I'm getting a good feeling from these tentacles

The fifth element of the tentacle of the day is a classic Lucas Art Adventure game, reprinted in modern due to Double Thin – a studio created by the original game, Tim Schafer. It has proven worthwhile efforts: returning the source material to update the audio and visual effects of modern audiences while preserving writing and comedy, the 1993 game was so special.

The heroes of time

You play the unfortunate Bernard, the king of sandwiches and Ravin who is trying to stop evil purple tentacles from ruling the world. The three juvenile “heroes” have been scattered by Dr. Fred Edison’s time in the wrong time machine. You have to use this situation to solve the game’s obtuse-click adventure game, changing past events in the future by manipulating events and sending items.

A perfect example is at the beginning when Lavien trapped a cherry tree in the future. By getting oversized sandwiches with George Washington in the past, you can persuade the president to cut down the tree, which is still a sapling. This eliminates the tree presence, allowing Raven to escape.

A labor of love

What is so perfect about this re-release is the clear love of everyone involved. The visuals have been lovingly recreated from the original artist’s sketches– not the old game. Even the voice work has had the developer go back to the archive tapes to completely rework the voices and music as they were meant to be – rather than what the technology of 1993 demanded.

It is like this game doesn’t only feature time travel, it has also offered Tim Schafer the chance to travel back in time to create the game he originally imagined back in 1993 only with 2016 technology. And, if that process interests you, there is also a brilliant developer commentary.

A gaming time capsule

Yes, the menu-based point-and-click gameplay feels dated at points, but the writing is still sharp enough to slice of a tentacle. All of which makes Day of the Tentacle Remastered a must for both adventure game and comedy enthusiasts.