Evil Pumpkin: The Lost Halloween
- July 11, 2014
- Two Desperados
Get on Steam"Evil Pumpkin: The Lost Halloween" is a humorous adventure game where you help Lemuel Barnabas restore the lost Halloween celebration in the city of Dern. The game offers 10+ hours of gameplay across 6 chapters, with the choice between point-and-click and hidden-object game modes. Collect and use various objects, including Giztruments, to uncover the mystery behind the missing holiday.
Reviews
- The game features charming graphics and a spooky atmosphere that fits well with the Halloween theme.
- It offers a long gameplay experience with a variety of puzzles and hidden object scenes, making it engaging for players who enjoy challenges.
- The story is original and humorous, providing an interesting narrative that keeps players entertained.
- The gameplay is often frustrating due to illogical puzzles and a lack of clear instructions, leading to reliance on hints and walkthroughs.
- There are numerous bugs and glitches that can break the game, preventing players from progressing and causing significant annoyance.
- The hint system is slow and often unhelpful, making it difficult to navigate through the game without getting stuck.
- story21 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a young boy's quest to restore Halloween to his town, which has banned the holiday for years, after discovering a stolen book that reveals its true history. While the premise is engaging and features quirky characters, many players found the execution lacking due to poor mechanics, excessive backtracking, and an incomplete feeling in the narrative. Overall, the story is seen as original and fun, but it struggles to maintain momentum due to gameplay issues.
“The story follows a little boy on a journey to find out why his town is the only place in the world without Halloween.”
“Interesting story: a young boy tries to bring back Halloween in a town that has banned it for years, with lots of quirky characters and creatures along the curious journey.”
“The story is original and interesting, too.”
“The story really loses steam and there is a ton of backtracking.”
“Interesting idea for a story that was very badly ruined by mechanics and jumps of logic that required the use of inventory items that were less ideal for a solution than others.”
“Well, while the story is nothing special but acceptable, the game dynamics made me quit playing this game.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game features traditional hidden object and puzzle-solving mechanics typical of the genre, but it suffers from inconsistencies and illogical design choices that detract from the experience. While it includes RPG elements and a hint system, these features do not significantly enhance gameplay, which is described as difficult yet uneven and frustrating. Overall, despite its appealing graphics and atmosphere, the gameplay is criticized for being chaotic and poorly executed.
“The gameplay of this game, and all other HOPA games, consists of you going through rooms, solving puzzles, collecting items, and, most importantly, looking for hidden objects.”
“Yeah, did I mention that this game has difficulties, a hint system, and even RPG mechanics?”
“Gameplay: difficult, very difficult in places, but not impossible as some of the negative reviews claim.”
“However, the gameplay is just bad.”
“Leave normal reasoning and logic at the door since having both will only deter your gameplay.”
“And, while the graphics and atmosphere are charming, the gameplay is all over the place - it's a mess.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally praised for their charm and beauty, often described as cartoonish and reminiscent of Tim Burton's style, enhancing the game's atmosphere. While the visuals and music are well-received, some users note inconsistencies in animation quality and voice acting, suggesting a mixed overall presentation. Despite these flaws, the graphics contribute positively to the experience, particularly for fans of the holiday theme.
“Beautiful visuals, good music, and charming puzzles and setting.”
“I love the graphics, almost like a cartoonish version of Tim Burton.”
“The artwork is pretty cool and I really enjoyed the puzzles.”
“And, while the graphics and atmosphere are charming, the gameplay is all over the place - it's a mess.”
“I do recommend this game but only if you really like Halloween, have lots of patience with puzzles, don't mind mixed quality graphics and sound, and can purchase the game for 5 dollars or less.”
“The graphics are neat, as is the story.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, contributing to the atmosphere with beautiful visuals and charming puzzles, though some users noted issues with repetitiveness and generic themes. While the overall presentation is good, including nice graphics, the music can sometimes feel limited or overshadowed by other design flaws.
“The presentation is good, with nice graphics and music, along with tolerable voice acting and limited animation.”
“Beautiful visuals, good music, and charming puzzles and setting.”
“The puzzle variety includes music, sliders, logic, recipe, and picture puzzles.”
“Not only that, but most HOPA games seem to take place in a spooky mansion with eerie music and other generic creepy themes.”
“This game suffered from translation issues, poor design, and repetitive background music.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of "Evil Pumpkin: The Lost Halloween" is characterized by a spooky, Halloween-themed charm that enhances the game's appeal, despite its reliance on still images and a somewhat chaotic gameplay experience. While the graphics contribute to the overall ambiance, the focus on puzzles and point-and-click mechanics may detract from the immersive quality for some players.
“This game seems to focus more on puzzles and point-and-click than hidden objects, and the atmosphere is perfect for Halloween.”
“Thus, Evil Pumpkin: The Lost Halloween also falls in the category of still images, spooky atmosphere, and a few puzzles.”
“"Spooky" atmosphere (cheesy, but fun for the spirit of things)”
“Thus, Evil Pumpkin: The Lost Halloween also falls into the category of still images, spooky atmosphere, and a few puzzles.”
“While the graphics and atmosphere are charming, the gameplay is all over the place - it's a mess.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting persistent bugs and frustrating puzzles that detract from the overall experience. While it shows potential, many players express disappointment over the unresolved glitches and inconsistencies that hinder gameplay.
“It's annoying and buggy from the beginning, but after some time, I encountered a bug I wasn't able to work around.”
“This isn't helped at all by the game's terrible puzzles, which range from annoying to buggy.”
“But be forewarned about the eventual problematic puzzles and game glitches that will have you spinning around and feeling resentful that a game this good for much of its run doesn't have the last several wrinkles ironed out.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its illogical and absurd elements, which contribute to a comedic and dramatic narrative that many players find entertaining.
“Absolutely illogical and utterly absurd, but rather funny too.”
“The story is very funny and dramatic.”
