Remade on PS4, MediEvil impresses

This PS1 comeback brings a tear to our skulls

This isn’t the first time Sir Daniel Fortesque has risen from the dead, but it feels by far the most (black) magical. This ghoulish transfiguration of the PlayStation original gives a totally new vibrancy to the graveyard thrills we had to cut through with our man Dan back in 1998.

When evil Lord Zarok accidentally revives him, Sir Dan sets out on a quest to redeem himself by saving his kingdom, Gallowmere, from the necromancer’s legion of undead menaces. Your journey takes you through graveyards, cornfields, and even a ghost ship, and you’ll be hacking away at terrors with an armory of big and fun weapons, trying not to return to your own resting place as you go.

On its original release MediEvil was a pioneer of explorative hack-and-slash gameplay sprinkled with devious puzzles, taking something you’d usually associate with a 2D experience and making it click into place and feel right in the third dimension.

GONE FOR A BURTON

But what the original game had most of all was charm, in spades. It was a dark world of nightmares, but a warm one in a quirky way that recalled Tim Burton and Monty Python. Dan’s fellow deceased in the Hall Of Heroes all had character; the fairies were Bob Hoskin-esque cockneys; and there were even sassy gargoyles. It was a game with personality, which is why it has fans even to this day.

This PS4 revival looks like it’ll capture that charm perfectly. It’s a necromantic miracle, but MediEvil lives once again.

Take a look at the MediEvil trailer yourself over at bit.ly/medievilps4.

MEDIEVIL WAS A PIONEER OF EXPLORATIVE HACK-AND-SLASH GAMEPLAY.