Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Released by Ocean Software in 1992, The Addams Family for the NES is a movie tie-in based on the 1991 film, but it is far more ambitious than the average licensed platformer of its era. Instead of sending Gomez through a simple sequence of left-to-right stages, the game turns the Addams mansion and its surrounding grounds into a large interconnected playground filled with family members to rescue, items to find, money to collect, and plenty of unpleasant surprises.
Rating: 6.5/10
The story has family lawyer Tully Alford attempting to steal the Addams fortune. He has taken over the mansion and imprisoned members of the family, leaving Gomez to put everything right. His ultimate objectives are to rescue his relatives, collect $1,000,000, and gain access to the vault where Morticia is being held.
The mansion gives the game a surprisingly nonlinear structure. From relatively early on, Gomez can explore several different areas, including the crypt, ballroom, freezer, furnace, sewers, gardens, rooftops, and other sections of the estate. There is no map, so learning how all of these places connect becomes a major part of the experience.
Progress is partly restricted by items and rescued family members. These requirements usually make sense rather than feeling completely arbitrary. Wednesday, for example, is found freezing in the freezer. After taking her to the furnace to warm her up, she rewards Gomez with a key. Other objectives similarly open access to new areas or provide something needed elsewhere.
This makes The Addams Family feel almost like an early Metroidvania, although its mechanics remain those of a traditional platformer. Gomez runs, jumps, swims, and defeats most enemies by landing on their heads. Money and valuables are scattered throughout the estate, and collecting the full million dollars is mandatory before the game can be completed.
Unfortunately, this is where the game's most serious problems begin to appear. Gomez's movement itself feels reasonably familiar, but the collision detection is unreliable. A jump that looks perfectly lined up with an enemy's head can instead send Gomez through it and cause damage. Falling through the edges of platforms is also possible, and the swimming controls are particularly awkward.
Damage is made much worse by the lack of meaningful invincibility time after being hit. Gomez can therefore lose a huge portion of his health almost instantly if he becomes trapped against an enemy or hazard. Health-restoring cheese is uncommon, making mistakes considerably more expensive than they would be in most platformers.
The level design occasionally seems built around exploiting these weaknesses. Hazards can drop onto Gomez immediately after entering a room, seemingly harmless doors can lead directly into deadly traps, and some sections require more trial and error than skill. The rooftop sequence is especially notorious: falling tiles can knock Gomez completely off the roof, forcing a long trip back through the mansion before another attempt.
Thing provides temporary invincibility and can make dangerous sections considerably easier, but even the game's manual recommends saving the power for particularly troublesome moments, which says quite a bit about the difficulty balancing.
Where The Addams Family succeeds is in its presentation. The mansion is colorful, varied, and packed with personality. Different areas feature appropriate enemies and scenery, from skeletons wandering through the crypt to a floating zombie couple dancing in the ballroom. The bizarre designs suit the Addams universe extremely well and help make exploration entertaining even when the mechanics become frustrating.
The soundtrack is also memorable, particularly its NES arrangement of the classic Addams Family theme. Unfortunately, you will hear that tune an enormous number of times. A secondary dungeon-style track appears in areas such as the crypt, freezer, and furnace, but the overall selection is limited enough that repetition eventually sets in.
The Addams Family is therefore a game that is easier to admire than to completely enjoy. Its interconnected mansion, logical progression, secrets, colorful graphics, and unusual structure give it far more personality than most licensed NES games. At the same time, unreliable collision detection, harsh damage mechanics, frustrating hazards, awkward swimming, and mandatory money hunting constantly undermine its better ideas.
There is a genuinely good adventure hidden inside The Addams Family, and learning the layout of the mansion can be satisfying. Unfortunately, the technical shortcomings make that exploration much more aggravating than it needs to be. It's distinctive, charming, and surprisingly ambitious—but also a perfect example of how a strong concept can be dragged down by unforgiving execution.
Released by Ocean Software in 1992, The Addams Family for the NES is a movie tie-in based on the 1991 film, but it is far more ambitious than the average licensed platformer of its era. Instead of sending Gomez through a simple sequence of left-to-right stages, the game turns the Addams mansion and its surrounding grounds into a large interconnected playground filled with family members to rescue, items to find, money to collect, and plenty of unpleasant surprises.
Rating: 6.5/10
The story has family lawyer Tully Alford attempting to steal the Addams fortune. He has taken over the mansion and imprisoned members of the family, leaving Gomez to put everything right. His ultimate objectives are to rescue his relatives, collect $1,000,000, and gain access to the vault where Morticia is being held.
The mansion gives the game a surprisingly nonlinear structure. From relatively early on, Gomez can explore several different areas, including the crypt, ballroom, freezer, furnace, sewers, gardens, rooftops, and other sections of the estate. There is no map, so learning how all of these places connect becomes a major part of the experience.
Progress is partly restricted by items and rescued family members. These requirements usually make sense rather than feeling completely arbitrary. Wednesday, for example, is found freezing in the freezer. After taking her to the furnace to warm her up, she rewards Gomez with a key. Other objectives similarly open access to new areas or provide something needed elsewhere.
This makes The Addams Family feel almost like an early Metroidvania, although its mechanics remain those of a traditional platformer. Gomez runs, jumps, swims, and defeats most enemies by landing on their heads. Money and valuables are scattered throughout the estate, and collecting the full million dollars is mandatory before the game can be completed.
Unfortunately, this is where the game's most serious problems begin to appear. Gomez's movement itself feels reasonably familiar, but the collision detection is unreliable. A jump that looks perfectly lined up with an enemy's head can instead send Gomez through it and cause damage. Falling through the edges of platforms is also possible, and the swimming controls are particularly awkward.
Damage is made much worse by the lack of meaningful invincibility time after being hit. Gomez can therefore lose a huge portion of his health almost instantly if he becomes trapped against an enemy or hazard. Health-restoring cheese is uncommon, making mistakes considerably more expensive than they would be in most platformers.
The level design occasionally seems built around exploiting these weaknesses. Hazards can drop onto Gomez immediately after entering a room, seemingly harmless doors can lead directly into deadly traps, and some sections require more trial and error than skill. The rooftop sequence is especially notorious: falling tiles can knock Gomez completely off the roof, forcing a long trip back through the mansion before another attempt.
Thing provides temporary invincibility and can make dangerous sections considerably easier, but even the game's manual recommends saving the power for particularly troublesome moments, which says quite a bit about the difficulty balancing.
Where The Addams Family succeeds is in its presentation. The mansion is colorful, varied, and packed with personality. Different areas feature appropriate enemies and scenery, from skeletons wandering through the crypt to a floating zombie couple dancing in the ballroom. The bizarre designs suit the Addams universe extremely well and help make exploration entertaining even when the mechanics become frustrating.
The soundtrack is also memorable, particularly its NES arrangement of the classic Addams Family theme. Unfortunately, you will hear that tune an enormous number of times. A secondary dungeon-style track appears in areas such as the crypt, freezer, and furnace, but the overall selection is limited enough that repetition eventually sets in.
The Addams Family is therefore a game that is easier to admire than to completely enjoy. Its interconnected mansion, logical progression, secrets, colorful graphics, and unusual structure give it far more personality than most licensed NES games. At the same time, unreliable collision detection, harsh damage mechanics, frustrating hazards, awkward swimming, and mandatory money hunting constantly undermine its better ideas.
There is a genuinely good adventure hidden inside The Addams Family, and learning the layout of the mansion can be satisfying. Unfortunately, the technical shortcomings make that exploration much more aggravating than it needs to be. It's distinctive, charming, and surprisingly ambitious—but also a perfect example of how a strong concept can be dragged down by unforgiving execution.
