The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania video game developed by WayForward Technologies and based on the 2017 film The Mummy. It takes place concurrently with the events of the film, with players playing as an unnamed Prodigium soldier under the command of Dr. Henry Jekyll (with the likeness of Russell Crowe from the film) who must fight the evil forces of Princess Ahmanet (with the likeness of Sofia Boutella). The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in October 2017.[2] The Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan on July 30, 2020,[3] while a version for Amazon Luna was released on October 20 of the same year.[4] The game received positive reviews.

The Mummy Demastered
Developer(s)WayForward Technologies
Publisher(s)WayForward Technologies
Director(s)
  • Austin Ivansmith
  • Matt Bozon
Producer(s)Glenn Seidel
Designer(s)
  • Tomm Hulett
  • Austin Ivansmith[1]
Programmer(s)John Eric Hart
Artist(s)Damon DuBois
Writer(s)Tomm Hulett
Composer(s)Gavin Allen
EngineUnity[citation needed]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Amazon Luna
ReleaseWindows, Switch, PS4, Xbox One
October 24, 2017
Amazon Luna
October 20, 2020
Genre(s)Metroidvania
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

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The Mummy Demastered is a Metroidvania-style game where players traverse a large map which opens up to the player as they make progress in the game.[5] Upon dying the game resets the player as a new character, who then must retrieve their items from a zombified version of their former selves.[5]

The player's character is a soldier who works for Prodigium, as they follow Princess Ahmanet and battle her monsters, before eventually defeating her and Set in the final battle. There are two endings in this game, each of which are determined by the player's survival in their escape from the collapsing tomb. A third ending is seen if the player hasn't died in the save file, thus never having created a new character.

In terms of the Metroidvania genre, Destructoid noted that the game seems to more closely resemble later side scrolling Castlevania games as opposed to Super Metroid,[6] with GameSpot noting that it also seemingly takes influence from Ghosts 'n Goblins.[5]

Development

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Pre-production of The Mummy Demastered began in early November 2016. Austin Ivansmith, the game's director, wrote a game design document using the pitch they gave to Universal Brand Development and information based on the movie. Meanwhile, the lead programmer began working on a platforming engine and relevant support tools for it. The artists also began working on concept art for the game. They got tens of thousands of photos from the set of the film, using 2000 of them as references for backgrounds and characters before they began working on the game. Development began in January 2017. The game was designed from the start to be a side story to the film, as this allowed them more freedom. The game was originally meant to be released alongside the film, but was delayed by a couple months in order to make it what the game developers wanted for the final version.[7]

Reception

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The Mummy Demastered received "generally positive" reviews for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch and "mixed or average" reviews for Xbox One,[8][9][10][11] with critics praising WayForward's pixel art and mastery of the Metroidvania genre,[12][13][14][16][17][18] while also noting it as a massive improvement over the film it was based on.

References

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  1. ^ Parish, Jeremy (March 12, 2018). "Retronauts Episode 142: The Mummy Demastered and Mega Cat Studios". Retronauts (Podcast). Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  2. ^ Lada, Jenni (October 10, 2017). "The Mummy Demastered Debuts On October 24, 2017". Siliconera. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "ザ・マミー ディマスター". Nintendo Japan. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (October 20, 2020). "Hands-on with Amazon's Luna game streaming service". The Verge. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c D'Aprile, Jason. "The Mummy Demastered Review". Gamespot. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Devore, Justin (October 24, 2017). "Review: The Mummy Demastered". Destructoid. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018.
  7. ^ Holmes, Jonathan (October 25, 2017). "The Mummy Demastered's director is ready to take on Frankenstein, Wolf Man, and the Black Lagoon". Destructoid. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "The Mummy Demastered for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "The Mummy Demastered for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "The Mummy Demastered for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  11. ^ a b "The Mummy Demastered for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  12. ^ a b D'Aprile, Jason (October 29, 2017). "The Mummy Demastered Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Cousins, Jon (October 24, 2017). "The Mummy Demastered Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Devore, Jordan (October 24, 2017). "Review: The Mummy Demastered". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  15. ^ Shive, Chris (October 24, 2017). "Review: The Mummy Demastered". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  16. ^ Jones, John-Paul (October 24, 2017). "The Mummy Demastered Review - PlayStation Universe". PlayStation Universe. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  17. ^ Parish, Jeremy (September 25, 2017). "The Mummy Demastered takes the word 'Metroidvania' one step further". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  18. ^ "Quick Look: The Mummy Demastered". Giant Bomb. October 28, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
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