Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection: Something, something Dark Souls
Title: Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4 (reviewed on), Xbox One, PC
Release Date: February 25, 2021 (Switch); June 1, 2021 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
When I had the chance to play Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection for the PS4, I had a minor panic attack.
I love platformers, but Ghosts ‘n Goblins holds a “special” place in my heart. The original game for the NES was the game in my childhood I was absolutely terrible at. For years, I had never even beaten the first stage. The version for Super Nintendo was so hard it became the first time I was ever able to convince my parents to let me sell a game. I made a compelling enough case by making them actually play it.)
So when I saw the Ghosts ‘n Goblins name thrown at me I was like, “Oh nooooooo!”
While Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection is just as hard as the original, it has some quality of life features added to help. Unlike the original game where you had a small amount of lives and zero continues, Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection lets you actually pick a difficulty. “Squire” is the lowest you can go where you “won’t miss out on the games secrets.”
Squire is where I spent my time as this game is brutal. Watching gameplay will possibly make you think this game isn’t that bad but when you have a fight like me versus this dragon here:
It may look like standard platforming but the biggest thing to remember is that Arthur moves with the speed and grace of a cow with no legs. Depending on your weapon, his attacks tend to be slow or have weird range and he’s absolutely in no rush to get anywhere.
One of the good parts about the easier modes however is that there are checkpoints. Often times I would find my near-death character diving towards the next checkpoint. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game where I was so excited to see one. Let’s just say, there’s a reason the phrase “the Dark Souls of platforming” is being used to death when describing this game.
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Graphically, the game is middle of the road. It sort of reminds me of Rayman Legends in the way everything looks like moving art — except for the fact that the environment is really lifeless and moves stiffly. To be honest, despite the fact this game is running on the RE2 Engine, I thought it looked like an old Newgrounds Flash game.
The music is remarkably repetitive. I get that the Ghosts ‘n Goblins main track is iconic but I found myself sarcastically singing it after it started over with my character for the 40th time in a stage.
On the plus side, this is also exactly what people who want a Ghosts ‘n Goblins game actually wants. I just, admittedly, haven’t met those people before.
5. I’ve played many difficult platformers in my time but this isn’t the way to go about. Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection does everything you’d expect out of a game from this famous franchise but painful controls and lifeless graphics make me question why something as advanced as the RE2 Engine needed to be busted out when this game looks like it was done completely in Flash.. Capcom. . Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection
A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.