Poltergeist – review

●●●○○

Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror is a cute puzzler game from developer Glitchy Pixel. Winners of the “Square Enix Latin America Game Contest 2012” with an early version of the game, the Colombian developer is back with a much updated experience. The concept of Poltergeist is simple: you are Henry B. Knight, the grumpy ghostly custodian of the mansion you once owned. Your job is to scare away the people invading your home, using an array of spectral abilities and powers.

The gameplay, while simple, is generally quite enjoyable. Each level is completed by scaring all of the characters out of the house, using a limited number of unique powers. Watching the last screaming pixel person flee feels satisfying, and the special characters and bosses add some variety. Unfortunately, a number of levels are frustratingly difficult, and the player has to solve them through trial and error. Worse still, after trudging through a number of levels like this, it begins to feel more than a little repetitive.

image01

Poltergeist’s character shines best through its distinctive style and humour. The mix of pixel art and 3D graphics is really interesting; seeing the house fitted with 80s boom boxes and scrunchy clad girls was a brilliant touch and the fact that the music changes to fit the mood of the level set is an impressive feature.

In contrast to the lively style of the rest of the game, the text based cutscenes feel dry and rarely draw you into its storyline or characters. While the idea of facing off against a master ghost hunting boss seems appealing, the two or three lines describing each character is never enough to really involve the player, and the static imagery in the cut scenes lacks the slapstick humour seen elsewhere in the game.

Where Poltergeist really stands out is with its distinctive pixel art and 3D style, coupled with the absurd humour and logic of the game. However, some poor gameplay decisions hold it back from being a really engaging experience. Puzzle lovers and pixel art addicts will get more than a few hours of enjoyable gameplay from Poltergeist and its nostalgic looks will entrance some players. Sadly, Poltergeist feels like a tribute to form over function, as it neglects its gameplay concepts in reverence to great style.

Poltergeist will be released on the 21/10/2014 on Steam, and is expected to hit PS Vita release later this year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *