Adventure Gaming Catch-All

kuddles wrote:

To this day, I still remain shocked that anyone could like The Longest Journey. To me, it's like the worst excesses of Sierra adventure games turned to 11. Backtrack at an excruciatingly slow pace across screens so that you can listen to expository dialogue that goes on for twenty minutes but doesn't ever amount to anything, then solve this puzzle that is either stupidly easy or just completely non-sensical. Repeat.

I agree about the puzzles, but I loved the dialogue that doesn't amount to anything. I mean particularly because it doesn't amount to anything is why I feel a lot of it wasn't expository and served to give you a sense that you were inhabiting a "real" world where people actually talked about stuff that wasn't necessarily going to be pertinent to your quest.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

So, using a walkthrough is probably a good idea to save on time? I'd like to play it for the story. I don't have the time to pixel hunt and backtrack a billion times, though.

Eh, do whatever feels right. I'm clearly in the minority when it comes to opinions about this game. Part of my turnoff is that there is an astronomical amount of dialogue you have to sit through, and in my opinion the vast majority of it is poorly written. The "humour" in particular is cringeworthy almost every time.

And that's where we would diverge. I thought the dialogue in this game is excellent -- really some of the best that's ever been put in a game -- and the voice actors very well delivered. Despite the walls of text I pretty much always let them talk, instead of clicking through to see what's next out of impatience. The story is a contrast of two worlds, one hyper-real and gritty and dark, and the other fantasy-story light, and they (understandably) use two different writing styles for these two areas.

As to the puzzles themselves, they're pretty easy and don't require a lot of backtracking, so no worries there. The story itself is what will backtrack you. (You can always double-click to jump to the next screen if you don't want to watch her slowly meander from one end to the other, so it's not like that's even particularly difficult.)

In other words, kuddles apparently is checked in to an asylum that allows inmates internet access.

Yeah, it was good, and only a couple of the puzzles were nonsensical to me. Be ready to skip voice acting if that's your thing (I did after reading the text), and if you are spending more than 5 minutes on a puzzle it might be time to start thinking about the walkthrough if it's not too upsetting to your pride.

Jolly Bill wrote:

Yeah, it was good, and only a couple of the puzzles were nonsensical to me. Be ready to skip voice acting if that's your thing (I did after reading the text), and if you are spending more than 5 minutes on a puzzle it might be time to start thinking about the walkthrough if it's not too upsetting to your pride.

I started playing it last night and immediately decided that this will end up being a good idea. I didn't grow up with point and click adventures, so I don't have the patience required. Can't wait to experience the full story.

The big hangup is *THAT* puzzle with the subway tracks, that's really the only "Cat Mustache" I can think of encountering in that game.

In case anyone here hasn't seen, this is a thing that is happening. Feel free to participate, assuming you aren't like StevenMack who already owns every single one of these games.

Just finished Resonance (bought it earlier this week when it showed up on Steam). Good stuff. Goooood stuff.

So, finished up Anna (bad ending and....real ending, I think? ...the other ending is time based and I'm not playing through it again so I'll just youtube it).

It's...a bit disappointing really. There's IS some good stuff in there (the music is quite lovely) but it's let down by glitchy, akward controls (which you can see in the youtube vids somewhere upthread) and some VERY abstract puzzles. A lot of the time you're expected to do things without really knowing WHY you are doing things, or in preperation for later puzzles that you don't know anything about yet.

Example (slight spoiler for part of a puzzle)

Spoiler:

You need to use a knife on a wall carving (NOT your pen knife though, a specific other knife) in order to magically create a beating heart which you then need to burn in order to get ashes for another puzzle which you don't know about until another 20 minutes or so into the game.

Instead of making you feel clever for solving a puzzle it kind of made me just go..."oh, ok - using THAT on THAT worked for some reason...ok then, great I guess"

There IS an old-school short story included as a PDF with the game but it's about a bazillion pages long and printed in a faux handwritten script. I guess that probably explains just what the hell is going on but I lost interest a few pages in and gave up. Also I wouldn't even have know it was there if I hadn't been nosing around in the files.

The scares mostly fall flat as well - that's not entirely their fault though, the engine they are using didn't seem quite up to the task. There WERE a couple of good jump scares I got out of it though...and some seriously creepy imagery.

It's short too. Dear Esther short but without the stunning visuals.

To sum up. If it turns up on steam, wait for the next sale and grab it for a couple of bucks and you'll probably get your moneys worth out of it, otherwise I'd give it a miss.

Minarchist wrote:

In case anyone here hasn't seen, this is a thing that is happening. Feel free to participate, assuming you aren't like StevenMack who already owns every single one of these games. :)

Well, not ALL of them ...but a fair few

I just played through enough of the Deponia demo to know that I can't wait until August 7th to buy the full version. Really amusing sense of humor, and an intriguing setting.

Hypatian wrote:

Just finished Resonance (bought it earlier this week when it showed up on Steam). Good stuff. Goooood stuff. :)

Your not kidding - working on that at the moment, that's a damned good game so far.

I'm assuming you've both played Gemini Rue? I still need to finish that one first.

Minarchist wrote:

I'm assuming you've both played Gemini Rue? I still need to finish that one first.

actually no, not yet - but it's on the to do list.

***

Just tried out "The Book of Unwritten Tales". Only a couple of hours in but so far, ANOTHER game that gives a good first impression (pretty high production values as well). Quit amusing as well.

I'm also about two hours into that one. That and Gemini Rue. I really need to get back to them.

Ok, finished Resonance (both endings).

WOW. That was excellent. Best adventure game I've played in ages. And not just a good story, some really neat puzzles in there.

Also, seriously...

Spoiler:

that bit in the Vault?.....bloody hell!

stevenmack wrote:
Spoiler:

that bit in the Vault?.....bloody hell!

Spoiler:

Yeah - I didn't see that coming at all. Completely blew my mind, if you'll pardon the pun.

I'm not an adventure gamer but I'm playing through The Book of Unwritten Tales. Really enjoying it. Extremely charming, puzzles are easy enough for me to figure out, voice acting is great, and the humour is fantastic.

Vector wrote:

I'm not an adventure gamer but I'm playing through The Book of Unwritten Tales. Really enjoying it. Extremely charming, puzzles are easy enough for me to figure out, voice acting is great, and the humour is fantastic.

Nice. I had the demo for the game downloaded, but it wouldn't launch so I just deleted it. I'll have to re-download it and hope it works this time.

AndrewA wrote:
Vector wrote:

I'm not an adventure gamer but I'm playing through The Book of Unwritten Tales. Really enjoying it. Extremely charming, puzzles are easy enough for me to figure out, voice acting is great, and the humour is fantastic.

Nice. I had the demo for the game downloaded, but it wouldn't launch so I just deleted it. I'll have to re-download it and hope it works this time.

It wouldn't work after installing for me as well. Apparently there is a very common sound card issue where you have to open your playback devices and disable anything that aren't your native speakers. Ran like a charm after that.

Since don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, GoG has a "Point and Click" weekend special

GoG wrote:

MACHINARIUM: COLLECTOR'S EDITION $4.99
RESONANCE $4.99
GEMINI RUE $4.99
BLACKWELL BUNDLE $7.49
WHISPERED WORLD, THE $7.49
BOTANICULA $4.99

Jumping in on Resonance and Gemini Rue.

Just finished The Book of Unwritten Tales. After trouble getting it working (there is a weird and common sound card issue), I really enjoyed it. I don't typically play adventure games but this scratched an itch. Was rarely ever caught on what to do. Story and characters were a lot of fun. I think the puzzles lose a bit of steam at the end and become very linear. Ends a little abruptly too. Some of the animation is a little off. Whole game took me about 8 hours. Hoping for another adventure from these guys.

Vector wrote:

Just finished The Book of Unwritten Tales. After trouble getting it working (there is a weird and common sound card issue), I really enjoyed it. I don't typically play adventure games but this scratched an itch. Was rarely ever caught on what to do. Story and characters were a lot of fun. I think the puzzles lose a bit of steam at the end and become very linear. Ends a little abruptly too. Some of the animation is a little off. Whole game took me about 8 hours. Hoping for another adventure from these guys.

You're in luck! They've already announced a prequel based around Critter.

Secret Files 3 out on the 14th on steam.

Probably going to give it a shot - I absolutely LOATHED the first game but the second one made improvements (even if the story was still nonsense) and I REALLY liked what the developer did with Lost Horizon, so fingers crossed it might be reasonably entertaining this time around.

stevenmack wrote:

Secret Files 3 out on the 14th on steam.

Probably going to give it a shot - I absolutely LOATHED the first game but the second one made improvements (even if the story was still nonsense) and I REALLY liked what the developer did with Lost Horizon, so fingers crossed it might be reasonably entertaining this time around.

Oh, nice! Lost Horizon was really good - one of my favorites in the genre.

tanstaafl wrote:

Since don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, GoG has a "Point and Click" weekend special

GoG wrote:

MACHINARIUM: COLLECTOR'S EDITION $4.99
RESONANCE $4.99
GEMINI RUE $4.99
BLACKWELL BUNDLE $7.49
WHISPERED WORLD, THE $7.49
BOTANICULA $4.99

Jumping in on Resonance and Gemini Rue.

I grabbed the bundle, minus Machinarium. (I've played Machinarium on PC and iPad. AWESOME game, best I've played on the tablet, but buying a third time would be overkill.)

Looking forward to the Wadget Eye games. I've had my eye on them but haven't played one yet.

Just finished Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. (For those paying attention to other threads - my one-handedness status got upgraded to "one-armedness" - can still use my hand so long as the arm is resting nicely)

I have to agree with Malor's 2006 assessment in a long-buried thread - great story, unfinished, game mechanics bad. To be honest, the game basically plays itself. It's kind of funny reading threads from 6 years ago hoping for a sequel, and constant promises from the developers that they'll finish the story, but just need to finish up their other projects first! TLJ is like a GRRM novel, or Half-Life, at this point. Except that I'm sure RT and funcom could actually make a half-decent sequel with the funds. Something I think Kickstarter could definitely help with.

If only Funcom had thought of it first. I don't know how many more adventure kickstarters I'm willing to help fund. It's at the point where I have a second pile; one made up of stuff that's not even made yet!

Dysplastic wrote:

Just finished Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. (For those paying attention to other threads - my one-handedness status got upgraded to "one-armedness" - can still use my hand so long as the arm is resting nicely)

I have to agree with Malor's 2006 assessment in a long-buried thread - great story, unfinished, game mechanics bad. To be honest, the game basically plays itself. It's kind of funny reading threads from 6 years ago hoping for a sequel, and constant promises from the developers that they'll finish the story, but just need to finish up their other projects first! TLJ is like a GRRM novel, or Half-Life, at this point. Except that I'm sure RT and funcom could actually make a half-decent sequel with the funds. Something I think Kickstarter could definitely help with.

The real question is, would Ragnar Tørnquist be on board with it? He was the heart and soul of the writing for the first two games. In theory, now that The Secret World has released, he could have some free time, but he seems awfully reticent to finish the damn series for some reason. No one seems to know why.

I'm sure I missed much of the conversation, but I'm about 2 hours into Gemini Rue and I'm really digging it a lot. I turned the voice over off after literally 5 words of the intro. Hope I'm not missing anything good. I actually think I prefer my adventure games without speech.

I didn't think the voicework in Gemini Rue was bad. Sure the main characters voice was a little forced gravelly like Christian Bale, but other than that it was pretty good I thought.