I think there's definitely been a mini-renaissance thanks to digital distribution, with the games you mentioned, as well as Revolution and Lucas Arts repackaging their classics. There are common themes amongst these games: a smaller price tag, and most are available in a portable format (even Sam & Max). Maybe this is the future of the genre in its traditional form?
Heavy Rain is the complete opposite, but isn't a traditional adventure game. I think this demonstrates that adventure games do need to evolve if they want to once again have that mass appeal amongst core gamers and beyond.
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