Ghosts n’ Goblins Resurrection Review

When I was told I would be reviewing Ghosts n’ Goblins Resurrection, the information flew right over my head. Up until then, I was completely unfamiliar with the franchise… and its punishing reputation. I was told about how challenging they were and after some research, I came away with an appreciation of their cult status. So, after putting in several hours with the latest adventure in the Ghosts n’ Goblins (n’ Ghouls) franchise, I’m here to say definitively that if you already like this franchise, you’ll like this game. However, if you are coming in blind, this one probably isn’t for you.

As far as I can tell, this is a classic Ghosts n’ Goblins game. Almost every aspect of Resurrection is corollary to some element of the existing games in the franchise. Sometimes the game is better for it, other times, not so much. For now, let’s focus on the elements that I liked. The story is just fine. There isn’t really much to talk about either way. There is a princess, and you rescue her. This is classic video game stuff, and it has roots in the series’ older entries it serves its exact function. There is some room where Capcom could update this game with a less trite story, but it isn’t really necessary. On the subject of new additions, I found the art style to be delightful. There were several points throughout this brutally difficult game where the curiosity to see what delightful sprites lurked around the corner was the only thing keeping me going. The music and presentation were fun and gave me the impression that the developers who worked on this game really care about this franchise. Throughout Resurrection, I never felt like things were thrown together haphazardly or without intention.

It is my opinion that Resurrection faithfully adheres to the style of Ghosts n’ Goblins gameplay. There is a recent trend in video games for them to become harder. Though I imagine that this portion of my review will be met with some derision from die-hard fans of this franchise, I think the game is all the worse for it. Recently designers have been looking to the past to find inspiration in older games. Many have found inspiration in the difficulty of older games. This is a quality that has been greatly romanticized recently and sometimes it really pays off. Games like Cuphead are known for being an homage to an older and far more difficult class of games. However, after playing Resurrection, I must admit that I sincerely hope no one looks to these games for inspiration. I love a good challenge but if your gameplay isn’t satisfying or fun, it’s not challenging, it’s a chore. The inaccessible nature of this game is in my opinion due to two problems. The unpredictability of enemies–which prevents players from making informed decisions during gameplay–and the absolutely glacial movement speed of the player character.

Before getting into a deeper criticism of the mechanics, I think it is worth noting that Resurrection is likely unplayable for someone with a significant cognitive or motor disability even on the easier difficulties. While this portion of the review is not necessarily a reflection of the game’s quality, and wont be reflected in my score, accesibility is nonetheless a factor not only in many people’s decisions regarding purchasing a video game, but also their daily lives. So, based on my experience, I think this game is likely pretty inacessible for someone with a motor or cognitive disability. This is for a couple reasons. For one, the game doesn’t allow for comprehensive control remapping. This simple inclusion can be a major boon to anyone with a disability. And, even though I personally had no issues with the control scheme, I have to say that I still found this game to be incredibly difficult. The developers have added a difficulty setting for this game which does expand the number of people who will find this game playable.

I think it is an unambiguously good thing that Capcom did this. However, even while playing on the squire difficulty, which is by no means the hardest setting, I had a lot of trouble with this game. And, Capcom has hidden part of the game behind the higher difficulties. So, if you are playing on Page, you won’t be able to experience the full game. I understand why Capcom did this. It forces players to play at a higher level and get the “full experience”. But it also means that certain players for whom the game was otherwise playable can’t complete the whole game. Ultimately this means that even my praise of this feature comes with the asterisk that if accessibility in the realm of motor or cognitive disability is a major concern, then this game is almost certainly one you should skip. To be clear, nothing in this section has affected how I have scored the game or my overall takeaways. However, accessibility is an important concern to a growing portion of the gaming community, so I felt my observations on this front merited inclusion.

Now I must be somewhat careful here. Part of why I have struggled to write this review is that I frankly didn’t know if critiquing certain aspects of Resurrection was fair game. From what I understand, the brutally difficult gameplay is ripped straight from the other games in the franchise. So, moving forward, I am going to present my opinions with the asterisk that if you already like Ghosts n’ Goblins, this part of the review probably isn’t for you. However, it is my opinion that this game is twice as frustrating as it is challenging. And even though it seems pedantic, I think that is an important distinction. Resurrection seems to mistake frustration for difficulty. The unpredictability and sluggish controls work in concert to create a very annoying experience. It is my opinion that this series derives its reputation from an inability to predict what is about to happen and an inability to react to what is happening. No matter what you do, once you make a move you feel locked in in a way that I’ve never felt in a 2D side scroller.

In a way, beating a level feels like playing a song on expert mode in Guitar Hero. Maybe some people can hack their way through on the first try but beating it is more a matter of memorization than improvisation. Also the sluggish and unsatisfying nature of the gameplay meant that while I was learning the patterns to beat a level, I wasn’t necessarily having a good time. It was a chore for me, and one which saw increasingly diminishing returns as far as my satisfaction. So much so that towards the end of my experience, playing this game felt akin to pushing a boulder up a hill only to have it crush me. Rather than relishing the challenge, I found myself longing for my frustrating nightmare to end.

Capcom has also added a skill tree to this game. By collecting “Umbral Bees” you can upgrade your abilities. This becomes useful if you can snatch the upgrades that allow you to carry more than one item at once. Eventually, you can carry up to three if you play your cards right. Some of these abilities saved my bacon on multiple occasions. Without them, the game would not be playable. Though even these abilities still function sluggishly and make it hard to play in a reactive way. Meaning that rather than granting me a reprieve from my crushing memorization-based nightmare, they functioned the same as every other ability. That is to say both very poorly, and very slowly. And if I were designing a dream skill tree for this game I would have focused on adding options like the ability to shoot in a diagonal line, minor movement speed upgrades, or improvements to the jump abilities.

The fact that Resurrection is so faithful to its predecessors overall has made it somewhat difficult to review. Even though this game probably succeeds in creating a loving homage to its predecessors, I don’t feel like time has been kind to those games. This game feels obtuse to play. It functions like a lot of older platformers in many respects, but your best-laid plans often won’t work in practice. This is fine when these moments are something the player can either account for in their planning stages or react to as an emergent gameplay experience, and some of my favorite gameplay moments ever come from the interaction between these two options. The gameplay systems Capcom has employed here seem designed to stop you from doing either. And even though some concessions were made in the design, such as the aforementioned difficulty options, what is left is a franchise recycling control schemes and mechanics that have perhaps never felt less accessible.

After spending a lot of time with Ghosts n’ Goblins Resurrection, I feel the same way about it as I do a remaster of a really old movie that just doesn’t hold up anymore. If you already love it, you’ll love this remaster/remake too. If you’ve never experienced this franchise before, or you are coming from a modern context, it feels like a relic of a bygone era. And ultimately rather than the simpler nature of its underlying components radiating a universal appeal, they come off as outdated.