Then there’s a sea captain whose true love was a ship, a coroner who laments the death of people who got sprouted (being killed again in the afterlife by a flower gun), to name but a few. For example, there’s a small creature who always follows the light of his lantern without realizing he’s constantly running in circles on the bottom of the ocean. There are enough slapstick scenes and crazy ideas to keep the old LucasArts spirit alive, although the humor is usually of a much darker nature.ĭead tongues are heavier than broken speechĭialogues with NPCs are always a highlight, as they’re not only used as part of the puzzles, but they’re memorable enough to stay in the player’s mind long after the game is completed. At times the spoken lines are also quite poetic, as when Manny goes on stage in a club and the player can choose between different sentences to create a poem, highlighting the absurdity but also beauty of postmodern poetry.
This is mainly due to the excellent dialogue that strikes a fine balance between genuinely funny moments with a sad and melancholy undertone. But the way everything gels together is an indication of how timeless this game is.Įven if the world is populated by skeletons, demons and burning beavers (no kidding), it all feels very real. The world Tim Schafer created is still as compelling as when it was released, which is also why the mix of Mexican folklore, art deco design and silly humor in combination with drama is certainly not for everyone. The plot and presentation might be influenced by film noir with nods to Humphrey Bogart, and there are a few allusions to more contemporary movies such as Indiana Jones, but what the game offers is much more than referential cinematic storytelling. It probably started in poetry almost every great game does Unfortunate salesman(skeleton) Manny Calavera finds a suitable client whose fate of not having the right ticket to the afterlife throws him into a world of glamour, betrayal, revolution and redemption, only helped by his all-mechanical-things-loving demon friend Glottis. (USA 2015, developer/publisher: Double Fine Productions, So is Double Fine Productions’ Grim Fandango an improvement of Tim Schafer’s 1998 version? Remakes or remastered versions of classic games can both be a blessing and a curse with one alienating fans of the original and the other being too faithful without any originality.
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