What it's about a skeleton travel agent in the afterlife
You play Manny Calavera, a skeleton who works as a travel agent in the Land of the Dead. His job is to sell the recently dead the best travel package they qualify for, for the journey to their final rest. Then something odd happens with one of his clients, and Manny ends up in a story that takes him far from his desk.
It's a graphic adventure, first released on PC in 1998 and brought back by Double Fine. There's no fighting. You walk around, talk to people, pick things up and work out where they go. The story is split into years, and each one takes place in a specific location.
How I got into it a kid's game I remembered one day
I played it on PC as a kid. One day I remembered it, found out there was a remastered version on the Switch and bought it for €3.24, when it normally costs €12.99. That was just the price I got it for.
It's just as I remembered it, with a few details I'd forgotten. When you leave Manny idle for a few seconds he lights a cigarette, indoors, and I was surprised to remember that as soon as I saw it.
I played about 6 hours and haven't finished it yet. It's actually a good game, made with care and love. My 6 is mostly nostalgia, since it's not a crazy amazing game today.
How it looks original, cool and a bit antiquated
The art style is still very original and cool. Everybody is a skeleton in a sharp suit or a dress, in a world that mixes Day of the Dead imagery with film noir and art deco. The locations you go through are all novel and well designed, and I enjoyed every new place.
Apart from the music, the remaster didn't do much for the game. It feels a bit antiquated, but it's a 1998 game, mind you. You can toggle the render mode.
It plays in a 4:3 frame with pillarboxing, with art deco borders on the sides. They made an effort to make it pretty, but it can be a bit bothersome on a big screen. You can change the options to play wide, but that looks strange in handheld and even worse on the TV.
How it sounds jazz, folk and a live orchestra
The choice of music is really good, and it changes with where you are. There's film noir and jazz, South American and Mexican folk, and orchestral symphony pieces, and they suit the different parts of the adventure.
For the remaster, all the tracks were redone and recorded live, and you can hear it. It's the one thing the remaster really improved. It's a game to play with the sound up or with headphones on.
The story and the people great and fun
The characters are great, and the dialogue is well written. The story is original and really fun, and I won't spoil it. Even the small characters are worth stopping to talk to, and you'll spend a good part of the game chatting, which is a pleasure here.
After work: effort and challenge easy buttons, guessing puzzles
Effort is a 3. There are not many systems, and the buttons are easy to know. What's annoying is the camera-relative movement, and changing it to tank controls makes it even worse.
Challenge is a 4. It can get annoying, because sometimes it feels like you just have to keep trying things until something works, instead of relying on clues or observation. You're left on your own to guess what to do, and the hints aren't always explicit. After a week away you'll also have forgotten what you were trying.
Is it chill after work? When things go well, yes. When you're stuck, not so much.
A typical session is 30 to 60 minutes of puzzle-solving, and the best moment to stop is right after you solve a big puzzle chain or reach a milestone. Save by hand. There's no reliable autosave, only a checkpoint at the start of each year, so if you enter a new room, solve a puzzle and close the game, you lose that progress. You can save almost anywhere.
Docked vs handheld TV or in your hands, and my pick
I'd pick handheld. The game is in 4:3 with pillarboxing, which can be a bit bothersome on a big screen even with the art deco borders. The wide option looks strange in handheld and even worse on the TV.
What gets in the way the real annoyances
- It feels old, and you're left on your own to guess what to do.
- The camera-relative movement is annoying, and tank controls are worse.
- There's no reliable autosave, only a checkpoint at the start of each year.
- The 4:3 pillarboxing can bother you on a big screen.
On Switch 2 what changes and what it costs
I'm not aware of a dedicated Switch 2 Edition, so you play the Switch game through backward compatibility. It sells for €12.99 normally and does go on sale, so check your own eShop for the price in your country.
Verdict should you play it?
It's a good game, and I want that to be clear. The characters are great, the dialogue is well written, the story is really fun, and the places you go through are all novel and well designed. It's an original game that was made with care and love.
It's also gotten outdated. You're left on your own to guess what to do, the camera-relative movement is annoying, and it just feels old, with the remaster changing little beyond the live-recorded music. I gave it a 6, mostly for the nostalgia. For after work, it's relaxing while things flow and annoying once you're stuck, so I'd save it for an evening when you don't mind guessing. Play it in handheld, save by hand and keep a guide nearby.
