Entertainment

Games: 1990s hit MediEvil is back for a new generation of Playstation gamers

Skeletal hero Sir Daniel Fortesque is back in a reheated version of PS classic MediEvil
Skeletal hero Sir Daniel Fortesque is back in a reheated version of PS classic MediEvil Skeletal hero Sir Daniel Fortesque is back in a reheated version of PS classic MediEvil

MediEvil (PS4)

By: Sony

BACK in 1998, the skeletal Sir Daniel Fortesque became a bona-fide PlayStation mascot when he starred in MediEvil. Its macabre malarkey brought the graveyard antics of Ghosts n' Goblins to a modern audience wowed by proto-3D visuals.

Tomb it may concern (sorry), the long dormant series finally returns – and what was originally a simple remaster is now billed as a 'grave-up' re-make, hanging modern bells and whistles off the original's bones. For better or worse, they've left the gameplay entirely intact – and in 2019, it's got stiffer competition.

Becoming a skeleton was when Sir Daniel Fortesque's life really began. Our unlikely hero, accidentally resurrected by Lord Zarok after a 100-year dirt nap, must take on his old nemesis and save the Kingdom of Gallowmere.

An endearing eejit, Dan gambols through graveyards, insane asylums, gothic castles and the like, battering the undead silly with a variety of weapons and body parts en route. Our gangly hero traipses around tombstones, picking up collectibles, solving rudimentary puzzles and opening locked doors in an arcade adventure that's simplistic and silly in a way that defined an era – but, like most games of the last century, it's a lot tougher than those cutesy visuals suggest, a factor compounded by stiff and awkward controls.

Its comedy-gothic visual style and soundtrack proudly wear their Nightmare Before Christmas influences and the original composers have returned for an updated score, while that once-dingy palette now sings in a vibrant HD world.

All those modern trappings, however, throw the creaky gameplay into sharp relief. As a nostalgia hit, MediEvil is pure and uncut, though perhaps too slavish to the source material for its own good. From the atmosphere and soundtrack right down to the old voice-actors, it's designed to roast the cockles of the original's fanbase.

Trouble is, its medieval mechanics also return, with a spiteful camera and a stuttering frame rate showing just how far the genre has come in the last 20 years.

Recent 90s do-overs such as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro have shown how the PlayStation One generation can be resurrected for the 21st century. The problem is, MediEvil wasn't really that great a game in the first place, and any value eked from this back-from-the-dead remake depends on how warmly you remember those old school PlayStation romps.

Still, at just 25 bones, it's a pocket and family-friendly retro treat perfect for Halloween night.