Growing up in the 90s, the golden era of LucasArts point-and-click SCUMM adventure games was something special. Between The Secret of Monkey Island, Sam & Max Hit the Road, and Fate of Atlantis, I poured countless hours into solving bizarre inventory puzzles and laughing at ridiculous dialogue.
Right at the top of that pile was Day of the Tentacle (1993), the direct sequel to Maniac Mansion.
When Double Fine and Tim Schafer announced they were giving DOTT the full remaster treatment for PC and consoles, I was genuinely excited to see how it held up over twenty years later.
Time-Travel Puzzles and Toxic Sludge
The premise is as gloriously absurd as ever: Purple Tentacle drinks contaminated toxic sludge pouring from Dr. Fred Edison’s laboratory, grows a pair of mutant arms, and decides to take over the world.
To stop him, Bernard Bernoulli, Hoagie, and Laverne hop into Dr. Fred’s makeshift Chron-o-John time machines (essentially converted portaloos powered by imitation diamonds). Naturally, the machines malfunction and scatter the trio across three distinct time periods:
- Yesterday (200 years in the past): Hoagie hangs out with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin during the drafting of the Constitution.
- Today (the present day): Bernard works to buy a real two-million-dollar diamond to power the time machines.
- Tomorrow (200 years in the future): Laverne is trapped in a dystopian world ruled entirely by sentient mutant tentacles where humans are kept as show pets.
The genius of the game lies in sending items back and forth through the Chron-o-Johns to alter history across the three timelines (like freezing a hamster in the past so Laverne can thaw it out in the future).
What’s New in the Remaster?
Double Fine did an incredible job keeping the soul of the original game intact while updating the presentation:
- High-Res Hand-Drawn Artwork: All characters and backgrounds have been faithfully redrawn in vector art, matching the exaggerated Chuck Jones Looney Tunes cartoon aesthetic without losing the original charm.
- Instant Pixel Art Toggle (F1): At literally any second during gameplay, pressing
F1instantly switches the graphics, sound effects, and classic SCUMM verb interface back to the original 1993 320×200 pixel art mode. - Remastered Audio & Commentary Track: Crisp, uncompressed voice recordings and a full in-game commentary track featuring original creators Tim Schafer, Dave Grossman, Peter Chan, and Larry Ahern.
- Maniac Mansion Included: Just like in the original 1993 release, you can walk up to Weird Ed Edison’s computer in the motel and play the entire original 1987 Maniac Mansion game from start to finish!
If you have any nostalgia for 90s adventure games, Day of the Tentacle Remastered is available on GOG and Steam.
For more classic gaming memories, check out my notes on the Command & Conquer and Red Alert 1 Remastered announcement and Warcraft III: Reforged.