Doing two playthroughs of this made me realize how fast you can fly through the game if you know what you’re doing. I managed to shave three hours off my first run due to just by knowing where to go and what to do. The books placed in each level explain just enough to let you connect the dots on your own. Even without the help the books are worth reading on their own just to get a quick chuckle. There’s a notion that old games, outside of say point-and-click titles, put very little thought and care into their writing. While this may be true in most cases, it seems like people only consider good writing in games when it’s impactful or emotionally devastating. MediEvil’s script isn’t gonna move you to tears or anything, but the writing here is consistently great bolstered by wonderfully cheeky voice acting. Even the most inconsequential of lines can conjure a hearty chuckle.

The world of Gallowmere is strange, hostile, and delightfully schlocky. Never has a game been more ravaged by the Halloween spirit, any creature associated with the holiday appears in this game in some form. The levels are often very colorful and yet a gloominess dangles over all of them (perhaps the work of Zarok). MediEvil’s aesthetic is so strong it makes obstacles you’d pass over without thinking and gives them a sense of mystery. The giant bird claw you have to avoid in The Enchanted Earth is a good example, what does the rest of it look like? Only your imagination can answer that, because it never returns. Every stage is a labyrinth of unique enemies and secret items, yet after finishing every task you realize how small every level is. Backtracking ends up being fun just due to seeing how quickly you can return to the start of the stage and back, it’s always less time than you’d expect. All the levels are so vibrant and eclectic I decided to rank them worst to best.

A lot of media that resonates with me are sort of imperfect marvels, ones with obvious errors yet are so stringent in their vision that I can swallow whatever haphazard decisions come my way. For MediEvil that comes in the form of platforming. Sir Daniel is pretty stiff to control, which is manageable until you have to jump across water or bottomless pits. The Ghost Ship and the Pools of the Ancient Dead are the biggest offenders, where their entire levels are based around platforming over death pits. Luckily the penalty is just one health vial instead of outright death (the health system in this game is surprisingly forgiving), but it still feels like a cheap hit. Still, despite my frustrations, it doesn’t deter me from loving this game with all my heart. No game has ever been more dead set on being the ultimate Halloween game. Everything about this game’s world is so fully realized with something novel around every corner. Like your favorite house to hit up while trick-or-treating, it just keeps on giving, even if you might want to pawn off the circus peanuts to a sibling.