The GEX Trilogy revives a very particular slice of 90s gaming nostalgia. The wisecracking gecko with a remote in one hand and a never-ending stream of one-liners in the other has a special spot in my heart and many others. Gex was cheeky and colourful with all the adult jokes flying over my head. Perfect for my early gaming experiences.

With Limited Run’s Carbon Engine doing the heavy lifting, the GEX Trilogy brings all three titles (GEX, GEX: Enter the Gecko, and GEX 3: Deep Cover Gecko) to modern consoles with widescreen support, save-anywhere features, improved controls, and a suite of retro-minded extras. Peeking out from my rose-tinted glasses, GEX admittedly has its flaws, and whether that outweighs its charm depends on the player.

GEX (1995)

Originally released on the 3DO (and later ported to PS1), the first GEX game is a 2D side-scrolling platformer that flaunted impressive animation for its time and introduced the world to the Media Dimension and the evil Rez. In its remastered form, GEX (1995) retains its spirit, now wrapped in a high-res package with optional CRT filters, rewind support, and save instance functionality.

Despite the visual facelift, GEX is a harder sell today. Its level design is tough as nails, and its exploration-heavy structure isn’t as clear as it could be. You must collect TV remotes to unlock new stages, although which stage and world they unlock isn’t always known and searching for the hidden remotes in quite elaborate levels slows your momentum.

Mechanically, GEX (1995) is a little overstuffed for a side-scroller. Wall-crawling, bouncing, eating up power-ups or tail-whipping the same items for health, and background-layer traversal all exist simultaneously, and it takes a while to feel comfortable with Gex’s sticky movement. Controls have a floatiness which can cause frustration in tight platforming sequences or stages with cheap hazards like instant-death pits. Although the remaster’s rewind feature helps mitigate some of the game’s more punishing old-school tendencies.

GEX: Enter the Gecko

If GEX (1995) was a 2D TV fever dream, then GEX: Enter the Gecko marks the full transition into the third dimension. Two years after defeating TV-terror Rez, Gex is pulled back into the Media Dimension to finish what he started. Released in 1998 during a peak moment for the genre, Gex’s second game aimed to compete with Super Mario 64, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot (with even a few nods), and it certainly tried to stand out.

Gex can bounce on his tail, tail-whip enemies (though hit detection is iffy), and cling to walls. This is the first game in the trilogy package that makes the most of Limited Run’s new analogue control update, meaning Gex can now move in any direction dynamically rather than the rigid eight-point angles from the original. Combined with bounce pads and platform gimmicks, there’s a surprising amount of movement variety. Still, this is inherently a first-gen 3D platformer. Environments are chunky, textures are muddy and short draw distance covers everything in a fog.

What’s worse is that the camera is a nightmare. The camera gets stuck on walls, loses Gex mid-jump, and often refuses to give you the angle you need. You can choose between auto, semi-auto, and manual camera modes, none of which behave well. I would recommend manual, but the camera moves so slowly to turn (not changeable), it’s infuriating, so semi-automatic is the best choice. It’s responsible for the vast majority of my deaths, especially in precision platforming sections.

GEX 3: Deep Cover Gecko

The final entry in the trilogy is easily the most playable. Deep Cover Gecko smooths over many of the worst issues from Enter the Gecko with new themes and clearer direction, slightly improved mechanics, and a more confident sense of tone. It’s a clumsy 3D platformer, but at least this time it feels like Crystal Dynamics knew what they were aiming for.

Gex is now a member of the TV Terrorism Agency and must rescue Agent Xtra from Rez across a string of themed media channels. The story is nonsense, as always, but it justifies a parade of oddball levels like holiday specials, wrestling arenas, murder mysteries, and war films. Each world gets its own aesthetic and a new costume for Gex, giving the game more personality and visual variety than its predecessors.

Gameplay and mechanics are more or less the same with welcome refinements. Controls with tail-jumping were improved, and the camera is certainly a lot better. You still need to wrangle the angles of the camera more than you should, but it is easier to manage with the new tweaks.

What has changed the most are the levels. They are focused and generally better structured. While select levels suffer from clutter or unclear objectives, many offer fun challenges, hidden paths, and light puzzle-solving that’s deliberate rather than just haphazard. The Mystery TV stages are iconic. Shrinking down to minuscule size to swim in a sink or fighting fleas on a bear remains my highlights all these years later. There are a handful of remotes hidden behind arbitrary collectibles or platforming gauntlets, but they feel less tedious to hunt down thanks to better traversal options and clearer layouts.

Reflecting on the snarky time capsule

Parts of my review sound harsh, but that’s coming from a place of love. I am so happy we finally got the GEX Trilogy remaster, even with its flaws. Across the three titles, there’s a clear sense of evolution. We go from the tight but difficult 2D platforming of the first game to the messy ambition of Enter the Gecko, and finally to the realised Deep Cover Gecko. There’s no denying the charm of the franchise still lies in its relentless pop culture references, thematic level design, and offbeat tone. But like most platformers from the 90s, persistent control quirks, camera issues, and hit-or-miss humour mean these are nostalgic relics rather than forgotten masterpieces.

The GEX Trilogy package itself includes a solid suite of extras. A gallery of promotional materials, concept art, and key artwork and a soundtrack player lets you revisit any tune from across the trilogy. These features function well and are welcome, but they feel a little shallow compared to more impressive collections out there. After seeing extended developer interviews in the Croc: Legend of the Gobbos remaster only last month and the documentarian recount in Tetris Forever in late 2024, it’s hard not to wish for a bit more behind-the-scenes depth. A couple of minute-long interviews with Dana Gould are okay, but don’t give you nearly that much content. I longed for something to enrich the nostalgia and celebrate the legacy in a more meaningful way.

That said, improvements like save-anywhere functionality, CRT filters, and refined controls go a long way in making these games more accessible to revisit. While this remaster doesn’t necessarily go above and beyond, it does exactly what it says on the box and gives fans the trilogy, cleaned up and convenient, in one neat package. For those of us who grew up with Gex, it’s a joy to return to the lizard who helped shape our love of games.