Day of the Tentacle: A Time-Travel Adventure Full of Laughs

Who would not wake up one day and find purple tentacles trying to take over the world? Sounds wild, right? That’s exactly the fun and crazy ride that Day of the Tentacle is. This is not an ordinary action shooter or fantasy RPG. A time travel comedy that puzzles out while laughing.

As soon as you boot the game up, you are immersed in a world full of colorful visuals, the strangest characters, and the strangest of events. It is that lack of seriousness that pops from the game and endears the game itself so much. The evil tentacle is on the prowl, and the only ones who might be able to stop it are three kids named Bernard, Hoagie, and Laverne. The twist is, however, that each one is stuck in a different period.

This game was designed with every effort to make you smile at every turn. The game has a story, a series of puzzles, and quite good voice acting and animations, and it all fits and blends into a unique game. Anyone young or old can enjoy it. That is why, more than two decades later, so many gamers still love Day of the Tentacle.

What is the Day of the Tentacle?

A point-and-click adventure game is Day of the Tentacle, which is also known as DOTT. Released in 1993, it was made by LucasArts. This is a sequel to another game known as Maniac Mansion, which was very popular in the late ’80s.

The game has you play with three characters as they attempt to stop a purple tentacle from taking over the world. The toxic waste gives the tentacle its power. After drinking it, it gets arms and wants to become a world leader. That’s when the adventure begins.

The aim is to solve puzzles using items you will find in the game. You move through other time zones: the past, the present, and the future. Every character is in a different period, and you have to help them come together even though they are so far separated in terms of time.

History of the Game

LucasArts, also known for its adventure games in the ’90s, was, thus, the developer of the game Day of the Tentacle. It was designed by Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman. Afterwards, both of them went to work on big games such as Grim Fandango and Psychonauts.

The game engine used by LucasArts for their games was called SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion). This engine was also the engine used in earlier games like Monkey Island and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

In 2016, a major update of the game was given. The game was later re-released as ‘Day of the Tentacle Remastered’ for modern machines like Windows, MacOS, PlayStation 4, and mobile phones. It had better graphics and better sound, and there was behind-the-scenes content.

Game Modes 

The game is single-player only. It uses a point-and-click style. To move around the screen, see things, pick up things, or talk to characters, you click throughout the screen.

There is no fighting or combat. Instead, you solve puzzles. They include some that are easy, while others are a bit tricky. The great thing is coming up with how to use one period’s item to solve another.

The game also comes with a built-in version of Maniac Mansion. With a computer in the mansion, you can play the full first game. Fans surely enjoyed this as a fun bonus.

However, even though there weren’t any advantages associated with it, I’ve listed some of the key features of Day of the Tentacle.

• Six games, three characters, three time zones: you assume the role of Bernard (present, past), Hoagie (past, future), and Laverne (future, present).
• Items and actions in one time zone can change things in others. You need to think creatively.
• The dialogue is funny, filled with jokes and silly back and forth.
• Unique art style: The graphics resemble a cartoon, even in the remastered version.
• Voice acting: A fully spoken response from every character was one of the first.

Main Characters

Bernard Bernoulli

He’s the group’s nerdy hero. Bernard is the smart science lover. But he’s not very cool as he’s also brave.

Hoagie

He is a roadie for a rock band. Hoagie is laid-back and funny. He finds himself in the past, as the year is that of the Founding Fathers.

Laverne

She’s quirky and a bit weird. The result is that Laverne ends up in the future, where tentacles rule the world. She has to figure out how to live and assist her friends.

Purple Tentacle

The main villain. He drinks toxic waste and, as a result, grows arms and becomes evil. He is trying to make the tentacles the dominant species and take over the world.

Dr. Fred Edison

The time machines were created by a mad scientist. It’s all because of him that the kids are in different time zones.

Why People Love It

• Nothing is old: those are not 500-year-old jokes; they are timeless. People laugh even today while playing.
• The puzzles are fun, engaging, and very satisfying.
• Its strong story was silly but smart. The plot of time travel is well written.
• One of the reasons why people love to come back to it is Nostalgia. People who played it in the ‘90s.
• The 2016 version is a Great Remaster of the original’s feel, but with fresh graphics and sound.

What’s Unique About the Story?

It recounts time traveling, but it is not about the common sci-fi tale. It is full of strange and funny turns. For instance, Hoagie assists George Washington et al. in making the U.S. flag, and, in the future, Laverne must enter and win a tentacle judged beauty pageant for humanity.

One of the coolest features is that the characters can send items through time. For instance, you can write a letter to the past, and it will read in the future. This is quite rare for such a design in today’s games.

Since the game also teaches a little about American history, it does so in a very fun and silly way. This isn’t just a history lesson—it’s a cartoon, totally crazy— through time.

The success of Day of the Tentacle 

According to Double Fine Productions, the company that released Day of the Tentacle Remastered in 2016, the game had since sold over 500,000 copies in 2020. That’s great for a remastered point-and-click game.

The remastered version also has a solid 86/100 score on PlayStation 4 and 82/100 on PC on the review site Metacritic. The updated visuals and the way it remained faithful to the original were praised by critics.

Conclusion

Day of the Tentacle for pc is more than just a game. Despite its lack of popularity compared to other adventure games of its time, the game still has its good share of fans due to its smart puzzles, funny characters, and creative time travel story. This classic was remastered to offer a new generation this classic, and it remains as fun today as it was in 1993.

This game is for you if you like thinking games. It is easy to play, likeable to explore, and hard to forget after you have played it. No matter how old you are, Day of the Tentacle will have you smiling with horror (and maybe even pondering the thought that maybe a tentacle did attempt to take over the world).

Product Information Table 

Version table