9 years later and I finally beat this game. A gem in every way. The setting is great. The characterizations are fantastic. The dialogue is incredibly clever. My first ever Tim Schafer game and I am very impressed.

Grim Fandango is what I would imagine getting if Pixar made a film noir back in their prime. It is brimming with personality and charm that I just haven’t experienced in a long time. The type of charm that I feel like can only be captured by a product of the time. I usually find this type of dialogue to be cringy but they really sell it here.

I feel like Grim Fandango is one of those essential games that everyone has to play if they value video games as an art medium. The top tier script writing and directing alongside the next-level art direction solidifies Grim Fandango as a genre-defining pioneer art house game.

While it excels in so much of what it sets out to do, Grim Fandango does feel like a product of its time and has aged in certain aspects. In a way, the game feels like a time capsule to game design philosophies that I consider to be primitive, and I use that word in the most respectful manner. This game is just near impossible without a guide and this type of game design has long evolved into becoming more accessible to players.

Since this is a remaster, I wish they put some effort into streamlining these convoluted and dated design choices to make the game more accessible in the modern gaming sphere. The remaster could have breathed new life into Grim Fandango to make it an ageless masterpiece but instead it remains as a dated and slightly-flawed gem.