A sentient, flaming pumpkin doing the will of the devil sounds a bit more menacing than Pumpkin Jack, a cute 3D action game of Halloween mayhem, turns out to be.
As the Pumpkin Lord (no copyright infringement here, no sir), you’ll fight your way across an array of gloomy countrysides, knocking out skeletons and other monstrous beasts. Do reanimated skeletons not serve the devil? Are they good? Do necromancers not get along with the devil? The politics of this place are confusing me. Still, you get a bunch of neat tools, like swords, scythes, and guns, to beat your enemies, so you shouldn’t be bothered by other creatures for too long.
Having gotten my hands on it at PAX East, I got a feel for the busy combat system, which often pits you against several enemies at once. It keeps you on your toes as you dodge melee and ranged attacks, carefully using combos so that you don’t get thumped from behind. The different weapons had varied swings and timings, which offered a nice variety for different play styles.
The Halloween-styled locations and monsters gave it a lot of charm, feeling like a horror-themed Ratchet & Clank. You’d have to make dangerous leaps through flaming barns (that seemed unusually huge), cleave through persistent enemies, and do it all throughout a bouncy, playful world. It was a playful look at horror, and made for an enjoyable time I’m curious to see more of when the game releases.
Pumpkin Jack is currently in development, but in the meantime, you can add it to your Steam Wishlist.
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