The early 90's were a great time for what we now consider as classic point and click games; the retro pixelated artwork, the high level of difficulty, the need for personal critical thinking and complex problem solving. Some didn't become quite as famous as others, leaving them to fall into the void of cult-classic status, remembered by their appreciative yet relatively small fanbase. Such can be said about Day of the Tentacle, a zany point and click adventure game from LucasArts from 1993, now Remastered with smooth high-definition art and sound thanks to Double Fine Productions.
For those who're already familiar with the game, I'll go ahead and start out with the Remastered stuff. The artwork is all hand-drawn; it looks fantastic, and it's very smooth. The color is extremely vibrant, and the gradients transition so much better thanks to how far technology has come within the last two-plus decades. Not to mention the wonderful use of lighting and angles that really make the artwork stand out above many other point and click games. The interface has also been updated to modern standards, and it's much more user-friendly than the old one. You have the option to transition from the original graphics, and sound, to the Remastered ones all throughout the game; one can even mix and match if they so desire, old graphics/new sounds or new graphics/old sounds. There's also a developer commentary available to those who're interested, and bonus content in the main menu. It's an incredibly solid Remaster, in functionality, performance, and design. I noticed that some people in the review section had problems with the audio, such as stuttering or other characters voices playing. I believe that the last patch, noted as June 1st, 2016, took care of these problems as I didn't experience any audio issues whatsoever.
Day of the Tentacle is a sequel to another highly favorable point and click LucasArts game, Maniac Mansion. At the start of the game a scene occurs where two Tentacles, Green and Purple, are standing beside a radiated river. Purple Tentacle decides to take a sip of the toxic sludge coming out from the sewers, and he begins to mutate; a mutation so inconceivable and horrific at that... he grows... arms. In his new superior form, Purple Tentacle turns into an evil genius and begins scheming to have his army of Tentacles to take over the world. One of the main characters, Bernard, is friends with Green Tentacle, who lets Bernard know of Purple Tentacle's intents. Bernard gathers his two best friends, Hoagie and Laverne, in an effort to stop the evil plot.
What follows are events of wacky cartoon mayhem and eccentric wit. The dialogue and actions of the characters are absolutely hilarious, garnering more than a few laugh-out-loud moments from me personally; which I must say is hard to achieve, I'm more of a chuckler/internal laugher. Bernard is your typical know-it-all nerd, Hoagie is a heavy metal roadie, and Laverne is just out of her mind. You'll even get to interact with the founding fathers quite a bit, and the Tentacles are as memorable as they are priceless. Beyond question, it's an adventure that you really must seek for yourself.
Probably the only downfall that one could find about Day of the Tentacle are some of its nonsensical puzzle solutions. This again stems from the 90's era of point and click gameplay, though, and it's to be expected from a title that originally launched so long ago. A guide is highly recommended, as the game really is extremely cryptic with some of its puzzles. There are also dialogue conundrums that can sometimes only be solved by performing an event and then going to talk to the person again. However, some people still like their games mystifying and complex, so if you're one of those self-punishing loonies, you'll absolutely enjoy this game in its entirety.
Whether or not you played Day of the Tentacle back in 1993, you'll absolutely love this absurd, unpredictable, humorous experience. It's one of those classic games that are up there with Grim Fandago in the "you shouldn't miss this" category. Double Fine Productions have done a bang-up job on this Remaster, and they've presented in a way that lets the original design shine through, while also making it obvious that the remake was crafted by them; if only all recent remastered editions were this good. While $16.99 CAD is pretty steep for a 4 hour adventure, grabbing this game on sale for half off is a great idea.
Rating: 5.0/5.0 - An astonishing achievement, this game must be played.The Horror Network
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