I never want to take my job for granted. What do you mean I get money for writing about and playing video games? Younger me would be beside himself.
An interesting part of being in games media, and more specifically being a critic, is that you often play games you wouldn’t have otherwise. Exploring franchises or genres you wouldn’t normally consider playing leads to some interesting discoveries.
I had never properly played MediEvil; I remember trying a demo way back when, but it’s just never really been on my radar.
Fast forward to 2019, and I’m assigned the review for the MediEvil PS4 remake. Not just that, though — I’m to write guides for it too.
I was very happy to do this because it meant I’d finally get to dive into the silly and spooky world of Gallowmere.
This is a series near and dear to PlayStation die-hards, and after playing it I could understand why. Sir Daniel Fortesque is an endearingly hapless, clumsy character, far from your typical hero. It’s pretty difficult to dislike him.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t that keen on the game itself.
To my understanding, MediEvil’s remake is a faithful one, presenting the beloved PS1 classic very closely, albeit with great new visuals. The trouble is I didn’t really enjoy exploring each stage too much because the camera felt like a constant battle, and the combat was a bit too slapdash for me.
It definitely felt like the developer wanted to retain the feel of the original, warts and all, and if that’s the case then it did a fantastic job. I may not have liked everything about the game, but I’m still very glad I played through it.
What’s interesting about this platinum Trophy is that I only earned it because I was doing those guides I mentioned. I obviously rolled credits before writing the review, but my job wasn’t done at that point.
Putting together a group of guides for any game requires far more work. Games like MediEvil are fairly straightforward to do because of their level-based structure, but it still requires meticulously noting down details, taking countless screenshots, and writing instructions leading players to collectibles and so on.
If I’ve guided a game, odds are I’ve probably platinumed it — and that’s because you pretty much see and do everything during that process.
For MediEvil that means getting every weapon, finding every collectible, and completing each Lost Soul, a new optional string of mini quests for the remake.
I did all of that for the guides, of course, and ultimately I ended up with the platinum. It’s a pretty fun one, but I’m not sure I’d have it at all if I wasn’t playing the game for work.
If I’d bought it and played it like a regular person with a sensible job, my distaste for the game’s combat and other rough edges would’ve probably seen me stop before I’d even considered the Trophies.
It’s a strange set of circumstances, but as I said, it’s such an interesting place to be because I’m playing a lot of really varied stuff. Not all of it is going to land, and that’s fine.
Cheers, MediEvil.
Do you have the platinum Trophy for MediEvil? Tell us in the comments section below.