As the name suggests, this modern single screen arcade game is intended to look and feel as if it came straight from 1985. It’s perhaps a bit more advanced than it lets on though, much to its credit. Amongst the highest grossing arcade machines of that year were Commando, Kung Fu Master and Karate Champ, and the pixel art and animation here exceeds those. If anything, I’d say that it’s 2022’s Donut Dodo that provides the most inspiration, as it sports similar colourful visuals, in addition to a score bonus for collecting items in order.
It’s also very likely that it’s aiming for a slice of that pie. Which would be pumpkin pie, in this case. Mr. Pumpkmans’ jack-o-lantern shop has been raided by a bunch of monsters, and now he’s out to reclaim his wares while giving said monsters a good hiding.
Six surprisingly different stages are on offer, five of which can be completed in any order before the final stage unlocks. This means you’ll need to finish all five on a single continue; a tall order unquestionably requiring practise. The idea is to collect every pumpkin while avoiding both the stage’s monster and their minion, although if you are able to defeat the monster – who requires three hits – you’ll gain a huge score bonus.
While only having two enemies to avoid may sound like a lax challenge, monsters each have unique patterns to learn, and in most cases can tear around the screen quickly. Any more than two would’ve perhaps made things feel unfair. As it is, the difficulty feels balanced.
Mr. Pumpkman is simply blessed with the ability to jump, with enemies instead harmed indirectly; the means of doing so varying from stage to stage. The first stage, intended to be the easiest, pits you against a vampire who can only be harmed by yanking on curtain pulls and hoping they’ll stroll into the daylight. There’s also a mine with an electrical grid to activate – which can harm our hero if you’re not careful – an Egyptian pyramid with falling blocks, a circus with spring-loaded boxing gloves, and bubbling cauldrons to tip onto a witch. A lot of these contraptions need careful timing, giving some reasoning to why defeating a monster is optional.
In addition to having their own attack patterns – such as the mummy able to fire bandages across the screen, and the witch whizzing around on her broom – stage designs wildly vary. The pyramid has doors and exits to use, along with a zipline. The circus stage is another highlight, featuring balloons to bounce on and a trapeze to swing across. It takes a little experimentation to figure out the safest path, seeing what you can get away with in the process. A few curveballs also feature, such as the clown’s minion being able to throw knifes.
The controls are responsive, with the only mildly finicky element being leaping off ladders to grab nearby lanterns. Everything is well drawn and smoothly animated, with a good use of colour to differentiate the stages. The bezel can be turned off, and there’s a single optional CRT filter. Expert and speed running modes unlock upon the first successful run, adding replay value. That’s in addition to trying to achieve a perfect run of all monsters beaten, all lanterns collected in order, and every stage completed in a time limit.
If you aren’t concerned with such herculean pursuits as a perfect run, Halloween 1985 only takes an hour or so to fumble your way through – it’s intended to mimic an ‘80s arcade game, after all – and proves to be a fun diversion. Together with a low price point, it’s an easy recommendation.
Spoonbox Studio’s Halloween 1985 is out 29th Oct on all formats. Published by eastasiasoft.