A masterpiece is always a masterpiece! You can hardly make it worse in a re-edition.

And the Remastered edition is actually quite nice - as long as your new PC complies with rather too high Minimum requirements.
The textures of all characters looks fine now, and the game could be actually played with a mouse (although you do get an achievement for beating it the good old way). The developers' commentaries are subtitled, and in all six languages the remake supports.

So, arguably the best adventure game of all times is even better now. And I actually envy those people who have not played 'Grim Fandango' in 1998 - you have a memorable experience awaiting you now.

This game has some of the best writing in any video game I've ever heard in my life. The setting and idea alone is very cool. The soundtrack with a mix between noir and mexicano is fantastic. Their at times where I did got lost and I had to consult a guide because I got very confused for the puzzle solving and sometimes I felt like an idiot for some of the easisest ones too.

Other negatives I have is that for a remaster the backgrounds hasn't really changed compared to the remastered sprites and a few glitches. Aside from that, Grim Fandango Remastered is a fantastic game.

I recommend this game to anyone who loves adventure games and cool storytelling.

Grim Fandango Remastered is another game that I started a long time ago and then only recently came back to to finish. Since I'd played through the original release of the game many times before, it was easy to not prioritise, but it was still nice to dive back into and finish off.

I've written before[www.gamingonlinux.com] about what Grim Fandango is and the context it came from, so I'd rather focus on the new features in the remastered version here.

Being higher fidelity than Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango suffers less from the ups and downsides of interpretation. The enhancements are for the most part more subtle and revolve around removing compression, improving lighting/shading techniques, increasing the rendering resolution and repainting textures.

For better or worse, the asset sources for the backgrounds and cutscenes weren't available to the remastering team, and so re-rendering these at higher resolution or with a 16:9 aspect ratio wasn't achievable. What's in the remastered edition is more or less what was in the original game minus compression artifacting and palette reduction. Likewise, updating character models and animations was beyond the scope of the remaster.

The changes that have been made, though subtle add a lot to the experience in terms of supporting the game's atmosphere. For example, in many players' memories, characters in Manny's office are moodily lit by late afternoon sun filtering in through blinds, but in reality, that was only present in the pre-rendered backgrounds. The remastered edition includes additional real-time lighting that casts those same slanted shadows on the characters, helping them blend more seamlessly in with the scene.

Another subtle tweak involved pulling harsh corners off collision the boxes that in the original game would often send Manny bouncing in the opposite direction when trying to run past a table.

For many people, the star feature of the remastered edition is new point-and-click style controls. Community developer, Tobias Pfaff, who previously worked on a ResidualVM fork that provided point-and-clicks style controls for Grim Fandango was brought onboard as a consultant to assist with the remastered edition implementation. Being able to explore scenes with a mouse cursor vs running Manny around has allowed many previously hidden objects and exits to become more discoverable to players. The dead-end highway scene will finally be getting the attention it deserves.

The usual fare of commentaries and concept art are present. Both provide some lovely insights into the game, but as with previous LucasArts Special Editions/Remastered editions, only being able to access the commentaries during gameplay feels a bit awkward when it comes to knowing whether you've heard everything and/or referring back to a specific track that's no longer accessible.

Ultimately, the biggest value for me personally is in being able to share Grim Fandango with people who weren't otherwise able to acquire a legal copy, and to have proper support on Linux. I didn't work directly on Grim Fandango, but I did help out with testing and troubleshooting some Linux issues, which I suspect played a small role in opening the doors that allowed me to work on Day of the Tentacle Remastered.

This was originally written as part of a retrospective[cheesetalks.net] on games I finished in 2016.

I've probably beaten Grim Fandango well over ten times, but the fresh look of Manny and the surprisingly deep commentary make this playthrough a brand new experience. I honestly can't say enough good things. These early day adventure games are a story driven experience, like playing a book, and afford you the opportunity to slip into a captivating world.

Play this game. It's one of the best in the genre.

While Grim Fandango Remastered might be a nostalgic feast for the veteran PC gamers and a welcome delight for the rest, the added touches offer a deeper insight behind just capitalising on a cult classic; it’s a historical tribute to the style of award winning games that were once held back by technical limitations.
Alone Grim Fandango is a testament to the genius behind a production that can craft such an award winning formula on a pocket change budget, yet to have their project stand the test of time near two decades later is equally as marvellous.

BEFORE YOU START PLAYING THIS GAME, BOOKMARK THIS PAGE[www.uhs-hints.com].
Why? Because the only flaw in this game is its "difficulty".
Some puzzles have ridiculous solutions that require you to remember tiny details from two chapters ago to solve them.
Needless to say, you get stuck a lot. The link leads to a website with hints that allow you to solve the puzzles on your own, they don't just give you the full answer straight away.
The game is a little rough around the edges (i encoutered a few minor bugs, aside from the mentioned "difficulty"), but if you are willing to overcome this it is an experience worth recommending. The humor is great. The characters are great. The music is great.
It is worth your time.

"You know, sweetheart, if there's one thing I've learned, it's this: nobody knows what's gonna happen at the end of the line, so you might as well enjoy the trip." - Manny Calavera

Back in 2014, when I first heard that there will be a remaster of Grim Fandango from a friend, I was screaming on the phone and was hopping around - literally making a "happy dance" like a four year old. Needless to say, I was among the many adventure gamers that played the 1998 original and fell in love with it. Thanks to the unbearable rush of ordinary adult life, I've just recently found the time to play this masterpiece again.

I remember my purchase of the game in year 2000; being curious at first, amazed as I played and stubborn enough to finish it in a week without a break. I was twelve years old back then, without a reach for any kind of guide and with a somewhat broken English nonetheless. I was carefully listening to every word coming out of Manny's mouth, trying to understand and consult a dictionary when needed. Faced with its nonlinear story triggers and puzzle system, getting stuck was part of my routine with the game. Luckily, I had an older cousin who played before, so I pestered him to give me hints till the end. Without him, I'd be on the same game for a month probably. That's how hard it was, and that's how intriguing it was: that it made a twelve year old girl's resolve to complete the game invincible.

Welcome to the Land of the Dead. Our protagonist is Manuel Calavera, a grim reaper and a travel agent of the Department of Death, who sells travelling packages to the souls of the deceased for their last journey and passage to the Ninth Underworld. Manny is an extraordinary character; with sharp wits, a great sense of humor and a keen business sense. He works for the Department, hoping to make enough sells to pay off his debts and earn his last journey to the Ninth someday. Everything starts as a random office intrigue as Manny tries to steal a client from his coworker and arch nemesis, Domino Hurley. He meets with elegant and saintly Mercedes "Meche" Colomar, and gets involved in a shady plot concerning the very department he works for. There begins Manny's long, long journey to help Meche, help himself and many others in the process.

Let's start with visuals, shall we? This remastered version most certainly tweaked character models and textures, so characters themselves look great in modern systems compared to the original. You'll be delighted to meet many interesting and well enacted characters in the shape of calaca dolls, inspired from the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations. Environment design and the atmosphere harbors beautiful architecture, artistic backgrounds and a unique world that comes out of 1930s taste and class. The setting is elaborate, fascinating, funny and sometimes even a bit disturbing. Many gamers complained that background artworks were not tweaked much and seemed a bit aging in modern systems, but that certainly didn't bug me. They are still very beautiful. The soundtrack on the other hand - an incredible original selection that combines orchestral score, South American folk music, jazz, bebop, swing, and big band music - has been completely rerecorded with a full orchestra just for the remastered experience. As a fair warning, 16.9 aspect ratio image doesn't work. You'll be stuck with 4.3 and there will be decorated gray bars residing on the sides of your screen while you play the game.

The gameplay uses either P&C controls or tank controls of the original game, according to your choice. Manny's inventory system has always been a bit lame, but it doesn't take much effort to pull a certain item from your coat pocket. As expected from the nature of an adventure game, you are to speak to people, combine items and solve puzzles to progress. With the new rendering of items, there is no pixel hunt. It's quite obvious when an item or a piece of an environment can be used. Puzzles on the other hand - well, there is no hand holding. Do not expect a hint system. This game stands here as a piece of gaming history. Puzzles are mostly difficult, yet imaginative with exceptional conclusions and the story revelation is never linear. If this is your first time playing the game, you might find it helpful to keep a guide open in the Steam overlay. There are reports of bugs in the forums but I haven't encountered any in my playthrough. Oh, and there is no auto saving feature either so remember keeping many save files.

At the end of the day, this is not a remake. This is a well-done remaster of a classical, even a masterpiece of an adventure game. If you haven't experienced Grim Fandango yet, this is an unmissable opportunity for anyone who enjoys the genre. The game has an incredible story, strong characters, marvelous setting, beautiful display and a really challenging gameplay with noir sense of humor. So... what are you waiting for?

Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page here - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!

Pros

• better lighting and shadows
  
• better, more detailed, remade textures
  
• better, higher poly models
  
• fewer bugs
  
• runs hassle-free on modern OS and architectures
  
• great controller support for X360-compatibile devices

Cons

• backgrounds are pre-rendered, thus no remaster was possible
  
• cutscenes are pre-rendered, thus no remaster was possible
  
• soundtrack could've been re-recorded, but then I'd be lamenting how the original one was better
  
• voice-overs couldn't be remastered without casting new (and unfamiliar) voice actors
  
• still has some bugs

Pre-rendered backgrounds can't be remastered or remade (thus, no proper widescreen support here), and even if that was feasible I would rather if they didn't (you'd gain nothing from a wider field of view). So much work has gone into those assets, just listen at the commentary and watch the making-of videos.

Some people define the models as "blocky" because they've never played the original game, nor they have any knowledge about the game itself: models aren't "blocky", it's a stylistic choice (as clearly stated in the commentary) aimed to mimic the mexican paper dolls for the day of the dead. They even considered going 2D because 3D felt too "plastic" back in the day.

Maybe they should've just released it as "Grim Fandango+" or something along those lines to avoid children throwing a fit over "muh remaster". I loved this game back in 1998 and I enjoy having a Windows 8.1 64bit-ready version to run from Steam, hassle-free, with better lighting, models and textures (while keeping it real to the original style), and a behind-the-scenes commentary to boot. It's less than 8$ on sale and barely 15$ any other day. Get a grip.

It was great 17 years ago, it is great today.

A timeless classic, and an amazing example of the kind of world-building and attention to detail that went into the old Lucasfilm adventure games. As a Lucasfilm game, you should expect it to be heavy on exposition and puzzles, with an incredibly well-crafted and well-told story.

It's the afterlife, but you won't be getting a harp or angel wings just yet. You're stuck in the Land of the Dead, a sort of purgatory, filled with travel agents, lawyers, mobsters, corrupt cops, and freedom fighters. Playing as Manny Calavera, you can eventually earn your way to the Land of Eternal Rest, working as a sort of social worker/travel agent to pay off a karmic debt, helping recently departed souls make their way to their rightful rest. But not all is as it seems in this colorful, 30's art deco, Aztec/Mayan-themed world...

A must-play if you have any appreciation at all for story-centric gaming. The only possible downside is that, as an old-school adventure game, it's extremely linear, so there isn't a whole lot of replay value.

The story, the characters, the humour...it's all there. It's a classic, and there's nothing quite like this out there any more. Grim Fandango is a one-of-a-kind.

A lot of people complain about the puzzles, but you need to pay attention to what people say and everything you read and see. Everything has a legitimate reason, and if you don't see it you're not paying close enough attention. Old school or not, fans of adventure games need to play this.

11/10 - probably the best game I've played in a really long time.