In a new comparison video posted by PlayStation showing extended runs of both the 1998 original MediEvil and the 2019 remake, it seems that in 21 years MediEvil has certainly "glowed up," but it hasn't changed in a bunch of other meaningful ways. The remake's visuals are eye candy to anyone with an appreciation for its misty, colorfully gothic atmosphere, and yet level design, gameplay, and mechanics appear almost virtually unchanged. And according to producer, Nick Accordino, that was entirely intentional.
"We want it to be the game you remember, just with modern sensibilities," says Accordino. "The goal here is that, if you had a strategy guide for the original PS1 game and you sat it down next to you, you could use it for the PS4 version. That's how 1:1 we wanted it." Watching some of the transitions from the 1998 version to 2019, it's clear the studio succeeded in bringing MediEvil into 2019 as faithfully as humanly possible.
In my time with the demo, it truly felt like playing a game on the original PlayStation, even though I was looking at a game clearly from the present day. Swinging weapons felt noticeably "loose," without the weight of impact more common in modern games, and indeed, Accordino says this was another deliberate design choice by the studio to make MediEvil in 2019 "feel" the same as it did in 1998. As someone who hadn't played the original MediEvil, the slippery feel of combat was admittedly jarring, but I got used to it eventually. Whether or not you'll feel the same entirely depends on preference.
I was also surprised by how short the MediEvil demo is - I took my time and still hit the end in less than 20 minutes. For that reason, the 30-plus minute gameplay comparison video is as good a gauge as any to help you decide whether you'll vibe with the 2019 MediEvil remake.
Prefer to describe graphics in games in bits? Check out the best retro game consoles to play in 2019.
