Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first stretch gets straight to the point: enter a TV world, jump through a side-scrolling stage, use Gex’s tail to handle the creatures in your path, and work toward the mission that earns a remote. It is a familiar 2D platforming loop, but the hub gives your progress a little more shape than a simple march from level one to level fifteen.

Remotes are the important reward because they unlock more TV worlds, so finishing objectives matters beyond merely seeing a completion screen. Butterflies and bonus coins add extra reasons to revisit stages or poke around rather than charging straight ahead. That collection layer helps the game feel more purposeful, though it remains a small-scale Game Boy Color platformer rather than a deep reinvention of Gex.

The tail attack is the center of combat, and that simplicity works in a portable game. You are not juggling a complicated move set while trying to negotiate platforms and eleven monster types. The trade-off is that the action can feel routine once the basic rhythm has clicked: jump, swat enemies, complete the mission, collect what you can, and move on.

This is a better fit for a few focused sessions than an all-night obsession. If you like clearing goals and gradually opening a hub’s locked routes, the remote system gives you a practical reason to stick with it. If you need platformers to keep introducing major new ideas, the limited structure may wear thin before the final worlds.

Graphics

The game uses a side-view, 2D scrolling perspective throughout its TV-world stages. That straightforward viewpoint suits the platforming, keeping Gex, platforms, and the monsters he needs to hit in the same easy-to-read lane.

Story

Gex once again enters television worlds to take on Rez and his creatures. It is a clean excuse for the level-to-level variety, not a story that asks you to invest in a complicated plot.

The premise works because it immediately tells you why this gecko keeps hopping between separate worlds and why the hub exists between them. Each new remote is both a gameplay key and a small nudge onward in Gex’s attempt to reach Rez.

Anyone coming in for a rich narrative should set their priorities elsewhere. The story is light framing for arcade-style platforming, and it is at its best when it gets out of the way and lets you chase the next mission.

Overall Experience

Gex 3: Deep Pocket Gecko is a competent, compact adaptation that understands the essentials: television-themed worlds, Gex’s tail-based combat, a hub, and remotes that unlock the path forward. It does not need a lot of explanation before you are playing, collecting, and checking what remains locked.

Its biggest strength is that it gives its short-form platforming a modest sense of progression. Completing missions for remotes and gathering butterflies or bonus coins means there is usually one more thing worth doing in a stage, even after the immediate route is clear.

At the same time, the game is held to the limits of that basic loop. Fifteen levels and straightforward action leave only so much room for surprise, and the monster roster does not change the central approach of navigating platforms and striking with your tail.

Give it a chance if you want a portable slice of late-’90s 2D platforming or specifically want Gex in a more compact form. It earns a mild recommendation for its clear structure and collectible-driven momentum, but it lands closer to a pleasant diversion than a standout platformer.

Retro Replay Score

6.8/10