Review: Gex Trilogy on PS5

Man, remember Gex? That cheeky little gecko with the bad jokes that weren’t even dad-level? Anyway — wait — so, yeah, it’s back. Like rising from the dusty attic of the ’90s, Gex Trilogy returns. Uh, because why not? It’s Tail Time! After a bizarrely long hiatus. Seriously, almost 30 years. I wonder if people missed him. I mean, probably not as much as they miss, like, Blockbuster, but hey.

Starting with the OG Gex. It’s flat, 2D, and got all teleported into his TV world by Rez. Ninja switch-up, right? You’ve got these bizarre channels—Cemetery, New Toonland, and, oh yeah, Kung Fuville. Did you know Kung Fuville was a thing? Me neither. Gathering remotes, eating power-ups, avoiding funky camera angles. You get it. But man, those Gex zingers, they kill me—except they kinda don’t after the 100th time you hear them. Why did I put up with that? Oh, nostalgic masochism, probably.

Fast forward, Gex wades into the 3D realm with Enter the Gecko. Now, here’s where it peaks—kind of. Rez is back, the government’s throwing money at Gex to save the day. That’s all it takes, apparently. He’s floaty as ever, with a long jump that tried to outdo Mario and, spoiler alert, didn’t. New worlds? Check. Costumes? Yep, now we’re cooking with weirdness. Disco suit, anyone? Still, the camera’s jerking around the whole time like it’s on caffeine. Love that charm. Or don’t. Whatever.

Third entry, Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, and it’s pandemonium. Baywatch star kidnapped, and Gex leaps in like a scaly hero. Talk about plot twists. The hub’s chaotic, collectibles downgraded to boring Fly Coins. Why did they change that? Anyway, snowboard-riding, tank-blasting variety spices up levels, which, cool, I guess.

Big picture—how does this trio stack up now? It’s… okay. Faithful to the ’90s vibe, thanks to Limited Run and their Carbon Engine magic. Nostalgia hits with extra content, like old commercials. Gex’s charm is dated, his platforming middle-of-the-road. Super Mario 64 it ain’t, but for a walk down memory lane, it’s worth acknowledging, right? Games like this, they’re like time capsules—imperfect yet endearing. And in our fast-forward world, a reminder that even the quirkiest parts of gaming history deserve to be dusted off occasionally. Or not. Depends on your tolerance for groaners. Same reason we don’t dig out VHS tapes often.