Author: Shea Layton
There was a point in gaming history when many games didn’t take themselves too seriously. Instead of opting for top-tier graphics or inventive mechanics, there was a greater focus on creativity and humor within video gaming. When Zombies Ate My Neighbors came out, a fun co-op experience that was reverent to horror movies of yore was released to the world. Its sequel, Ghoul Patrol, was released a year later. A collection of the two games was released midway through last year. While there is certainly some fun to be had in reminiscing on what games were, the collection released in 2021 showed what limitations the genre had at the time and how far the medium has come.
Lucasfilm Classic Games: Zombies Ate My Neighbors & Ghoul Patrol
Developer: Dotemu
Publisher: Disney, Lucasfilm Games
Release Date: June 30, 2021
MSRP: $14.99
Before I delve into each game individually, let me talk about the package as a whole.
The game starts with modern load screens. The game selection is easy to swap between the two games at the title screen. The game runs well, without any technical hang-ups. The action never tanks the frame rates, and the controls remain largely the same.
This port features a museum mode where you can watch a developer interview for Zombies Ate My Neighbors describing the process of making it in the 90s, look at concept art, look at game manuals, or look at animations.
You can play either game as a single-player or couch co-op experience.
I personally had a few issues with how the game chose to map the commands. I was constantly getting confused, as they weren’t mapped as intuitively as I’d have liked. There is no way to remap the buttons (on the Switch version), meaning I was constantly mashing the wrong button and using precious items needed to survive. There are multiple languages available, giving it more accessibility.
Now let’s talk about each game individually.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
I have a lot more experience with this game. I have fond memories of going to a friend’s house, having a sleepover, and playing this game with him. We never beat the game because of its unruly difficulty. The difficulty hasn’t gotten any easier with age.
You control one of two children who is ridding neighborhoods of nightmarish creatures and rescuing men, women, children, and dogs. Each level is labyrinthine, forcing you to work through the levels saving neighbors with efficiency and haste. You pick up items that help you defeat the various enemies. The further you get into the game, the more challenging and varied the enemies become.
This port doesn’t do a great job signposting what each weapon does, requiring you to test out them on each enemy to see which are most effective on which enemies. The problem with this system is because of how difficult the game is; you want to keep every weapon and item until you need it. You can look up what each weapon does in the game manual hidden in the Museum in the start menu. I think if they had made that available in the menus while playing, it would have gone a long way for better accessibility.
The combat is frenetic and a lot of fun. The controls are responsive, which is needed for some precise moments in each level. The level of variability in each level and each monster means that you need to be fully engaged with what’s happening on the screen. Killing zombies, mummies, vampires, and werewolves feels as good now as it did 20+ years ago.
The music isn’t as memorable as I once thought it was. While some of the songs are entertaining for a brief period, hearing them recycled in later levels made them less entertaining over time.
Visually, the game still oozes personality. I love how you can be in a shopping mall fighting animated dolls in one level. The next, you are navigating a gothic castle trying to find cheerleaders before the werewolves eviscerate them. The character, neighbor, and enemy animations are carefully crafted, adding to the zany nature of the entire situation. The visuals are the strongest part of the game, giving a window into the culture of the 90s.
Overall, I think that it’s still a fun game that will undoubtedly cause moments of frustration. If you go into it with the idea that you most likely will never finish it and allow yourself to enjoy the experience, it will be worth your time.
Ghoul Patrol
LucasArts licensed out ghoul Patrol to the third-party developer, Motion Pixel.
I have far less experience with this game, as I didn’t get to play it until this collection was released. A few years ago, I learned that this was the sequel. I was excited to get my hands on it finally. So let me start with the positives.
The whimsical and bright art direction from the first game is gone in favor of a darker, more gothic tone to the levels. It is another product of the 90s, and that’s not bad. While I prefer the art style of the first, I enjoyed seeing many of the new enemies and how they interact with the darker levels.
Instead of using a grid map to let you know where the neighbors are, like the first game, Ghoul Patrol has text bubbles appear on screen in the direction of neighbors who shout at you to rescue them. I enjoyed that change because it added another layer that kept the game feeling fresh. In some ways, it was easier; in other ways, more complex.
I didn’t find much else that I enjoyed about this game.
The controls are not nearly as tight as the first game. When you stop holding a direction for your character to run, they will continue to run for half a second before stopping. They also introduced jump and slide commands which do nothing to enhance the gameplay.
The music is far less interesting in the first game, meaning that I was not entertained almost immediately.
There is a lot more happening on the screen, meaning that you may be overwhelmed when coming over from Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Neighbors’ text bubbles, constantly shifting furniture and backgrounds, enemies galore, and more make it so you feel as if you’re walking in an overwhelming carnival ride. I disliked the lack of stability.
The levels are much longer than the first game, and it was much easier to get lost. Pair that with slower character movement, which is what the developers went for in Zombies, and it takes far too long to make any progress.
My biggest gripe with this game is that all of the humor from the first game seems to be forgotten. That’s what made Zombies so unique; it never took itself too seriously. This game wants to be taken more seriously, and as a result, it’s infinitely less fun to play.
Verdict: While I believe that Ghoul Patrol is unplayable, I think that Zombies Ate My Neighbors is worth a revisit. I think Zombies is emblematic of a time when game developers experimented a lot more in the mainstream and had fun with the process. If you like quick-paced action games, you will find that the small price tag is absolutely worth it.
Buy it
[This review is based on a retail build of the game purchased by the reviewer]