New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja

Microids, the company behind some great remakes like Flashback, North and South and Toki have returned with a remake of Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja. While it’s a decent release on the surface, the more you dive in, the more you wish you were just playing the original.

As a fan of the original Joe and Mac, I must say that NEW Joe & Mac - Caveman Ninja is a huge disappointment as it features frustrating difficulty, floaty gameplay, and it's even missing some core elements that made the classic arcade game stand out as special.

New Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja is just for the desperate who want the same old-school gameplay. Those that have never ventured into the series might not find anything special or unique about this remake. Regardless, any that consider buying the game should highly consider at least an initial price reduction or maybe new updates, if ever.

Among the formulas that the wide spectrum of videogames presents today to return to games from the past, NEW Joe & Mac - Caveman Ninja chooses to be very classic... that is... what was in the original arcade, and something else in its extended mode. But with a redone in the graphic and sound section. Joe & Mac - Caveman Ninja was an arcade game that was as fun as it was hard, and that is given to us at the end of 2022. Not much has been touched, except for things on some levels -for better or worse-, in a title that was so hard when you tossed a coin playing alone, like fun and well focused when you had another colleague with another hair color and loincloth. It lacks more content to be a revival, but it will not take so long. And that it is still impossible to forget in the original and this remake the great visual identity and the leiv motiv of the plot.

New Joe & Mac: Caveman Ninja is an acceptable remake, but with a few small adjustments, it could have become a little must-have for all gamers. A remake that remains in an unfortunate limbo. On one hand, the work done on the original game is commendable, but on the other, more could have been done. There isn’t even an Extra section with concept art or curiosities, for example. Most importantly, if the developers had offered more customization options for the experience, we’d be reviewing what, in a short time, could have become an unmissable cult classic. As it was released, however, we fear many gamers will be left disappointed by the title, and this is a real shame because, at its core, the game is very solid. In summary, "bello e impossibile", as said by an old italian song.

New Joe & Mac – Caveman Ninja doesn’t match up to the charm of the original, despite the beautifully created art. The gameplay is often frustrating and unbalanced, new mechanics included make the experience unnecessarily hard, and it’s quite barren for its price tag. With enemy pathing and aggressiveness really over the top, and the remixed sounds barely audible, you might be better served sticking with the original despite the extensive support coming post-launch

New Joe & Mac reminded me a lot of Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection. It has its audience of retro arcade platformer enthusiasts who will be drawn towards gorgeous visuals and what they call “challenging gameplay”, but at the end of the day, it’s a brutally unfair game filled to the brim with difficulty-increasing mechanics implemented in order to extend its duration. It has its charm, I won’t lie, especially with these gorgeous visuals, but this isn’t the easiest of recommendations.

This “classic” is back, with an authentic modern-look version, but whether that’s a good thing is up for debate