Grim Fandango Remastered was one of my favourite experiences of 2015 – even if it was my second or third time experiencing the game. It was a great remaster of one of my favourite games of all time. The team at Double Fine have also been working on a remaster for Maniac Mansion II: Day of the Tentacle, simply entitled Day of the Tentacle Remastered. March 22, 2016 is when the game will be released on PC, PS4, and Vita. Along with the announcement of pre-orders going live from GOG, they also shared a video from Tim Schafer, outlining just what went into the remaster.
The 1993 point-and-click adventure game was a sequel to Maniac Mansion, a game designed by Ron Gilbert. Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman took the lead on the sequel, both of who can be heard on the commentary tracks included in the remastered version of the game, along with others. The commentary tracks alone should be interesting as Day of the Tentacle was Tim Schafer’s first game as a co-project lead. There should be plenty of interesting discussion on game design using the SCUMM engine and trying to make a funny video game (they’re hard to do, still!) in 1993.
Day of the Tentacle Remastered will also feature new hand-drawn animations and visuals, along with remastered audio and sound effects. When the game was originally released, it wasn’t just the writing that was praised but its art direction as well. The entire aesthetic of Day of the Tentacle is extremely memorable in its simplicity and nostalgia. Fans who want to relive the original game’s aesthetics will be able to do so just as they could in Grim Fandango Remastered.
Though GOG was the one to announce the release, Kotaku reached out to find that the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita versions of the game will also be released on March 22nd. It will be a cross-buy title, retailing at $14.99 with a 10% discount and a theme for pre-ordering.