The Halloween season is upon us, so it’s the perfect time for games of a spookier flavor to get their time in the spotlight. While it isn’t receiving a full release just yet, Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land has a new demo available in time for the start of October, and it will also be showcased at Steam Next Fest. A tribute to the days of Game Boy Colour RPGs, Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land from Exquisite Laundry Pet LLC is a family-friendly romp through the titular holiday-themed land, where you play as a humble gumball! Having mysteriously fallen from the sky one day, you must set out to find the spell book that will help send you back home.
As a fan of handheld retro titles myself, I couldn’t help but be interested in this adorable little game. The demo takes you through the entire prologue, plus a short side-quest, and from my time with it, it seems like the perfect introduction to a world of talking candy corns, sentient tree stumps, and candy-centric RPG battling!
Gumball’s Colourful World Of Halloween Hijinks
The world of Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land is a very charming and lighthearted one, full of goofy characters and silly, pun-centric humor. This joyful tone was what really kept me invested in the whole experience; exploring the towns and talking to everyone really brings a smile to your face if you’re a fan of this style of humor, like me. It may come off as a little random to some people, but for me, there’s such heart to the humor here. Specific lines will also catch you so off guard that you can’t help but let out a hearty laugh.
Not to mention, the holiday-themed vibes of Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land lend it a very cosy vibe. I feel like it’s pretty rare to find games that have this particular Halloween flavor to them, and it brings to mind when Halloween was so exciting: going out for trick-or-treating, decorating the house with bats and pumpkins, even just seeing all of the fun decorations being sold at stores. Christmas seems to dominate stores here in the UK, even during the Halloween season, so it feels nice to immerse yourself in something so distinctly appropriate for this time of year. It feels very nostalgic and refreshing.
That cosy vibe also finds its way into the visual style and character designs; every character in this game is personified as a Halloween theme. Talking candy corn, pumpkins, bats, candy apples, you name it, if it’s spooky, then it’s probably here! There’s something almost Rareware-esque to Gumball when you pair the characters with the rather goofy humor. Then, with the GBC adjacent stylings, you get that extra layer of cosiness for retro enthusiasts like me. Everything looks very simple, with not a lot of detail, but in a way that gives it the vibe of a Halloween cartoon special in the best possible way.
Gumball’s Trick-Or-Treat Combat
Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land’s combat has the potential to be quite interesting, even if it is quite a simple system based on initial impressions. You actually have quite limited HP and MP in battles. Still, you can also essentially heal and regain MP whenever you want, so fights become a game of deciding the exact right moment when you want to launch an attack and when to buckle down and heal. If you simply spam attack over and over, you’ll quickly find yourself getting KO’d, and you’ll be sent back to the last time you saved. Enemies do often waste their turns, so the combat isn’t too challenging in the long run, but there’s much more to consider than you’d initially expect.
The demo also gives you a brief glimpse of the companion system and some stronger spells during the optional side quest that has been included. These again offer mild risk vs. reward elements that you need to consider. Doing large amounts of damage can end battles faster, but it might be better to save MP for any larger encounters. Party members aren’t controllable, but will often support you through the battle at their own pace, so they’re certainly nice to have around and add an extra wrinkle to things.
Final Thoughts On Gumball In Trick-Or-Treat Land
I think that out of everything, the music is probably what I was most mixed up on. There are some fun tunes in here, especially the Thornwood Academy theme, but I also think many of the songs are a little too basic for my liking. This might be a case of personal taste, but I think the GBC is capable of a little more than what is presented here. It does little to ruin the experience, and nothing is strictly bad; however, in the full version of the game, I’d love to see some improvements.
Otherwise, this demo offers an enjoyable glimpse into this upcoming Halloween RPG adventure. The fun vibe and atmosphere of the hour or so I spent with Gumball in Trick-Or-Treat Land really got me invested, so I’m very interested to see whether the whole game can continue to deliver on that front. The combat proved to have more depth than initially anticipated. While it won’t make you sweat, it’s at least interesting enough to the point that you can’t just mash your way through encounters and will undoubtedly be on the challenging side for younger players.
Hopefully, we won’t have long to wait for this spooky adventure to be released in full, but until then, you can give the demo a try for yourself on Steam as part of October Next Fest!
