PC Critic Reviews

The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is a fabulous addition to the meta-game genre. I went in as a fan of old-school 16-bit JRPGs expecting a hit of nostalgia, but came away thoroughly impressed by the inception-like degree of layers within layers I unravelled in completing the game. It goes beyond the titular game to explore what makes developers tick, and challenging you to think outside the box for its puzzle, and if the sound of that appeals, then you should definitely give The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time a go. This is destined to be a classic and perhaps one day someone will remake it too…

Few games can achieve thw level of metatextuality that The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time does and actually pull it off. Coin Drop Games interweaves actual gameplay levels through video recordings and a hand-drawn manual, and somehow makes all of those disparate parts make cohesive sense. I am being intentionally vague because so many parts of this work, as they are best experienced knowing as little as possible about what lies before the player — but ultimately, the questions that The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time are trying to answer are worth scrounging to find out. Who are remakes for? Does putting a new spin on old ideas make those ideas worthless? Why do we continue to try to squeeze every last ounce of whimsy out of something that probably doesn’t appeal to players nowadays? And somehow, Immanuel and jucobee come up with both satisfying answers and a great game to boot.

You won't play a better named game than The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time, and it's also creative and clever throughout.

The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is a wonderfully clever puzzle game. It masquerades as a JRPG, before becoming something much stranger. Anyone who’s a fan of Inscryption, or other fourth wall-breaking classics like Undertale, and Doki Doki Literature Club, really needs to play The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time. It’s not as great as those classics, but it’s still a valiant effort. JRPG fans should also take note, because The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is full of Easter eggs and homage to genre classics.

The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time has been a hard review for me. On the one hand, this is a game paying tribute to the classic RPGs of the late ’80s and the ’90s. On the other hand, it’s an indie puzzle game that draws inspiration from influential indie games of the past few years. On the other hand, this is a gaming experience we all have that’s so unique and personal, it is sure to be something you’ll either love or despise. A jarring story-within-a-story premise, and the fact that this is a puzzle wearing an RPG and an FMV are likely to cause some to say “I’m out.” For those who stick around, there’s an intriguing experience that honours what has come and is sure to inspire what comes next.

The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is an incredible, unique puzzle game using the skin of a ’90s JRPG to deliver a genre-defying experience that treats the fourth wall like it’s made of plaster. Though it’s short and can have its issues at times, the game is incredibly memorable and worth giving a chance yourself.

The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is a fun deduction game with a compelling narrative about nostalgia and game design. However, if you find yourself stuck, you’re better off looking for a real guide instead of referring to the in-game one.

I respect what The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time was going for, and found its ambition and earnestness commendable despite some hammy acting in its live action scenes. I even had fun solving and putting together most of the puzzles. There’s a lot of dead air, backtracking, and time wasting that grated on me towards the end though, reminding me why escape rooms are largely designed in confined spaces and don’t involve a ton of repetition. Trying to fold RPG design structure into an escape room-like puzzle contraption was an intriguing premise, but frustrating to deal with when these two affectations intersected awkwardly. The message this story is trying to convey is also kind of clumsy, which both adds and detracts from the charm in some ways. I will say, however, that this is my favorite game in which the villain sadly caresses a Death Stranding 2 poster at GDC.

An imperfect execution of an interesting idea. [Issue#425, p.123]

The Remake of the End of the Greatest RPG of All Time is more intriguing on paper than as a practical experience, even if its brilliance lies in the fact that it is, in essence, a puzzle. There's a genuine fondness for classic RPGs and all the mythology surrounding them, but, like in Tenacious D's music, the game tries hard to discuss them, but it's just a tribute, one that gets lost in its own idea to the point of becoming just another example of what it mocks.