The Last Pumpkin (Donut80) Free
Game title: The Last Pumpkin
Game description: The Last Pumpkin is an arcade-style action game that emphasises speed, timing, and screen-wrapping mechanics. The game can be played solo or as a chaotic two-player cooperative experience, where one player controls a plucky pumpkin and the second takes charge of a fearless cat. The core objective is to navigate through stages set both inside and outside a haunted castle to collect every bone. Once all bones are gathered, a golden key is released, which must be retrieved to unlock the next area. While hunting for bones, players must dodge a variety of castle-dwelling threats, including bats and ghosts. A unique gameplay quirk is that both characters bounce constantly on their own, meaning the player must focus entirely on horizontal movement via the joystick. Mastering the screen-wrapping is essential for survival and efficiency; moving off the left or right edges teleports the character to the opposite side, while falling off the bottom of the screen causes the character to reappear at the top. To boost scores, players can stomp on enemies to shake loose bonus sweets or bounce on treasure chests to spill additional sugary loot.
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Production - 75%
75%
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Fun - 55%
55%
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Depth - 60%
60%
Summary
The Last Pumpkin is a competent, if somewhat uninspired, addition to the C64’s vast library of single-screen platformers. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it offers a polished enough experience for those looking for a quick arcade fix.
The constant bouncing mechanic—which could have easily been a source of frustration—actually works quite well. It’s intuitive and doesn’t feel awkward, adding a nice layer of “frantic” energy to the movement. The screen-wrapping is the real highlight here; being able to loop both horizontally and vertically adds a tactical element that helps elevate the gameplay and keeps the difficulty from feeling cheap or unfair.
Despite the solid mechanics, the game suffers from a lack of “wow” factor. The visuals are crisp and do the job, but they don’t push the hardware or offer anything we haven’t seen dozens of times since 1982. The single-player experience, while balanced, ultimately feels a bit hollow and repetitive.
With only 8 levels to play through, the experience is over far too quickly. Not only are the levels themselves pretty standard in design, but there simply isn’t enough content here for the game to truly stand out in a crowded market.
Ultimately, The Last Pumpkin sits firmly in the “good average” category. It’s a functional and playable title, but it lacks the distinct personality or gameplay hooks needed to stay in your disk drive for long. It’s a fun distraction for an evening, but like a post-Halloween sugar crash, it’s likely to be instantly forgettable once the joystick is put away.
Overall
63%User Review
( votes)Pros
Intuitive Movement: The constant automatic bouncing mechanic is well-implemented, ensuring that controlling the characters is neither difficult nor awkward.
Creative Screen-Wrapping: The ability to wrap both horizontally and vertically adds a layer of strategy that helps elevate the game and reduces player frustration.
Multiplayer Support: The inclusion of a 2-player cooperative mode allows for a more social and chaotic arcade experience.
Cons
Lack of Content: With only 8 levels available, the game is extremely short and offers very little longevity for the player..
Forgettable Experience: Because it lacks a distinct “wow” factor or deep variety, the game feels like a “good average” title that is easily forgotten once completed.
Limited Narrative Depth: Much like the gameplay, the setting and objective (collecting bones and keys) are basic and lack a strong hook to keep players coming back.
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
