To a certain generation, point-and-click adventure games bring to mind the swashbuckling silliness of the Monkey Island franchise. But for a slightly more niche group of ageing geeks, the Gobliiins franchise stirs memories. The series began with Gobliiins in 1991 (just one year after that first trip to Monkey Island) and has had its sixth entry, GOBLiiNS6, as recently as February this year. However, the new Gobliiins Collection includes the first five games in the franchise.
Point, click, curse a bit, then click again
The first two games in the series, Gobliiins and Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon, are the most merciless. They begin gently with a short introductory cutscene. But afterwards the player is thrown into a seemingly impossible landscape, controlling multiple characters with little sense of what they can do or how to achieve anything.
After playing for a while, we discovered that each of the goblins has a unique skill and ability to use items. It was very much a case of trial and error. The first game even punished the player for too many errors!
My kingdom for a hint!
The third game, Goblins Quest 3, is far kinder on the player. The setup begins the same: a cutscene and flinging the player into a ridiculous scenario filled with interactive hot-spots. However, this time your singular goblin has a habit of narrating what you should be trying to do. This includes giving gentle hints on how to overcome the challenges. But if you’re really stuck, you can actually ask for a walk-through of the current screen.
Enter the third dimension?
Gobliiins 4 is the only 3D entry in the Gobliiins Collection, foregoing the aesthetic of the previous games but maintaining the gameplay style. There’s less hand-holding than in the third entry of the series, which might delight the more hardcore player, but frustrate new ones. On the nostalgia note, this game also includes the original trio of goblins from Gobliiins (albeit with significantly more pixels).
Coming full circle
Which leaves Gobliiins 5: The Morgloton Invasion, a Kickstarter game produced back in 2023. This game returns to the 2D style of most of the series. But, while the original trilogy used blocky pixels, this entry features beautiful character design and smooth animations. No plot to begin with, though, again echoing the “cold open” bewilderment of the first few entries in the franchise.
Spoilt for choice
Some retro compilations feel like nothing more than a rough lick of paint on a collection of dusty games, but not so with the Gobliiins Collection! Once you have chosen your particular game, you get a wealth of options on exactly which version of said game to play… frankly to the point of silliness.
Which box art would you like to see? The UK release or European edition? Do you want the most recent CD version of Gobliiins? Or perhaps you want the original floppy disk version? Ah, but which colour palette for the floppy disk version, and is that with no music, synth music, or Mac-exclusive synth?
It is genuinely the most comprehensive compilation of versioning since Blade Runner. Is it excessive? Perhaps. But it again highlights how much the Gobliiins Collection is a heartfelt, love letter to nostalgic fans.
Special features? In this economy?
And just when we thought there couldn’t be more wizardry packed into the Gobliiins Collection, there’s more. To round off this set, there are playable soundtracks, copies of original design documents and artwork, as well as a documentary mini-series featuring series co-creator Pierre Gilhodes.
A hit for the nostalgia market, a possible miss for the next generation?
So, after many hours of goblin-based puzzle-solving, is the Gobliiins Collection worth picking up? It’s unquestionably a labour of love, and it would be difficult to imagine a compilation of the Goblins games that could be more thorough or more faithful. And it’s this latter point that makes a recommendation sit on a knife-edge.
If you’re a nostalgic fan of the Gobliiins franchise, this will be everything you remember and more. The humour, graphics and music are all preserved… as is the brutal challenge of the puzzles that await you. If that’s what you want, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the Gobliiins Collection (and get some special treats as the icing on the cake). However, if you’re unfamiliar with the franchise or genre as a whole, this game will likely feel like frustration after frustration.
All in all, the Gobliiins Collection is an incredible gift for a niche audience but not an obvious recommendation for the wider gaming community.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 1|2
Publishers: Red Art Studios
Developers: Coktel Vision
Played On: Switch 2
Code Provided By: PressEngine
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