Table of Contents
Game: Pumpkin Jack
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch
Genre: 3D Platformer
Developer: Nicolas Meyssonnier
Publisher: Headup Games
Reviewed on PS4
Pumpkin Jack is a fun game with great platforming featuring an amazing art-style with a Halloween Aesthetic. My favourite thing about Pumpkin Jack was its concept and art direction; however, there are a few issues in Pumpkin Jack, such as frame rate issues; for example, every time you save the game, it lags a lot during autosaves it makes the parkour a bit hard and sometimes you might accidentally fall from a platform due to this issue, but sadly that is not the only thing I disliked about Pumpkin Jack another thing that I despised was that every weapon felt the same and I think there should have been a heavy attack option because most of the time it just feels like Button Smashing, but the things I disliked do not just stop there Pumpkin Jack does not feature any difficulty options, and it is not challenging at all for anyone who’s not new to platformers. I’m gonna talk in detail about the issues I had with the combat system first.
Combat System
The combat system remains the same because all weapons play the same. There is no special abilities or anything; it’s just different animations; some weapons do have a higher reach, though, but that’s the only difference I was able to notice. Pumpkin Jack’s combat is just button mashing, jumping dodging and more button mashing. The amount of weapons in Pumpkin Jack is 6; you get a new one every level, but it sadly does not make a big difference. I think there should have been different types of attacks and multiple attacks using a different button, not just the same button-mashing thing. I also couldn’t help but notice how there was no lore to the talking sword basically, you get it, and the game makes you think that the sword is essential to the story for once, but it is not important at all like there’s just no use for it in the next level cause you just keep getting weapons I think they should have done more “Story-telling” related to that sword however it’s just my opinion it doesn’t make a huge difference though it was just something I noticed.
Level Design and Art Style
I think this is the part where Pumpkin Jack truly redeems itself; the Art Style is gorgeous that Halloween aesthetic is basically perfection; I might even end up replaying this game every Halloween just because of the vibe I get from the art-style the aesthetic also changes every level, for example, the last level has a Christmas type aesthetic. So let’s talk about Level Design now. Pumpkin Jack gives you a lot of space in levels most of the time, and I liked it. I also loved the puzzles, which sometimes involved playing with physics or whack-a-mole type mini-games. The Platforming in Pumpkin Jack is well made, too, like it doesn’t force you to jump over large obstacles, and it remains fun while being challenging because of the enemies near the ledges and some moving ledges.
Story
The Story of Pumpkin Jack makes it way more entertaining than anything else it doesn’t take itself too seriously you play as Pumpkin Jack, the greatest trickster of all time you are given a quest by the devil, which is to kill the wizard, and you have to complete that quest with your companions which are talking owls and a talking crow. You also get to kill Santa in Pumpkin Jack. Your companion crow becomes a ranged weapon for you and makes the game way easier, so I barely used his help since I liked getting involved by myself. The Story isn’t anything special like it is forgettable, but it matches that “Halloween Vibe.” It’s great for an 8-hour long game.
Conclusion
So let’s dive into the conclusion. To convince you to buy Pumpkin Jack, all I need to say is that you get a talking sword, a talking owl and a talking crow as your companions. There are a total of 6 levels in Pumpkin Jack; just like I mentioned previously, every level has 21 collectibles which are fairly easy to find. Another great thing about Pumpkin Jack is the Boss Fights which were fun and challenging. So let’s talk about the bad things now, which include the frame rates; just like I mentioned previously, there are a lot of frame rate drops during saves and autosave, which might cause you to fall during platforming. The worst thing about Pumpkin Jack is the Combat System; it’s just spam a button until everything is dead; however, it’s passable for an 8-hour experience, but I still think a better Combat System could have improved the game massively. For a price of 29.99$, it is worth every penny, so buy it.
Pros
- Amazing Level Design
- Fun Platforming
- Astonishing Art-Style
Cons
- Bad Combat System
- Frame Rate Issues