Hocus Pocus

[h1][i]“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”[/i] ~Sir Terry Pratchett[/h1] Nowadays, side-scrolling games are taken as granted on PCs. Just click on one of them tags here, in [b]Steam[/b], and you'll get more games of such kind than you can play in your entire life. Guess what? It wasn't always like that. At least not for all types of computers. While some of the systems (like those [b]Atari[/b] and [b]Commodore[/b] computers) had hardware optimized for such tasks (thanks to which we've got games like [b]Aztec Challenge[/b], [b]Wonder Boy[/b], [b]The Great Giana Sisters[/b] and so on), some other systems (like the ones by [b]NEC[/b] and [b]IBM PC[/b]s) did not. What was the problem? Well, it was pretty simple. With no hardware support, scrolling was done in software. And it was needed to redraw the entire screen for every single frame. Each and every time. Naturally, those old systems just weren't powerful enough for that. Thanks to which the task was impossible without some smart workarounds. [b]Hudson Soft[/b] faced that problem while porting [b]Nintendo[/b]'s [b]Super Mario Bros.[/b] to [b]PC-88[/b] and [b]Sharp X1[/b]. It was a disaster. It [i]looked[/i] like everybody's favorite [b]Famicom[/b] title, but... It didn't have scrolling. Every time [b]Mario[/b] made it to the side of the screen? The game paused and started rendering another one, similar to what we had in, say, [b]PC-88[/b] version of [b]Super Pitfall[/b] or [b]Montezuma's Revenge[/b]. And naturally, the process took time, which broke all the pace. [b]PC-88[/b] and other Japanese systems had their own saviors, but for [b]IBM PC[/b]s it was all about Saint [b]John[/b]. I'm talking, of course, about [b]John Carmack[/b], a mad genius from [b]id Software[/b]. Lack of hardware support was a problem. And [b]John[/b] was a brilliant problem solver (it was him who came up with the idea to sacrifice music and use both [b]Atari Jaguar[/b] coprocessors, [b]Tom[/b] and [b]Jerry[/b], for boosting [b]DOOM[/b]'s performance on [b]Jag[/b]). Quickly, he came up with so-called “adaptive tile refresh”. An elegant solution to avoid redrawing the whole screen and therefore save power. I'm not a technical expert, of course, which means I may have made some mistakes here, but you've got the idea. Before [b]Carmack[/b]'s [b]Super Mario 3[/b] prototype this kind of entertainment wasn't even a thing on [b]IBM PC[/b]s. That's exactly the reason why [b]Commander Keen[/b] series (which [b]id Software[/b] launched after [b]Nintendo[/b] refused their offer to make [b]SMB3[/b] port official) became sacred to [b]DOS[/b] audience. It was their [b]Super Mario[/b]. Why am I telling you all that? Well, because what we have here is a [b]DOS[/b] exclusive. After [b]Commander Keen[/b] revolution, those started to pop up one after another and guess what? They were good. We've got [b]Duke Nukum[/b] (I mean, [b]Nukem[/b]), we've got [b]Jill of the Jungle[/b]... You lived back then – you know what I'm talking about. [b]Hocus Pocus[/b]? It's one of those games. And you know what? Technically, it's nothing special. It's one of those games that want you to find certain amount of objects on level in order to progress, it's our typical [b]Apogee[/b]'s shareware thing (there was a free version and a registered one that included all episodes, exactly the same with what we had in [b]Commander Keen[/b]) and in a way, it's a remake of [b]Moonlite Software[/b]'s previous platformer – [b]Clyde's Adventure[/b]. What kind of name is [b]Clyde's Adventure[/b]? Well, the same one with [b]Super Mario Bros.[/b] Those were the crazy time, OK? And it's not like [b]Hocus Pocus[/b] is any different. In this game you're... *sigh* [b]Hocus Pocus[/b]. No, seriously. Your name is [b]Hocus[/b] and you came from a noble line.. of [b]Pocuses[/b]. Deal with it. Gameplay-wise, it's the same exact thing with [b]Clyde's Adventure[/b]. Except now you're collecting magic crystals and, like I already said, there's a certain amount of them on levels. Collect enough – level's finished. There are four episodes (again, it's our typical shareware thing), nine levels each. Naturally, the final level comes with a boss. That's pretty much it. That's the entire thing. Doesn't sound like a big thing and you know what? In a way it is not. History-wise, there's nothing really special about [b]Hocus Pocus[/b]. You had gaming console back in the days? I can't say you've missed much. And nowadays, when we have [b]RetroArch[/b] in [b]Steam[/b] and lots of new games (some of which are retro-like)... Let's just say that this here is not your top priority. I mean, when you compare this game with some top players in genre, it becomes obvious that it's not really [i]that[/i] good. One of the key features here is that switch puzzle and while on paper there's nothing wrong with it (even the bigger games like [b]Duke Nukem 3D[/b] utilized it now and then), this game wants you to do it again and again with no end. Becomes annoying pretty soon. The bosses are a joke too. Like, half of the time you can beat them just by standing at the right place and shooting (it's one of those games, in which you can shoot by default). Don't get me wrong, nothing of that feels [i]terrible[/i], but... You know how it is. It's not good enough to become one of them “must play” titles. [i]But[/i]. There's that thing called presentation. And presentation here? Is something else (which is exactly why this game feels, like, a million times better than [b]Clyde's Adventure[/b]). Remember cracktros? Those short custom sequences that used to be added by hackers to stolen software? Usually, those weren't just notes. Those had graphics, the music... And there was that certain vibe in all that, similar to what we had in retrowave genre of music. Nowadays, piracy is pretty much dead. Killed by convenience. Sure, people are still looking for free copies of expensive software and overpriced AAA titles, but all in all, nobody really [i]cares[/i] about warez. Yet, as crazy as it is, people still care about cracktros. Just because those are, like, an art form on their own. And [b]Hocus Pocus[/b]? It does have that. Not cracktro, of course (what we have here is just our usual registered version with all four episodes, running through [b]DOSBox SVN Daum[/b]), but the feeling. And the funniest thing is – it's hard to describe it by words. You think 80s – you instantly get a sum of some certain colors and sounds in your head. Same exact thing here. [b]Hocus Pocus[/b]? It's 100% 90s. That signature sound of [b]Sound Blaster[/b] cards, that certain kind of [b]VGA[/b] graphics, those episode selection and “to be continued” screens... That's exactly the reason why this game aged well. [b]Hocus Pocus[/b] was never unique, [b]Hocus Pocus[/b] was never groundbreaking. But back in the days it was finally a way for [b]DOS[/b] audience to taste the genre's juice ([b]Mega Man X[/b] port, for example, didn't appear on [b]DOS[/b] systems until 1995), while nowadays? Nowadays it's exactly the opposite – it's a way for us to taste 90s. That's the selling point here. By paying for this game you won't get one of them historical points, you won't get anything that some other games didn't do better, but when you'll start playing it? Be sure that you'll get that certain feeling of 90s. Guaranteed. Do you need that in your life? It's up to you. There's nothing special about this particular release. No cloud saves, no enhancements (“partial [b]Xbox 360[/b] controller support” on store's page is just due to [b]DOSBox[/b] emulation that supporting gamepads, no other job was done), no extra content (aside from digital manual that is), nothing. Just a bare bones [b]Hocus Pocus[/b]. They did care enough to avoid using default [b]DOSBox[/b] version, but that's pretty much it. Personally? I loved my playthrough. For [b]$2.99[/b], I'd say it's a steal. But like I said, if all that you want is a good game – you can do better nowadays.

First playthrough review time. Hocus Pocus is a lesser known old game, but it is still a good example of games from that time. It follows a simple 2D platform style where you move through levels and deal with enemies. The design is colorful and easy to understand, and the challenge slowly increases as you keep going. It reminds me of the kind of games that were common in the 90s, where timing and movement were important. The gameplay is very simple and does not try to do too much. Each level has a clear goal, and you just keep moving forward by completing it. As you progress, the difficulty gets higher, which keeps it interesting. One thing I remember clearly is that this is one of the game I have completely finished when I was around 5+ years old, so it has a strong personal memory for me. In conclusion, Hocus Pocus is a simple and memorable platform game that shows how games were made in that time. It may not have complex features, but its clear design and rising challenge make it a good experience. It is a nice choice for anyone who wants to revisit older games.

Hocus Pocus is one of the rare Apogee games that I played on the CDExpert Magazine Arcade Attack CD when I was a kid! The game itself is fun, fast-paced and has an incredible soundtrack! This game is more for those who like MS DOS games and those who are die-hard fans! It's worth it

One of the first games I ever played. After all these years, I still suck ass at it but the nostalgia is real

👻 hocus pocuhantess

If Santa didn't visit in the small hours of 25th December 1994 to drop off the full boxed registered version of this fantastic 10/10 game (I am going to keep telling myself that) then your parents failed you. The start screen has an evil monk doing the Y pose in the "YMCA" dance, what more could you want?! However, I don't know why most DOS games on Steam use an ancient badly-configured version of DOSBox, but it needs to stop. You can do better. It runs at 286 speeds and is set to use Ad Lib for music/sound instead of the far superior SoundBlaster. I could tell it was off based on an incredibly old but incredibly ingrained memory. I highly recommend using DOSBox-X to run the game, and delving into the setup.exe file. Steam won't track your hours but... eh whatever.

I am never going to give this one recommendation until the publisher changes the DAUM DOSBox release to 20140127 etc. that does not over-stretch or over-crop the screen to the point of the game being unplayable. Test your released games geez. It would take maybe TWO SECONDS to fix this issue i.e. copying a couple of files over. There is a Steam post about the game how to fix "overstretching" that over 90 % of users are experiencing. It involves overwriting DOSBox dot exe and DOSBox dot conf files from another release. Apparently this one uses some 2015 release of the software that does not work properly.

core childhood memory unlocked, such a fun little game

Glad to see this classic on Steam. A truly fun platformer from the 90s Apogee era that sadly got a bit overshadowed by Raptor. It's your standard enemy shooting, treasure collecting fare a la Commander Keen, but the real magic (no pun intended) here is the graphics and the music. There's something very whimsical and fun here that cries out to my lost 90s child brain. It's worth a playthrough if you like that classic 90s gameplay.

If I have to be honest this game is bad and the only reason to play it is if you have nostalgia for it, like I do. The controls are trash, graphics charming maybe and level design is horrible.