Disney had a big event last week that, Iāll be honest, I let wash over me. Announcements like Avatar games and Alien games that arenāt an Isolation sequel arenāt really for me. One thing they didnāt really cover, though, and which I wish they had done in a lot more detail, was the excellent news that classic platformer Gargoyles is getting a remaster.
Released in 1995 for the Genesis, Gargoyles was based on the animated series of the same name, and like a lot of other Disney games of the timeāAladdin and Lion King in particular, even though they were developed by different studiosāwas famous not just for its platforming action, but for just how beautiful it was.
Look at this. Just look at it!
Everything about this is Sega Genesis, mid-90s perfection. The way the backgrounds wrap around the player, the flickering of the torchlight, the scrolling on the train level, argh, itās all so good. And the animation! Itās simply stunning.
Anyway, enough of me getting all sentimental, you get the idea. This game was great, but also Gargoyles was never that popular, and so this licensed adaptation wasnāt either, and despite its similar pedigree it has never been as fondly recalled as, say, Aladdin.
Maybe that is about to change, though, because tucked away in Disneyās summary press release from last week is:
Gargoyles Remastered: The classic 90s platformer is coming to modern consoles and PC with updated visuals and controls in collaboration with Empty Clip Studios.
This is cool! Iām always wary of attempts to take classic games and give them āupdated visualsāādeath to upscaling filters especiallyāso hopefully there remains an option to play it as it was originally developed and conceived. Though to instantly contradict myself, the originalās controls and movement feel also sucked, so attempts to add āupdated controlsā wonāt be as controversial.
