There's so much exploding clothing in this game that you'd be forgiven for thinking it's another instalment in the Senran Kagura series. Fortunately (or, depending on your opinion, unfortunately) it's just the unbelievably fragile armour of enduring Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection protagonist, Sir Arthur.

You see, this series has a storied history of being — to put it lightly — ruddy sodding impossible. A series of notoriously difficult set-piece-based action-horror platformers, this latest instalment is no exception with a host of stages so demanding that only the most committed players will ever see the end.

While earlier titles in the franchise condensed their challenges into short, tight levels. Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection has no such brevity, with each nightmarish area seeming to last a lot longer than any previous adventure. In a sense, it's the worst of both worlds – masocore style level design that's arduous in both its length and its content.

The series (particularly in its Ghouls 'n Ghosts incarnations) took delight in its sticking points, but it always felt fair, and Resurrection simply doesn't. It's packed with enemies that seem to spawn almost randomly and in such great numbers that you could find yourself completely overwhelmed before you're able to learn how you need to approach a situation. It's not a game that could realistically be beaten on your first attempt even with superior reflexes, thanks to a surplus of “gotcha” style traps.

Despite this change in focus it's still good fun to blast through, but in going for the modern “war of attrition” style of difficulty, Resurrection removes itself from its roots and therefore its identity. The punishing platforming is still enjoyable, but rather than cursing your own lapse of skill or concentration, you'll be asking how you could possibly be expected to have avoided the latest absurd, screen-filling obstacle.