Schlocktober '23: Pumpkin Jack is a generic spooky platformer that didn't do it for me.

SCHLOCKTOBER ’23: This month I am playing some games with horror elements and blogging about them to determine whether they’re nasty tricks or delectable treats.

I decided to start my 2023 Schlocktober horror marathon by finishing Pumpkin Jack a game I started last year in an aborted attempt to have a horror game filled October 2022. This means that I only really played the last 30 minutes of the game (I was closer to the end than I thought) for the Schlocktober but I remember the rest of the game well and there are a number of issues I want to talk about so it’s being included. You can’t stop me, you’re not my mother OR my mother’s ghost (I know that second one because my mother is alive.)

Pumpkin Jack is a 2020 game that’s firmly part of the indie 3D platformer mini boom, which has been a big part of the genre’s renaissance. Pumpkin Jack is not quite as prominent as games like Yooka-Laylee or A Hat in Time, but it’s also not quite as low budget looking or simplistic as some of the most obscure entries.

Instead Pumpkin Jack occupies something of a middle ground. It most resembles a remaster of a third tier PS2 3D platformer, like Tak and the Power of JuJu. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, since some of those third tier platformer could still be fun. Pumpkin Jack is also generally smoother playing and less janky than those games were. On the other hand Pumpkin Jack doesn’t have quite the production values or variety that those games did, which can leave the experience feeling a little empty.

The story of Pumpkin Jack is a very basic tale told with tongue firmly planted in cheek. A “good” wizard intends to take over the world and Pumpkin Jack, a departed spirit loved by the Devil, is sent out of hell to stop him. Honestly it’s kind of muddled nonsense, and that’s fine. 3D Platformers do not need some deep or meaningful story, and the framework works well enough to let your sassy crow companion deliver quips throughout the adventure.

The story also serves as a reason why Jack has to travel across various areas in pursuit of this wizard, and therein we get to one of the game’s major problems. Though there are some aesthetic differences between the levels but on the whole it all feels pretty samey. You’re going to see a lot of reused assets and textures throughout, and even the level design doesn’t feel very different. The areas are mostly linear (though there are a few more open mini-sandbox areas with multiple objectives to resolve) and involve a lot of hopping between islands and climbing towers to zipline off of. There are also plenty of enemies, and combat is a major focus of the game, with Jack collecting a number of weapons throughout his journey.

This is the second major problem the game has. The combat is kind of…bland. It’s not actively unpleasant, but it becomes tedious after awhile. Enemies have generally simple behavior and Jack’s attacks feel a little slow and loose. This can lead to the player taking a lot of damage, but that’s ameliorated by the fact that there are lots of breakable crates and barrels throughout the levels, most of which drop health (though some will catch on fire and set wooden parts of the geometry on fire too, which is irritating.) This makes combat a lot about chasing enemies down, flailing at them with a weapon until they die, and then hunting for health. It’s not quite as bad as that sounds, but it’s also not very satisfying. There are also some enemies who can only be killed by dispatching your crow companion, who acts like a magic spell, and others that spill out of monster generators that must be found and destroyed.

That’s also true of the platforming. Pumpkin Jack’s controls are fine, but they are pretty basic. Jack lacks a lot of the mobility options you’ll find even in early 3D platformers like Mario 64 or Spyro, opting instead for a more limited run and jump scheme. You’re never going to have to wall jump or swing on ropes to navigate the level. Instead it’s just about fighting, making some basic jumps, and moving on. There are a few wrinkles, including a number of minigames (most of which involve detaching Jack’s head, which is also done in a few other areas where you explore as just his pumpkin noggin) and some areas where you have to push something into position while dodging enemy fire. There are also a couple minor set pieces like riding on a boat that is spinning underneath you, requiring you to keep jumping to avoid being dunked into the water and killed.

Playing Pumpkin Jack I was consistently unsure as to why I found it so unsatisfying. The game looks decent, controls well, is not particularly frustrating and doesn’t have any major flaws that I can point to. It fits the Halloween theme very well, though it’s not trying to be scary, and it clearly made an effort to change things up with minigames and at least some variety in level structure. There are some clear issues (such as Jack’s limited move set and the lack of precision in the combat) but nothing egregious. Yooka-Laylee arguably had more jank in it and I liked that game quite a bit.

I think what it comes down to is Pumpkin Jack’s lack of ambition. It feels unfair to call the game out on this because it was clearly a small team effort and they intelligently scoped out a game they could actually make and…made it. It feels like a remastered PS2 game because it works like a finished, mostly polished, product, without all the jank you get in a lot of 3D indie games below the highest level.

With the actual PS2 era games, where the development budget tended to be higher for a game like this, they would cover up mediocre mechanics with visual and level variety as well as voice acting, music, and cinematics. Pumpkin Jack makes a few efforts to use these, with some voiced and semi animated cut scenes between levels but obviously can’t match the bigger budget major studio efforts. It doesn’t have enough assets to fully differentiate the levels, which blend together too much (there are a few small indoors areas but you stay outside for almost the whole game.) There are the aforementioned minigames and a variety of bosses, as well as collectables in the form of crow skulls and gramophones, and there are even costumes you can purchase, which is…fine. The music is good and appropriately spooky, though there are only a few tracks.

It seems harsh to say this, but there’s really not a lot of reason to play Pumpkin Jack unless you really want a Halloween themed platformer. This is one of the reasons that I like retro games so much. Because they were professional products they tended to have the bells and whistles that le[t games from feeling monotonous. There’s nothing wrong with Pumpkin Jack but in the end a game needs more than “it works” to make it really worth playing. It’s an impressive product from such a small operation but it’s too bland to recommend. You won’t have a terrible time, just a forgettable one.

Schlocktober Rating: Generic Schlock

Pumpkin Jack feels like the dollar store house brand version of a mini pumpkin pie. It does a competent job of delivering sugar but it’s so bland that it really is just empty calories. What’s the point of a baked good that just delivers sugar and calories when you could get something with a bit more flavor? I’m not sure.