Grim Fandango Remastered (PC, 2015)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-6.5 Challenge-7 Story-8
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-7
+
Great voice acting (subtitles option) and dialogue overall (fairly in-depth dialogue trees, no parser option though)
Nice art direction (north american film noir+mexican folklore, heavily stylized early 3D, picasso-like cut & paste style for the land of the living segments, pretty good integration of CGI elements for background animations during gameplay (the difference is more noticeable in higher res and on a better screen though but it's comparable to FF7-8), nice water animations)
Save anywhere (4 slots, shows current location in text and a screenshot+date of save+which chapter/year you're on)
Interesting premise and setting (you're a travel salesman for newly deceased people selling tickets to the afterlife, you're stuck in a purgatory of sorts from which the dead journey towards their afterlife and the difficulty and length of this journey is different depending on how they lived their lives (and how rich they were or how much money they were buried with sometimes?))
Control config (KB or controller option)
Memorable characters (Manny, Glottis, Domino, Captain Velasco, Olivia, etc) and locations
Run button (can also double-click)
Can skip dialogue on a per sentence basis (not during a CGI cutscene though sadly)
Very good CGI cutscenes (skippable)
Some good humour (witty, puns, sarcastic, silly, bizarre)
Some decent puzzles (pigeon eggs, taking out naranja and faking his identity, taking your club out of business to get Glottis on the ship)
Remastered ver.: Full Throttle-style P&C interface (original played more like Resident Evil) w/ camera relative or tank controls toggle and arrows indicating screen exits, updated lighting+3D models (including their shadows) and higher color limit, updated sound quality and video quality, director's commentary mode
+/-
Latin american protagonist (he also smokes if left idle)
Can't intentionally do something dumb and get yourself killed
Some action/timing-based sequences (getting rid of the burning beaver-like creatures in the forest - decent though you have to start using the fire extinguisher well before they get near you or you auto-run to the adjacent area, jamming the elevator - OK, etc.)
Can't use items other than the scythe nor talk to people in the land of the living (you also only visit it once and very briefly)
The timed communist slogan shouting segment is pointless and the last part of it is confusing - there could've been a hint that it's skippable
Features child slave labour
One of the puzzles involves freezing and walking on a huge puke
No longer useful items stay in your inventory until the next year/chapter
Some gore (no blood though - in this world the living dead turn into flowers or get shriveled up)
-
One game breaking bug (see below)
Some control/interface issues (can't skip the walk/run animation after choosing to examine something interactive (quite a few zoomed out areas), can't choose to talk to or examine someone/something while holding an item - game assumes you want to use it and doesn't show the talk icon, can't move through doors while holding certain items since the game interprets it as you trying to use the item on the door - can suddenly use a ladder while carrying coffee in year 4, no tooltip/pop-up text when hovering over the icon interface after clicking on something interactive, inventory screen is a bit inefficient - can only see one item at a time and you have to examine an item just to get the name for it, active items are put back in the inventory when moving through doors, have to stand right next to something interactive for the examine hotkey to work - otherwise have to use the icon instead, fixed camera angles (see Resident Evil for example) - makes it harder to get a good overview of a room, can't double-click directly on something interactive to run up to it, some minor unskippable in-game cutscenes (walking out of elevators, Glottis moving in and out of his office, moving into the tattooist's place, moving into the outer half of the conveyor belt area underwater, etc.), slow movement at the outer part of the conveyor belt, no log/journal feature, no english translation text for the various spanish phrases and words (does translate the russian (?) tattooist's sentences!), sometimes unskippable lines of dialogue, can press hotkeys to interact with something right next to you but not press them and then the object/person you want to interact with (or for example press U and then an inventory object from a pop-up menu))
No hint system and no "highlight all points of interests" hotkey
Trial & error (game's overly picky about your positioning behind the greenhouse in the finale, getting the stockings used to trade for the gun in year 3, the betting stub puzzle is too vague (the tattooist doesn't react the first time you use the anchor note on him - instead Manny says "I don't think that would shed any light on things" - bug?, have to examine the cat statue twice to get the relevant info there, can't ask the guy at the ticket counter about the photo (the guy at the betting booth mentions the cat hats and what day that means but he isn't at the counter so it's easy to miss him entirely), the ladder near the keg in the VIP kitchen seems non-interactive when hovering over it, fairly easy to miss the can opener despite choosing examine right near it, too easy to miss the door thing in the message server room and be distracted by the fire extinguisher (and the valve on the door) instead - and if you didn't solve this part the first time around you have to do the whole thing with the balloons again, using the hole puncher on a card to then use it as a key for Domingo's message tube is too far fetched - there's a very subtle hint when the mechanic takes out his key but you can barely see it, other points of interest can also be missed (Manny turns his head in their general direction but it's not always enough), the tree pump puzzle is too vague - you don't really see it shaking more as you're getting close to solving it and Manny's comment when getting Glottis stuck spinning leads you to think that it was the wrong move), the tree maze puzzle would've been better if the sign had more of a constant metal detector noise which got more intense and higher pitched (along with the sign pointing more and more downwards) as you got closer to the right spot so that it was more immediately recognizable as a metal detector (the game actually does this for the other metal detector at the pier in year 2) - it should probably also have been a smaller signpost since a lot of bigger objects can't be moved which might lead you to dismiss it entirely)
Glottis is really annoying if you dismount the car on the tree maze screen (makes car sounds and shots "out of the way" over and over)
Some plot oddities ("I think this threat is something I should keep to myself", Manny falling for Meche feels pretty rushed (like there's some removed scene(s) between them between her escape and year 3), doesn't make sense that Celso didn't ask about his wife before you came to the Rubacava docks, somehow it took 15 mins between you talking briefly with your boss and Meche leaving near the beginning, underwater smoking)
No area map for Rubacava in the second year (fairly easy to miss the ticket counter)
The timing on Carla's metal detector puzzle is a bit too strict - you might drink the gold liquor and then dismiss it as not being the solution because the effect wore off quickly
No shootout/battle scene with the main bad guy in the finale (the last cutscene is cool but a face to face encounter would've been more satisfying)
Notes:
-Original is from 1998
Bugs:
-Can get completely stuck at the outer conveyor belt screen (unable to move or even access the main menu) - I think this is triggered by clicking on the inventory icon while holding onto it and swimming
-If you save right before the senile lamp guy underwater enters the screen he'll be over half way across it when you exit the menu
-When first talking to Meche, if you press Esc (to go into the main menu) then the first dialogue option disappears (not important to gameplay though)
-Can't click on lantern guy or Glottis to speak to them in a couple of rooms in year 3 (engine room, near the squid)
-If examining the signpost right after exiting a path in the tree maze, sometimes Manny will automatically enter the path you just exited
-Some animation glitches (sometimes when using Domino's mouthguard, sometimes when in Manny's casino)
-Can tell Chepito/lantern guy that you wish Glottis was alive even after you've found him again
Level Design-6.5 Frustration-8 Fun-6.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-7
+
Great voice acting (subtitles option) and dialogue overall (fairly in-depth dialogue trees, no parser option though)
Nice art direction (north american film noir+mexican folklore, heavily stylized early 3D, picasso-like cut & paste style for the land of the living segments, pretty good integration of CGI elements for background animations during gameplay (the difference is more noticeable in higher res and on a better screen though but it's comparable to FF7-8), nice water animations)
Save anywhere (4 slots, shows current location in text and a screenshot+date of save+which chapter/year you're on)
Interesting premise and setting (you're a travel salesman for newly deceased people selling tickets to the afterlife, you're stuck in a purgatory of sorts from which the dead journey towards their afterlife and the difficulty and length of this journey is different depending on how they lived their lives (and how rich they were or how much money they were buried with sometimes?))
Control config (KB or controller option)
Memorable characters (Manny, Glottis, Domino, Captain Velasco, Olivia, etc) and locations
Run button (can also double-click)
Can skip dialogue on a per sentence basis (not during a CGI cutscene though sadly)
Very good CGI cutscenes (skippable)
Some good humour (witty, puns, sarcastic, silly, bizarre)
Some decent puzzles (pigeon eggs, taking out naranja and faking his identity, taking your club out of business to get Glottis on the ship)
Remastered ver.: Full Throttle-style P&C interface (original played more like Resident Evil) w/ camera relative or tank controls toggle and arrows indicating screen exits, updated lighting+3D models (including their shadows) and higher color limit, updated sound quality and video quality, director's commentary mode
+/-
Latin american protagonist (he also smokes if left idle)
Can't intentionally do something dumb and get yourself killed
Some action/timing-based sequences (getting rid of the burning beaver-like creatures in the forest - decent though you have to start using the fire extinguisher well before they get near you or you auto-run to the adjacent area, jamming the elevator - OK, etc.)
Can't use items other than the scythe nor talk to people in the land of the living (you also only visit it once and very briefly)
The timed communist slogan shouting segment is pointless and the last part of it is confusing - there could've been a hint that it's skippable
Features child slave labour
One of the puzzles involves freezing and walking on a huge puke
No longer useful items stay in your inventory until the next year/chapter
Some gore (no blood though - in this world the living dead turn into flowers or get shriveled up)
-
One game breaking bug (see below)
Some control/interface issues (can't skip the walk/run animation after choosing to examine something interactive (quite a few zoomed out areas), can't choose to talk to or examine someone/something while holding an item - game assumes you want to use it and doesn't show the talk icon, can't move through doors while holding certain items since the game interprets it as you trying to use the item on the door - can suddenly use a ladder while carrying coffee in year 4, no tooltip/pop-up text when hovering over the icon interface after clicking on something interactive, inventory screen is a bit inefficient - can only see one item at a time and you have to examine an item just to get the name for it, active items are put back in the inventory when moving through doors, have to stand right next to something interactive for the examine hotkey to work - otherwise have to use the icon instead, fixed camera angles (see Resident Evil for example) - makes it harder to get a good overview of a room, can't double-click directly on something interactive to run up to it, some minor unskippable in-game cutscenes (walking out of elevators, Glottis moving in and out of his office, moving into the tattooist's place, moving into the outer half of the conveyor belt area underwater, etc.), slow movement at the outer part of the conveyor belt, no log/journal feature, no english translation text for the various spanish phrases and words (does translate the russian (?) tattooist's sentences!), sometimes unskippable lines of dialogue, can press hotkeys to interact with something right next to you but not press them and then the object/person you want to interact with (or for example press U and then an inventory object from a pop-up menu))
No hint system and no "highlight all points of interests" hotkey
Trial & error (game's overly picky about your positioning behind the greenhouse in the finale, getting the stockings used to trade for the gun in year 3, the betting stub puzzle is too vague (the tattooist doesn't react the first time you use the anchor note on him - instead Manny says "I don't think that would shed any light on things" - bug?, have to examine the cat statue twice to get the relevant info there, can't ask the guy at the ticket counter about the photo (the guy at the betting booth mentions the cat hats and what day that means but he isn't at the counter so it's easy to miss him entirely), the ladder near the keg in the VIP kitchen seems non-interactive when hovering over it, fairly easy to miss the can opener despite choosing examine right near it, too easy to miss the door thing in the message server room and be distracted by the fire extinguisher (and the valve on the door) instead - and if you didn't solve this part the first time around you have to do the whole thing with the balloons again, using the hole puncher on a card to then use it as a key for Domingo's message tube is too far fetched - there's a very subtle hint when the mechanic takes out his key but you can barely see it, other points of interest can also be missed (Manny turns his head in their general direction but it's not always enough), the tree pump puzzle is too vague - you don't really see it shaking more as you're getting close to solving it and Manny's comment when getting Glottis stuck spinning leads you to think that it was the wrong move), the tree maze puzzle would've been better if the sign had more of a constant metal detector noise which got more intense and higher pitched (along with the sign pointing more and more downwards) as you got closer to the right spot so that it was more immediately recognizable as a metal detector (the game actually does this for the other metal detector at the pier in year 2) - it should probably also have been a smaller signpost since a lot of bigger objects can't be moved which might lead you to dismiss it entirely)
Glottis is really annoying if you dismount the car on the tree maze screen (makes car sounds and shots "out of the way" over and over)
Some plot oddities ("I think this threat is something I should keep to myself", Manny falling for Meche feels pretty rushed (like there's some removed scene(s) between them between her escape and year 3), doesn't make sense that Celso didn't ask about his wife before you came to the Rubacava docks, somehow it took 15 mins between you talking briefly with your boss and Meche leaving near the beginning, underwater smoking)
No area map for Rubacava in the second year (fairly easy to miss the ticket counter)
The timing on Carla's metal detector puzzle is a bit too strict - you might drink the gold liquor and then dismiss it as not being the solution because the effect wore off quickly
No shootout/battle scene with the main bad guy in the finale (the last cutscene is cool but a face to face encounter would've been more satisfying)
Notes:
-Original is from 1998
Bugs:
-Can get completely stuck at the outer conveyor belt screen (unable to move or even access the main menu) - I think this is triggered by clicking on the inventory icon while holding onto it and swimming
-If you save right before the senile lamp guy underwater enters the screen he'll be over half way across it when you exit the menu
-When first talking to Meche, if you press Esc (to go into the main menu) then the first dialogue option disappears (not important to gameplay though)
-Can't click on lantern guy or Glottis to speak to them in a couple of rooms in year 3 (engine room, near the squid)
-If examining the signpost right after exiting a path in the tree maze, sometimes Manny will automatically enter the path you just exited
-Some animation glitches (sometimes when using Domino's mouthguard, sometimes when in Manny's casino)
-Can tell Chepito/lantern guy that you wish Glottis was alive even after you've found him again