Gumball in Trick or Treat Land - A Tasty Trick that's a Treat to Play!

An article by Holmfry on

I was introduced to Gumball in Trick or Treat Land through Evercade. Checking out the recent carts, my eyes fell on this screenshot of Gumball.

I don't know what it is about this screenshot, but it intrigued me.

The vibe reminded me of Pumpkin Pie, Ernest Scared Stupid, warm Halloween nights as a young teen in the 90s. My weird neurospicy nostalgia must be satiated, I had to play this game.

I ordered it immediately and when it arrived, I did something very unlike me. Now, you need to understand something. I have ADHD. Normally when I get an Evercade cart, there is a furious barrage of me firing up every game on it at random, and playing each for a few minutes, then rinse and repeat until I zone in on a couple as the "ones I shall play". 

That is not what happened this time. I booted up that cart, went right to Gumball and I didn't play any other game until I 100% completed it. (That's not to knock the other games, in fact Mega Cat Studios Vol. 3 is a very solid cart with lots of great games, link at bottom of article.) Not only has this never happened with an Evercade cart, but rarely with any game. It takes something very special to hold my attention.. things like Chrono Trigger, Ocarina of Time, God of War.

I digress, but that should tell you all you need to know about Gumball in Trick or Treat Land. Even so, let's get into what makes it special. 


First of all, Gumball is an open world game on GBC. Crazy, and so much fun to explore. It has that perfect "Where do I go?" to "Whoa look what I found!" ratio. This is a game in which it is very fun to explore and get lost; and you don't stay lost for long, there is always something to do.

Ollie is the man.  Er.. pop.
The structure of the game is unique. It looks a bit like Pokémon, but has a unique Treat based battle system which is actually super fun to strategize with. There are also partners that can join you which add bonuses and modifiers to combat that makes it more interesting. My favourite was Ollie (the Lollipop). He provides attacks and heals at semi-random. And he's adorable, check him out!

The game itself plays like a massive series of subquests that all intertwine with each other. It really has you getting to know the characters and locations. Because of this, it would be nice to have a quest tracker within the game - but grabbing a notebook and furiously noting down everything is so 90s, which just adds to the whole mystique.

Please don't judge my handwriting,
I was fighting pumpkins and vampires.

The characters and humour are fantastic. I found myself laughing out loud a LOT at the things characters would say. It brings to mind the off beat humour of Undertale/Deltarune. I love this in a game, it makes it so much fun to get into the story. I also found that the game overall was so refreshingly wholesome, no bad feelings to be found.

Meanwhile, the graphics are super cute. Lots of bright colours and wonderful sprite work. Things like making potions are super enjoyable because of a cute little cauldron animation that plays when you brew them. The whole game feels playful like that. Side note, playing on the Evercade EXP with subtle scanlines is magic on Gumball.

The overall feel of the game is so wonderful. The vibe at Vampire Landing is my favourite, and I go back there a lot just to hear the music there. Another standout moment was meeting Mussty, who was so hilarious and jarring to meet on that first encounter I wish I could see it over and over. Seriously, that was completely out of pocket and is one of my favourite moments in any videogame now.

Final Thoughts

Gumball in Trick or Treat Land is something any retro game enthusiast - well, any game enthusiast at all actually - owes it to themselves to play. I got strangely obsessed with this game to the point where I could barely put it down, and when I did I was still thinking about it. My children and wife heard the whole game story just from me going on about it between or during play sessions.

According to my Evercade, it took me a total of 19 hours and 10 minutes to fully explore Gumball, checking every nook and cranny. I enjoyed every moment. I'm 46. I don't know what is happening, but it must be some strong old thread magick from before vampires. (If you play the game you'll get that reference.)

To Adam Graf at Exquisite Laundry Pet - I really can't believe this is your first game! You've really outdone yourself!

I give Gumball in Trick or Treat Land
🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔
🐔🐔🐔🐔🥚
9/10 chickens

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