The GWJ Adventure Game Club - Game 6: Blackwell Legacy

Blackwell Legacy (2006)

IMAGE(https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/80330/header.jpg)

This is a historical first, folks. One of my "picks" has been chosen! The game tells the story of Rosangela Blackwell, a young freelance writer living a solitary life in New York City. Soon after her only remaining living relative, Aunt Lauren Blackwell, passes, she is asked to write about a suicide in a college dorm. As she struggles to get through a difficult day, wrought with hurdles and headaches, she soon learns that her aunt bequeathed her more than she knew...

This was my pick for a host of reasons: the relatable main character (ended up getting super attached to her), the city of New York (which almost feels like a character in its own right), the story, the music, the old, classic adventure game vibe... This first game in the series may be a bit rough around the edges, but it's still an amazing game, and I've already jumped into my third playthrough.

You can find the wikipedia page here, though the usual warning for spoilers should apply. How Long to Beat estimates about 3 hours to completion, which feels a bit low if you're aiming to talk to everyone and explore every dialog branch (which you should).
Available on Microsoft Windows, macOS, iOS, Linux and Android.

Please be mindful of your fellow goodjers and spoiler any discussion of plot points.

You can find the main thread over this way. We'll be playing Blackwell Legacy in April 2019, with an extra month for stragglers. Knock yourselves out!

To get you all into the mood, I recommend listening to the intro and theme song:

Didn't vote, as I didn't expect I would play any of the games this time. But a ~3 hour game? It might happen after all. Even if I always spend 2x the time on games than the HLTB estimates.

I hope I can finish Thimbleweed Park in time for this (will be playing tonight).

[edit] - I also need to decide when I'm going to continue my Sierra adventures playthrough.

Last time I tried to play this I hit some weird bug that would not let me continue. If it is only 3 hours I guess I can start it over!

I 'cheated', and finished this about a week ago, but I'll gladly follow along with everyone else's playthroughs

Hopefully I'll get the excellent 'Pillars of the Earth' finished soon then I'll be onto Blackwell.

Started it up. Liking the protagonist right away. Love her fake/attempted smile.

steinkrug wrote:

Started it up. Liking the protagonist right away. Love her fake/attempted smile.

The commentary talks about that smile being a huge part of making her likable, after adding it to the beta test.

Also, the fact that the first puzzle

Spoiler:

arises from her not knowing any of her neighbors and not feeling comfortable walking up to someone in front of an audience.

Totally me.

I knooooooow, right?!? 250% relatable there, from the getgo. I adore Rosa.

Sooooooooooo... this game is a lot shorter than I remembered. I finished it already. Whoops! ^^ The good news is I’m on deck to discuss anything and everything, provide pointers, spoilers and the like.
Remember: talk to everyone, explore dialog trees, look up and combine clues in your notebook (I think that cumbersome mechanic goes away in later games), and if you get stuck, try to return to places/people you’ve already been.

Think I might replay it with the commentary, even though I already did it, a year or two ago.

Totally expecting to dig in deep and just play to the end soon but I just dipped in for a brief spell again and still really liking it. I...

Spoiler:

visited the hospital and learned about Rosa’s aunt. I like the options given for responses in conversation. And I like how the conversation with the doctor went from why is this guy being creepy to, oh, is there something to this? Went back to the apartment then and read through the letters. Those were nicely done.

So how’s everyone coming along?
Did you all get past the doorman okay? (Ah, strikes! )

Just finished Unbound - it's leaps and.. bounds better than Legacy, but definitely benefits from having played Legacy first.

Hehe. You really are playing ahead of the class. Even worse than I am.

Spoiler:

I really wanted to jump into Unbound, but figured I’d wait a bit.

I played a few days ago, and did indeed make it past the doorman.

Jerk.

I think I'm getting close to the end.

I like Rosa a lot and the premise is fun.

Some of the puzzles have frustrated me a bit. For example,

Spoiler:

Dealing with the roommate. Kelly, I think? I understood I needed to use the phone to talk to Joey and ask him to create a distraction. However, I hadn't spoken to him earlier and had him display his powers, so I wasn't given the option. So, I had to look up help and had to go back to Rosa's apartment and have this conversation with him, have him rustle the drapes, then go back to the dorms and now had the option.

Started playing this with my son today. We are both enjoying it.

Spoiler:

It really felt like it was heading for more of a horror feel. Digging through the initial correspondence from the aunt set a more haunting initial tone. I hope they explore the “I’m not crazy” theme either here or in the sequels.

My only real complaints are that the two places we got stuck were a result of mechanics we didn’t realize existed.

Hint 1 (but should really be help text):

Spoiler:

You can combine things in your notebook.

Hint 2:

Spoiler:

Sometimes you you can do something while doing something else.

steinkrug wrote:

I think I'm getting close to the end.

I like Rosa a lot and the premise is fun.

Some of the puzzles have frustrated me a bit. For example,

Spoiler:

Dealing with the roommate. Kelly, I think? I understood I needed to use the phone to talk to Joey and ask him to create a distraction. However, I hadn't spoken to him earlier and had him display his powers, so I wasn't given the option. So, I had to look up help and had to go back to Rosa's apartment and have this conversation with him, have him rustle the drapes, then go back to the dorms and now had the option.

That is where I got stuck before. I fired it back up and finally found that issue and was able to finish.

All done.

I really enjoyed it and my 14 year old kid playing it with me was part of that. It was short but according to GoG, I apparently own the next 3. I'm definitely in for another one of these but I think I'll go back and play Thimbleweek Park first.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure I would have ever played it without this group much less had an interest in the whole series.

So for those of you who've already finished the game, I'm very curious. Obviously, spoilers for the final encounter.

Spoiler:

Did you manage to save the Deacon, or did you condemn him to an eternity of torture?

Eleima wrote:

So for those of you who've already finished the game, I'm very curious. Obviously, spoilers for the final encounter.

Spoiler:

Did you manage to save the Deacon, or did you condemn him to an eternity of torture?

Spoiler:

I saved him my second time through - the timed nature of the puzzle caught me by surprise

Eleima wrote:

So for those of you who've already finished the game, I'm very curious. Obviously, spoilers for the final encounter.

Spoiler:

Did you manage to save the Deacon, or did you condemn him to an eternity of torture?

Spoiler:

I saved him.

Eleima wrote:

So for those of you who've already finished the game, I'm very curious. Obviously, spoilers for the final encounter.

Spoiler:

Did you manage to save the Deacon, or did you condemn him to an eternity of torture?

Spoiler:

I saved him...

Overall, I liked the characters and tone but the logic of some of the puzzles really threw me. I think I was being a little inpatient though. Glad this was a pick, regardless, if for no other reason than to have met Rosa.

steinkrug wrote:

Overall, I liked the characters and tone but the logic of some of the puzzles really threw me. I think I was being a little inpatient though. Glad this was a pick, regardless, if for no other reason than to have met Rosa.

You'll be thrilled to hear it only gets better from here then.

Eleima wrote:
steinkrug wrote:

Overall, I liked the characters and tone but the logic of some of the puzzles really threw me. I think I was being a little inpatient though. Glad this was a pick, regardless, if for no other reason than to have met Rosa.

You'll be thrilled to hear it only gets better from here then. :)

Also, Unavowed and the Shivah are set in the same universe, for even more Wadjet goodness

(the Shivah isn't supernatural, so far as I know, but it also stars Abe Goldfarb (Joey) as its lead)

Tanglebones wrote:
Eleima wrote:
steinkrug wrote:

Overall, I liked the characters and tone but the logic of some of the puzzles really threw me. I think I was being a little inpatient though. Glad this was a pick, regardless, if for no other reason than to have met Rosa.

You'll be thrilled to hear it only gets better from here then. :)

Also, Unavowed and the Shivah are set in the same universe, for even more Wadjet goodness

(the Shivah isn't supernatural, so far as I know, but it also stars Abe Goldfarb (Joey) as its lead)

That’s all good news. I knew there were more games in the series but I didn’t know there were some ones in the same universe without the Blackwell name.

Starting this one now!

I just realized...I don't know anyone in my apartment building.

Spoiler:

The first puzzle in the park threw me for a bit. After figuring out I needed to maneuver the dog around the pole, I could kick myself.

I'm done! Really great story.

dpmedeiros wrote:

I'm done! Really great story.

Wow, that was fast!!