All Hail The Pumpkin King
Here at COG Connected, we are counting down the days to the release of Pumpkin Jack – a pure hit of nostalgic goodness for those of us that grew up with the 3D platformers of old. With its release just days away, publisher Headup Games has given us a gorgeous new trailer to whet our appetite.
The launch trailer shows off Pumpkin Jack’s charming visuals, evoking the Halloween (or Christmas depending on your disposition) classic Nightmare Before Christmas, as well as the mascot games of the ps1/ps2 era such as Spyro or Jak and Daxter. The score to the trailer is reminiscent of Danny Elfman’s iconic work, and the earworm soundtrack will be available on GOG and Steam, as well as other platforms at release.
As the trailer shows, the Devil himself sends Jack to the Boredom Kingdom in order to aid the forces of evil in the fight against the good! The video shows off a number of weapons in Jack’s arsenal, including a scythe, spade, and firearm, with the full game containing even more delightfully devilish ways to dispatch your enemies. The trailer also highlights the divers gameplay, from the standard combat and exploration, to horse-riding and even a section where the player controls Jack’s disembodied pumpkin head!
Developer Nicholas Meyssonnier has been hard at work learning from classics and modern games alike to create something that feels like the games we remember, but built using Unreal Engine 4 with modern gamers in mind. Pumpkin Jack will feature fiendish puzzles, memorable companions, and each level will have a unique gameplay aspect, such as the aforementioned horse, or a runaway mine cart. Side-note; when is a runaway mine cart not awesome?
Meyssonnier has been very open about the development process behind his passion project, recently giving a commentary as part of Steam’s Autumn Festival. Anyone interested in being involved in the indie world should definitely check out his social media for a fascinating look at what it takes to make your own game. Pumpkin Jack will be released this Friday (Oct 23rd) on Steam, GOG, Epic, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch for a price of $29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99 on all platforms, with a 20% launch discount. A PS4 version will follow a few weeks later.
Which old-school platformers are your favourites? I’ll throw a shout-out for Croc! Sound off in the comments…