[Jannik]

A good adventure game, to me, gives me the feeling of participating in an exciting story. I don't particularly like games that aims at giving me the opportunity to change the story/have multiple story branches - storys are often best when they are tight and linear IMO.

Thus, every part of the game should seamlessly blend together, and by that provide me with that feeling of participation. The story, the characters, the game world, the dialog, the music, the puzzles - I think it's the sum of most of the parts that makes for a good adventure game (well, sometimes it's even more than that). A few examples:

Story: The story should be compelling. E.g. by carrying some depth, or maybe just charm my socks off. Dreamfall, Still Life (except for the ending) and the first Sam & Max springs to my mind. The latter didn't have a deep story, but it surely was very charming.

Characters: It's the same pattern with the characters; I want to feel their personality, their joys and their sorrows. Or they could just make me laugh, or simply charm me into a big smile. In short; They should be memorable. Games like ICO, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Beyond Good & Evil, Sam & Max and Broken Sword nailed that pretty well.

The game world: An exciting game world can really suck the player into the game, so that's important. So is variation. I don't want to see the same corridors etc. during the hole game.

Puzzles: Variation is the main key. A game with only one or two types of puzzles is often borring. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis had very good puzzles IMO. Furthermore I really like "mini games" that feel "puzzly" and blends well into the story - done right, it can add a lot to the hole gameplay/puzzle experience.

So, do any adventure games have it all? Well, they don't come in bundles (and to be honest I haven't played a ton of adventure games, so I certainly can't name them all), but I think a game like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis pretty much nailed it.