Vegetable and crow curse world.
QUEST LOG #22: PUMPKIN JACK
I want to say this firstly, because some of my grievances with the game might seem a little harsh, considering that the game was mostly developed by just one person - that being the very talented Nicolas Meyssonnier. It’s an incredible achievement to have made and published a game at all, and to have done it competently too, creating a fun and fantastical title… well it’s definitely something worth applauding. Certain parts of the game aren’t quite refined, but despite this, I was able to overlook these rough edges during my playthrough, and I’m glad I persisted through certain points of frustration, because, and this is all that really matters, overall, I had fun… anyway, on to the meat of the game.
Pumpkin Jack takes inspiration in its gameplay from many sources, recreating a style of game that feels like an older era platformer, but it manages to carve out its own identity. The characters are rather charming in their aesthetics, leaning on the usual Halloween tropes quite extensively. Having said that though, there are a good handful of creatures, characters, and bosses that go beyond the usual parade of skeletons, soldiers, and monsters, which is always nice to see. The environments are what really bring this game to life however, and that of the overall visual design. If nothing else could be said about the game, you’d have to concede that it’s beautiful. I played it on the Steam Deck, and it looked fantastic on there - although I had to tweak the visuals a little to stop it stuttering every now and then, but with everything cranked up, it’s a feast for the eyes.
The game opens with a typically storybook-esque intro, with a voiceover detailing the events of the world, conveying, through illustrated parchments, that the world once lived in peace… and that it was boring. This apparently pushed the Devil into action, unleashing a curse of eternal night, raising monsters, and having them lay waste to the formerly peaceful human world. The humans fought back however, and they called upon a champion - a powerful wizard in order to defend them. This is where Jack comes in, summoned by the devil - his own champion… history’s greatest cheater and con artist. The devil crammed his soul into a pumpkin and sent him to earth once more - to destroy the wizard, and to curse mankind. A simple premise, but it’s nice to play as the bad guys for a change. Having said that, the framing for the game is such that you never really feel like you’re evil, which is a bit of a shame, as through the dialogue in the game, Jack comes across as more lazy and reluctant than villainous.
Once the cutscenes are done, you’re in the game proper, and free to explore, and to get to grips with the controls. Here you find one of your guides, an owl, sent by the devil to watch over your progress. He doesn’t do much, but when you see him, you’ll usually be given some advice on what to do next, as well as a checkpoint. The game is incredibly generous with checkpoints, and even utilises them throughout most levels, respawning you near to where you last died (although not always). You will die… but not because of the difficulty game itself. The combat is pretty straightforward for the most part, and throughout the entire playthrough I only died a couple of times through the fighting in isolation. What racked up my death counter (it keeps track, just to wind you up), was, for the most part, the environment. Water = death in this game and dipping just a little toe into the liquid is enough to kill Jack instantly, and I found this to be a constant source of frustration, especially given the game’s rather lax control. Certain attacks will have Jack lunge forward rather randomly (as he’ll often auto target), this can result in slipping off of platforms or edging towards water rather frequently. Another source of death, when platforms are poised over chasms or large bodies of water is the rather floaty jumping and movement system. Although this can sometimes get you out of danger, it more often than not causes problems. Platforming takes up a large portion of this game, and having an unreliable system for jumping is peculiar, to say the least. Having said that, it is by no means as bad as something like ReBoot, and doesn’t impact the enjoyment of the gameplay too much (just on occasion).
Combat too, as briefly mentioned, is somewhat unreliable as well. Jack will often attack the nearest enemy with special lunges, which can throw you off, and other than a roll, which acts as a dodge, there is no real depth to the system. You can’t block, so will often take huge amounts of damage - luckily the aforementioned checkpoints heal you, and destroying bits of the environment also provide life. Although there are special attacks which can be triggered separately to the standard attacks, that’s about the extent of it. There is an alternative attack, which calls upon another bird chum whom you meet early on in the game, which allows for a very weak ranged attack, and sometimes is useful in a pinch during melees with multiple opponents (although it’s mostly used in scripted sections to open gates or bash down wooden panels). Depth isn’t hugely necessary here though, but it could be a little more refined. Through the course of the game, you do unlock a variety of weapons, these being a shovel, a spear, a cursed sword, a shotgun, a scythe, and a murder of crows (basically a magical bird attack). Each of these have their own animations and special attacks, and they add a lot of variety to the fighting, but there isn’t much need to ever swap between them, not for any mechanical reason anyway. If you find one you like, just keep it equipped.
I’ve mentioned the environments already, and the great variety in them is what makes the game stand out. Across the six levels, The Fields, The Haunted Mine, The Cursed Wwamp, Skele-Town, The Spooky Cemetery, and The North, you’re treated to a constantly changing feast for the eyes. The levels are delightfully colourful, full of ambience, and rather expansive, and this is quite impressive for a game with such a limited development team, as mentioned earlier, made mostly by just one bloke - although he had help with the music, for example, which was composed by Yohan Jager, which is rather simple yet effective, setting the tone for the game rather well. There is clear inspiration from the likes of MediEvil with at least three of the levels feeling like remakes, and in fact, much of the game resembles the classic PlayStation title. Loose platforming and basic combat, spooky levels and characters, a fight against the undead, a wizard making it all happen, a hollow headed protagonist, the storybook cartoony world… The list of similarities goes on. Pumpkin Jack seems to take all the best bits of MediEvil, and, unfortunately, some of the worst bits too. Where is does improve however, as I have mentioned, are the visuals and level design, which, while like MediEvil in many respects, go far beyond it, at least technologically speaking.
Once thing that MediEvil did, which I almost wish Pumpkin Jack did too, although it might seem like a wasteful choice, is the implementation of a mechanic that is, once used, discarded. Many times, throughout Pumpkin Jack, you’ll come to a point where the game changes from a 3D platformer to an on rails… thing. These take the form of minecarts, magical horses, push carts, and gargoyles. These have you following a narrow corridor (save the minecart, which is on a track), avoiding hazards along the way, such as walls, gravestones, energy blasts, etcetera. Each of these are fun enough initially, but the novelty quickly wears off, and it was these parts in particular that mounted my frustrations until I almost lobbed the shitting thing out of the window - metaphorically speaking, of course. It’s a digital download, and uninstalling a game is too slow to do while maintaining any rage. The camera in these sections is often positioned poorly, and death results in a tedious redo. This was at its worst around the mid-point of the game, but after that, thankfully, these annoyances subsided. The first of these kinds of scripted sections shows up early on in the game and has you escaping a burning barn on foot, rather than is some kind of thematic vehicle, running across collapsing platforms as flames lick your heels - this particular concept is only used once, and as opposed to those previously mentioned, it sits within my mind as a highpoint within the game. It was used once, and used perfectly, and because of this, I never grew tired of it.
Despite all my complaints, I do think Pumpkin Jack is a fun game, and for the most part the gameplay is too. The boss fights are mostly unique, with interesting attack phases, the world is fun to explore, the story is simple, yet fun, and the majority of the time, the combat and platforming is fine too. Overall, it combines to create something greater than the sum of its part, and if you’re particularly forgiving of some of its mechanical missteps, you’re sure to have a good time. I had a good time too, for the 4 or so hours it took to beat. There is some depth to the game outside of the levels, with collectable skulls which unlock outfits, and gramophones which… make Jack dance a bit - although I found the little dancing bits irritating and jarringly out of place. Some of the skins are cool (I opted for the skeleton and just stuck with it for the rest of the game), but neither of the unlocks have any real impact on the game, and are just there for achievement hunters and a bit of aesthetic choice, if you care for that sort of thing.
There is a lot to like about Pumpkin Jack, and I can imagine its charms working wonders on a younger audience, especially if they hadn’t experienced so many of its inspirations such as the aforementioned MediEvil, or A Nightmare Before Christmas. But whether you’re a doe eyed youngster or a jaded old bastard, Pumpkin Jack is certainly worth playing. It may be flawed in some ways and frustrating in places, but it’s fun - and I always value fun over almost everything else, as that’s what gaming is all about. The game also has great potential within it - hopefully a sequel will surface one day, as with a little refinement to what’s already there, a second iteration could result in a truly great adventure/platformer.
There we go, a little bit of seasonal fun. Spooky in a pre-watershed kind of way. Have you played Pumpkin Jack? If so, what did you think? Did you find the same frustrations with it as I did? Or was it plain siling for you?
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