To start this review, firstly it has to be mentioned that this game does not have much in the way of a proper introduction.
This game was of course based on the once-famous Addam's Family IP concerning a dysfunctional family (somewhat) steeped in the dark arts, which they treat as an everyday domestic routine no less (much to the horror of regular people who meet them) - specifically the live-action movie starring the ever-charming (but late) Raúl Juliá. Without having known this, the player wouldn't have an inkling of what is happening, due to the lack of any exposition on the protagonist's crisis.
Addam, the protagonist, returns home to his mansion to find that his family had been scattered all over the estate, the dangerous designs of their grand and spooky abode that were meant to keep unwanted visitors out having been turned against them by some traitorous guests. The player has to guide Addam around, solving puzzles and saving his loved ones while defeating or evading enemies along the way.
A rarity for NES games in its days, the protagonist has an actual health bar that depletes as he takes damage from coming into contact with apparently deadly creatures. He also pretty much dies immediately if he falls into lethal traps. Lives are far and few in between, and the number of chances for continuing the game after lives have been depleted are even fewer. This is not an easy game, the reader be warned, but it is not entirely unbeatable.
It has to be pointed out that for well-designed NES games of the time, protagonists with health bars tend to have actual animations showing injuries or damage that was being incurred, along with a shift of their sprite of sorts that places them out of further harm's way - or simply render them impossible to be wounded further, e.g. the Mega-Man games of yore. In Addam's Family, the protagonist is one pain-tolerant dude, with only changes to the colour of his face and an annoying beeping noise to warn the player that he is being hurt.
For better or worse, this is an oddly unique game design. The player character, as he is not subjected to momentary indisposition, can be maneuvered out of danger promptly. Unfortunately, there are plenty of enemies in the game that are just too fast to evade, especially the ones who are inclined to chase Addam down whenever he steps into their turf. Furthermore, such enemies need only come into contact with Addam to harm him; for enemies without ranged offensive capabilities, there is no attack animation whatsoever - they just have to scoot over to Addam to suck his life away.
This odd and sometimes frustrating design is made all the more apparent when the player realizes that health-replenishing pick-ups (which are usually pieces of cheese) are very, very few - much less so than extra lives, for some odd reason. Therefore, the player can expect tense moments where he/she has to get Addam from point A to point B, negotiating through many traps, enemies and leaps of faith with only a sliver of health left.
Also, perhaps in a divergence from most NES games of the time, not all enemies can be eliminated. In fact, more than half of them cannot be slain, only avoided whenever possible. Otherwise, most of them can be defeated via the tried-and-true method of stomping on their heads, or through puzzle-related solutions.
Yet, Addam's Family is not as difficult as some other NES games of its time. This is made possible through the game's rather tight controls (though the Super Mario Bros. NES game has relatively better controls, if a comparison is to be desired). Addam's footsteps may feel a tiny bit slippery, but it is the aftertouch that the player can add to his jumps that allows Addam to reach ledges and give pesky enemies the slip.
The puzzles in this game are its highlight. Unlike most side-scrolling games where areas that had been traversed can be forgotten immediately to make gameplay more expedient, some back-tracking in this game is needed. Some of these puzzles are effectively fetch quests, but the reward for these tedious puzzles is often an amusing solution to overcome an obstacle that had been blocking progress. What needs to be done is not immediately apparent however, and only by locating Addam's loved ones can the method to obtain a solution be explained. Nevertheless, none of the puzzles are major stumpers, and the way to solve them can be achieved by curiosity-sating exploration.
(In fact, this game was the only NES game that this reviewer could recall having completed several times over consistently. It was difficult to get bored with.)
Sound effects are rather muted in this game, if any. Other than some noises at set moments of the game, the player can expect to listen only to the music, which is fortunately quite good and generally appropriate to current situation. However, the player has to be warned that having only catchy 8-bit tunes to listen to means that they are likely going to be driven deep into his/her skull. (This reviewer still recalls vividly the main theme music of the game.)
Addam's Family was one of the better looking NES games at the time. The graphics are colorful and quite vibrant, often masking the goofy but definitely harmful dangers strewn throughout its game-world. It was perhaps one of very few games that made full use of the 256 colors afforded by the NES, as it has plenty of environments ranging from the mansion interiors, massive boiler rooms, the sewers and even a really huge cavernous refrigerator.
In conclusion, Addam's Family is quite a memorable and fun game, despite the oversights that were made in its design. The player would certainly have had fun collecting Blue Eggs for a shrinking potion, Puffs of Smoke for a spell and other strange activities that he/she can engage in.
(P.S. The fact that this is the first review on GameSpot about this game did not escape this reviewer. This reviewer was a wee little kid back then, but the memories of this game were particularly strong.)