Pumpkin Jack

Lore & Background

The story takes place in the Arc En Ciel Kingdom, which once lived in peace and harmony but felt boring. Out of desperation for violence and bloodshed, the Devil summoned the Curse of Eternal Night, spreading darkness and unleashing mindless hordes of monsters. The villagers sought help from a mighty Wizard who promised to end the curse. Upon hearing of the Wizard's quest, the prince of darkness made a deal with the cursed trickster Stingy Jack: forgive his past misdeeds in exchange for finding and destroying the Wizard. Armed with weapons including a shovel, scythe, and magic sword, and befriending a crow, the pumpkin-headed trickster travels the cursed kingdom to fight monsters and search for the sorcerer.

Reader's Guide

Pumpkin Jack received positive reviews on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and mixed reviews on Windows and Nintendo Switch according to Metacritic. OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, recommended by 61% of critics. Hardcore Gamer praised the variety of gameplay styles and noted the game is fun despite some rough edges. Push Square commented on its retro PlayStation 2-style gameplay, calling it a game that knows exactly what it wants to be and delivers with confidence. Nintendo Life called it an absolute triumph and compared it positively to MediEvil. NintendoWorldReport found it surprisingly charming and praised the platform elements while criticizing the combat. The game was developed mostly by Nicolas Meyssonnier, with Adrien Lucas helping port it to consoles and Yohan Jager composing the music.

Did You Know?

• Pumpkin Jack was developed mostly by a single person, Nicolas Meyssonnier.
• The game's protagonist is a spirit revived as a pumpkin-headed man on Halloween.
• Jack is accompanied by two companions: an owl and a crow.
• The game was released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 27, 2021.