I pride myself on being a platformer fan, but Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a game that actually slipped by me. I was more of a Nintendo 64 kid.
As a result, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What changes should I look for in a remaster? Perhaps to the credit of Argonaut Games, the answer looks like: not much, and that’s a good thing!
One of my biggest pet peeves with remasters is unnecessary changes and features at the expense of quality. I’ve played far too many remasters run on poorly optimized emulators with the excuse that they’re offering galleries, soundtracks, and other frills. If that’s what you want, more power to you, but I’m thrilled about just being able to play the game.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos manages to avoid this trap. The game runs smoothly and consistently, you even have the option to switch back and forth between modern textures and retro textures.
While I found the remastered textures a bit too smooth and blobby for my preference, it shows that Argonaut knows that empowering players to engage with their remaster on their own terms is the way to go.
Ultimately, this is probably one of the best executed “remasters” I’ve seen by virtue of the fact that it gives even new players a chance to try a beloved game and play it in a working state, instead of relying solely on nostalgia to try and market a product that can’t even maintain a consistent FPS.
As for the game itself, I was actually surprised given the game’s age at how well designed it is. Levels are small and focused on exploration, puzzle-solving, and ironically my least favorite gimmick in platforming: punishing impatience.
A favorite gimmick (at least in the first world) is breakable boxes that you need to climb to other platforms holding Gobbos or gems.
It’s only after you’ve broken it you realize you needed it to reach a higher ledge. But luckily part of the brilliant design in Croc is that the short stages mean you can easily go back and 100% the stage if you mess up.
These tightly designed levels keep the game from becoming too punishing if you mess up getting all six Gobbos on your first run through. Even when I went back to 100% a stage, it only took me about 50 minutes to clear the first world (including both bosses and secret stages).
Rumor is that Argonaut Games wants to bring more of their old classics to life. If you’re reading this, trust that there’s at least one person who’d like to play I-Ninja again.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos will be on Windows PC (via GOG), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
