The Sphinx and the Curse of the Mummy Legend has it that deep within the ancient Egyptian pyramids lies a curse, a curse that has haunted those who dare to disturb the resting place of the mummy. One particular tale that captures the imagination is the story of the Sphinx and the curse of the mummy. The Sphinx, with its lion's body and human head, has long been a symbol of mystery and enigma. It stands guard in front of the pyramids, watching over the desert with its inscrutable gaze. According to the ancient Egyptians, the Sphinx was a symbol of protection, and it was believed that disturbing its watchful presence would bring forth dire consequences. The curse of the mummy, on the other hand, originated from the belief that disturbing the final resting place of the dead would invoke the wrath of the gods.
Like the monument with the same name, Sphinx has lion-like traits: a tail, lion-like nose, pointed ears, and four toed lion-like feet. He has midtone skin, and dark face paint around brown eyes. He is relatively short compared to many other characters, but he is very strong, able to climb, swim, and fight with ease.
In order to return, Sphinx needs to find the Temple Amulet, but on his way to retrieve it, he is struck by the Eye of Ra, and trapped in the room below. At this point, his presence is detected and Menes reanimates the skeletons in the area into Skeletal Axemen, and Sphinx must fight through them to the shield.
The curse of the mummy, on the other hand, originated from the belief that disturbing the final resting place of the dead would invoke the wrath of the gods. The ancient Egyptians had strict burial rituals to ensure the deceased could pass into the afterlife peacefully. Any disruption to these rituals was thought to bring chaos and suffering to those responsible.
Sphnix and the curse of the mummy
There were several titles released in the early 2000’s that received high critical acclaim, but for whatever the reason didn’t sell as much as was hoped for and fell by the wayside after a short time. Beyond Good and Evil from Ubisoft was a personal favorite of mine that fell into this category, as well as Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy from THQ Nordic. I remember hearing about it back in 2003 when it initially released on the Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube, but it seemed to fall off everyone’s radar fairly quickly after it came out, despite glowing critic reviews. THQ Nordic has decided to revive Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy from the dead (pun intended) and re-released it on the Nintendo Switch. Now a whole new generation of players can experience the adorable and quirky tale of an unlikely duo trying to save Egypt and themselves from a great evil.
The mummy is excited to go through this adventure with you!
Set in ancient Egypt, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy follows the titular Sphinx, a demigod that is part man and part beast, as he sets out on a task set for him by his simian master, Imhotep. It’s not long before his path crosses with Tutankhamun, a young prince who is turned into a mummy by a curse set upon him from his brother. There are many eccentric characters introduced throughout the game, but for the most part their roles remain pretty shallow. The main focus is always on Sphinx and Tutankhamun.
You’ll trade back and forth playing as both characters with each new section of the game. Each character features distinct and unique gameplay mechanics that make the game seem much more diverse. For example, Sphinx is very agile and can run, double jump, and wield weapons. He’s more of the adventurer that solves problems by using his blade. Tutankhamun, on the other hand, plays very differently since he’s essentially dead and cannot move as well. This also means he doesn’t take damage either. So while he doesn’t necessarily have weapons at his disposal, he does have the ability to electrocute himself or light himself on fire to solve puzzles. That’s essentially what this game boils down to: dungeon crawling, hack and slash segments with Sphinx, and puzzle solving 3D platforming sections with Tutankhamun.
Here I am hauling around this lazy bones.
The controls in Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy are all over the place. Sphinx’s movements when wielding the Blade of Osiris are smooth and fluid, but his jumping mechanics can be awkward and unpredictable. He can feel pretty floaty at times which leads to a learning curve with his jumping distance. Later in the game, he’ll be able to utilize Capture Beetles that ensnare the essence of a monster he comes into contact with. The problem is that you have to use the same Joy-Con to control the beetle’s path as the one that moves the camera. This makes for a very poor and confusing design choice, to say the least.
Tutankhamun doesn’t have weapons at his disposal, but he does end up gain artifacts that give him different abilities that aid him in his adventure. The Dark Stone of Invisibility for example, allows him to become invisible, but only if he remains stationary. This gives him the ability to sneak past certain guards, but the lack of movement with it combined with the swift movements of the searching parties make for some frustrating timing sections. Then there’s the greatest foe of them all: the camera.
I’m having shocking amounts of fun with this game.
To put it simply, the camera in Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is downright infuriating. I’m not sure if I got a copy that had a camera glitch, but the movements of it went way beyond the normal early 2000’s camera issues. Yes, there are still plenty of times where the camera gets stuck on a wall and can’t properly circle behind you as you would expect from a game that came out on the earlier generations of consoles.
No, what I’m referring to is the fact the camera will automatically start moving directly over your head and point at the ground after you leave it untouched or run in a straight line for about five to ten seconds. I know this might not sound like a long time, but when you’re trying to run across a huge map or are trying to look at the landscape to figure out where to go next, it flies by quickly. Then you have to wrestle to get the camera to point back to where you want it to look. Basically the whole game you’ll be fighting the camera, which greatly detracts from the gameplay.
Hopefully she thinks you have a great personality.
This current release of The Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy features the same graphics as the original, but with a higher resolution, which does wonders to smooth out some of the previously rougher sections. I have to give credit where credit is due; the graphics in this game are still pretty decent, especially considering it’s a fifteen year old game. The cartoonish characters and animations do a lot to preserve the overall look of this game without dating it too much. There are some nice textures at work in the surrounding environments as well as plenty of areas with rich color saturation, which is especially impressive for a game set in Egypt with vast sprawling deserts.
As expected from an adventure game from the early 2000’s, there’s no voice acting to speak of. It instead utilizes animal noises due to the anthropomorphic characters and speech text displayed at the bottom the of the screen. I will say that while most of the sounds are very well done, there are quite a few that are played too often and will grate on you after a while. The musical score is appropriate for the setting and has a very distinctive Egyptian sound to it.
It wasn’t me I swear.
I have to say that despite some of the gameplay mechanics and abysmal camera, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is still a wildly entertaining and charming game. Even though I fought tooth and nail to get the camera under control the entire time, I still had a lot of fun playing it. My hope now is that THQ Nordic sees a renewed interest in this game and makes a sequel with controls and a camera that fit today’s standards. If so, I’m sure it will be an instant classic. For now though, if you have a Nintendo Switch (and some patience), I highly recommend you give Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy a chance to use its delightful magic on you.
Graphics: 8.0
Thanks in part to the cartoon art style of the game, the graphics still hold up really well, especially for a fifteen year old game.
Gameplay: 6.0
While some of the gameplay mechanics are solid, plenty of others have their flaws. Constantly fighting the camera is torturous.
There is no voice acting, but the sound effects are well executed and the musical score is good and distinctively Egyptian sounding.
Fun Factor: 7.5
There are so many different things to do in this game, that you’ll be able to immerse yourself in it for a while. The camera and some of the controls are aggravating though.
Final Verdict: 7.5Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is available now on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS2, and PC.
A copy of Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy was provided by the publisher.
Sphinx and Imhotep devise a plan to use events to their benefit: with Tutankhamen already inside the normally impenetrable Castle of Uruk, a single Canopic Vase is able to bring him to life for a short while, allowing him to sneak around the castle as nobody has ever done before. Imhotep creates Bas-Ket by animating a basket; as a magical object rather than a living being, he can get inside the castle to deliver the Vases to the Mummy. Throughout the story, the Mummy exploits his undead status and thus inability to be killed to survive the traps and retrieve valuable items to aid Sphinx in his quest. In return, Sphinx finds more Canopic Vases over the course of the game and uses Bas-Ket to send them to his ally. The Mummy discovers that Horus - who has survived his ordeal at Uruk - is working for Set as a spy.
In this tale, an adventurous archaeologist named Dr. Amelia Evans dared to challenge the legend and embarked on a mission to uncover the mysteries hidden within the pyramids. With her team of experts, she delved deep into the heart of the desert, guided only by ancient manuscripts and intuition. As they unearthed the secrets of the ancient civilization, Dr. Evans discovered a previously undiscovered chamber deep within the pyramids. This chamber held the sarcophagus of a long-forgotten pharaoh. Ignoring the warning signs and fueled by her thirst for knowledge, Dr. Evans decided to open the sarcophagus, disregarding the tales of curses and the danger that lay within. With a loud creak, the sarcophagus was opened, revealing the perfectly preserved mummy of the pharaoh. But as soon as the lid was lifted, a gust of wind blew through the chamber, extinguishing all torches and plunging them into darkness. From that moment on, a series of misfortunes befell Dr. Evans and her team. Strange accidents and unexplained occurrences became the norm. It seemed as though the curse of the mummy had been awakened and was exacting its vengeance on those who dared to disturb its eternal slumber. Dr. Evans, realizing the gravity of the situation, sought the help of a wise old Egyptian sage. This sage explained that the curse could only be lifted by appeasing the gods and making amends for the disturbance of the pharaoh's tomb. With the sage's guidance, Dr. Evans and her team set out on a quest to perform the necessary rituals and seek forgiveness for their actions. They made offerings at the temples, recited ancient incantations, and conducted a ceremony of purification. Slowly but surely, the curse began to lift, and the misfortunes ceased. In the end, Dr. Evans learned a valuable lesson about the power and importance of respecting ancient traditions and beliefs. She realized that the ancient Egyptians had placed curses on their sacred sites not out of malice, but to preserve the sanctity of their culture and the resting places of their dead. The tale of the Sphinx and the curse of the mummy serves as a timeless reminder that we should approach ancient sites with reverence and caution. For within those ancient walls lie not only mysteries and treasures but also the echoes of a civilization that should be respected and remembered..
Reviews for "The enigma of Sphinx: The unseen connection with the Curse of the Mummy"
1. John Doe - 2/5 - I was really disappointed with "Sphinx and the Curse of the Mummy". The graphics were outdated and the gameplay was repetitive and boring. The story was also poorly developed, with little to no depth. I expected more from a game with an intriguing title like this one. Overall, it felt like a waste of time and money.
2. Jane Smith - 1/5 - I found "Sphinx and the Curse of the Mummy" to be incredibly frustrating. The controls were clunky and unresponsive, making it difficult to navigate through the game. Additionally, the puzzles were poorly designed and offered little challenge. The game lacked any sense of immersion and failed to hold my interest for more than a few minutes. I regret purchasing this game and would not recommend it to others.
3. David Johnson - 2/5 - "Sphinx and the Curse of the Mummy" had a lot of potential, but unfortunately fell short in execution. The gameplay mechanics were awkward and unintuitive, making it difficult to progress. The levels were repetitive and lacked variety, leading to a monotonous experience. The graphics were decent, but overall the game was underwhelming and failed to deliver an enjoyable gaming experience. I would advise others to steer clear of this title.