CARVED WITH PRECISION
I am unsure what to say about Pumpkin Jack because rarely do I get a game that feels so complete. Pumpkin Jack’s goal is to be a really good 3D platformer with a sense of humor, and it does that extremely well. I think most impressively, this game is made mostly by one man (Nicolas Meyssonnier).
The story doesn’t take itself too seriously, with the Devil putting the soul of Stingy Jack into a pumpkin and sending him to Earth to defeat the champion of the humans, the Wizard. Accompanied by a cowardly crow, Jack stomps his way through a few locations and there’s some laughs to be had along the way. The humor has that old Rare sensibilities where the jokes are sort of mean towards the other characters but family friendly still. I had a good chuckle and as far as I’m concerned that’s a success, especially when the only voice acting is a narrator between levels.
PLATFORMS: PS4, SWITCH, XB1, PC
MSRP: $29.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $29.99
Each level has a few different parts. The main portion is a 3D platforming section where Jack does some jumping and some combat and maybe some light puzzles. The secondary portion is where Jack removes his head and crawls around solving puzzles as just a pumpkin. The third portion is a level specific event. In the first level it’s escaping a burning barn, the second is a minecart, and so on. They are faster paced and don’t invite the exploration the main linear portions of levels offer. At the end of each level is a boss as well, because Pumpkin Jack isn’t looking to be an innovative game, but a very good game that excels at the foundation set by other games.
Every level averages out to about an hour, and with six levels, my deaths, and time spent looking for crow skulls (which can be traded for extra costumes) I found my time to be close to 10 hours. I didn’t get every skull, but I definitely redid a few levels looking for them.
I think my only complaint with Pumpkin Jack is that most of the weapons received from the end of levels are made redundant by the next weapon received. I wish I found myself needing to switch more or something, because once I got the spear I would rarely switch back to the shovel, and once I got the sword I wouldn’t switch back to the spear. It was more perplexing than anything. I didn’t find any real problems to speak of otherwise.
Pumpkin Jack is a great looking game, a great playing game, and a well written game. It should not be skipped in the slightest. The Halloween aesthetic may seem out of season now, but don’t let it fool you, this game is enjoyable at any time; the minions of hell rising up to destroy humanity truly is a timeless tale. The end credits show the development and love Nicolas poured into this game, and all of that can be found in the final product. I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Jack.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
