Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition Reviews
If you have no interest in retro gaming and aren't willing to look past its limitations, Night Trap's repetitive nature is likely to confuse and irritate you. Come at it with an open mind and an enthusiasm to discover (or relive) the brief period when we all foolishly thought FMV was the future, and you'll find a charmingly silly game accompanied by a host of wonderful features that elevate it to more than just a remaster, but a digital museum piece commemorating a unique time in gaming history.
If developer Screaming Villains had gone back and reworked parts of the original game – perhaps adding rewind or “no fail” features – then at least Night Trap would be playable. By today's standards, however, it's a broken, incoherent mess. A relic that, despite being deeply nostalgic, is almost impossible to stomach for those who aren't already zealous fans of the original. Still, for all its flaws, it's a unique piece of video game history and one enthusiasts should definitely look into, even if they don't actually play Night Trap for themselves.
For whatever it's worth, I like Night Trap. It is a bad game, but I like it. Screaming Villains' love-letter to one of the most notorious video games of all time has to be the most oddly-conceived re-release in gaming history. But I can't think of another game, that's so bad, that somehow deserves the recognition so much.
If nothing else, Night Trap is a historic document. A nostalgia trip for some and an insight into a rare gaming niche for others. Presented here with insightful extras and a modern lick of paint, it still stands up as a genre curio. There isn't much content here and continued enjoyment will rely on how much you are willing to replay the main story. But, if you succumb to its corny charms, this is a game as entertaining to play as it is to watch.
Overall the game can still be completed rather quickly, and the experience is definitely shallow as far as depth goes, but it's charming and a great piece of videogame history.
Night Trap is a legend in the video game industry on its own. Screaming Villains took that legend and made it better. They added meaningful content with a new intro and some nice special features, as well as improvements to the gameplay design through faster/better navigation methods without messing up the original formula of the game. That's not an easy task, but they pulled it off and it is now functionally perfect to play.
There is a place for original games on consoles, but Night Trap should be perceived more as an exotic blast from the past than on of the "back then the games were better" title.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition has more value as a curio, as a piece of gaming history than it is as an actual game. It's worth playing to gain an understanding of what all the fuss was about and to appreciate how important and revolutionary it was. And it will make you laugh; you could even get a few friends round to share the experience. Just don't expect it to live up to the hype.
Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition may not be a game you enjoy, but it's still a game worth your time. Even if copious levels of late 80s and FMV cheese aren't your thing, the game's cheap and includes plenty of bonuses that give a much deeper appreciation of this controversial classic.
Night Trap utilizes an incredibly simple gaming mechanic that involves mostly watching a movie unfold. Its cheesy '90s campy feel should attract nostalgic gamers looking for a modern spin on a classic Sega CD launch title. The updates and slight gameplay additions make this the definitive version worth owning.
Night Trap 25th Anniversary is a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
FMV games are back in full swing, so this is the perfect time to dive into one that is now part of gaming history. Kudos to Screaming Villains for their work on the game since the footage has been considerably revamped giving us the definitive version of the game.
Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition is a short but fun game with plenty of extras to make it worth your time and money. It's a time capsule to a time in gaming when having full motion video on your TV screen that you could interact with was mind-blowing and, considering we've been getting new interactive movies to play on PlayStation 4 thanks to Wales Interactive and its release of The Bunker and Late Shift, now is definitely the perfect time to revisit the game that pretty much started it all.
Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition is a valuable history lesson, but unless you're really interested and curious for this infamous title, there are other current games that are better for players looking for engaging, exciting or even lasting experiences.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Whilst the game as a whole is always going to be a polarising one that you’re either going to love or hate, Night Trap: 25th Anniversary Edition is so lovingly crafted that you won’t be able to help but get swooned in by its charm. It’s not an essential release that you simply HAVE to play, but it’s one I’d recommend anyway.