Harry, what have they done to you?
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You really expect these later Pitfall games to feel like Indiana Jones, but they're actually a lot closer to Paddington in Peru: things break, bad ideas aplenty, you're soaked and tired, and then you hit a wall at the end. The Browns at least found bears and marmalade behind that wall. You will only find the least satisfying end to possibly any PS2 platformer out there. It's not completely meritless, but I'm not about to replay it, and maybe even less about to recommend it. Indeed, let me save you the trouble: hold L1 and R1 on the title screen, put in left-right-left-right-triangle-triangle-triangle, and play through Pitfall II instead.
Harry isn't bad to control when he's running around, though combat can be a chore with the lack of i-frames. The vine physics and breakables (courtesy of the Half-Life 2 favorite Havok physics engine) actually feel really good, so the core platforming is fluid enough. Edge of Reality evidently thought the right analog stick just wasn't used enough in PS2 games, because you will use it to throw rocks, grab items, and hold a gasmask to your face. It's fidgety and not really all that great in practice. While Harry is maneuverable, he also has to do an obscene amount of backtracking through old areas, as the game sends you from one corner of the map to the next to progress a single story beat. This could've been half the length and it would've been better for it.
And of that story! Pitfall Harry goes from a fearless Harrison Ford type (in your mind, it's an Atari game) trying to save his niece from the ravages of the jungle in II to an unfunny, bug-eyed wannabe casanova murderer (those poor penguins). Seriously, just about everyone in this game acts and looks like aliens, which undercuts how attractive the lush locales and cool as fuck temples really are. Pair that with the, mmm, mildly insensitive depictions of the natives (matched only by the cultural blender of the recent Pokémon games), and you have a world that's incomprehensible, awfully laid out, and easily forgotten outside of your time being wasted. Pitfall II playable from the title screen, though? That still feels like home.
Recommended for... people who enjoy wet socks and falling off ledges over and over.
| Reviewed | My favorite part |
|---|---|
| October 25, 2025 | The emulated Pitfall and Pitfall II |
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