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My rating: 9/10
Based on: one full playthrough

Full disclosure: I adored the original when it was first released back in 1998 and I still have its boxed copy on my shelf; sadly, the original refuses to run on any modern system.

Pros:

(+) compelling neo-noir journey full of savoury dark and/or absurd humour, neatly divided into four acts with a distinct feel, locations and NPCs
(+) alive with memorable characters, the main protagonist Manny Calavera and his demon sidekick Glottis serving as standouts
(+) Tim Schafer’s exquisite writing brought to life by a talented cast of voice actors
(+) wacky and often complex puzzles to figure out with absolutely no hand holding
(+) unparalleled art style and direction inspired by Aztec architecture and Mexican calaca figures, as beautiful today as it was back in the day
(+) improved, hi-res character models and new lighting preserve the original design and reanimate the walking corpses even better than before (can be switched to the original look at the press of a button)
(+) brand new, fully orchestrated smooth jazz soundtrack
(+) minimalistic, but masterful remaster with unobtrusive modern features that can be switched on and off at any moment (developers’ commentary, point-and-click mouse support, rebindable keyboard controls, analogue controller support, camera-relative movement, higher screen resolution support with aspect modes, in-game language selection)
(+) it’s alive! and runs with a surprising spring in its step for a corpse presumed dead after the husk of the once illustrious LucasArts game studio was gutted and left to rot

Cons:

(−) uneven acts with a ramp-up to the end of Year 2, but slowly fizzling out from then onwards
(−) the original clunky tank controls should have stayed dead and buried for good
(−) absolutely no hand holding (no hints, no journal nor check-lists, no nothing)
(−) no autosaves nor checkpoints (only manual saves)
(−) some of the more complex and multi-step puzzles may have you pulling your own hair
(−) frequent changes of camera angles and perspective can be confusing to the unaccustomed
(−) no true support for widescreen aspect ratios (the original 4:3 either stretched to 16:9 or letterboxed)

Check out my reviews of other Double Fine’s games:
Broken Age
Brütal Legend
Day of the Tentacle Remastered
Full Throttle Remastered
Psychonauts

My rating: 7/10
Based on: two full playthroughs, one each on normal and hard difficulty
Check out my other reviews

Pros:

(+) mature story with meaningful choices and often heart-breaking consequences in a brutal world full of greys with an interesting Norse-inspired mythology
(+) a sprawling and diverse cast of levellable characters, complete with their own backgrounds and story arcs, with occasional changes of the POV character between chapters
(+) challenging tactical combat with simple rules but complex strategic considerations and satisfying enough variety
(+) a constant struggle between progress, survival and the characters’ development with a palpable sense of urgency
(+) stunning old-cartoon-like art style (2D backgrounds with few animations)
(+) masterfully orchestrated music by Austin Wintory, the composer for the 2012 indie darling Journey
(+) oft-frustrating and emotionally draining but ultimately engaging and rewarding time sink for punishment gluttons, armchair generals, party micromanagers, completionists and lore enthusiasts
(+) amazing replay value
(+) overall a good introduction to a new IP with a lot of growth potential and quite an accomplishment for a three-person indie studio

Cons:

(−) progress can be tediously slow
(−) survival can be punishingly frustrating on higher difficulties
(−) changes of POV and story twists make it difficult to level up the characters with confidence and deliberation
(−) story twists and consequences of bad decisions can be devastating for the faint-hearted
(−) little to none voice acting (involves a lot of reading)
(−) serviceable writing at best sounding like a work of a non-native English speaker (and there’s a lot of text to read through)
(−) primarily mouse-controlled with little to none keyboard hotkeys support outside of combat
(−) occasional textual mistakes (not enough proof-reading?)

My rating: 8/10
Based on: one full playthrough
Check out my other reviews

Pros:

(+) a moving story
(+) a curious mix of visually beautiful set pieces with a dark fairy tale undercurrent (Fable in a Brothers Grimm's setting)
(+) an understated, but atmospheric soundtrack
(+) unique, immersive gameplay mechanics
(+) the puzzles are easy to figure out, but somewhat challenging to pull off
(+) just long enough to satisfy (a few hours needed to complete, doesn't overstay its welcome)

Cons:

(−) clunky controls (a controller's recommended, playing with a keyboard is possible, but awkward)
(−) occasionally frustrating mechanics
(−) sporadic graphical glitches and stuttering
(−) very linear (no real replay value)