Stale gum is the best gum
One of my favorite childhood memories was getting packs of Garbage Pail Kids at the store. These cards were gross and offensive and I loved every bit of it as a kid. Being able to collect these grotesque cards made me feel like I was getting away with something. I even un-ironically love the original live action movie. Yes it is terrible, but I adore it. It is so 80s. Now in 2022 there is a new game. A game built in the mold of an NES game, complete with a spoof trailer about it being a lost game. The presentation is amazing, the nostalgia is real, but is the game any good?
Yeah this is not a game that was lost, instead it was the brainchild of Tim Hartman and Greg Caldwell. These two friends combined to create Retrotainment where they began creating NES-inspired games that were actually released on NES cartridges. Their first game was Haunted: Halloween 85. Now they have taken their love of NES games and Garbage Pail Kids and combined them to spin off a short entitled Garbage Pail Kids in Mad Mike: Fury Load and thus we have this game.
MSRP: $9.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $9.99
The way all this came together is definitely a story for the ages. The short (which is included with the game download, and is amazing) was written by Adam F. Goldberg, who created the show The Goldbergs as well as producing the documentary 30 Years of Garbage: The Garbage Pail Kids Story. Needless to say he was a huge fan of the property. He also joined Retrotainment to pen the story for this game.
The game itself is very reminiscent of NES titles. Players have four characters that they can swap between on-the-fly. Each one has unique abilities. There are a handful of stages to conquer and can be completed in any order. The big hook is card collecting. Each card contains unique abilities and are focused on various Garbage Pail Kids. Collect them all and you get a neat surprise. The cards can be traded with NPCs. It harkens back to trading with friends back in the day.
There are also a host of mini-games within the game including fishing. Yes you can fish in a Garbage Pail Kids game, of course it is from a toilet, but would you expect anything less? It is things like this that really showcase the developers love for the cards. This game is gross in every aspect and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The extras shine thanks to Digital Eclipse. The standard options are here including a watch mode, filters for classic looks, and of course save states. The entire short movie is also included alongside the spoof trailer. There is also a gallery showcasing all the characters found in the game. The love put into this package shines through on every level. It has been a long time coming, but it feels good to finally have a Garbage Pail Kids game to play. Even if it is 30 years late to the party.
Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a love letter to kids who grew up in the 80s. Every single corner is filled to the brim with nostalgia. Collecting the cards is addictive and fun, and the game is as gross as I could want. For the small entry price this is a must-have for fans of Garbage Pail Kids. Do not hesitate, snatch this up and while you’re at it, get a pack of the cards too.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
