It’s not often that players are given games inspired by specific holidays. It’s even less often that games like this not only do a great job at depicting the holiday but also offer fun and intriguing gameplay to keep you engaged. On paper, Pumpkin Jack is an automatic win when it comes to a holiday-centric title. Most games we play during the spookiest time of the year are straight-up horror, but this one does the spooky time differently. It gives players something more akin to what Disney or Nintendo would be doing if they were to create a game centered around the holiday. Bright colors, silly monsters, and a score that kept my ears hungry for more. Needles to say, I absolutely loved it!

Story

Our story is set around the titular character, Pumpkin Jack as he returns to earth to do the Devil’s bidding. He’s sent to track down and kill a wizard who is protecting the earth from the Devil’s army of the undead. You meet a few feathered friends along the way who will help you carve your path through the undead and some hilariously themed characters that will genuinely put a smile on your face. This is the ultimate Halloween tale.

I really enjoyed my time with each of the main cast of characters and even though just through dialogue, it was extremely easy to get a sense of their true selves and cast voices in my head. The story itself was a tale as old as time, only with a flip. Instead of a hero searching across the land to stop the villain, we have an anti-hero working as a mercenary for the villain who wants the hero dead. It does a lot to keep the story feeling unique. The ending is admittedly satisfying and leaves the door open for a sequel.

Gameplay

Pumpkin Jack is a game that offers a vast amount of gameplay within its six levels, never having a dull moment from start to finish. Combat is made up of an arsenal of different weapons that Jack will collect as he makes his way through each level and their ending boss. Each has its own attacks and fighting style that you’ll want to get accustomed to if you want to take out the baddies. There are melee weapons, guns, and even spectral powers. Fighting isn’t just boiled down to the weapons though. You’ll have to dodge and jump around your enemies in order to get the drop on them and take them out swiftly.

You’ll also meet a crow along the way who will also have your back. You can order the crow to attack enemies in almost a sniper-like type of way. It’s great for getting rid of the easier enemies so that you can focus on the harder ones afoot. There is a short cool-down to keep you from entirely wiping out the battlefield. As you play the game, your enemies will even start to shield themselves in order to make your use of the crow a little more creative as well.

Another area that the game continues its uniqueness in is its enemies. They all have their own attacks and extremely cool looks. I’m really pleased with just how many enemies there actually are. There’s the normal fodder like zombies or skeletons that attack head-on as well as some other really unique ones. Bats that vomit acid geysers at you, ghosts that only reveal themselves as they attack you, and Christmas trees that twirl towards you like a yule-tide spinning top. It’s just another awesome layer to Pumpkin Jack that keeps the gameplay fun from level to level.

Aside from the enemies laid out throughout the levels, each one has its own boss that ties everything up in a nice little bow. The patterns are pretty easy to spot once you get going but even when I figured it out, some of them still managed to get the better of me. Combat as a whole within Pumpkin Jack isn’t too demanding but the enemies can be really aggressive and actually pose a threat most of the time. It’s a game that would be appealing for both kids and adults by towing a solid middle-ground line.

Another major part of Pumpkin Jack’s core gameplay is its platforming. You can expect to do quite a bit of it but it doesn’t come in too heavy, making the environments move in an organic way. Jumping around the level’s obstacles is pretty simple and clean. You can double-jump, climb, and dash your way through them and while they're simple in their approach, they still do a great job at offering some difficulty.

Pumpkin Jack injects even more pumpkin spiceness into its gameplay by placing mini-games throughout its levels. Each one varies and while most have a similar approach, you can expect different mechanics to be added to make them feel completely different from one to another. For example, there’s one where you use Jack’s head to fight Santa Claus and another one where you use it in a whack-a-mole-inspired section. I enjoyed them for what they were as they gave a break from the core gameplay, but never felt like they were being forced down my throat.

Lastly, there are the collectibles. Each level has 20 crow skulls to find within it as well as one victrola that puts Jack into a dance routine. As you collect the crow skulls you can trade them with the traveling salesman whom you can find in a specific location within each level. The items he offers are strictly cosmetic and allow Jack to swap into them whenever you find the salesman. The outfits include a cowboy, detective, and samurai, just to name a few.

Visuals

Without a doubt in my mind, this is one of the most gorgeous games I’ve ever played. The color scheme and art style perfectly display what Halloween should look like. It’s just the thing you’d want to play during Halloween time to give you a break from the jumpscares. It made me feel like a kid again. It’s very dream-like in the way that it conveys its art style.

Audio

It’s so incredibly hard to deny just how fantastic the score is for this game. If the visuals perfectly depict how Halloween looks, then this is the epitome of what the holiday sounds like. Matching the visuals, it’s dream-like how beautiful some of these songs are. They were masterfully composed and I couldn’t get enough of them.

Replayability

If you haven’t already guessed, this is the perfect game to play every year around Halloween. The game isn’t too long as I beat it at around the 5-hour mark but that did include me doing a bit of hunting for collectibles. I’d say a completionist could beat this in 6 hours, easy. Even with how short the game may sound, it doesn’t feel that way. It took me a full week to beat as I took my time with it, playing in 30-minute increments here and there. I wanted to really marinate in its characters, music, and atmosphere so stretching the gameplay felt perfect to me. I will definitely be revisiting this in six months when Halloween rolls around yet again.

What It Could Have Done Better

I don’t have much to complain about when it comes to this title. I think that my only real gripe is that the platforming does take some getting used to at first. Jack jumps in a way that’s kind of floaty. It takes some getting used to in order to land precisely but once you find your groove it gets more comfortable.

Verdict

When I jumped into Pumpkin Jack, I was actually pretty impressed by just how many layers the game has. It’s very reminiscent of something I would’ve played as a kid on the PS2. It’s refreshing to play something new that feels oddly and satisfyingly nostalgic. That’s part of the magic that this title delivers on. I can only hope that the game’s developer, Nicolas Meyssonnier continues on with his perfect execution in future projects. If you’re a lover of Halloween and solid video games, you owe it to yourself to give Pumpkin Jack a try. This is Halloween, and it can be enjoyed all year long.