In 1997, between Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, which dominated the platform game genre on PS1, a small orphaned crocodile managed to make a place for himself. This croc is Croc.
Developed by Argonaut Games, Croc was an immediate success, even receiving a sequel, Croc 2, in 1999, also on PlayStation. Its cute and endearing side allowed it to attract many players. The games were also of high quality, with a very convincing platforming aspect.
In August 2024, 20 years after its closure, Argonaut Games announced its resurrection, with its first project, a remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos on PC and consoles. Expected for late 2024, the title was finally delayed to 2025, then to April 2nd. A few days after its release, what can we say about this remaster? Is it worth the detour? Let's take stock right away.
Yes, for the nostalgic side
How can you not feel nostalgic from the first seconds the game starts? Obviously, this is one of the game's strong points, for players, young and old, who discovered Croc: Legend of the Gobbos in 1997.
The artistic direction, the levels, the music, the little croc's movements, everything is there to immerse us in our memories, even the cutscenes, which have obviously aged well, but which give us a little undisguised pleasure with a smile on the corners of our lips during the first minutes of play.
No, for the gameplay which is no longer relevant at all
Unfortunately, this reissue of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is indeed a remaster and not a remake. So, both visually and in terms of gameplay, we shouldn't expect a revolution. And, on the gameplay side, it's clear that it plays a big role.
So, yes, it allows us to keep the nostalgia and rediscover that retro feel. On the other hand, it's still very frustrating. The jumps are very random and imprecise. The crocodile's movement is very approximate, with a Croc that often slides. And the enemies' hit-boxes are very poorly managed. All of this combined adds up to a lot, and it often makes the game frustrating.
While it's far from difficult, the game can quickly become demanding, as if you get hit just once, you lose all your diamonds. Thus, the slightest mistake will be fatal and will require you to restart the level. Additionally, extra lives are rare.
Yes, for the price/quality ratio
At €29.99, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos offers good value for money. We are entitled to a game with a good graphical facelift, allowing for smoother textures, without aliasing. In terms of lifespan, it will take around 7 hours of play to complete it and up to 8/10 hours of play to complete it 100% and achieve all the trophies/achievements.
In addition to that, you benefit from some additional advantages with the Crocpedia bonuses, which are a set of documents, sketches, information on the creation and the universe of the license, in addition to the soundtrack which is also accessible.
No, for the remaster side
Although the remaster is rather convincing, the problem lies mainly in the fact that for this kind of game, which will celebrate its 28th anniversary this year, a remaster is far too light. With this formula, the game is entitled to a simple graphical facelift with a higher resolution. The gameplay and the graphics engine remain the same. And, inevitably, it has aged very poorly.
Graphically, the game is cleaner, smoother, with no pixels and no aliasing (which makes it quite visually pleasing). On the other hand, the graphics engine hasn't changed, and the game remains quite poor. The levels are empty, it lacks life.
Gameplay-wise, it's the same. Although we have the right to modernized controls, the game's physics engine is problematic and we're left with an "old-school" game with quite a few precision issues. And silly mistakes are easy to make.
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