Dreams of a decapitated head – review of the game “Medievil”

I must admit that when Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy was released in 2017 , I was simply delighted. The prototype for this title used to be one of my favorite PSX games. The following years brought new titles that aroused a hint of nostalgia in me. Of course, we are talking about Spyro Reignited and this year’s Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled . Some time later, when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I got the longed-for Medievil. Once upon a time I fell in love with this game. For both me and many other players who grew up with the first generation of PlayStation, it was a unique experience to be able to reimagine as childhood favorite heroes. Again, we could forget about the whole world for a moment and be those carefree, few or teenage boys. Wonderful feeling. Nevertheless, a dramatic change of perspective that came with age was inevitable. About twenty years of development of electronic entertainment is a long time, during which a lot has changed, so in order for the return to adolescence to be painless, the developers had to put a lot of effort into their work on remasters. Both Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled, and Spyro Reignited they definitely did it. It’s time for Medievil,  let’s see if it has lived up to its competition.

Cheerful cubes

For all those who for some reason do not quite know what Medievil is really about , I am in a hurry to explain. In short, the production tells the story of a noble knight who died in a battle with the armies of a cruel sorcerer. However, this did not prevent the comrades of the unfortunate from winning against the evil sorcerer, thanks to which he was lost for many years. However, it is not so good, because after some time the magician returns and wreaks havoc again. Fortunately, thanks to magic, Sir Daniel Fortesque, ours, is brought back to life irreplaceable hero. At this point, the adventure begins, during which we kill countless hordes of opponents, including bosses, jump or move a whole lot of obstacles to finally hit our eternal enemy and release him a solid punch. It should be added, of course, that on the way we will find a few loot, health bottles and of course some money that can then be spent, for example on throwing knives or crossbow projectiles.

Trudny powrót do życia

Even though the production formula does not sound overly revealing, more than twenty years ago it looked really great and that’s what everyone who played the prototype remembers. How does this relate to the current state? It’s hard for me to make an unambiguous judgment, because on the one hand I am nostalgic and on the other hand I have to stick to some criticism. However, there are some elements that bother me a bit, and one of them is imprecise controls. I had an overwhelming impression that the developers were a bit careless, because both the character’s movement and combat are terribly rough. I understand that Sir Daniel is essentially an undead, but at times he moves like an elephant in a china shop. This problem is especially visible when when we have to maneuver while moving the elements of the environment. If the game had its premiere just now, I’m afraid it would have passed without much echo. I think there would be a lot of people saying that this is a fairly crude arcade adventure game. Even the grotesque and overwhelmingly sympathetic humor that is the hallmark of the gameMedievil , could turn out to be insufficient for a modern audience. However, as this is a remaster , I think the title deserves a discount and we can turn a blind eye to some things without major remorse.

Smacks of dead body

There is one more, quite important issue that bothers me in the context of Medievil , namely the quality of the graphics. It pains my heart that the game’s visual setting is at least uninteresting. The textures look haggard, to the point where you can see glaring, nasty pixelosis here and there. It’s been a long time since I have seen such trash. The models are a bit better, but they are also far from a reasonable level, because while our protagonist still presents himself somehow, the opponents can look as if they were pulled out of the PSX version. Well, gentlemen, graphic designers, this is not the level of reproduction of the original that we wanted. I have already mentioned the wooden movement system, so you can imagine what it is like with the animations in this production. Both Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy,and Spyro Reignited  look incomparably better compared to Medievil . The situation is somewhat saved by the sound setting, which is fine and there is nothing to complain about. In the Polish dubbed edition it is even funny in its own way, so the game deserves a plus.

Eh… plague

Despite the huge sentiment I have for the game Medievil , in the end I cannot say positive about this title. Other Ocean Interactive studio did not live up to the task of creating a solid remaster for 2019. The production is struggling with many technical problems, which are probably due to some carelessness of the developers. Although I do so reluctantly, I must say that the potential that Medievil had in him was definitely not used .