One of the biggest surprises for me in early 2025 was the release of one of my favourite 3D platformers which I thought I was the only fan of, but it looks like there is a cult following of Croc and Argonaut Games announced back in mid-2024 that they will be releasing a brand new remaster of 1997's Croc Legend Of The Gobbos which was eventually released on April 2, 2025. Croc Ker-Splats his way onto Xbox Series X, Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch & PC now.
I actually forgot the game was coming out and only picked it up recently for Xbox Series X. I did not know the remaster had a rocky launch, with some bugs, glitches and collision issues reported especially for the Playstation 5 version. Since I did not get the game at launch I dodged a bullet and didn't experience any of these issues. In fact, on Xbox Series X the game seems to run flawlessly. Thankfully, there was a day 1 patch released by Argonaut that fixed most of these issues, so sometimes waiting around after day 1 can pay off. It is so great playing Croc without controls that are jank like on the original PS1 version. However I noticed a nice quirky feature where you can replicate the old jank controls by using the D pad of the controller. The camera is also updated nicely, and now rotates a proper 360 degrees rather than 10 fps when you turn. If you want to reset the camera for any reason, just press B and the camera would look directly at you.
So what is the deal with Croc Legend Of The Gobbos? The original game was inspired by classic 3D platformers of the 90's like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie. Everything had to be super cute and have huge big eyes (hey it was a trend at the time). Despite the game's pretty short playtime (about 5 hours), it's still a nice and fun little game I can pick up and play, without it being overly complicated or frustrating. Sometimes it does get frustrating, but you can quickly learn from your mistakes and try the level again. Despite the controls and story being pretty basic, it's still a pretty nice and fun game. It was actually good enough to get a sequel, Croc 2 on Playstation and PC in 1999. The sequel itself is much bigger than the first game, with a more in-depth story, open worlds and even more inspiration from Rare's Banjo Kazooie series.
Argonaut mapped out the new Croc remaster really well. The level layouts are very much the same as I remember it although the graphics are now completely remade into 1080p 60fps. Also the game now plays at a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio which is a really nice touch. As I mentioned previously the controls are much smoother. The remade soundtrack also absolutely slaps and is done up real nice. It has a fresh and updated sound with modern instruments. A lot of fun to listen to while running around exploring or staying idle.
Graphic comparison of the original & remastered Croc.
While some people are annoyed the remaster does not feature any changed level designs, i'm fine with it not being too different from the original game. It's a shame the original Croc and Croc 2 aren't ported along with it but I think the remaster does its job well.
Argonaut has said that they feel like also doing a remaster of Croc 2 if a lot of people like the remaster of Croc Legend of the Gobbos. I hope this can still happen one day as Croc 2 was a much bigger and more in-depth game. And they even expressed interest in following it up with a Croc 3! I hope this can happen one day.
These days remasters of classic titles are hard to come by for one reason or another, although later in the year we are getting a new remaster of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 & 4. Oddly, a new version of 2017's 3D platformer Yooka Laylee is being remade into Yooka-Replaylee. However, the game is less than a decade old, and it's made by the same people who worked on Banjo Kazooie. Ironically enough they never bothered to remaster Banjo Kazooie & Tooie, although we're getting a Yooka Laylee remaster. To me that does not make any sense.
For fans of the original 90s platformer games or even for the curious, check out Croc Legend Of The Gobbos Remastered. It's nice to see that there is still an audience for the guy. The remaster does a faithful job to the original game. I'd look forward to see what Argonaut does next with the franchise. (Croc 2 remaster...please?)
Croc Legend Of The Gobbos Remastered is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch and GOG.
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