The story of a purple tentacle that is let loose and begins its tyranny over the human race is probably one of the most iconic adventure game stories ever. Where Maniac Mansion established Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick as prominent figures in adventure gaming history, Day of the Tentacle did the same with Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman. Day of the Tentacle Remastered reminds adventure game fans of how creative and funny the Maniac Mansion titles were, as well as why they have earned their place in video game history.
Schafer is a guy who has never shied away from making some weird stories in his games – Day of the Tentacle is a great place to see just how him and Grossman grew as writers. When Bernard accidentally sets free Purple Tentacle, he inadvertently lets a creature thirsty for world domination escape into the public with the ability to do massive amounts of harm. Sensing the inevitability of Purple Tentacle’s plans, Dr. Fred makes Bernard and his friends, Laverne and Hoagie, travel through the Chron-O-John (a time travelling porta-potty) to stop Purple Tentacle from enslaving the human race. Of course, things go horribly, horribly wrong and Hoagie ends up 200 years in the past, while Laverne is 200 years in the future.
This makes for one of Day of the Tentacle‘s most interesting mechanics: time-travel. At any time, you can switch between the three characters and traverse through Dr. Fred’s mansion in colonial times or in a world overrun by Tentacles. The world-building that happens with just a house to detail it all is stupendous. It also demonstrates the efficiency of the game and its inventory management.
There is only one house to explore in Day of the Tentacle. What makes the game stand out is that it allows the house to have three different sets of items. Slight spoilers for a puzzle, but one character could have a chart for making a Tentacle costume which would require sending it back in time to a character who can get it made. Then that item will appear in the future time period in its destined location. This does also come with its fair share of frustration. I could not count the many times I had to cycle through characters and their inventories, figure out what objective I could complete with said items, and then go from there. Unlike Grim Fandango where the puzzles are extremely obtuse though, Day of the Tentacle Remastered makes every puzzle fairly straightforward even if it has a slightly convoluted set up.
The way interaction happens in the Remastered version of the game is far more streamlined than the original release of the game. Taking away the SCUMM engine that helped create some of the best adventure games ever made helps push Day of the Tentacle into a more modern light. A radial wheel now appears when selecting an item, giving players the option to open, close, push, pull, look at, talk to, or use with another item. Of course, this is contextual and dependent on what kind of item it is, but some of the humor is in selecting something like a rope and being given the option to “open” it – an option that ultimately does nothing but is novel to see. If you’re unsure about what items are interactive in the environment, the updated version of the game allows players to highlight interactive objects with the touch of a button.
The game’s painstakingly detailed hand-drawn environments means that it has a lot going on in the background. Items that can be selected are still fairly easy to notice, but the vibrant colours and offbeat humor in the background means you’ll probably wish you could select everything just to get a comment out of your main characters. Day of the Tentacle Remastered is absolutely gorgeous. Sure, it’s 2D and hand-drawn, but it makes a case for why that is still aesthetically pleasing. A dedicated button allows players to experience the old game in its original glory, but I found myself loving the newer, streamlined version of the game. It still has some of the clunk of the original but when you compare the presentation, there really is no contest.
I found myself absolutely in love with Day of the Tentacle Remastered. It retains the charm and wit of the original game, while managing to slightly modernize it. It still has its minor problems though. The inventory is still a bit clunky to manage but not enough to aggravate. The biggest issue, which is still a small one in the grand scheme of things, is the game’s constant hitching when scenes transition. Sometimes I’d enter a room and the game would freeze for a bit, or there would be awkward silence while a character completes its animation before talking. The latter isn’t that annoying, but everything together amounts to some headaches. I even found the manual saving and loading to take an awfully long time.
Day of the Tentacle Remastered still holds up though, and is even better than ever. I don’t think it will turn many people who weren’t already fans of the LucasArts adventure game, but it will reaffirm that they were one of the best at what they did. Their influence can still be felt in the games industry. The Maniac Mansion series pretty much established that humor was not only allowed in games, but could be well done if the right restrictions in the medium are noticed. The time travel mechanics of Day of the Tentacle help it set itself apart from the rest of the pack, which makes it worth just a look if you want to see something interesting in a genre that tends to rely on its writing exclusively. Take a listen to the developer’s commentary included in the game if you want to truly understand what went into making one of the best adventure games.
A PS4 code was provided by Double Fine Productions for the purpose of this review.