Day of the Tentacle (1993)
Day of the Tentacle is a 1993 point-and-click video game made by LucasArts.
Cartoon logic at its most gleeful. Day of the Tentacle picks up the Maniac Mansion story with nerdy Bernard and his friends Hoagie and Laverne, who set out to stop the Purple Tentacle, a sentient blob with world-conquering ambitions. The trick is that the three get scattered across time, so you juggle the past, present, and future at once, changing history in one era to solve a puzzle in another. It is a point-and-click adventure with bright hand-drawn art and a rubbery sense of humor, built entirely around time-travel cause and effect between its three heroes.
Quick answers
What is Day of the Tentacle about?
Cartoon logic at its most gleeful. Day of the Tentacle picks up the Maniac Mansion story with nerdy Bernard and his friends Hoagie and Laverne, who set out to stop the Purple Tentacle, a sentient blob with world-conquering ambitions. The trick is that the three get scattered across time, so you juggle the past, present, and future at once, changing history in one era to solve a puzzle in another. It is a point-and-click adventure with bright hand-drawn art and a rubbery sense of humor, built entirely around time-travel cause and effect between its three heroes.
When was Day of the Tentacle released?
Day of the Tentacle was released on 25 June 1993.
Who made Day of the Tentacle?
Day of the Tentacle was made by LucasArts.
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Explore Day of the Tentacle guides
Day of the Tentacle in our writing
- Companion guide: LucasArts: The SCUMM Adventures & the Star Wars Empire
A few thoughts on Day of the Tentacle
If the time-bending puzzle logic is the draw, Portal runs on the same delight in clever, self-contained brain-teasers and a dry sense of humor. Portal 2 doubles down with more elaborate contraptions and a bigger comic cast.
Time-travel puzzle games
The whole game runs on juggling past, present, and future, changing history in one era to fix a puzzle in another. That time-bending logic drives these too, whether you are firing portals through space, rewinding a bad decision, or slipping between eras to set the world right.
Cartoon comedy and charm
Bright hand-drawn art and a rubbery sense of humor give this its personality. For more games that lead with charm and a wink, these bring the same playful spirit, whether through cheeky dialogue, colorful worlds, or a tone that never takes itself too seriously.