Medi Evil: Short Lived Demo: PS4 Review

Medi Evil: Short Lived Demo: PS4 Review

Format: PlayStation

A demo is supposed to entice, to tease what's ahead, show some of the mechanics of the game and, if it's a remake, wow you with what it's done.

Medi Evil's Short-Lived Demo does some of that admittedly, but it's a bit lacking on the wow factor, frankly.

For those unaware of the 1998 original game, MediEvil concentrates on you taking control of Sir Daniel Fortesque, a skeleton that wouldn't look out of place within Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.

Set in the kingdom of Gallomere, and with an evil sorcerer called Zarok returning, it's up to Sir Dan to save the day once again as zombies and magic runs amok.

MediEvil :Short Lived Demo is sad to say, just ok.

It cruises by on nostalgia during the first level it allows you play, hacking and slashing your way through the hordes and collecting various runes to unlock gates of the next area and so on. Honestly, it's very much like a more Tim Burton Gauntlet game than anything else.

Graphically the cut scenes are cartoony, yet perfunctory. They look polished, but little else to be frank. The combat is adequate enough and the movement of Sir Dan comical as it needs to be.

Yet the most irritating thing of Medi Evil: Short Lived Demo is the camera that grates as it gyrates around the screen on a simple twist and touch. It's as bad as Spyro was, and shows really that that may have cut it back in the late 90s but right now, it's close to irritating. IT could be fixed prior to release, but whether that will happen remains to be seen - however, it's the one thing holding the remaster back.

It'd be beneficial if Medi Evil's demo showed a little more, but the single level only shows the revamp and remaster has done little but spit and polish the game.

Ultimately, the proof will be in the final release - but right now, while MediEvil for PS4 looks like it should, it's yet to convince of its necessity.