Cambridge Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 1998. It’s a remake, surprisingly, in a series that I never knew existed. After playing this title, I can see why the first installment in the saga slipped through my fingers…and why I’d probably never join this undead army again. Although my husband went crazy for the MediEvil remake, I think it’s a game that started out promising but quickly finds itself dead in the water.
Resurrected by developer Other Ocean Emeryville and publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment, MediEvil ’19 debuted to moderate sales and mixed reviews at the end of the year after releasing exclusively on Playstation 4. Play as Sir Daniel Fortesque, a brave knight struck down during the unsuccessful first charge against a dark wizard. Returning as a skeleton suited in armor, it is now 100 years in the future and your homeland, Gallowmere, is once again under threat from the evil magic wielder. You are probably the world’s least worthy hero, but you’re the only one that can set Gallowmere free from the clutches of darkness. Get your backbone in place, your favorite sword in hand and FIGHT!
During the first few levels of the epic quest, I was absolutely enchanted by a few aspects of this game. Namely, the voice acting, the Halloween inspired background music and the realistic foley. A lot of effort was clearly put into developing the ear-appeal of MediEvil, and the color grading, color schemes and redeveloped character models made the game visually pleasing as well. Throw in the fact that MediEvil is an action-adventure hack-and-slash title and those are right up my alley and, well, this should have been a more positive review. Even considering the ability to unlock new weapons and armors, another feature that I love, wasn’t enough to save my overall experience in Gallowmere… which became rather lackluster the more I dug into the game.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled, Resident Evil 2 and Spyro Reignited Trilogy are also remastered editions that succeeded where MediEvil failed. Obviously, the graphics and appeal of the before-mentioned titles are greatly enhanced, but all except for MediEvil are comparable when it comes to control schematics. The further you go into MediEvil, the harder the levels and enemies become; which means you need the coveted hand-eye or finger-eye coordination to conquer each dungeon. Usually, this comes with experience playing the game, but in MediEvil’s case, the desired outcome never arrives because the controls remain as outdated as the original 1998 release. It’s like the motion graphics and executed movements were left far in the past despite a major overhaul of every other aspect in the game. The dash-jump movement was by far the worst.
Because of this, I really can’t recommend MediEvil to other gaymers unless you’re a fan of the series as a whole. The game itself is frustrating and the controls are to difficult to handle, and the aesthetics bounce between juvenile and adult in an inconsistent way. Even though I adore Pokemon, MediEvil almost seemed a little too infantile for my tastes. Humorous, beautifully visualized, a spookfest to the ears and an easy to understand concept, MediEvil mostly fails in execution and consistency and absolutely nose-dives in terms of control and refinement. It’s probably the worst remastered game I’ve played. Not horrible by any means, but simply a remake that needed a few more weeks in development.
About The Author
