grim fandango game review

Test: Grim Fandango Remastered

The announcement of a remastered edition of Grim Fandango did not fail to thrill the enthusiasts of adventure games from the LucasArts stables. It must be recognized that the history of the game, its universe, its humor, its puzzles and its soundtrack legitimately place this title, born from the crazy spirit of Tim Schafer, in the rank of essential work in its register. In addition to the promise of being able to finally re-run the game on PC without difficulty, Grim Fandango has also been remastered for the attention of PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. It remains to be seen in what form the feather duster was given.

A happily unchanged story

From the point of view of history, and fortunately, it remains identical to that told more than 15 years ago. You play as Manny Calavera, a travel agent from the world of the dead, responsible for selling travel arrangements to the eternal rest at the best prices. Unfortunately, poor Manny realizes that all the best customers, by that mean people who have had an exemplary life, pass under his nose and are recovered by his colleague and longtime rival. Far from being let down, Manny will update a conspiracy which will take him on a long journey in the afterlife.

The risk of remastering a game 15 years after its release without revising the substance would be that the purpose of the title has aged. Humor, like everything, does not systematically pass the test of the years but, rest assured immediately, this is not the case here. Grim Fandango remains today a real nugget of black humor. The comedy of situation as the dialogues remain as funny as at the time, proof of the general quality of the writing of the game, its main force.

The adventure itself has in no way lost its charm. We are quickly caught up in this original universe, its characters as crazy as they are endearing and we only want one thing once the first puzzles begin: to know the end of the story. On this point, those who have already made the original episode will be delighted to reconnect with the Land of the Dead, while the youngest should easily adhere to the tone of the game. Unsurprisingly, dubbing and soundtrack side, it is without fault. Whether you choose the full French version or the original version, the dubbing actors do a remarkable job, as do the multiple compositions that put Grim Fandango to music.

For those who ignore it, on the riddle side, Grim Fandango officiates in a rather coherent register. The difficulty is increasing but all the puzzles respond to a certain logic. Just keep in mind that, as the golden age of adventure game wanted, it is impossible to highlight the interactive elements to guide you on your adventure. Adventure which will take place over 4 years in game and which should largely occupy you for about twenty hours, which you will not see pass as the universe of the game is rich and immersive. In short, you understood, Grim Fandango is excellent today as it was at the time. It remains to gauge now the contributions of this remastered version.

PC / PS4 / PS Vita: Same fight?

One of the elements common to the PC and PS4 / PS Vita versions is to only offer an HD overhaul of the 3D models of the original game. The sets have not been completely revised, they just display a little more detail, which could hurt the retina of some players. We knew it for a while: redoing all the sets and therefore the game would have been particularly complicated so the choice fell on the moving elements. It is ultimately not so unpleasant as that even if it must be recognized that the difference between the version of the game from 1998 and that of today does not clearly stand out. This bias therefore implies for the player to play in 4: 3 format, a choice widely recommended if you want to keep correct proportions, the transition to 16: 9 having an annoying tendency to stretch the textures a little too much. The possibility of switching between original version and remastered version at the touch of a button is also part of it, but its interest is much more limited than in the days of Monkey Island Special Edition. However, the artistic direction and the coherence of the world of Grim Fandango catch up pretty well.

The other point of agreement between PC version and consoles is the welcome implementation of comments from the development team. Almost every table can be accompanied by the crisp anecdotes of the members responsible for the game, and it is a real delight to discover the behind the scenes through comments as informative as funny.

Finally fluid controls

Finally, if the aesthetic redesign is quite weak, the redesign of the controls finally brings correct handling to Grim Fandango, one of the few points that we could blame the original game. If it was easy to be disoriented due to Manny's control at the time, the introduction of character-related controls greatly facilitates movement when changing cameras. Thus, whether it is the PS or PS Vita version, the movements are fluid and if a few changes of angle of view are sometimes annoying, because a little too abrupt and not always justified, the progression takes place from a fluid and pleasant way.

If on consoles the interactive elements are indicated by the direction of Manny's gaze, a little find that works perfectly well, at the time as today, the PC version of Grim Fandango Remastered takes advantage of Point'n click mode, allowing you to manage movements and interactions with the mouse only. Once you get a taste of it, it's hard to do without it even if you won't let go of the keyboard permanently. Indeed, for solving a puzzle or moving Manny from one board to another, the mouse turns out to be a precious ally. However, progression within the same plan remains more practical on the keyboard. Nothing really annoying ultimately, and we can consider the main pitfall of the original game as erased.

So, is this Grim Fandango reissue perfect? Not entirely. Indeed, we could consider the work done on this dusting a little bit limited. In addition to the small graphical difference that can be criticized, this version could still have offered for example a redesign of the inventory. Indeed, you will always be forced to scroll through your objects one by one, which can be painful when you have a multitude of items in your pockets. Finally, we mentioned above, some camera angles prevent a good readability of the action, a defect already present in 1998. Nothing fundamentally dramatic in short.

Good points
Control of Manny finally intuitive whatever the platform
Funny and well thought out puzzles
Omnipresent black humor
Gallery of crazy and endearing characters
Impeccable dubbing and music
Rich, immersive and coherent universe
Excellent service life
Crisp developer comments

Negative points
A slightly too shy graphic overhaul
An inventory that would have benefited from being reworked
Some camera inaccuracies

The more grumpy will be able to estimate without being mistaken that this remastered edition of Grim Fandango is a little lazy. The inventory system keeps its heaviness, certain camera angles are annoying and the graphic overhaul stops at the union minimum. However, one easily accommodates these few faults. It would indeed be criminal to miss Grim Fandango, an adventure game that seems totally insensitive to the test of time and whose formidable universe, omnipresent humor and extraordinary soundtrack allow it to retain its status. essential after all these years. The oldest will be delighted to finally be able to run the title without difficulty on their machine, the others, who wish to discover one of the best macabre video game comedies, must rush to the game, on PC or on consoles.