It was pretty much inevitable. After the release of an imperfect but decent remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos last year, it was only a matter of time before Argonaut Games gave its sequel the same treatment. While the original Croc arrived more or less alongside juggernauts like Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot, back when the 3D platforming genre was still finding its footing and there were few established formulas to draw inspiration from, Croc 2 was released at the height of the genre’s popularity. It was bigger, with more levels, different gameplay approaches, and improved visuals and presentation.

Lighting effects are pretty, but can be a bit too much at times.

That doesn’t mean that it manages to offer the same kind of nostalgic sensation of novelty as its original did, be it in 1997 or 2025, simply because it is still quite similar to what its predecessor had to offer. It’s a very visually similar game, its controls are nearly identical (bar some slight improvements in the remaster’s collision detection), and the main objective is to still save these furry fellas with terrible grasp of the English language, the Gobbos, from the original game’s villain, Baron Dante.

It’s the typical “the same, but bigger” experience. More levels, larger environments, more hub worlds. The majority of the levels are your typical “go from A to B” experience, with a lot of additional areas hiding collectible secrets. Those are fine and all, but I honestly think Croc 2 shines brighter with its objective-based levels, which usually force you to collect a specific amount of macguffins in any way and order you want to. Some additional levels also feature varied gameplay elements such as races, as well as boss battles. For 1999 standards, and not by Rare, Croc 2 does a lot with what little hardware juice was available at the time.

I see nothing to worry about. Looks like a totally trustworthy salesman.

Just like with last year’s port of its predecessor, there isn’t a lot that makes Croc 2 stand out from the vast majority of modern platformers, but it has enough charm and nostalgic appeal to be worth a playthrough. What really makes it stand out, just like last year, is the amount of care and effort put into it by Argonaut Games, the actual developers of the original. You are able to tinker with lots of different visual settings, polygonal models of varied quality, lighting effects, aspect ratios, camera controls, and so on. You can either play the game akin to its clunky limitations from back in the day, or experience something with modern quality of life enhancements, such as improved framerates, draw distances, and a camera system that doesn’t suck.

Well, it’s no Diddy Kong Racing…

There’s more to this package than just an admittedly well-remastered experience. Given how the remaster was developed by the original creators of the Croc franchise, and how they were careful enough to keep every single file and piece of memorabilia saved somewhere in their office, you have access to pretty much everything Croc 2-related, in the history of mankind. Manuals. Adverts. TV spots. The entire original goddamn design document. How about a documentary with the original creators? It’s all here, for the viewing pleasure of enthusiasts of mid-tier platformers from the 90s.

Gotta say. Some of these boss battles are pretty neat for 1999 standards.

I’ll repeat what I said about the remaster of the original Croc: Croc 2 was never the greatest platformer of its era, but it’s a charming little piece of nostalgia that I’m glad to be able to revisit in a modern format in 2026. It’s an easygoing adventure with little to no challenge, making it the perfect way to kill a few hours without having to worry about anything particularly demanding. With its wealth of bonus content, behind the scenes documents, and remastering options, this is easily the best way to experience this delightful blast from the past.

Croc 2: Kingdom of the Gobbos (the remaster) is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC, Switch and Switch 2. The original version was available on PS1.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Croc 2: Kingdom of the Gobbos was provided by the publisher.