Pumpkin Jack

This is an adventure with a 32-bit era vibe, something that we wish we had more often. Yes, it’s not perfect, but if you miss those games from a simpler time, Pumpkin Jack is a good option.

Pumpkin Jack is an absolute triumph. For a debut title, it’s remarkably confident in its vision, delivering a delightfully spooky experience that feels very familiar to MediEvil without outright copying it; in fact, with MediEvil's controls feeling distinctly dated by 2020 standards, we’d go so far as to say Pumpkin Jack is superior. The controls are slick with satisfying combat mechanics, and while the platforming can occasionally feel a bit frustrating, it’s mostly very well done. Visuals in handheld mode can look a little grotty, so we’d recommend playing on the TV if you can, and make sure you crank up that camera sensitivity. Fear not though, folks; Halloween is well and truly alive in 2020 thanks to Pumpkin Jack.

Pumpkin Jack is a game that has pleasantly surprised me. It's short, but great. It has a good level design, an excellent soundtrack, a simple but fun combat system ... And the story also has a very good script,, very funny, with interesting plot twists and curious characters. Few bad things can be said about Pumpkin Jack.

There are a lot of things it does right — from the boo-tiful visuals to the haunting music, to the mostly-fun gameplay. It could use a bit more work in its jumping mechanic, and there are some segments that go on longer than they should. But I had a hell of a good time overall and Pumpkin Jack is much more treat than trick.

Pumpkin Jack is great for what it is: an atmospheric Halloween romp with some fun platforming moments paired with familiar frustrations.

Pumpkin Jack is only a few hours long, but it feels very complete. It lasts exactly as long as it should without ever really getting repetitive. Combat can start to feel a little ridiculous towards the end as it throws huge amounts of enemies at you in a desperate attempt to provide a challenge against your evermore powerful weapons. But platforming and other gameplay elements keep things from getting stale. Pumpkin Jack is a surprisingly charming package that is worth playing through in this or any season.

Playing through Pumpkin Jack definitely took me back to the days of the original Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube and the plethora of action-adventure games like this that populated those consoles. What that means though is while Pumpkin Jack can be an enjoyable nostalgic trip at times, it also suffers from the same problems those games were guilty of back then namely their simplicity and uneven quality. Pumpkin Jack is charming and atmospheric, sure, but held back by the very games it’s trying to evoke.

Although dull platforming and a forgettable script hold it back, button-mashing action that feel fresh with each level, characters and bosses that would fit in any cartoon's Halloween special and a world that is filled with collectables to find and creepy things to see, proves that Pumpkin Jack has the foundation built for what could be an awesome Halloween franchise.